Jesus Makes a Decision

In Matthew’s gospel, the scene of Jesus coming for baptism is the very first time we encounter the Savior making his own decisions. After the nativity story, the only thing we really hear about Jesus is that he is smuggled off to Egypt for his own safety, and eventually brought back.

And yet in this exchange with John the Baptist, Jesus seems to be very self-possessed indeed. “I understand the awkwardness of this request,” he seems to say, “but this is an important moment in my ministry. My baptism, every baptism, is a grand beginning. Let’s be sure to get this right, for many are watching.”

And the Holy Spirit adds drama to match. But what if we see this moment not just as a monumental beginning, but also a culmination of an entire stage of Jesus’s journey? Although we don’t have a lot of details on which to base our reflection, the imaginative exercise is worth the effort.