To Fulfill All Righteousness

    Jesus comes to John the Baptist in the 3rd chapter of Matthew and the 1st in John, to be baptized by John.  Now we know that Jesus was without sin and really did not need to be baptized in the rationale of the New Testament process of baptism.  Some have erroneously suggested that because of the nature of Baptism that Jesus was cleansed at this point.  Or on the other hand it has been suggested that Jesus was merely going through an exercise he intended for his followers later to enact.  Baptism, then would be a symbol of what Jesus went through and the new birth of the believer.  The phrase, "to fulfill all righteousness" then means that we do this because Jesus commanded us to.
    All scripture is a testimony of Jesus Christ.  This event in scripture has more to do with the Finished Work than it does baptism (of which I mean not to diminish but look deeper in this passage).  In the Old Covenant a man would bring his sacrifice for repentance to the Priest, the priest would examine the sacrifice to see if it were acceptable, sins would be confessed, and then the lamb would be slain.  If the sacrifice were not acceptable the man would be turned away still in his sins.  The sins of the sinner would be transferred to the animal and the perfection of the animal to the sinner.  Then the lamb would be the sin; the man righteous.  Thus to fulfill all righteousness.
     Jesus came to the river with his people.  The bible tells us that all of Jerusalem was coming out to be baptized by John and his baptism was a baptism of repentance.  Jesus identified himself with man who came broken to be wash; He Himself clean like the spotless lamb.  In fact when John saw Jesus coming he declared, "behold the lamb of God which takes away the sins of the WORLD."  He was approaching the priest with the repentant people of God.  See, John was of the Levitical priesthood lineage. 
     John declared that the sacrifice was acceptable.  He told Jesus that he should not be baptizing Jesus but that He should be baptizing the baptizer.  John declared that Jesus was of higher rank than himself.  The Lamb was perfect not needing baptism nor repentance.  Yet, Jesus says do this to fulfill all righteousness; He had to be slain as man so that man could be righteous as He was.
   Earth declared the lamb to be acceptable but so did heaven.  When Jesus was baptized the Father says, "This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."  God accepted what came with man and was approved by His Priesthood and the deal was done.  What remained was that the Lamb had to be killed and his blood shed for the sins to be eradicated.  The body that God had prepared not to stop sacrifice but to complete it was acceptable for the task it was sent to accomplish.  And all righteousness was fulfilled in one act.