“All uprightness” (pasa dikaiosynē) in Matthew's Narrative of Jesus' Baptism (3: 13–17)

Abstract

The author of the article, analyzing Matthew’s pericope about the baptism of Jesus, and in particular his own dialogue of the Nazarene with John, comes to the conclusion that the words “all uprightness” in a narrative and theological intention of the Evangelist are crucial to understand not only John’s activity and the baptism of Jesus, but also the whole message of the kingdom of heaven in his Gospel. He understands the noun dikaiosynē as the will of God. Such understanding is acceptable because it is connected with the verb pleroō, by means of which it programmatically and consequently demonstrates with many narratives that in Jesus all God’s promises are fulfilled. By adding the adjective pasa, he makes it clear that he has in mind the whole will of God that is, the will already revealed and the one that is revealed in the Good News about the kingdom of heaven. The opening of the heavens by God and His voice announces the change of the existing relations between Him, the mankind and the world, in connection with the completion of the all uprightness. The fact that they were opened to Jesus means that these new relationships will be fulfilled in the new creation and new people that is the Church of all nations through the saving work of Jesus – the heir of the Spirit of God and the Servant of the Lord, who will save the mankind from its sins and revive the whole creation. Besides, his narrative about baptism is used to authenticate Jesus’ words referred to John.