Then
Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. But John would have hindered him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?” But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him.
Matthew 3:13-15
Matthew 3 [10.] “Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.”
Matthew 3 [13.] Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. But John would have hindered him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?”
Matthew 3 [15.] But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him. Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 4 [1.] Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
Meaning:
John the Baptizer had announced that someone mightier than himself was coming, one who would baptize in the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:10-12). Now that person arrives, and he asks John to baptize him. This short conversation, recorded only by Matthew, explains why the sinless Son of God was baptized with a baptism of repentance. Mark and Luke also record the baptism itself (Mark 1:9-10; Luke 3:21-22).
- “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John”
Jesus had grown up quietly in Nazareth in Galilee (Matthew 2:23). Now, at about thirty years old, he walked south to the Jordan where crowds were confessing their sins and being baptized (Matthew 3:5-6). He came deliberately, not by chance, “to be baptized by him”. His public ministry began not with a display of power but by joining sinful people in the water.
- “I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?”
John tried to stop him. He recognised that Jesus did not need repentance; if anything, John needed what Jesus could give. In John’s Gospel the Baptizer calls Jesus “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). John’s protest shows his humility and his insight. He had just said he was not worthy to carry Jesus’ sandals (Matthew 3:11), and now the one he had announced was standing in line with sinners.
- “Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness”
These are Jesus’ first words in Matthew’s Gospel. He does not deny that he is greater than John, but says “Allow it now”, for this moment. “To fulfill all righteousness” means to do everything that God’s will requires. Jesus had no sin to confess, but he chose to identify completely with the people he came to save. Isaiah foretold a servant who “was numbered with the transgressors” and bore the sin of many (Isaiah 53:12). Paul explains, “For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Later Jesus would say, “I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17).
- “Then he allowed him.”
John obeyed, even though he did not fully understand. God’s answer followed immediately: the heavens opened, the Spirit descended like a dove, and a voice declared, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17). The Father approved of the Son’s humble choice.
The Significance of Matthew 3:13-15
- The humility of Jesus
The Son of God stood in the river with sinners. He did not keep his distance from us. This is the same humility Paul describes: “he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death” (Philippians 2:8). Followers of Jesus are called to share that attitude.
- A Saviour who stands with us
Because Jesus identified with sinners, sinners can come to him without fear. He is a high priest “who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
- Obeying when we do not fully understand
John hesitated but obeyed when Jesus explained. Sometimes God’s ways surprise us. Trusting obedience opens the way for God to reveal more of himself.
Cross-References:
John 1:29: "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John’s testimony about Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:21: "For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf;" The sinless one standing in for sinners.
Isaiah 53:12: The servant “numbered with the transgressors”.
Matthew 3:16-17: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." The Father’s response.
Conclusion: Matthew 3:13-15 tells how Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. John protested that he needed Jesus’ baptism instead, but Jesus answered that it was fitting “to fulfill all righteousness”. The sinless Son identified with sinners, obeyed his Father’s will, and received the Father’s approval. His humility shows the heart of the Saviour who stands with us.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible