Obey, Even if You're Perfect Like Jesus

Matthew 3:13-17

When Jesus came to John to be baptized too, John tried to dissuade Him; he, John, needed to be baptized of Jesus!

However Jesus replied, "Let's just do it, because it is proper for us to fulfill all righteousness." At this John agreed.

As Jesus was coming up out of the water, the Spirit of God in the form of a dove suddenly lighted on Him, and a voice from Heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

It is clear here that Jesus felt it was important to show obedience to this step of public repentance, even if He was perfect and had no sin. John agreed to that argument, so he must have understood it too.

I have heard it surmised before in sermons, that this step of Jesus' is a strong reason why all Christians should go through the waters of baptism. If Jesus felt He needed to set an example here, though He had nothing to repent of, then surely we, who do, need to be publically baptized as a sign of our repentance and decision to follow Christ.

What if this applies to other situations too? Are there times in our lives when we need to obey simply because it is the right thing to do? Even if we don't feel a strong desire to do that right thing?

P.S. Watching your friend die is HARD, isn't it? Ruthe handles it fairly well for her first time. You should read this book - you could learn from her.