That Righteousness Might Be Fulfilled
- M. K. Gantt
- Apr 5
- 5 min read
We recently celebrated a beautiful baptismal service where two individuals, having found Christ, publicly declared their identification with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection. Witnessing their joy and the sincerity of their testimonies prompted me to reflect once more on another baptism – the baptism of Jesus.
Matthew chapter three introduces us to John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, who preached repentance and performed baptisms in the Jordan River. When Jesus approached, John proclaimed, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John was surprised when Jesus stepped into the river to be baptized. Yet, Jesus insisted, "that all righteousness might be fulfilled."
Like John, we wonder why Jesus, sinless and the very atonement for humanity's sins, needed to be baptized. He certainly had no sins from which to repent. Even after many years in the ministry, preaching the Word of God I have come of late to understand more clearly. Jesus was not baptized for His sins -- but for ours.
Jesus' baptism served a dual purpose. Yes, He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. But He also came to show us the way back to God, bridging the gap between the Creator and fallen humanity. Many events in Jesus' life and ministry illuminated this path to God, and His baptism was the first of these significant acts.
Jesus' baptism marked the beginning of an unfolding cosmic drama. It was the start of His public ministry. At thirty years old, the age where men entered their priestly service, Jesus was ready to reveal God's long-promised redemption. This initial act comprises three powerful scenes: the heavens opening, the descent of the Holy Spirit, and the Father's voice from heaven. These events serve as a portal through which we can begin to understand what happens when we ourselves are converted and come to the waters of baptism.
THE HEAVENS OPENED - Access Renewed
The narrative tells us that as Jesus came up from the water, "the heavens were opened to Him." It's crucial to remember that everything Jesus did, He did for us. He didn't enter humanity for His own benefit. Thus, the opening of the heavens was for our sake.
When Adam sinned, he lost access not only to the Garden, but also to God's presence. Humanity was separated from the spiritual realm.
Under the Old Covenant, God initiated contact with humanity, coming nearer to men maintaining a distance. At Mount Sinai, Moses was instructed to erect a barrier, preventing the people from approaching God's presence too closely, lest they die. Moses' request to see God's face was denied. Angels guarded the entrance to the Garden; God's face remained hidden. Humanity was cut off, separated from its Creator.
Matthew reveals that when Jesus, our substitute, our representative, in whom we are blessed with every spiritual blessing, was baptized – the heavens were opened to him. Similarly, when a person is converted to Christ and baptized, identifying with Christ, we are restored to fellowship with God, no longer separated from their Creator. The heavens are opened, and we once again have access to the spiritual realm. The veil of the Holy of Holies is torn. We can now enter the very presence of God the Father. We are seated with Christ in the heavenly places.
THE HOLY SPIRIT CAME TO REST UPON HIM - Conversation Restored
Matthew's account describes the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove and resting on Jesus. This event marked the commencement of Jesus' earthly ministry. He had lived in relative obscurity until the age of thirty, significant in relation to the priesthood. He was beginning His ministry, and effective ministry requires two essential elements: access to the heavens and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit.
No one can engage in effective ministry without access to the spiritual realm and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Intellect and personal charisma just doesn't cut it. In Acts 2:38, Peter declares, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
The Holy Spirit connects humanity to divinity. He restores, in measure, to humanity what Adam lost in the Garden - conversation with God. He bridges the spiritual chasm that separates us from our Creator and restores the broken spiritual connection with the Father. He is our Helper.
A VOICE CAME FROM HEAVEN - Relationship Affirmed
As the Spirit descended upon Jesus, a voice from heaven declared, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
Some mistakenly claim that "we are all God's children." Wrong. That status was lost in Eden, and humanity became, as Paul says in Ephesians 2:1-3, "dead in [our] transgressions and sins, in which [we] used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath."
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees in John 8:44, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires." But in John 1:12, He says, "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God."
At His baptism, the Father identified with His Son. And, importantly for us, Jesus identified with humanity. When we are converted and baptized, we publicly identify with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. Our baptism into the body of Christ signifies a transfer of citizenship from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. This is not because of who we are, but because of who Jesus is.
It's not about anything you have done, but about what He has done.
In this brief account of Jesus' baptism, we learn that in Christ, we have access to heaven, a connection with God, and the assurance of our status as sons and daughters of the Most High God. These are the spiritual blessings in heavenly places that Paul describes.
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