This is my Son Whom I Love

Why did Jesus need to be baptised?   This was a holy sacrament for repentance and forgiveness of sin. He was without sin...so why baptism?

Sin separates us from God...that is why we repent and are baptised....but Jesus was sinless.  No sin...why the repentance?

In Matthew 3:15 Jesus says, "it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness."

So He who was without sin and would become sin for us....gets baptised.  I don't totally understand.... but it sounds like Jesus was obedient to God's plan....and God was please with him, "This is my Son, whom I  love; with him I am well pleased." 

Jesus lived a life we are to model.  It would be easy for us to say, "baptism is just a symbol....but God was pleased with Jesus when He was baptised....so we are baptised to symbolize the death of the "old self"  and the raising up of the "new man" in the Spirit of God. (repentance)   

The picture above is of a soldier being baptised in the desert of Kuwait.