In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. (Mark 1.9)
Did Jesus need to be baptized? Jesus is the sinless one, the one who reconciles all humanity to Himself. Jesus does not need to repent from sin, from failure to keep the divine law. He is the author of the law and the perfecter of our faith. Did Jesus need to be baptized?
Considering this, Augustine wrote if it was needful for Jesus to be born? Was it needful for him to be crucified? Truly everything that Jesus did on Earth was a humiliation of His Divinity. He emptied himself, became the servant of the humanity made in His image, to share life with us and pass through death among us.
His baptism, then, becomes an amazing symbol of solidarity. His willingness to bend low in the waters of redemption, to submerge in the bathwater of humanity, opens our path to unity. He humiliated himself to embrace us, the sinful people of Israel and the sinful assembly of the nations. We step into the water to symbolize our need for redemption, our need to be made clean, made new. Jesus the Baptized steps out of the water bearing the waste of the world, the washed away dregs of our sin. They cling to Him and He carries them to His cross. This is how He began His ministry.
And drenched before humanity, soaked in the same water, God the Father and Spirit display their unity with the Son, God's triunity. Jesus is the the beloved baptized, the anointed baptizer, the bridge where the Triune God meets with the humanity made in His image.
Jesus, thank you for humiliating yourself to lift me up before the Father.