The Baptism of Jesus is the most authoritative and indisputable epiphany as far as it is God the Father, himself, who vouches for and authenticates the identity of this Jesus who has just been baptized by John: “This is my beloved Son. My favor rests on him.” Nor should we forget that John had been given the promise by prophecy that the one on whom he saw the Spirit descend, would be the one who would be baptized with the Holy Spirit – the Messiah.
But why did Jesus need to be baptized? In the sense that we understand the sacrament of baptism today, it is the sacrament that cleanses us from the original sin, makes us adoptive children of God, and it makes us members of the Church. With all these ideas, Jesus did not need to be baptized. He is the Son of God, he is free from sin, he is the founder of the Church, and he is the one who instituted the sacrament of baptism. What symbolisms are we to reflect on with this event?
John preached a baptism of repentance – a baptism that was a sign that the person baptized had renounced sin for the future. However, no indication is made that all the sin of the past has been obliterated, much less the fact of the Spirit enlivening the soul and making one an adoptive child of God. Furthermore, there is no indication that John’s baptism gives one eternal life. Only a baptism in Jesus can do this. Only the baptism that Jesus provides today through the Church cleanses from sin and makes one an adoptive child of God. These efficacious effects have only been made possible by Jesus’ death and resurrection, which with the sending of the Spirit gives power to Christian baptism.
John’s baptism was water cleansing, symbolic of one’s commitment to renounce sin. The forerunner to the Messiah, was preparing the way for Jesus to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and all that this effected.
Jesus did not need to be baptized by John. WE needed JESUS to be baptized by John. The world needed that symbol, that authentic event and verification by the Father that this is the Messiah. Could the Father have shown us this in some other way? Certainly. But he chose this event, an event prepared for and foretold by the prophets, to mark the public debut of the Messiah. This was the moment, which proclaimed to the world that indeed the kingdom of God is at hand. Little did they know, at that moment, that not only was the kingdom of God at hand, but God himself was at hand.
It points to us that Jesus existed in time and in this world as one like us except sin. It is also the verification of the identity of Jesus Christ as Messiah. It reminds us of the ancient witness and indisputable authority of who is our Savior.
Following the nativity of the Christ, it inaugurates our liturgical year, where we, the children of God, celebrate throughout the coming year the history of our salvation. It reminds us of the commitment to repent and sin no more. Ultimately, it is a symbol of hope for us, that God the Father, Jesus the Son, and Holy Spirit have provided for us all the means to eternal life, that Jesus has and does walk among us, that he, himself, is at the center of all our celebrations and our life.
As followers of Christ, we are called to be a light to the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to free captives from prison and those who live in darkness. We are being called through our baptism to be freedom fighters and messengers of hope. In other words, we are called to free humanity from whatever enslaves it.
We are not called to do extraordinary acts for others. It is most often in ordinary daily things of life that we can bring light and freedom to people. Our baptism needs from us a commitment to both private charity and social justice. This is how we can be humble agents of freedom and messengers of hope to one another.