Fr Lino Moreira OSB
Jesus’ way of starting his public activity was totally unexpected. Even John the Baptist couldn’t understand what was going on and said: “I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?” (Mt 3:14) This question has remained with every generation of Christians down to the present time, and it is indeed the question we are invited to engage with today. Why was Jesus baptised? Why did he decide to go public in such a way that suggested he was just one more sinner among a crowd of sinners in need of repentance?
Jesus’ own reply to John the Baptist was somewhat cryptic: “Let it be so for now – he said –; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness” (cf. Mt 3:15). What these words actually mean has always been the object of much debate, but there can be no doubt that they present the baptism of Jesus as an act of obedience to God’s plan. In other words, Jesus was baptised by John not to be cleansed of his own sins (for he had none) but to fulfil his Father’s will that he should take down into the waters of the Jordan the burden of all humankind’s guilt.
Therefore, when the Son of God descended into the depths of the river, he revealed himself as the Servant of God, whose mission it was to suffer and lay down his life for the sins of all humanity. It follows then that Jesus was anointed by the Spirit of God – whom he saw
descending from heaven like a dove and alighting on him (cf. Mt 53:16) – to suffer through and recapitulate the whole of human history, from Adam to the end of time, so that every human being can be freed from the power of the Evil One. And this was confirmed by Jesus’ actions in the world, as Peter pointed out in the house of the centurion Cornelius, when he said: “You know how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with him” (Acts 10:34).
So the act of descending into the waters of the Jordan is an anticipation of Jesus’ death, and of his descent into Hell, in order to bind in chains the strong one (cf. Lk 11:21-22) – the Devil – who wants to hold captive the entire human race. It is indeed in his baptism that Jesus first manifests himself as the true paschal Lamb, who by the power of his sacrifice defeats the prince of this world (cf. Jn 14:30) and saves humanity from utter annihilation. The act of descending, however, is followed by the act of ascending from the waters and the proclamation by the divine voice: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (Mt 3:17) Here it is Jesus’ resurrection that is anticipated. God the Father looks with favour upon the perfect obedience of his Servant, raises him from the depths of the Underworld, and acknowledges him as his beloved Son – fully divine, but also one of our own flesh and blood. And from then on the heavens lie open to all humanity in the person of Jesus of Nazareth (cf. Mt 4:16), who is meant to be the first-born among many brothers (cf. Rom 8:29). We can see thus that Jesus was baptised in the river Jordan to give us a baptism in the fire of the Holy Spirit (cf. Mt 3:11), whereby we become children of God, destined to live for ever as brothers and sisters of the risen Lord. In fact on the day of our baptism, when we were immersed in the water sanctified by Jesus, we met him at the place where he anticipated his death, in order to anticipate our own resurrection by the power of the same Spirit that raised him from the dead (cf. Rm 8:11). But an anticipation is not yet the full reality, and what we received in our baptism as a pledge and a promise will only come to fruition if we imitate Jesus of Nazareth in doing good and combating evil (cf. Acts 10:34). That is indeed the very mission for which he anointed us with the Holy Spirit.