Why was Jesus Baptized?

Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Baptism was not a new thing to Jewish society back then. It was used in the Old Testament for Gentiles during their conversion to Judaism as being symbolic of sloughing off their old ways and accepting their new faith. However, John the Baptist’s baptism was different than the accepted reason. He baptized Jews to “prepare the way” for the coming Messiah. He told them they WERE living in sin (most of the Jews back then believed that just because they were born Jewish, they would get to heaven) and they needed to recognize the fact that they were not saved and they needed to repent.

If Jesus was sinless, and did not need to repent of any sin…why did He choose to be baptized?

Because He came to this earth to identify with those who were living in sin (all humankind). His baptism was just another way he could identify with those who were living sinful lifestyles and needed repentance. Did He have anything He needed to repent of? No! Did Christ’s baptism mean He had sinned and needed to repent to the Father? No! But, Christ needed to identify with all humankind in all our struggles in order to be fully able to sympathize with our plight and help us (be our intercessor in heaven) after He would die and sit on the right hand of the Father (God). How can someone truly understand what you have to go through or are going through unless they’ve been in your situation themselves? That’s what Christ set out to do. And His baptism was just another example of His compassion for us.