My dad grew up around two eccentric relatives. One uncle would periodically sleep on their porch, often without clothes in the heat, while an aunt would pelt my dad and grandpa with stones when they biked 10 miles to deliver food to her. These quirky family members were rarely mentioned by my dad, and I only learned of them through my mom. Their oddities remind me of the discomfort many early Christians felt about Jesus' baptism by John.

All four Gospels link Jesus and John the Baptist, but only Mark and Matthew explicitly describe Jesus being baptized. John’s Gospel skirts the issue, while Luke mentions it indirectly. Biblical scholars suggest the Gospel writers found Jesus' baptism awkward because it seemed to place him in a subordinate, follower-like role to John. Yet, despite their hesitation to highlight the baptism, all four evangelists emphasize that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus and that a heavenly voice proclaimed him as God’s beloved Son.

Why would Jesus, the Son of God, seek baptism? John's baptism called for repentance and readiness for God's work. Jesus’ choice to be baptized demonstrated his full embrace of human experience, a commitment to living faithfully within God’s covenant. Philippians 2:5-11 reminds us that Jesus, though divine, emptied himself of privilege to share in humanity’s struggles. Like any devout Jew, he knew Isaiah’s vision of a servant bringing God’s new covenant, and his baptism affirmed his mission to fulfill this role.