Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:13-17 (ESV)

The first Sunday in Epiphany is January 12. On our Worship Anew program, the Rev. Shayne Jonker leads our program that celebrates the Baptism of Jesus. In Baptism, we are made new. We die to the Old Adam, our sinful self, and we are given a new life in Christ.

In the passage above, we see that John the Baptist is struggling with why Jesus would need to be baptized. John baptized people with a baptism of repentance. To repent is to turn—turn from a life focused on the desires of the flesh and our rebellion against God. You can see why he would be wondering why Jesus would desire to be baptized.

We take Jesus at His word that He did this to “fulfill all righteousness.” That seems like a big deal! And we see that it was and is for us today. We see the Trinity on display as the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus, and the voice of God the Father speaks, “This is my beloved Son.”

And thank God that we are not left with just repentance, or we would need to be down to that river every week, every day, every hour—you get the picture.

With Jesus’ Baptism, we are now baptized into Christ, into the whole package of what He’s done for us. Now that He’s defeated sin and death, our Baptism gives us a new life where we can be called righteous. We are made clean for good, and now we go through life knowing with confidence that our Heavenly Father calls us His beloved child.