221. The meaning of Christ’s Baptism
221. THE MEANING OF CHRIST’S BAPTISM
Christ was sinless, so He did not need Baptism to wash away His sins, or even to symbolize that. So what did His being baptized by John mean?
Christ was baptized not that He might be cleansed, but that He might cleanse. . . .
First, because, as Ambrose says on Luke 3:21, Our Lord was baptized . . . to cleanse the waters, that, being purified by the flesh of Christ that knew no sin, they might have the virtue (power) of Baptism, and, as Chrysostom says, that He might bequeath the sanctified waters to those who were to be baptized afterwards.
Secondly, as Chrysostom says, although Christ was not a sinner, yet did He take a sinful nature and ‘the likeness of sinful flesh.’ Wherefore, though He needed not Baptism for His own sake, yet carnal nature in others had need thereof. And, as Gregory Nazianzen says, Christ was baptized that He might plunge the old Adam entirely in the water.
Third, He wished to be baptized, as Augustine says, because He wished to do what He had commanded all to do. And this is what He means by saying: So it becometh us to fulfill all justice (Mt 3:15). For, as Ambrose says, this is justice: to do first thyself that which thou wishest another to do, and so encourage others by thy example. . . (III,39,1).
As stated above, Christ wished to be baptized in order to consecrate the Baptism wherewith we were to be baptized. . . . For which reason, when Christ was baptized, heaven was opened. . . . [T]he entrance to the kingdom was opened to us by the Baptism of Christ . . . which entrance had been closed to the first man through sin. Hence, when Christ was baptized the heavens were opened to show that the way to heaven is open to the baptized (III,39,5).
Sacraments derive from their institution the power of conferring grace. Wherefore it seems that a sacrament is then instituted when it receives the power of producing its effect. Now Baptism received this power when Christ was baptized. Consequently Baptism was truly instituted then (III,66,2).
When we are baptized we actually receive the life of God (Lk 3:16; Gal 3:27) and are saved (1 Pet 3:21). A Baptism is infinitely more powerful than a hurricane or a tsunami. We should bring lifeboats and lifejackets to baptisms.