January 9th, 2022 – Baptism of the Lord
† The Baptism of Jesus
Jesus said, let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. (Matthew 3:15)
That verse is the key to understanding Jesus’ baptism. It was necessary to fulfill all righteousness. It was necessary for Jesus to get drenched in the water of a sinner’s baptism and be treated like someone who had sins that needed forgiving because he had to become one with us, with all our humanity – including our sin. He took a bath in our dirty bathwater because he didn’t only carry our sins: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)