The start of Jesus' ministry was remarkable.  Instead of a demonstration of wisdom by preaching or power by healing, He allowed Himself to be baptised (the Greek word for baptise means to dip, immerse, submerge and overwhelm).  John's baptism was the confession of sin and pledge of repentance.  But Jesus was God in a human body: He had no sin in Him.  So, why did He need to submit to baptism in which the water would 'overwhelm' His body?

A good way to look at this is to ask another question, ‘Why did Jesus die on a cross?’  The Bible tells us that Jesus took the sin of the world upon Himself, to be punished for it so that we might be redeemed from its lethal grip.  In other words, Jesus so closely identified with the sinful human condition that, as 2 Corinthians 5:21 puts it, ‘God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.’

The baptism of Jesus, three years earlier, marked His identification with the sin which would later overwhelm Him with sorrow (Mark 14:34).  Prophetically, Psalm 42:6-7 associated Christ’s baptism with the anticipation of His death.  For Jesus, death as a sacrifice for sin would not take Him by surprise; it was His mission.  That was why He shared the 'dirty bathwater' of sinful people being baptised.  But He also shared His heart with Father God in prayer, and as He did so He saw heaven opened to release the anointing of the Holy Spirit, seen as a dove.  God the Father spoke in audible words to affirm His Son as being in the centre of God's love and purpose.

Christian baptism is not only a sign of our repentance, but also our personal identification with our Saviour's death, burial and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4).  Our baptism looks back to the cross; Jesus looked forward to it.  It is as important for us to be baptised for His sake, as it was essential for Him to be baptised for our sake (Matthew 3:15).  It is a special way for us to declare that we are bonded with Jesus; and know that we are united in His love and gospel purpose every day. Rejoice as you remember your baptism, that you are no longer under the tyranny of sin, and pledged to share with Jesus in the work of the gospel; or if you are not yet baptised, move towards it with joy as a significant early step as a disciple of the Son of God.