To fulfill all righteousness

To fulfill all righteousness

Scripture:

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.

Matthew 3:13-15

Observation:

Straight after Matthew talks about John, he now focuses on the entry of Jesus just as He was about to begin His ministry. The Lord comes from Galilee in the North down to the Jordan River. John the Baptist, full of the Spirit, immediately recognizes Jesus and at first refuses to baptize Him. The Lord convinces John that it is proper to fulfill all righteousness and John consents.

In these few verses, we can already learn at least three great lessons. Firstly, we see the humility of Jesus. John the Baptist recognized the Lord’s purity and sinlessness and knew he was totally unworthy as a corrupted human being to baptize Jesus. Still, the Lord insisted that John do it. The Lord, fully knowing who He was and where He came from was not afraid at all of humbling Himself before a weak mortal man. His focus was not on His own pride but solely on fulfilling God’s will. How much indeed can we learn from the Lord’s amazing humility.

Secondly, Jesus purposely included John in this sacred declaration before God. If He wanted, Jesus could have “baptized” Himself on the pretext that there was no one worthy enough to do it for Him. However, that was never God’s intent. It is God’s will to include us together in the work that He wants to do. God does not need us to tell others about Him. He could be far more effective by blazing His message in fire across the skies. However, God wants to involve us. We have a narrow view of love sometimes, thinking that love is only about giving and receiving. A deep part of love and a meaningful relationship is doing things together, and God wants us to work with Him to fulfill His purposes.

Thirdly, by being baptized, Jesus set the pattern for all His disciples to follow. The act of baptism symbolizes the death of the sinful, old man, and the resurrection of the new man in Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ case, He had no sin, but when He was immersed in the water, He was symbolizing His death by carrying not His sins, but the sins of the whole world so that He could fulfill all righteousness by His death and sacrifice. When Jesus came up out of the water, symbolizing His new life, He was symbolizing the new life available to all who would follow Him. Every time we see or think of baptism, we should constantly remind ourselves in faith “the new has come, the old has gone”.

Application:

Ask God to help us to be humble. Who are we to think we are better than others when our Lord humbled Himself before mortal men. Thank God that it is His will to include us in His plans and purposes. Ask God to lead us to join Him where He is at work. Remember the baptism, the act of dying to our old self, and letting our new man live in Christ. Remember the words “the old has gone, the new has come”.

Prayer:

Father God, forgive me for my times of pride, when I have often thought myself better than others. Help me be humble O Lord, even to consider others better than myself. Thank You, Lord God, that it is Your good will to include us in Your plans and purposes. Open my eyes and heart O Lord to see where You are working and help me join you there, that I might make a difference, living according to Your will. Help me remember O Lord, that the old has gone and the new has come. Give me the faith to believe this truth, and even to see its application become reality in my life. Praise You, O Lord, for Your great love to us. In Jesus name, Amen.