Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” 15 Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. 16 After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened [for him], and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove [and] coming upon him. 17 And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
In Mt. 3:1-12, John the Baptist appears in the desert calling Israel to repentance because God’s reign is near. He baptizes in the Jordan as people acknowledge their sins, warns that repentance must bear real “fruit,” and rejects any false security based on ancestry or religious status. John also points beyond himself to the one who is coming after him, the mightier one who will baptize “with the holy Spirit and fire” (Mt. 3:11). Matthew now moves directly to the moment when Jesus himself comes to the Jordan.
Jesus comes from Galilee and steps into the same waters where John is baptizing repentant Israelites (v. 13). Matthew does not present this as Jesus seeking cleansing. John’s immediate protest makes the problem plain: “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” (v. 14). The sinless one enters a baptism meant for sinners.
Jesus answers with a short command and a reason: “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (v. 15). In this instance in Matthew, ‘righteousness’ means doing what God wills, in faithful obedience to his plan. Here, Jesus accepts the Father’s plan as it is unfolding through John’s ministry. He does not stand apart from sinners. He stands with them. He begins his mission by obedience and humility, identifying himself with the people he came to save.
The phrase “Allow it now” also suggests timing. This is what must happen at this stage. Matthew hints that the story is moving toward a deeper obedience to the Father still to come. Jesus’ baptism is not a confession of sin. It is the chosen beginning of a saving mission that will lead to suffering and death.
As Jesus comes up from the water, Matthew shows God responding. “The heavens were opened” (v. 16). In Scripture, that phrase is a way of saying that God is no longer hidden or distant, but is revealing himself and acting. It echoes Israel’s long cry, “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down” (Is. 63:19; 64.1), and it signals that a new moment in salvation history has arrived. God is no longer silent. The Father speaks, the Spirit descends, and the Son stands in the water. Heaven is “opened” because God is making known who Jesus is and beginning the work that will restore communion between God and humanity.
Jesus then “saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove…coming upon him” (v. 16). The image recalls the Spirit at the beginning, over the waters of creation (Gen. 1:2). It also echoes Isaiah’s promise that God’s Spirit would rest upon his servant (Is. 42:1). Matthew is showing that Jesus is marked out and empowered for his mission. The Spirit rests on him as the anointing of the Messiah.
Then the Father’s voice interprets everything: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (v. 17). The words gather Scripture into one declaration. “Son” echoes the royal promise (Ps. 2:7). “Beloved” recalls the beloved son offered in obedience (Gen. 22:2). The Father’s pleasure echoes Isaiah’s servant, the one who will carry out God’s saving work through humble fidelity. Matthew is teaching that Jesus is not only God’s Son in majesty. He is also God’s suffering servant, promised in Isaiah, who will save by obedience and self-giving love (Is. 42:1).
Christians have long seen in this scene a pattern that points forward. The water, the Spirit, and the Father’s word belong together. Jesus goes into the water in solidarity with sinners, the Spirit rests upon him, and the Father names him as Son. Christian baptism will share this shape: washing, the gift of the Spirit, and adoption into God’s family by grace, because the Son first stepped into our place to save.
Lord Jesus, you entered the waters with sinners and began your mission in humble obedience. Help us to recognize you as the beloved Son, and to trust the Father who reveals you and gives the Spirit for the salvation of the world. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011), including NABRE notes on Mt. 3:13-17.
- The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The New Testament, commentary on Mt. 3:13-17 (p. 12).
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: St Matthew (Four Courts/Scepter), commentary on Mt. 3:13-17 (pp. 55-56).
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (Paulist Press, 2018), commentary on Mt. 3:13-17 (p. 916).
- Raymond E. Brown et al., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (Prentice Hall, 1990), notes on Mt. 3:13-17 (pp. 637-638, para. 18).
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