Jesus Is Baptised by John the Baptist
“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. ... And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” — Matthew 3:11–13, 16–17 (KJV)
Jesus was thirty years old when He entered public life. At that time, Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judaea, Herod the ruler of Galilee, and Annas and Caiaphas were the chief priests. John the Baptist, son of Zachariah and Elizabeth, was out in the desert and received a message from God. He came into the country around the Jordan River, preaching a baptism of life change, leading to forgiveness of sins. A large crowd gathered to hear him and be baptised by him in the River Jordan.
Jesus travelled to the Jordan River, where John was preaching and baptising people. As He approached to be baptised, John knew who He was and refused, in humility. But Jesus insisted, and John baptised Jesus. Soon after the baptism, Jesus went into the wilderness and spent forty days fasting and praying in preparation for His ministry.
Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness for Forty Days
“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, “If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.” And Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, “All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.” And Jesus answered and said unto him, “Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” And Jesus answering said unto him, “It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”” — Luke 4:1–12 (KJV)
Having been born into this world as a human, Jesus was fully human and fully divine. In His human nature, He too had to be subjected to temptations, and to conquer them. Satan wanted to put Him to the test, and did so as soon as He had completed forty days of rigorous fasting and prayer in the wilderness. For the first test, knowing Jesus would by then be very hungry, Satan asked Jesus to turn a stone into bread, hoping that Jesus would do so and satisfy His hunger by eating it. Jesus refused to fall for it. Having failed to tempt Jesus to use His divine power for a personal need, Satan, setting the stage for the second test, took Jesus to Jerusalem and placed Him on the highest point of the Temple. Satan then goaded Jesus and asked Him to jump. Jesus confronted Satan, quoting the Scriptures to the effect that no one should in any manner test God.
Satan would not give up, and tested Jesus a third time. He took Jesus to the peak of a huge mountain and offered Him a bribe. Pointing to all the kingdoms of the world and their riches, Satan offered them all to Jesus if He would worship him. Jesus drove Satan away, saying that one should worship only the one God, and none else. Disappointed, Satan left Him. From then on, Jesus began His ministry on this earth.