Student Choice Assignment #2

The Baptism of Jesus Christ - Matthew 3:13-17

In this account, Jesus came to John to be baptized. Though John was confused, he proceeded to baptize Jesus and right after the Holy Ghost descended down like a dove. This is significant because a dove is a symbol of truth and innocence. It showed John that this really was supposed to happen and that Jesus really knew what He was talking about.

- John was hesitant to baptize Jesus for a couple reasons. One was that he felt unqualified to do such a deed, as would any of us today. He was imperfect and Jesus was perfect, so he didn't understand why he would be chosen. Two, I think he maybe wondered why Jesus needed to be baptized. If he was perfect, there would be nothing to make clean.

- This passage teaches that the Holy Ghost is pure truth. As mentioned above, it said He came down like a dove, which is a symbol of truth. God knew that analogies and symbols were a big part of that time period and wanted them to fully trust the Spirit and His son Jesus.

- It says in the scriptures that Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. A few reasons how it did this are as follows:
1) He did this to set an example for the children of men to humble themselves before the Father and obey Him.
2) He showed the straightness of the path and narrowness of the gate by which they should enter.
3) He gave His own witness to the Father that He would be obedient unto Him and keep His commandments.

- In these verses, it shows that God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are three separate personages because Jesus was on earth in the water with John, while the Spirit was descending down like a dove, and God was in Heaven speaking through the clouds. This displays them all in different places at the same time, which could only be done if they were three different personages.