To many Christians the baptism of Jesus seems almost as much of an enigma as it did to the Baptist. It serves as a precedent for our own baptism. It also forms an introduction to Christ’s ministry.

The baptism of Jesus Christ was obviously not necessary to cleanse him of sins, but it was needed to set an example for Christians and begin Jesus’ ministry. The Revs. Ben Ford and Kathryn Almendarez ...

In the best of our Baptist traditions, baptism is both an individual act and a communal act.

The Baptism of the Lord closes the Christmas season. The next day begins the First Week of Ordinary Time, Lent following in five weeks on Feb. 17. The Christmas season is full of theophanies, i.e., ...

Just as Jesus’ baptism launched his public ministry, our own baptisms ordinate us to a life of humble obedience and costly service. All four Gospels tell the story of Jesus’ baptism, as if every ...

Last Sunday (Jan. 12) most Christian churches celebrated the baptism of Jesus, an event in his life I always found confusing. I could never understand why Jesus was baptized. After all, Catholics ...

Of all the sacred places in Israel, few are as humbling as the Jordan River. At first glance, it looks ordinary—a winding river, sometimes muddy, lined with reeds and trees. Yet it was here, in these ...

Who is Jesus? On this celebration of Jesus’ baptism, the Gospel of Matthew provides a clear answer: Jesus is the Son of God. Matthew’s account of Jesus’ baptism includes details not found in the other ...

"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). This verse is from the Gospel of Matthew, one of the three synoptic Gospels in the New Testament of the Bible, and is about the ...

The Sunday after Epiphany is always the Baptism of the Lord (unless Epiphany is observed on Jan. 7 or 8 in those countries like the United States where it is transferred to a Sunday, in which case the ...

Some church denominations celebrate The Baptism of the Lord Sunday, Jan. 10. Jesus had the Holy Spirit descend on him at his baptism, and a voice from heaven proclaimed, “You are my beloved Son; with ...