Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 65:4 (Dec 2022)
Article: “To Fulfill All Righteousness”: What Did Jesus Mean?
Author: A. Duane Litfin

JETS 65:3 (September 2022) p. 667

“To Fulfill All Righteousness”: What Did Jesus Mean?

Duane Litfin*

^* Duane Litfin is President Emeritus of Wheaton College, 501 College Avenue, Wheaton, IL 60187. He can be reached at [email protected].

Abstract: When John the Baptist resisted baptizing Jesus, Jesus responded with a single-sentence explanation of why his baptism was necessary. His response was so cryptic and enigmatic that it has puzzled interpreters ever since, and none of the interpretations proposed through the centuries has received universal acceptance. This article weighs the two interpretations most commonly offered today, finding both to be overly dependent on theological speculation and insufficiently supported by the biblical text. The article then sets forth a more straightforward alternative that is at once less conjectural and more exegetically and theologically satisfying.

Key words: John the Baptist, John’s baptism, Jesus’s baptism, righteousness, fulfill, Christ’s obedience, fulfillment of prophecy, identification with sinners

Where, exactly, in the biblical canon do we first discover a sentence attributed to the earthly Jesus? For many, even mature students of the Bible, the answer comes as something of a surprise. It surprises first because, having never thought about the question, they have no ready reply. Then, upon recalling this first dominical sentence, they are surprised anew to find themselves puzzled about its meaning. Countless others through the centuries have shared their puzzlement.

The First Sentence

The first dominical sentence in the Bible is found in Matthew 3:15.1 Its historical setting is the ministry of John the Baptist. According to Matthew, this last of the prophets (11:9–15) came “preaching in the wilderness of Judea” (3:1), announcing himself as the messianic forerunner predicted in Isaiah 40:3. The Baptist’s urgent message—“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 3:2)—prompted a strong response from the people. “Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins” (vv. 5–6).2 Yet according to John, this was only the beginning. “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming

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