Baptism for the Jews and Jesus Matt 3: 1-17 Sunday 12 March 2023

Most Jewish people presumed that they were right with God because they were Jews. But John’s message was that God was about to do a new thing (“the kingdom of heaven is near”) and that “having Abraham as your father” (making you an ethnic Jew) was not enough. Jesus’ baptism was not about repentance. He had nothing to repent of. But it was about commencement and inauguration. It was like the appointing of a new prime minister after an election. They have a new role; a new calling. By being baptised, Jesus was indicating his availability to God to do whatever was needed. Through his baptism, Jesus indicated that he was committed to bring in God’s new kingdom