When John protested that Jesus should baptize him, not the other way around, Jesus said it was the proper thing to do, so that all righteousness could be fulfilled. It was necessary for the man who was our prototype of the new creation, to be baptized. If it was necessary for Jesus, you better believe it’s necessary for us. If Jesus’s very last command before His ascension into Heaven was to baptize every nation, it’s important. I’m not saying that you can’t be saved without it, I’m just saying that it’s one of the things Jesus said for us to do. So what is the purpose?
There is more going on than what meets the eye. On the outside we see a person professing their faith in Christ, going under the water, and coming up in celebration! But there is something deeper happening. There is a door opening to Christ on our side and a door opening in Heaven on God’s side. Each Gospel gives its own perspective of Jesus’ baptism. In those eyewitness accounts, the curtain is pulled back, so to speak, and we see what really happens when a person gives themselves fully, to the process of being born again, in the new and powerful image of Christ.
I challenge you to take five minutes and read all four reports of Jesus’ baptism and see what God will show you. You may be amazed, to see what wheels God set in motion in your own baptism and if you haven’t been baptized, you may begin to see the importance of it. It’s a blessing! God shows up when we worship Him, when we gather in His name and when we are baptized in the name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Don’t miss out!