Bible Question: The Bible SAYS Christ was baptized for what purpose? I.e., according to the clear record of Scripture, why was Christ baptized? Someone at this Forum has written: When Christ was baptized, "He showed us what we must do in order to inherit the kingdom of God." Did He? All my life I have heard that Jesus was baptized in order to set an example for us to follow. Was He? WHAT DOES THE BIBLE PLAINLY SAY about the purpose of His baptism? |
Bible Answer: One will notice that at the baptism of Jesus the Holy Spirit came upon Him-one has written "However, it is interesting to note John's record of John the Baptist's testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him" (John 1:32). Leon Morris sees this as indicating that "the whole of Jesus' ministry is accomplished in the power of the Spirit." . . . The descent of the Spirit upon Jesus at His baptism was His inauguration into His messianic task rather than His inauguration into the messianic age. . . The baptism is itself the crucial turning point in which the Spirit leads Jesus from obscurity to prominence" |