“As he submits to John’s baptism of repentance, Jesus shows the radical way he will confront the sin that enslaves humanity. Jesus’ “baptism,” begun in the Jordan and completed on Golgotha, is repentance, self-denial, metanoia to the fullest.…To be baptized “into Christ” and “in the name of Christ” means to be incorporated into the way of life which characterized his life, the life of the empty one, the servant, the humble one, the obedient one, obedient even unto death (Phil. 2:6–11).” ~William Willimon
Almighty ever-living God, who, when Christ had been baptized in the River Jordan and as the Holy Spirit descended upon him, solemnly declared him your beloved Son, grant that your children by adoption, reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, may always be well pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
