Why was Jesus Christ baptized by John, the Baptist? John, the Baptist, preach to His audience of Jews that they were to repent of their sin and undergo ceremonial water baptism to have their sins remitted. Little wonder, then, that John refused to baptize Jesus when He arrived on the scene. Christ simply didn’t qualify for John’s baptism since He was holiness personified and devoid of sin. Nevertheless, Christ insisted because, as an obedient Jew, He wished to identify with the godly remnant of Israel, saying, “Allow it now to be so, for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness.” So, John acquiesced and baptized Jesus. He then stated that His purpose for doing so was to formerly introduce Jesus as the Messiah to the nation of Israel. Clearly, Christ was not baptized for the same reason others were, for He was separate and apart from sin. It would have been unthinkable that Christ not submit Himself to all the requirements of the Law of Moses. He made it very clear that He had not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill it. This required His submission to John’s baptism because John, too, was clearly sent from God to perform his ministry.
Shortly, following His baptism, He was led into the wilderness for the ordeal of the temptation from Satan Himself. And, what was that all about? Some well-meaning but erroneous souls believe the temptation was to see whether or not Christ would weaken to the point of surrendering to the temptation. They actually believe the outcome was in doubt. Would He, or would He not be able to endure the temptations of the very one who personified evil itself? That’s nonsense. The One who personified holiness and righteousness was more than a match for Satan. Christ was not tempted forty days by Satan while hungering in order to determine whether or not He would sin. Such is abhorrent! The temptation whereby Satan threw everything He had at the Christ was in order to prove He could not sin. This is called the “impeccability” of Christ. His sinlessness was not only verified but it served to demonstrate that this Person, Jesus of Nazareth, was morally fit to be the long-awaited Messiah of Israel.
It was not coincidental that this temptation took place at the very onset of the public ministry of Christ. The baptism by John introduced Him to Israel as their Messiah, and Christ’s victorious triumph over the ultimate temptations of the ultimate evil one set forth His qualifications as morally fit for the task of Messiahship. He was indeed the Lamb of God without spot or blemish. Christ’s impeccability was, and is, an essential theological and moral necessity. Were He even capable of sin, then or now, the possibility of His succumbing to it would remain an open question, a very dangerous and precipitous idea. In no way could one himself weaken to sin ever be qualified to redeem other sinners. Rejoice, we sinners were rescued by the only One qualified to do so.
CC-06-07
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