Why was Jesus baptized?

In the Gospels we are told that Jesus came to John the Baptist who was baptizing people in the Jordan River.  John was paving the way for the coming Messiah.  He was baptizing people calling them to repent from their sins.  His baptism was preparing them for the greater baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire, brought by Jesus.

Matthew 3:11-15

11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

So why did John baptize Jesus?  He knew that Jesus was the sinless one, the perfect lamb (John 1:29).  This is why John was reluctant to baptize Jesus and even balked at doing it!  But Jesus said that it was proper to fulfill all righteousness.

There have been several theories over the years about why Jesus asked John to baptize him.  I am grateful to John MacArthur for the excellent summary of the five positions.  MacArthur places the one he subscribes to last.

“Some interpreters suggest that He intended His baptism to be a sort of initiatory rite for His high priesthood, reflecting the ceremony which prepared the Old Testament priests for their ministry. Others suggest that Jesus wanted to identify Himself with the Gentiles, who were initiated into Judaism as proselytes by the act of baptism. Still others take Jesus’ baptism to be His recognition and endorsement of John’s authority, His accrediting of John as a true prophet of God and the genuine forerunner of His own ministry. A fourth view is that the Lord intended to be baptized vicariously for the sins of mankind, making His baptism, along with His atoning death on the cross, a part of His sin-bearing, redemptive work.

But none of those views is supported by Scripture, and none fits the context of the present passage. 

Permit it at this time was an idiom meaning that the act of His baptism, though not seemingly appropriate, was indeed appropriate for this special time. Jesus understood John’s reluctance and knew that it came from deep spiritual commitment and sincerity. He gave permission for John to do what, without divine instruction, he would never have been willing to do. He assured the prophet that in this way it is fitting, and went on to explain to John that His baptism was important for both of their ministries, for us to fulfill all righteousness. For God’s plan to be perfectly fulfilled, it was necessary for Jesus to be baptized and to be baptized specifically by John.

It seems that one reason Jesus submitted to baptism was to give an example of obedience to His followers.”   John MacArthur, Why was Jesus Baptized, 2011.

I would not vehemently argue against any of the positions.  But at a minimum, Jesus was tying his coming baptism of the Spirit to John’s baptism calling for repentance from sin.  And Jesus obediently entered the waters Himself, not because He needed repentance himself, but because he modeled what we needed.