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To Fulfil All Righteousness

John called ordinary people to change in ordinary ways, and the sinless Savior walked into the Jordan to show us the path

  • 📖 Adult Sunday School
  • Week 4
  • 📅 Sunday, January 24, 2027
🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

Repentance is practical change we can see in how we work, share and treat people, and baptism is its covenant doorway; Jesus, who had nothing to repent of, was baptized to show us the way, and the heavens opened over Him.

I can let my repentance show in one concrete way this week, and come to the sacrament remembering the covenant I made at the water’s edge.

Study it yourself firstRead Matthew 3; Mark 1; Luke 3 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Matthew 3; Mark 1; Luke 3)
Know the chapters

Matthew 3, Mark 1 and Luke 3 all open the Savior’s public ministry with John the Baptist. Luke dates the moment like a historian, naming Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Herod, and the high priests Annas and Caiaphas (Luke 3:1–2). John preaches near the Jordan River dressed in camel’s hair with a leather girdle, living on locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4), an appearance that recalls Elijah (2 Kings 1:8). All three Gospels apply Isaiah 40:3 to him: the voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord.

Luke 3:10–14 is the practical heart of this lesson. Three groups ask John, “What shall we do?” and he sends none of them to the desert. The crowd should share coats and food. The publicans, tax collectors who could easily pad what they collected, should take no more than was appointed. The soldiers should not extort by force or false accusation, and should be content with their wages. For John, repentance looks like honest work and open hands: “fruits worthy of repentance” (Luke 3:8).

Then Jesus comes from Galilee to be baptized. John protests that he needs to be baptized by Jesus, and the Savior answers that “thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). Nephi saw this six centuries earlier and explained why: though holy, the Savior humbled Himself before the Father, witnessed that He would keep His commandments, and showed us the gate and the narrow path (2 Nephi 31:5–10). As He came up out of the water, the Spirit descended like a dove and the Father’s voice spoke from heaven, three distinct members of the Godhead in one scene (Matthew 3:16–17). Luke adds a small detail worth pointing out: the heaven opened while Jesus was praying (Luke 3:21).

John also matters to the Restoration. On May 15, 1829, he returned as a resurrected messenger and conferred the Aaronic Priesthood, which holds the keys of baptism, on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery (Doctrine and Covenants 13:1; Joseph Smith—History 1:68–72). Twenty-five minutes goes fast, so center the class on Luke 3:10–14 and Matthew 3:13–17. Mark 1, with its fishermen who leave their nets “straightway” and a Savior who rises before dawn to pray, is ready as a bonus step.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Luke 3:1–22 and Matthew 3:13–17. Open by asking what convinces you that someone’s apology is real. Read Luke 3:10–14 together and spend most of the time on the What Shall We Do? questions. Then read Matthew 3:15 with 2 Nephi 31:9 and ask why the sinless Savior was baptized. Close by reading Luke 3:21–22, inviting a testimony or two, and asking each person to choose one visible “fruit” this week.

What to bring2 items

Tick what you have. Forgot something? Every step that needs a supply has a no-supplies version in the plan below.

Before class

  1. Read Luke 3 and Matthew 3 straight through, then 2 Nephi 31:4–13. Mark Luke 3:8, 10–14 and 21–22, and Matthew 3:15–17.
  2. Ask one person ahead of time to be the Reader for John’s words in the scripture scene (Luke 3:4–9 and 3:11–16). A quick message on Saturday is plenty.
  3. Think of your own honest answer to the hook: a time someone’s change convinced you it was real. If the room is quiet, your example opens the door.
  4. Decide which two or three discussion questions you most want to reach. You won’t get to all of them, and that’s fine.
  5. If you like, read 2 Nephi 31:17–20 so you can speak to the “baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost” if someone asks.

Discussion tips

  • Quiet class? Give thirty seconds to reread Luke 3:10–14 silently before you ask anything, and send the second question to pairs first. People who won’t speak to a room will talk to a neighbor.
  • One voice filling every pause? Thank them warmly, then say, “Let’s hear from someone we haven’t heard from yet,” or ask the next question to pairs.
  • Keep repentance hopeful and general. Talk about patterns and principles; never ask anyone to share a specific sin. If someone opens up after class, listen kindly and point them to the Savior and, when appropriate, their bishop.
  • Some class members were baptized decades ago, some last year, and some visitors haven’t been baptized at all. Speak of baptism as an invitation, not a line between insiders and outsiders, and never put a visitor on the spot.
  • A sincere question like “If Jesus was sinless, why did He need to be baptized?” is a gift. Turn to 2 Nephi 31:5–9 together; Nephi answers it directly.

The 25-minute plan25 min + bonus

Bonus steps are for when you have extra time. Each “On the screen” line is what the class sees on a shared screen in Teach Mode in the Gospel Sparks app; on paper, read it aloud or write it on the board. On the web you can play Scripture Showdown from this page.

1. Hook

Fruit You Can See

3 min

Opens with a real-life question about what real change looks like, before anyone opens the scriptures.

  1. Ask: “Think of a time someone apologized to you, or changed a habit, and you could tell it was real. What convinced you?”
  2. Give 20 seconds of quiet, then take two or three answers. Listen for things like follow-through, time, and changed behavior, not just words.
  3. SAY“Two thousand years ago a man in camel’s hair stood by the Jordan River and asked for exactly that kind of evidence. He called it fruit.”

On the screen: 🍎 When someone really changes, how can you tell?

2. Story

Read It in Context: At the Jordan

6 min

Reads Luke 3 and Matthew 3 as real events so John’s call and the Savior’s baptism land with weight.

  1. Open Teach Mode to the scripture scene. The shared screen shows one scene at a time.
  2. Read each scene’s context yourself, then let the Reader and the class read the verses. You read the Savior’s and the Father’s words; no one is assigned to speak as Them.
  3. If you have the picture of the Savior’s baptism, show it during scene 6.
  4. Keep it moving: context, verses, next scene. Save comments for the discussion.

On the screen: 🌊 Luke 3 and Matthew 3: a voice in the wilderness, three honest questions, and the heavens opened · Follow along in Luke 3:1–22 and Matthew 3:13–17

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A picture of the Savior’s baptism by John (Gospel Library’s media collection has several) to show on the shared screen or hold up

  1. Open Teach Mode to the scripture scene. The shared screen shows one scene at a time.
  2. Read each scene’s context yourself, then let the Reader and the class read the verses. You read the Savior’s and the Father’s words; no one is assigned to speak as Them.
  3. At scene 6, ask the class to picture the riverbank: the crowd, the muddy water, John hesitating.
  4. Keep it moving: context, verses, next scene. Save comments for the discussion.
3. Scripture

Why Would the Sinless Be Baptized?

4 min

Studies Matthew 3:15 closely with Nephi’s explanation so class members discover the reasons for themselves.

  1. Put Matthew 3:15 on the shared screen and read it slowly.
  2. Ask: “Jesus had nothing to repent of. So why was He baptized?” Take one or two first guesses.
  3. SAY“Nephi saw this moment six hundred years earlier and answered that exact question.” With a neighbor, read 2 Nephi 31:5–9 and list every reason Nephi gives.
  4. After a minute or two, gather the list: He humbled Himself before the Father, witnessed His obedience, showed us the narrow gate and path, and set the example.
  5. Ask: “Which of those reasons means the most to you, and why?”

On the screen: 🚪 “Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” Why was the sinless Savior baptized? · Matthew 3:15 · 2 Nephi 31:5–9: list Nephi’s reasons

4. Talk it over

What Shall We Do?

6 min

Helps adults see repentance as practical, daily change in their own work and relationships.

  1. Pick two or three questions; don’t try to cover them all.
  2. Start the second question in pairs: one minute with a neighbor, then invite a few to share with the room.
  3. Let silence work. Count to seven in your head before rescuing a question.
  4. If the room is quiet, share your own answer first.
💬 Ask the class
  • John didn’t tell the tax collectors to quit or the soldiers to desert. Why do you think his answers were so ordinary?
  • If people in our jobs and stages of life asked John, “What shall we do?”, what might he say to us? (Talk with a neighbor first.)
  • Luke 3:8 warns against leaning on “We have Abraham to our father.” What might we lean on today in place of real change?
  • What “fruits” have you seen in someone’s life that told you their repentance was real?
  • Why might “be content with your wages” (verse 14) be a spiritual matter and not only a financial one?

On the screen: 🧥 “What shall we do?” What would John tell us about our work, money and relationships? · Luke 3:8, 10–14

5. Talk it over

My Beloved Son

4 min

Draws out what the Father’s words at the baptism teach about the Godhead and about how God sees His children.

  1. Read Matthew 3:16–17 again, then Mark 1:11, where the Father speaks directly to the Son: “Thou art my beloved Son.”
  2. Point out that in Matthew’s account the Father speaks before Jesus has preached a sermon or worked a miracle.
  3. Ask one or two questions. Before the sacrament question, share Sister Emily Belle Freeman’s words about the covenant path (in “From general conference” below).
  4. Move to the testimony on time.
💬 Ask the class
  • The Father declares His love and pleasure before Jesus’s ministry has even begun. What might that teach us about how God sees His children?
  • The Son, the Spirit and the Father’s voice all appear in these two verses. How does this scene shape your understanding of the Godhead?
  • The sacrament lets us remember our baptismal covenant every week. What helps you come to the sacrament as if you were standing at the water again?

On the screen: 🕊️ “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” · Matthew 3:16–17; Mark 1:11

6. Testimony

The Heaven Was Opened

2 min

Ends with testimony of Jesus Christ as the One who showed us the way, and a concrete invitation for the week.

  1. Read Luke 3:21–22 and point out that the heaven opened while Jesus was praying.
  2. Invite one or two people to share, in a sentence or two, what their baptism or the sacrament has come to mean to them.
  3. Bear a short testimony that Jesus Christ walked the path first, and that He will help us walk it.
  4. Invite: “This week, choose one visible fruit of repentance, something someone else could notice, and come to next Sunday’s sacrament ready to remember your covenant.”

On the screen: 🌤️ Jesus was praying, and the heaven was opened. · Luke 3:21–22 · This week: one fruit someone else could see.

7. Talk it over

Straightway: The First Days in Mark

5 minBONUS

A bonus look at Mark 1, where the Savior’s ministry begins at full speed and still makes room for prayer and compassion.

  1. SAY“Mark tells the story at a run. Watch for the words ‘straightway’ and ‘immediately.’”
  2. Read Mark 1:16–20, then Mark 1:32–35, then Mark 1:40–42.
  3. Ask one or two questions.
💬 Ask the class
  • Simon, Andrew, James and John left their nets “straightway.” What makes it hard for us to respond that quickly?
  • After a day when “all the city was gathered together at the door,” Jesus rose before dawn to pray. What does that teach about busy seasons?
  • The leper said, “If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” Jesus touched him before He healed him. Why might that touch have mattered?

On the screen: 🎣 Nets left behind, prayer before dawn, and a leper touched with compassion · Mark 1:16–20, 32–35, 40–42

8. Game

Scripture Showdown

5 minBONUS

A light, friendly review if you finish early.

  1. Split the room down the middle into two teams.
  2. Launch Scripture Showdown on your phone or tablet and read each question aloud.
  3. After each reveal, read the reference so people can mark it.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

On the screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown: how well do you know Matthew 3, Mark 1 and Luke 3?

Read it together

At the Jordan

Luke 3:1–22; Matthew 3:13–17 ↗

Reading parts

  • ReaderReads John the Baptist’s words: Luke 3:4–9, then his answers in 3:11–14 and 3:16.
  • The ClassEveryone reads the three questions together: Luke 3:10, 12 and 14.

Scenes

  1. 🏜️ The word of God came unto John

    Luke sets the scene with real names: an emperor, a governor, local rulers and two high priests. With all that power in the capital, the word of God comes to a man in the wilderness.

    🎬 The teacher reads Luke 3:1–3.

  2. 📣 “Prepare ye the way of the Lord”

    John is the voice Isaiah foresaw. Valleys filled, mountains brought low, crooked roads made straight: everything in the way of the coming Lord has to change.

    🎬 The Reader reads Luke 3:4–6.

  3. 🪓 An axe at the root of the trees

    John’s warnings are blunt. Family pedigree won’t save anyone; what matters is fruit. A tree that bears none is ready to be cut down.

    🎬 The Reader reads Luke 3:7–9.

  4. 🧥 “What shall we do then?”

    Three groups come with the same question: ordinary people, tax collectors, and soldiers. John gives each of them an answer they can live on Monday.

    🎬 The Class reads each question (verses 10, 12 and 14), and the Reader answers with verses 11, 13 and 14.

  5. 🔥 One mightier than I cometh

    People start to wonder whether John is the Christ. He points away from himself to Someone who will baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire.

    🎬 The teacher reads Luke 3:15. The Reader reads verse 16.

  6. 🌊 “Suffer it to be so now”

    Then Jesus comes from Galilee and asks to be baptized. John protests that it should be the other way around. The Savior answers gently and firmly.

    🎬 The teacher reads Matthew 3:13–15, including the Savior’s words.

  7. 🕊️ The heavens were opened

    He comes up out of the water, the Spirit descends like a dove, and the Father speaks. Luke adds that Jesus was praying when the heaven opened.

    🎬 The teacher reads Matthew 3:16–17, then Luke 3:21. Let a few seconds of quiet follow.

Key verse

Matthew 3:15 ↗
“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.”
In plain words: Jesus had no sins to wash away, yet He chose baptism anyway, to obey His Father completely and to walk the path first so we could follow Him.

More verses

Luke 3:8 ↗
“Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.”
In plain words: Real repentance shows up in how we live. Our family, background or reputation can’t stand in for a changed heart.
Matthew 3:16–17 ↗
“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.”
In plain words: The Son in the water, the Spirit descending like a dove, and the Father’s voice from heaven: three distinct members of the Godhead at one moment.
2 Nephi 31:9 ↗
“And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them.”
In plain words: Nephi explains that the Savior’s baptism marks the gate and the path for all of us. He went first.
Mark 1:35 ↗
“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”
In plain words: After a long, crowded day of healing, Jesus got up before dawn to be alone with His Father.

Scripture Showdown7 questions

  1. What did John the Baptist eat in the wilderness?
    • A. Bread and fish
    • B. Locusts and wild honey
    • C. Figs and olives
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Locusts and wild honey Matthew 3:4: “his meat was locusts and wild honey.”

  2. What did John tell the crowd to do with an extra coat?
    • A. Give it to someone who has none
    • B. Sell it to the poor
    • C. Bring it to the temple
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Give it to someone who has none Luke 3:11: “He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none.”

  3. What did John tell the publicans, or tax collectors?
    • A. Leave their jobs
    • B. Pay double taxes
    • C. Exact no more than what was appointed
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Exact no more than what was appointed Luke 3:13: “Exact no more than that which is appointed you.”

  4. Why did Jesus say He should be baptized?
    • A. To fulfil all righteousness
    • B. To wash away His sins
    • C. To join John’s disciples
    Show answer

    ✅ A. To fulfil all righteousness Matthew 3:15: “thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.”

  5. According to Luke, what was Jesus doing when the heaven opened?
    • A. Teaching the crowd
    • B. Walking up the riverbank
    • C. Praying
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Praying Luke 3:21: “Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened.”

  6. Which Book of Mormon prophet explained why the Savior was baptized?
    • A. Alma
    • B. Nephi
    • C. Mormon
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Nephi 2 Nephi 31:5–10: He humbled Himself, witnessed His obedience and set the example.

  7. Luke traces Jesus’s genealogy all the way back to whom?
    • A. Abraham
    • B. David
    • C. Adam, “the son of God”
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Adam, “the son of God” Luke 3:38 ends: “which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.”

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

From general conference

“We call this walking the covenant path—a path that begins with the covenant of baptism and leads to deeper covenants we make in the temple.”

— Sister Emily Belle Freeman, “Walking in Covenant Relationship with Christ,” October 2023

Share in My Beloved Son, before the question about the sacrament and our baptismal covenant.

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • Come, Follow Me Hymns, no. 116

    The Savior went into the water first so we could follow. A fitting opening hymn. Find it ↗

  • I Know That My Redeemer Lives Hymns, no. 136

    A hymn of testimony in the beloved Son the Father announced at the Jordan. A strong close. Find it ↗

This week’s invitation

One Fruit Someone Could See

Ask yourself John’s question, “What shall I do?”, about your own work, money or relationships, and choose one concrete change that someone else could notice. On Saturday, read 2 Nephi 31:5–13 and come to the sacrament ready to remember your baptismal covenant.

Take it home

In Sunday School we read Luke 3 and Matthew 3: John the Baptist told ordinary people to show their repentance in ordinary ways, and Jesus was baptized “to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). Take it home: at dinner, read Luke 3:10–14 and ask, “If we asked John what we should do, what might he tell our family?”

📝 After class

What worked? Who needs a check-in this week? Jot it here on a printed copy, or in the app’s private class notes.

Got extra time?

🪓 The Axe and the Fan · 4 min

  1. Read Matthew 3:10–12, with its axe at the root of the trees and the fan that separates wheat from chaff.
  2. Explain that a winnowing fan was a tool for tossing grain into the wind so the light chaff blew away and the heavier wheat fell back to the floor.
  3. Ask: “John’s images are sharp. Where do you also see mercy in them?”

🔥 Baptized with Fire · 4 min

  1. Read Matthew 3:11, where John promises that the One coming after him will baptize “with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.”
  2. Read 2 Nephi 31:17 and 3 Nephi 9:20, where some were baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost “and they knew it not.”
  3. Ask: “How has the Holy Ghost changed you slowly, in ways you only noticed looking back?”

🗝️ John Returns · 4 min

  1. Read Doctrine and Covenants 13:1, the words John the Baptist spoke when he conferred the Aaronic Priesthood on May 15, 1829.
  2. Read Joseph Smith—History 1:68–72 for the account of that day by the Susquehanna River.
  3. Ask: “The same man who baptized the Savior came back to restore the authority to baptize. What does that tell you about how the Lord connects His work across time?”

Sources

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, the Bible used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tap or click a reference to open it in Gospel Library. Start with the official Come, Follow Me manual; these ideas are here to help it come alive.

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