Jesus is baptised

Jesus and his cousin John were the same age. As an adult, John lived in the desert because he wanted to hear God’s voice. Then he began telling people what God told him. Many people came to hear him talk, even the teachers of the law and the leaders from Jerusalem. John told the people to turn away from their sins. When people asked John how they should live, he told them to do what was right. He baptised everyone who felt bad about their sinful lives. The people began calling him John the Baptist. People began to wonder if he was the Messiah, the ruler specially chosen by God.

John told them, “I’m only here to tell you about someone who will come after me. God himself will send him. God is going to give him a lot of power, much more than he gave me. He is so far above me that I’m not good enough to untie his sandals. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit. He will know who truly obeys God and who only pretends to obey him.”

One day, Jesus travelled from his home in Galilee to see his cousin John. John was at the Jordan River baptising people. Jesus asked John to baptise him. But John didn’t want to do it. He knew that Jesus was the one God had sent. He said, “I need to be baptised by you. So why do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Please baptise me. It’s the right thing to do, because it’s part of God’s plan for both of us.” Jesus went into the water, and John baptised him. When Jesus came out of the water, heaven opened. They saw the Spirit of God coming down on Jesus. The Spirit was like a dove flying down. Then Jesus heard God speaking to him from heaven. God said, “You are my Son, and I love you. I am very pleased with you.” After he was baptised, Jesus went into the desert. He wanted to be alone to talk to God, and prepare himself for what God wanted him to do next. Matthew 3:13–17 Mark 1:9–13 Luke 3:21–22 John 1:31–34