Matthew 3 (overview)

The third chapter of Matthew describes the baptism of Jesus. It contains the first recorded spoken words of Jesus: "Allow it [my baptism] now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness. After the baptism of Jesus, God reveals that Jesus is his beloved Son with whom he is pleased.

John the Baptist

John the Baptist was the son of Elizabeth and the priest Zechariah. He began his ministry of calling for repentance and baptism in the 15th year of the reign of Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar (which would place it around 28-29 AD).

Baptism of Jesus

The central event of the ministry of John was the baptism of Jesus. John had been baptizing, calling for the repentance of sin in (Matthew 3:2). He proclaimed that Kingdom of God was coming (Matthew 3:1) and he prophesied that the Messiah was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11). In verse 13 we read that Jesus came to John to be baptized.

Understandings of Jesus' baptism

Verse 15 reveals that John should baptise Jesus to fulfil all righteousness.

Righteousness is an important concept in Matthew and it is usually considered that Matthew uses it to mean obedience to God; cf. Deuteronomy 6:25. Matthew, writing primarily to Jews, who were grounded in the Old Testament, often uses the word fulfill, usually using it to indicate that an Old Testament prophecy has been fulfilled by Jesus. Hence the phrase fulfill all righteousness can be interpreted as implying that Jesus fulfilled some aspect of the Old Testament Law. In the account of Jesus' baptism given in the Gospel of Luke, it is mentioned that Jesus was about 30 years old (Luke 3:23). This age requirement for priests and Levites was given in the Old Testament Law (Numbers 4:3,47). In addition a priest had to be called by God (Hebrews 5:4-10), and washed with water by an existing priest (Exodus 29:4, Leviticus 8:6). John the Baptist was a priest, inheriting the office from his father (Exodus 29:9, Numbers 25:13, Luke 1:4,13). This explains why Jesus, who is sinless, submitted to a ritual that signified repentance for sin.

The voice of God and the Spirit descending like a dove

After Jesus is baptised, the narrative describes the heavens as opening, the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and a voice announcing that Jesus is God's beloved Son and that God is well pleased with him. The opening heavens echo the beginning of the Book of Ezekiel. Some ancient manuscripts read opened up to him rather than just opened up, suggesting that this event is more private, and so explaining why the crowds that Luke argues were present apparently did not notice. This, together with the symbology of the dove, is seen as representing the Trinity.

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