Why does John permit the baptism after first staying Jesus?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

John’s call for penance and contrast of baptisms lead to his recorded exchange with Jesus and the described heavenly signs.

Chapter breakdown

John the Baptist preaches in Judea’s desert that people should do penance because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The separate edition note explains Paenitentiam agite as not only repentance and amendment of life but also punishment of past sins through fasting and similar penitential exercises, according to scriptural and patristic usage. Matthew identifies John with Isaias’s voice crying in the desert to prepare the Lord’s way and straighten his paths. John wears camel’s hair with a leather girdle and eats locusts and wild honey. Jerusalem, Judea and the country about Jordan go to him and are baptized in the Jordan, confessing sins. Drying the locusts, immersion mechanics and the people’s individual emotional states are not described.

Seeing many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, John calls them a brood of vipers and asks who showed them to flee the coming wrath. The separate note calls these two Jewish sects: the former for the most part notorious hypocrites, the latter a kind of freethinkers in religious matters. The qualification for the most part is retained; additional characterizations of their beliefs or ritual conduct are not supplied. John demands fruit worthy of penance and warns against saying Abraham is their father: God can raise Abraham’s children from these stones. The axe lies at the trees’ root, and every tree without good fruit will be cut down and cast into fire.

John distinguishes his water baptism unto penance from the baptism in the Holy Ghost and fire of the mightier one coming after him, whose shoes he is unworthy to bear. That one has a fan, will thoroughly cleanse his floor and gather wheat into the barn, while burning chaff with unquenchable fire. These stated images remain without adding a claim that this chapter formally institutes a sacrament or describes its later sacramental effects.

Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan for John’s baptism. John stays him, saying he ought to be baptized by Jesus and asking why Jesus comes to him. Jesus asks that it be permitted now because it becomes them to fulfill all justice. John then permits it. Baptized, Jesus immediately comes out of the water; the heavens open to him and he sees God’s Spirit descending as a dove and coming upon him. A voice from heaven declares him the beloved Son in whom it is well pleased. The description preserves who sees, the dove comparison and the heavenly words, without supplying a public audience’s perception, an audible grandeur or an additional consecration of waters.

The story inside

The chapter distinguishes narration from two explanatory notes. John requires fruit rather than reliance on ancestry. His initial objection to Jesus gives way after Jesus’s appeal to fulfill all justice, followed by the Spirit comparison and heavenly voice.

Lessons worth keeping

1
Retain the annotation’s for-the-most-part qualification.
2
The axe is at the root; the chaff image separately names unquenchable fire.
3
Describe the baptism and signs without importing later sacramental claims.

Test your recall

What reason does Jesus give John for permitting the baptism?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 110529–110579
Matthew Chapter 3 The preaching of John: Christ is baptized. 3:1. And in those days cometh John the Baptist preaching in the desert of Judea. 3:2. And saying: Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Do penance.... Paenitentiam agite. Which word, according to the use of the scriptures and the holy fathers, does not only signify repentance and amendment of life, but also punishing past sins by fasting, and such like penitential exercises. 3:3. For this is he that was spoken of by Isaias the prophet, saying: A voice of one crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. 3:4. And the same John had his garment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins: and his meat was locusts and wild honey. 3:5. Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the country about Jordan: 3:6. And were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. 3:7. And seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them: Ye brood of vipers, who hath shewed you to flee from the wrath to come? Pharisees and Sadducees.... These were two sects among the Jews: of which the former were for the most part notorious hypocrites; the latter, a kind of freethinkers in matters of religion. 3:8. Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance. 3:9. And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father. For I tell you that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 3:10. For now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doth not yield good fruit, shall be cut down, and cast into the fire. 3:11. I indeed baptize you in water unto penance, but he that shall come after me, is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost and fire. 3:12. Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor and gather his wheat into the barn; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.
Lines 110581–110595
3:13. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan, unto John, to be baptized by him. 3:14. But John stayed him, saying: I ought to be baptized by thee, and comest thou to me? 3:15. And Jesus answering, said to him: Suffer it to be so now. For so it becometh us to fulfil all justice. Then he suffered him. 3:16. And Jesus being baptized, forthwith came out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened to him: and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him. 3:17. And behold a voice from heaven saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.