Baptism of Jesus

The event

Jesus leaves Nazareth and comes to the Jordan River seeking baptism from John — a request that visibly troubles John, who protests that he needs to be baptized by Jesus, not the reverse. Jesus insists, explaining that it is fitting "to fulfill all righteousness": though sinless, he identifies fully with the sinners he came to save, stepping into the water alongside the very crowds John had been calling to repentance.

As Jesus comes up out of the water, heaven opens, the Spirit of God descends like a dove and rests on him, and a voice from heaven declares, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." It is one of the clearest Trinitarian moments in all of Scripture — Father, Son, and Spirit simultaneously present and active — and it publicly inaugurates Jesus's earthly ministry with the Father's own commendation before a single miracle has been performed or a single sermon preached.

Dating

Traditionally placed at about age thirty (Luke 3:23), shortly after John's ministry began, c. AD 27 — consistent with a first ministry Passover in AD 27 and a crucifixion in AD 30. Scholars who date the crucifixion to AD 33 (see the Crucifixion entry) correspondingly place the baptism c. AD 29; the roughly two-year difference runs through the whole public ministry, with the sequence of events unaffected.

Scripture references

• Matthew 3:13-17
• Mark 1:9-11
• Luke 3:21-22