“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.” (Matthew 3:13)
Matthew told us already that many people were baptized by John, “confessing their sins” (Matthew 3:6). Now we read that Jesus came to be baptized as well! Initially, John tried to prevent Him from being baptized.. After all, Jesus had never committed any sin. There was no need for Him to be baptized. But Jesus convinced him that it was necessary, and then John consented.
Why did Jesus need to be baptized, if not as a confession of sin and a sign of repentance? It was to show that this blameless Son of God took upon Himself the sins of his people. Jesus identified with sinful humans. He came to save them by dying in their place. The apostle Paul explained this later on by stating: “For our sake he [=God the Father] made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
That’s a complex sentence about a stunning reality. Jesus took our sin upon Himself, so that we would receive His righteousness. All praise to Him!