3rd Grade: Lesson 15: Life of Christ: Baptism of Christ
Lesson
The Baptism of Christ by Annibale Carracci
We can learn a lot about Jesus from this story. We have to ask ‘Why was He baptized?” He didn’t sin – He didn’t need to be washed clean from sin. Why?
This is the beginning of Jesus’ work, and is a very important event in His life. He chose to be baptized for four reasons: 1) To connect His work to John’s, 2) to show that He understands His sinful people, 3) for the Father to reveal the Trinity, and 4) to foreshadow Sacramental Baptism.
CONNECTING THE MINISTRIES OF JESUS AND JOHN THE BAPTIST
John preached that your sins are awful. We need to be sorry, and repent, or we will be destroyed. He spoke in very strong words.
Jesus preached about forgiveness and mercy.
How are these the same? It’s like two sides on a coin – they both need to be there, and can’t exist without the other. You can only be forgiven if you’ve admitted that you’ve done something wrong. By accepting John’s baptism, Jesus showed the whole world that He approved of John’s message of repentance.