"Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John."
In Matthew Chapter 3 we are introduced to John the Baptist, who was “preparing the way” for the coming of Jesus by performing baptisms at the River Jordan. Jesus and John were related through their mothers, and like Jesus, John’s birth was miraculous. John's parents were well past normal childbearing age when John’s birth was foretold by an angel, who visited John’s father Zachariah and instructed him in the work John would do to prepare for Jesus’ arrival.
When Jesus appears at the River Jordan to meet John, Jesus is now an adult, having spent the rest of his childhood in Nazareth, Galilee. When he finds John performing baptisms by the river, Jesus asks John to baptize him. As you can imagine, John was a bit confused – surely, Jesus should be baptizing John, not the other way around!
Yet the Lord works in mysterious ways, and as Jesus rose from the waters of baptism the Lord was greatly pleased.
