SPECIAL TOPIC: JESUS' BAPTISM
Why Jesus was baptized has always been a concern for believers because John's baptism was a baptism of repentance (cf. Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3; Acts 13:24). Jesus did not need forgiveness for He was sinless (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 7:26; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 3:5).
The theories have been:
Whatever the reason, this was a defining moment in Jesus' life.
Just a brief theological aside. Modern believers ask, "Must I be baptized to be saved?" If Jesus did it and commanded believers to do it (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:37-39), why would any believer not be obedient?!
This event, along with the series of NT quotes related to Ps. 2:7 (i.e., Heb. 1:5; 5:5) and Rom. 1:4, were used by some theologians (i.e., 2nd century, 8th century, 12th century) to propose that the man, Jesus, was "adopted" as Messiah because of his godly life of obedience. This occurred, they speculated, at
The early popes and later the Council of Nicea (A.D. 325) declared this view as heresy.
SPECIAL TOPIC: BAPTISMAL REGENERATION
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