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| I know baptism is a sacrament done for the forgiveness of sins, but what I don't understand is why Christ would have to be baptized then. Even if His act of being baptized was just symbolic of baptism's importance for us (which would be odd since he did not have a crowd watching to see this symbol of importance), I find this is somewhat misleading (in that it can suggest a symbolic meaning for baptism, or in that it can suggest that Jesus needed forgiveness). Is there some other reason Jesus was baptized?
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| John the Baptist also wondered why Jesus wanted to be baptized by him. Jesus told him, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15). Although Jesus was sinless, he came to be baptized as the representative of sinful humankind. Although He was holy, he was the sin-bearer for all people of all time. He presented himself as a sinner to be baptized not for himself and his own sins, but for us and our sins. Because Jesus was baptized for our salvation, we are baptized for salvation in his name. If it weren't for Jesus' redemptive work as our Substitute, our own baptism would be meaningless.
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