Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, «I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?»
Jesus replied, «Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.» Then John consented.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, «This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased» (Matthew 3:13-17).
Many juniors ask, «Why do I need to be baptized? Isn’t loving and obeying God enough?» If that were true, Jesus certainly didn’t need to visit John by the Jordan. There wasn’t a sin in His body, and His love for God was undeniably strong! He was baptized, not because he needed to, but because he wanted to. Jesus longed to show the people on the shore how much He loved His heavenly Father. He desired to demonstrate by this simple act that He was willing to live as God wanted Him to.
When we allow ourselves to be lowered under the waters, we’re saying to the world, «I’m deciding to place my life in the hands of my heavenly Father. I’m choosing to be a part of His army of witnesses.»
If you’ve been baptized, good for you! If you haven’t yet, why not ask your pastor to do the honors? Join Jesus by the waters and make your choice today.