“Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.”
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. The arrival of Jesus from Galilee at the Jordan for baptism creates the encounter that will define the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. He has not appeared since the infancy narrative; now he comes as an adult to the very river where thousands have been confessing their sins and undergoing the baptism of repentance. Jesus presents himself for the same baptism that sinners have been receiving — an act that will require theological explanation in verses 14–15. His voluntary identification with sinners at the Jordan is the first enactment of what Isaiah 53:12 describes: he was numbered with the transgressors. Before his ministry of teaching and healing begins, Jesus stands in line with the people who need repentance.
Church Fathers on Matthew 3:13
Christ having been proclaimed to the world by the preaching of His forerunner, now after long obscurity will manifest Himself to men.
In this verse is contained person, place, time, and office. Time, in the word, 'Then.'
That is, when He was thirty years old, shewing that none should be ordained priest, or even to preach till He be of full age. Joseph at thirty years was made governor of Egypt; David began to reign, and Ezekiel his prophesying at the same age.
Read all 21 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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