Was Jesus baptized to usher in his priestly ministry?
Question:
Good morning, Jeffrey,
I pray you are well! I have a couple of questions that I've been pondering, and I would love your help in finding answers in the scriptures. Thank you in advance!
- What does I John 5:6-8 mean? Especially the part that says that Jesus "came by water and blood"?
- I read somewhere that Jesus got baptized to usher in his priestly ministry, similar to how Aaron had to be "cleansed" as part of his initiation into the priesthood. Scriptures used to support this include Matthew 3:13-17, Exodus 40:12-15, Matthew 4:18-19, and Hebrews 4:14-16. Collectively, these scriptures are meant to illustrate this point, especially by demonstrating that Jesus is our high priest and didn't start his ministry until after baptism. Is the water in baptism tied explicitly to "cleansing" and initiation into the priesthood? How does scripture as a whole corroborate or debunk this?
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.
Sincerely,
Answer:
Regarding I John 5:7-8, see "What does I John 5:7-8 mean?"
Jesus' priesthood is after the order of Melchizedek, not the order of Aaron (Hebrews 4:14-5:10; 6:19-8:6). To apply the rules given to the descendants of Aaron to Jesus would be a mistake. Perhaps someone could point out parallels between the two priesthoods, but this does not prove that the rules of one priesthood apply to the other.
Jesus stated the purpose of his baptism: "Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15). Doy Moyer wrote a good article expounding on what Jesus meant by "fulfill all righteousness." See "Jesus and Baptism." I know of no passage that directly connects Jesus' baptism to his priesthood.
Aaron and his descendants washed with water before putting on the priestly garments. It wasn't a one-time event. It was done every time they prepared to serve the Lord (Exodus 30:18-21). The washing was a symbol of the fact that only holy people could properly offer worship to God (Exodus 19:10, 14). Throughout the book of Leviticus, you find that uncleanness was removed by washing. This doesn't apply to Jesus. Jesus was without sin. He was holy and did not need washing to remove uncleanness.
Jesus' baptism was a full immersion in water. The word "baptism" means "immersion." This is different from the washings in the Old Testament, where the priest was washed in front of the Tabernacle (Exodus 29:4).
The two events are too different to be tied together.
