The baptism of Jesus marks the beginning of Jesus Christ's public ministry. This event is recorded in the Canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. In John 1:29-33 rather than a direct narrative, the Baptist bears witness to the episode.^[2][3] The Baptism is one of the five major milestones in the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus, the others being Transfiguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension.^[4][5]

John the Baptist preached a 'baptism with water', not of forgiveness but of penance or repentance for the remission of sins (Luke 3:3), and declared himself a forerunner to One who would baptize 'with the Holy Spirit and with fire' (Luke 3:16). In so doing he was preparing the way for the Lord.^[6] Jesus came to the Jordan River where he was baptized by John at a site traditionally known as Qasr al-Yahud (the Jews' Castle).^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]} This event concluded with the heavens opening, a dove-like descent of the Holy Spirit, and a voice from Heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased."^[12] The voice combines key phrases from the Old Testament: "My Son" (the Davidic king as God's adopted son in Psalms 2 and Psalms 10), "beloved" (Isaac in Genesis 22), and "with whom I am well pleased" (the servant of God in Isaiah 42:1).^[6]