The Baptism of Jesus
A voice from heaven at the river
Two things you can tap
- A verse number shows the Bible’s exact words.
- An underlined word shows what it means.
Story
What happened?
Tap a verse number, like , to read the Bible’s exact words.
Who’s who and what came beforePeople, places, and the story so far. Open it anytime.
Scene Card
Cast
- John the Baptist: A prophet who preached in the wilderness and baptized people in the Jordan River. He is not the John who was one of Jesus's twelve disciples. Luke says John's mother and Jesus's mother were relatives (Luke 1:36).
- Jesus: The one the Gospels present as the promised Messiah and the Son of God. He grew up in the town of Nazareth, in Galilee.
- The crowds: People from Jerusalem, Judea, and the whole area along the Jordan.
- Pharisees and Sadducees: Two Jewish groups with different beliefs. Many of them came to where John was baptizing.
Setting
- The wilderness of Judea, a dry, rocky land with few people. It runs down to the Jordan River.
When
- About 2,000 years ago, right before Jesus began his public work. Luke says Jesus was about 30 years old (Luke 3:23).
Before the Story
God's people were waiting. Long before, the prophet Isaiah promised that someone would prepare the way for God to come (Isaiah 40:3).
Jesus grew up quietly. After he was born, his family settled in Nazareth (2:23). Matthew tells us nothing more about him until now.
Baptism means washing with water. John baptized people in the river as a sign that they were turning back to God.
Here's what you know that almost nobody in this story knows: Matthew already told us who Jesus is. His name is "Immanuel" (1:23), which means "God with us."
Map of the Story
| Scene | Verses | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1. A voice in the wilderness | 3:1-3 | John preaches in the desert |
| 2. Camel hair and locusts | 3:4 | What John wore and ate |
| 3. Crowds at the river | 3:5-6 | People confess their sins and are baptized |
| 4. Sharp words for leaders | 3:7-10 | John warns the Pharisees and Sadducees |
| 5. Someone stronger is coming | 3:11-12 | John points to the one after him |
| 6. Jesus steps into the line | 3:13-15 | Jesus asks John to baptize him |
| 7. Heaven opens | 3:16-17 | The Spirit comes, and God speaks |
Plain Retelling
Scene 1 of 7A Voice in the Wilderness
Dry hills stretched down to the Jordan River. Out in that empty land, a man named John began to preach. People called him John the Baptist.
John had one main message. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (3:2).
To repent means to turn around and change direction. The kingdom of heaven means God's rule, the way God runs things. John meant that people should turn back to God, because God was about to act.
Matthew says John was the one Isaiah had promised long ago. Isaiah wrote about "a voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord'" (3:3).
Isaiah's words picture a road being made ready. Valleys are filled in and rough ground is made smooth (Isaiah 40:4). This is a comparison. John was getting people ready for God.
Scene 2 of 7Camel Hair and Locusts
John dressed plainly. He wore clothing made of camel's hair. A leather belt was tied around his waist.
He ate locusts and wild honey. Locusts are large grasshoppers. God's law allowed people to eat them. Wild honey was honey found out in nature, not from a farmer's hives.
This was plain food and clothing for a man living in the wilderness. It also matches how the Bible describes Elijah, one of Israel's great prophets. Elijah wore "a leather belt around his waist" too (2 Kings 1:8).
Scene 3 of 7Crowds at the River
People came from everywhere. They walked from the city of Jerusalem. They came from all of Judea and from the towns along the Jordan River.
They confessed their sins. To confess means to say out loud what you did wrong. Then John baptized them in the river.
This took courage. These people said in public that they had done wrong. They did not hide it.
Scene 4 of 7Sharp Words for Leaders
Many Pharisees and Sadducees came to the river too. Pharisees were a Jewish group devoted to carefully keeping God's law. Sadducees were another group. Many of them were priests.
John spoke sharply to them. "You brood of vipers" (3:7), he called them. A brood of vipers is a nest of poisonous snakes. This is a comparison, and a very strong one.
Then John asked who had warned them to run from the coming wrath. Wrath here means God's judgment.
John told them to show that they had really turned back to God. He called it producing fruit. This is a comparison too. A good tree shows it is healthy by the fruit it grows.
John warned them not to tell themselves, "Abraham is our father." Being part of Abraham's family would not take the place of turning back to God. He said God could make children for Abraham out of the stones on the ground.
He said an axe was ready at the root of the trees. Any tree without good fruit would be cut down and burned. This is a comparison too. It warned that God's judgment was close.
John was Jewish, and so were these leaders. He warned leaders of his own people, like Israel's prophets did before him. He was not talking about every Pharisee or every Jewish person.
Scene 5 of 7Someone Stronger Is Coming
John did not point to himself. He said, "I baptize you with water, for turning back to God. But someone more powerful than I am is coming after me."
John said he was not even worthy to carry that person's sandals. Carrying sandals was a servant's job.
John said the one coming would baptize "with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (3:11).
Then John described the one who was coming as a farmer at harvest. The farmer tossed grain into the air with a winnowing fork. The wind blew away the light, dry husks, called chaff. The good wheat fell down, and the farmer gathered it into the barn. The chaff was burned in a fire that never goes out. This is a comparison. The one coming would sort out what is good and what is not.
Scene 6 of 7Jesus Steps into the Line
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River. He came to be baptized by John.
John tried to stop him. "I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" (3:14). John thought it should be the other way around.
Jesus answered, "Let it be so now" (3:15). He said it was right for them to do this, "to fulfill all righteousness" (3:15).
Righteousness means being right with God and doing what God wants. Jesus was saying this was part of God's plan. So John agreed.
Jesus went down into the same river where people had confessed their sins. He stood right where they stood.
Scene 7 of 7Heaven Opens
John baptized Jesus. As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened. Here "the heavens" means the sky.
Jesus saw the Spirit of God coming down "like a dove" (3:16). This is a comparison. Matthew does not say the Spirit turned into a bird. The Spirit came down the way a dove comes down, and rested on Jesus.
Then a voice spoke from heaven.
"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!" (3:17).
John had said he was not worthy. Now God himself said who Jesus was.
Meaning
What does it mean?
Read It
What Does This Mean?
| The text says | It means |
|---|---|
| "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (3:2) | Turn around and come back to God. God's rule is arriving. In Jesus, it arrives in person. |
| "Prepare the way for the Lord" (3:3) | John's job was to get people ready for someone greater. This is a comparison. He was like the road crew, not the king. |
| "Confessing their sins" (3:6) | People said out loud what they had done wrong. They did not hide it. |
| "We have Abraham as our father" (3:9) | Being born into God's people is a gift. John warned against treating that gift as a reason not to turn back to God. |
| "With the Holy Spirit and with fire" (3:11) | Readers understand this in different ways. Fire can mean cleaning and making pure. It can also mean judgment. John's next words talk about burning chaff, so judgment is part of it. |
| "To fulfill all righteousness" (3:15) | Jesus did everything God's plan called for. Many Christians see here that Jesus, who had no sin, chose to stand with sinners. |
| "The heavens were opened" (3:16) | God was showing himself and was about to speak. |
| "This is My beloved Son" (3:17) | God the Father said who Jesus is. These words sound like Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1. |
Back Then
Locusts were food. God's law counted locusts as clean, so people could eat them (Leviticus 11:22). They were cooked in different ways, such as roasted or boiled, or ground up and baked into cakes (Easton's Bible Dictionary).
Camel's hair cloth was plain, not fancy. It kept out heat, cold, and rain. It set John apart from people in palaces who wore soft clothing (Matthew 11:8). Elijah was known for clothing like this too (Easton's Bible Dictionary).
The Sadducees were an important Jewish group. Many sat on the Jewish high council. They did not believe in the resurrection of the dead or in angels (Easton's Bible Dictionary). The high priest's circle belonged to this group (Acts 5:17).
Winnowing was how farmers cleaned grain. They used a wooden shovel or fork to throw the grain up into the wind. The wind carried away the broken straw and chaff (Easton's Bible Dictionary).
Literal Reader Alert
Why was Jesus baptized if he had no sin? John was surprised by this too (3:14). Matthew does not explain it fully. Jesus said it was part of God's plan (3:15). One likely reason: Jesus came to stand with sinners, not above them. He went into the same water they did.
Are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all here? Yes. The Son is in the water, the Spirit comes down like a dove, and the Father speaks from heaven. All three are there at the same moment. So they are not one person changing masks. Christians believe in one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The word Trinity is not in the Bible. It is the name Christians later gave to this belief.
Was John attacking all Jewish people? No. John was Jewish, and so was Jesus. John spoke to leaders of his own people, like the prophets did. Not every Pharisee was against Jesus. Some later became his followers (Acts 15:5). Christians have sometimes used verses like this to look down on Jewish people. That was wrong, and the ELCA has said so (Declaration to the Jewish Community, 1994).
Is John saying I'll be burned like chaff? John's warnings are real. Turning from God is serious. But look who John was pointing to. The one with the winnowing fork is Jesus. And the first thing Jesus did in this story was step into the water beside sinners.
Why do Lutherans baptize babies? John baptized grown-ups who confessed their sins. Lutherans see Baptism mainly as God's gift and promise, not our decision. A baby can receive a gift. Peter said the promise was for "you and your children" (Acts 2:39). Many other Christians, like Baptists, baptize only people old enough to say they believe. They take Baptism seriously too, and they love Jesus. We are one family in Christ, even when we disagree on this.
How People Feel
| Who | Feeling | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The crowds | Honest and hopeful | They confessed their sins and were baptized (3:6) |
| John | Humble | He said he could not even carry the sandals of the one coming (3:11) |
| John | Surprised | Jesus came to him to be baptized (3:14) |
| God the Father | Pleased | Jesus is his beloved Son (3:17) |
For you
What does it mean for me?
Your Turn
Where are you standing at the river? Tap one.
I'm not good enough
John said that about himself too. God didn't need John to be worthy. God sent Jesus to stand in the water with people like us.
I'm not sure about God
The crowds walked a long way to find out. You can keep asking. God spoke at the river so people would know who Jesus is.
I've done real wrong
The people at the river said so out loud. Jesus came and stood right beside them.
I'm already baptized
Then God has joined you to Jesus. That is true on your hard days too.
You Might Have Heard
"Jesus was baptized to show us what we should do."
What's true: Later, Jesus told his followers to go and baptize people everywhere (28:19).
What the story is mainly about: What God did. Heaven opened. The Spirit came down. The Father spoke. Jesus did not come to the river for his own sins. He came to stand with sinners.
Where Jesus is: In the river, in line with sinners. Paul later wrote that when we are baptized, we are joined to Jesus. We were "baptized into His death" (Romans 6:3). We are raised with him, "that... we too may walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). "Walk" here is a comparison. It means to live a new life.
Good News
God said "in whom I am well pleased" (3:17) before Jesus preached one sermon in Matthew. Before one miracle. It was not a reward. It was who Jesus was.
In Baptism, God joins you to Jesus. "All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Galatians 3:27). That means you are wrapped in Jesus, like clothing. This is a comparison.
You do not have to feel worthy. John didn't. Baptism is God's promise to you. Faith that trusts that promise is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
God opened heaven over Jesus, and in Baptism he gives you a place with his beloved Son.
From the Wider Church
Eastern Orthodox Christians call this day Theophany, which means "God appears." They celebrate Jesus's baptism in January and bless water in church. They also see the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit shown together at the river.
Big Idea
At the river, God opened heaven, sent his Spirit, and named Jesus his beloved Son. In Baptism, God joins us to him.
If this story brings up big feelings, talk with someone you trust, like a parent, pastor, or counselor.
For leaders and parentsLuther, church readings, and notes for teaching.
From Luther
In the Small Catechism, Luther says Baptism is not plain water only. It is water joined with God's word and command. He says it gives forgiveness of sins and rescues from death and the devil. It gives eternal salvation to all who believe it, as God's words and promises say.
In the Large Catechism (1529), Luther wrote about times when we feel guilty and afraid because of our sins. Then we can take comfort and say, "Nevertheless I am baptized." If I am baptized, God has promised that I will be saved.
Luther said "I am baptized" often when he felt afraid or attacked. In Latin, that is baptizatus sum. A popular story says he wrote those words in chalk on his desk. No one has found a clear early source for the chalk detail.
Luther also wrote a hymn about Baptism in 1541. It begins with this story: "Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam," which means "Christ our Lord came to the Jordan." One English version is "To Jordan Came Our Lord, the Christ."
In Church
Many churches follow the Revised Common Lectionary. It reads Matthew 3:13-17 on the Baptism of Our Lord in Year A. That is the first Sunday after Epiphany, in January. It reads Matthew 3:1-12 on the Second Sunday of Advent in Year A.
We quote Luther for what he got right about grace. He also wrote terrible things about Jewish people. Read our note on that.
Memorize
How do I keep it?
One line from this story to learn by heart. Practice a little now. It will come back later so it sticks.
This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!
How did that feel?