Tim Barrnett responds to an archbishop who claims Jesus must have been a sinner because he was baptized—washed clean from sin.
Transcript
Tim: In this video, the archbishop claims Jesus was a sinner, and he thinks he has proof. Take a look.
Original video: Jesus fessed up to being a sinner. Christians bang on about Jesus being sinless and perfect, despite his thoughtlessness toward his parents, his ill treatment of the distressed woman, his violence in the temple, and his irritable cursing. But there is another massive obstacle to the Christian’s nonsensical claim. Jesus confessed to being a sinner himself. In fact, so much of a sinner that he wanted to be washed clean of his sins. He joined the many traveling to his relative John, who was submerging people in the waters of the River Jordan to symbolize a cleansing of their past so they could start over. Jesus begged John to baptize him to cleanse his past sins and prepare him for his future work. Of course, Jesus would go on to sin again, as we all do, but always being sorry for his mistakes, he would experience God’s forgiveness and grace, keep learning, maturing, and setting us that humble example of how to keep improving throughout our lives.
Tim: Let’s make sure we understand the argument. After all, how does Jesus being baptized show he was a sinner? Well, according to the archbishop, being baptized means being washed clean from your sins. Therefore, if Jesus was baptized, then he must have been a sinner.
Okay, let’s pull out the red pen and break this one down. I want you to notice that the claim rests on a massive assumption. It assumes the reason Jesus was baptized was he needed his sins forgiven. Of course, if the assumption is false, the argument falls apart.
So, why was Jesus baptized? Well, give me two minutes to try to explain. And if you learn something, like and subscribe.
This challenge can be answered by looking at a couple of clues in the context. So, get out your Bible and turn to Matthew chapter 3.
First, notice how John the Baptist views Jesus. In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist tells the religious leaders, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Okay, stop right there. Right away, we see how John the Baptist, a prophet of God, views himself in comparison with Jesus. John doesn’t even feel worthy enough to carry Jesus’ dirty sandals. The archbishop makes it sound like Jesus is just another sinner like you and me. But John the Baptist completely disagrees.
Verses 13 to 14 shed even more light. It says, “Then Jesus came to Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’” Pause again. Notice John the Baptist pushes back against baptizing Jesus. In fact, John tries to prevent it. But why? John doesn’t think Jesus needs to be baptized by him. Instead, John thinks he should be baptized by Jesus.
Okay. Then why is Jesus there to be baptized? Well, verse 15 helps answer the question. “But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’” Jesus himself tells us why he must be baptized. He doesn’t say, “Because I’m also a sinner in need of repentance.” Rather, Jesus says, “Because it is fitting to fulfill all righteousness.” Here’s what I think that means. Jesus saw his own life as a fulfillment of all righteousness. Righteousness in Matthew’s Gospel is a life that is aligned with God’s will and God’s kingdom. In other words, Jesus lived in perfect obedience to the Father by submitting to the Father’s will. And part of that perfect obedience was submitting to the Father’s will to be baptized.
So, why was Jesus baptized? Well, contrary to this false teacher, it wasn’t Jesus’ confession to being a sinner. Rather, Jesus’ baptism signified his wholehearted devotion and mission to following God’s perfect will.