The baptism of Jesus inaugurates His public ministry and is one of the clearest Trinitarian moments in all of Scripture. Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan specifically to be baptized by John. John, aware of Jesus' sinlessness, tried to prevent it: "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" Jesus answered, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:14-15). Jesus was not baptized for repentance of His own sin — He had none — but to identify Himself with sinners, to stand with them at the Jordan as their representative. It was the first step on a road that would end at Calvary. When He came up out of the water, "immediately the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased'" (Matthew 3:16-17). All three persons of the Trinity are present: the Son in the water, the Spirit descending as a dove, the Father speaking from heaven. The Father's words combine Psalm 2:7 ("You are My Son") and Isaiah 42:1 ("My elect One in whom My soul delights"), identifying Jesus as both the royal Son of David and the Suffering Servant. The baptism also inaugurates a pattern for Christian baptism: the Spirit is given, the Father's voice declares sonship, and the baptized person is identified with Christ. Every Christian who has been baptized has, in a sense, come up out of the water to hear the Father say, "You are My beloved child, in you I am well pleased" — not because of our righteousness but because of Christ's.