(emphasis mine)
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this TO FULFILL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

--Parallel verses:
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭21‬-‭25‬
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”

Here we have a very interesting turn of events unfold. Jesus, the Son of God, and future Savior of the world, goes to John the Baptist, who is the one who is preparing the way for him, and asks him to baptize him. This must have been one of the strangest things John had ever experienced. It probably made no sense to him in the moment.

This reminds me of an invitation I once got to join the Meridian Police Department for their awards banquet. I had been serving Christmas dinner on Christmas Day to the on-duty officers for the past two years. It did not seem like a very big deal to me to do that. And I thought they were going to just honor me by letting me attend their awards ceremony services normally close to the public. Little did I know, among the many heroic awards that evening (awards for saving the lives of others, or bravery in taking down violent criminals, or excellence in serving the community, etc.) I was given an award for serving Christmas dinner on Christmas Day. I felt very out of place and a little bit awkward. I didn’t seem to fit in this group. They played on a much bigger stage than I did, in a much more impactful way in the lives of others, it seemed.

I think John must’ve felt this way as well. Why wasn’t Jesus baptizing him? Jesus gave him a very interesting response: “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this TO FULFILL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS.” The reason for this somewhat backwards baptism was to fulfill all righteousness. Another way to say this is to fulfill the will of God and do what is right according to him. John was obedient, even though he felt awkward and a bit out of place.

Later in Jesus’s life, the apostle Peter, when told Jesus was going to need to die, said he and the disciples would never let that happen to him. We see in our cross-reference that Jesus rebuked him strongly. He called him “Satan“, in reference to the spirit behind the statement, and this is important for us to note here. The will of God trumps all of our personal agendas and ambitions. It is evil and wrong to even suggest something that sounds good, when it is against God‘s will.

John the Baptist understood this. And he submitted himself and baptized Jesus, according to God’s will. Out of this baptism, comes one of the most beautiful scenes to be recorded in the Scriptures. The Spirit of God descends on Jesus like a dove. A loud voice comes over the whole place, saying “This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased”. This was a confirmation of Jesus‘ deity, his calling, and his life, that was lived according to the will of God.

My take away question is this: Am I willing to let God put me in uncomfortable situations and call me to do things that I don’t feel I have any business doing?

Lord, thank you for this passage in Matthew. It helps me understand what an uncomfortable and also amazing event folded because John the Baptist was obedient to you and submissive to your will. Create in me a heart of obedience, that obeys you no matter whether I understand the “why”.