In this icon of the Baptism, Christ receives baptism at the hands of John the Baptist, the last of the prophets of the old Covenant. Here, the Old and New Covenants meet in the water of the Jordan- the old baptism for repentance of sins, and the lasting baptismal rebirth of water and the spirit, as brought by Jesus in the New Covenant (Lk 3:16). For this reason, the bottom of this icon depicts symbols of the initiation Sacraments of the Christian Church- Baptism, Chrismation and the Eucharist. On either side are representations of confirmation of the Holy Spirit in purifying water: the Spirit of God hovering over the waters in creation (Ge 1:2), and the traditional "Blessing of the Waters" with the Cross in the Epiphany liturgy. In this icon of the Baptism, Christ is stripped of His eternal robe of glory and naked, is robed in the waters of the Jordan which itself shines forth with the beams of His glory and light. Here, He is clothed in our humanity, that we, in our baptism, might be clothed in His eternity. The symbol of the sun and the moon represent the cosmic light that Christ brings on his Feast of Epiphany.
Don’t discount that it was also a cultural norm of the time. Ritual baths (the mikveh), washing of the feet, etc, were traditions. The Temple had fountains where you would wash your hands and feet and the priests walked through a pool of water before entering the temple.
“Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, [through] the heap of great waters.”
Awesome images in this Sunday’s Gospel reading. Our glorious Lord showing us the way in yet another area.
“14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.”
When I’m praying the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary, and am saying the first Decade, I contemplate Jesus’s Baptism. I’ve thought that Jesus was presenting a model of what He wanted of us. He wanted us to be cleansed of sin, and be ready to follow Him.
Yah'shua performed a Mikveh Look at the "baptism" in it's first century Jewish context.
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach