The Baptism of Jesus Christ

“Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, by one having authority, is a true principle, because Christ taught it; Christ obeyed it, and would not fail, for anything, to fulfill it—not that He was sinful and needed to be baptized for the remission of sins, but He only needed to do it to fulfill all righteousness, that is, to fulfill the law.”

The Baptism of Christ (Matthew 3:13-17) 

In this post I will be addressing a few questions in order to deepen the understanding of Christ's baptism. He was perfect, sinless, and the Son of God, why would he need to be baptized in the first place? Baptism is to be washed of all sin, right? Well, I'll be addressing that and a few other key questions.

 

Why was John hesitant to baptize Jesus Christ?

13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

     

    My thoughts: It's not because he doesn't want to. He would do anything for Christ. But John doesn’t feel worthy of such a thing. Put yourself in his place, The man worships Jesus, he is the Son of God, and the Savior of all who will believe in him, how would you react? John even compares his place to Christ by saying that Jesus Christ is so much better than him that he shouldn’t even loosen the clasp on Christ’s sandal. Luke 3:16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

Why did Jesus need to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness?

Matthew 3: 15 And Jesus answering said unto him(John), Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.

My thoughts: He was following the commandments of God and he needed to be an example for us. What better way to lead than by example?

2 Nephi 31:7 ...he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments.

9it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them.

      As a member of the LDS church I believe that God, Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings. Why? Here is some evidence of that. (Matthew  3:16-17) 

 16 And Jesus, when he was baptized went up straightaway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

      My thoughts:  It speaks of Jesus coming out of the water and seeing the Spirit of God descending upon him in the shape of a dove, and also hearing the voice of God from the heavens saying, “Behold this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” They are separate, Jesus is the Son of God, not God himself. He wouldn’t refer to himself as his own son?

What is taught in this passage about the Holy Ghost?

       Here is an explanation from Joseph Smith about the Spirit of God descending like a dove. Which is accounted in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. “The sign of the dove was instituted before the creation of the world, a witness for the Holy Ghost, and the devil cannot come in the sign of a dove. The Holy Ghost is a personage, and is in the form of a personage. It does not confine itself to the form of the dove, but in sign of the dove. The Holy Ghost cannot be transformed into a dove; but the sign of a dove was given to John to signify the truth of the deed, as the dove is an emblem or token of truth and innocence.” (Smith, Teachings, pp. 275–76. Italics added.)

Here is a few scriptures I liked that testify to the importance of baptism and why Christ was baptized himself.

John 3:5  5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

We must be baptized in order to enter the kingdom of God. Period. For those who have passed without being able or not choosing to be baptized the LDS church performs baptisms for those who have died (being baptized in another person's name) in the temple

And of course the scripture everyone has heard ...

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 

 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John the Baptist

Hi everyone my name is Janie. I'm attending Brigham Young University in Idaho. I'm taking a class on the New Testament section of the Bible and I will be posting weekly about my research, things I find fascinating and just whatever I feel like.

This week my the topic I've chosen is about the importance that John the baptist was born.



Many of us know this picture, but for those who don't, this is John baptizing Jesus Christ in the Jordan river.


The story of John's birth can be found in the Bible under Luke chapter 1. Johns parents, Zacharias and Elisabeth thought that they would never be able to have children .Luke 1:7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was ^abarren, and they both were now well ^bstricken in years.

 However, one night while in a temple the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias and told him his wife would bear him a son and that he would be named John. Gabriel spoke of what a great man he would become and that many would love him and that "he would be filled with the Holy Ghost even in his mothers womb".(Luke 1:15)

Six months later Gabriel appeared to the virgin Mary(Elizabeth's cousin) and told her that she would bear a son, calling him Jesus and that he would be the son of God. Luke 1:37 For with God nothing shall be ^aimpossible.  If we believe this then we know that God can help us through anything.

This is what the Zacharias says through the spirit of the Holy Ghost, of  his John the Baptist and his importance on this earth;
 76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to ^aprepare his ways;
 77 To give ^aknowledge of salvation unto his people by the ^bremission of their sins,

 79 To give ^alight to them that sit in ^bdarkness and in the shadow of ^cdeath, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

 80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

It takes a special soul to be the one chosen to baptize Jesus Christ, the literal Son of God. He is a prophet and teacher. He lead the people in good ways, ways that would make them happy in their lives. He gave people, and still can, light in darkness, a way to follow. We can have peace within ourselves if we follow the example of men  such as John the baptist. He had to live in such a way to live comparable to Christ and believe without a doubt that He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world.