John Baptizes Jesus

SEE the dove coming down on the man’s head. The man is Jesus. He is about 30 years old now. And the man with him is John. We already learned something about him. Do you remember when Mary went to visit her relative Elizabeth, and the baby inside Elizabeth jumped for joy? That unborn baby was John. But what are John and Jesus doing now?

John has just dipped Jesus into the waters of the Jordan River. This is how a person is baptized. First, he is dipped under water, and then brought up again. Because this is what John does to people, he is called John the Baptizer. But why has John baptized Jesus?

Well, John did it because Jesus came and asked John to baptize him. John baptizes people who want to show that they are sorry for the bad things they have done. But did Jesus ever do anything bad to be sorry about? No, Jesus never did, because he is God’s own Son from heaven. So he asked John to baptize him for a different reason. Let’s see what that reason was.

Before Jesus came here to John, he was a carpenter. A carpenter is a person who makes things out of wood, such as tables and chairs and benches. Mary’s husband Joseph was a carpenter, and he taught Jesus to be one too. But Jehovah did not send his Son to earth to be a carpenter. He has special work for him to do, and the time has come for Jesus to begin doing it. So to show that he has now come to do his Father’s will, Jesus asks John to baptize him. Is God pleased with this?

Yes, he is, because, after Jesus comes up from the water, a voice from heaven says: ‘This is my Son, with whom I am pleased.’ Also, it seems that the heavens open up and this dove comes down on Jesus. But it is not a real dove. It only looks like one. It is really God’s holy spirit.

Now Jesus has a lot to think about, so he goes away to a lonely place for 40 days. There Satan comes to him. Three times Satan tries to get Jesus to do something against God’s laws. But Jesus won’t do it.

After that, Jesus returns and meets some men who become his first followers, or disciples. Some of their names are Andrew, Peter (also called Simon), Philip and Na·thanʹa·el (also called Bar·tholʹo·mew). Jesus and these new disciples leave for the district of Galʹi·lee. In Galʹi·lee they stop at Na·thanʹa·el’s hometown of Caʹna. There Jesus goes to a big wedding feast, and does his first miracle. Do you know what it is? He turns water into wine.