What Does Matthew 3:15 Mean in the King James?
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.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The word translated “suffer” means “let go” or “permit,” and it frames the verse: fulfillment begins with permission and closes with the same act of letting.
THE MEANING
What seems out of order can still be fitting: Jesus names this moment as the way alignment reaches fullness for both of them. The same act of letting opens and closes the exchange, so fulfillment appears here as something shared.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that alignment is completed alone: Jesus names the act as fitting for both of them, and John’s response completes the shared exchange.
THE ROOT
Ἄφες
aphes
GROWS FROM
ἀφίημι
aphiēmi
To send away, let go, leave, or permit.
The Greek verb translated “suffer” carries the sense of allowing or letting go. It appears again at the verse’s end, where John lets Jesus proceed; the repeated verb makes permission the frame around the fulfillment.
ALSO GROWS
aphesis: Release; remission.
ἄφεσις
This word-family also names release as the letting go of what is held against someone, giving “suffer” a shade of release as well as permission.
aphiēsin: He lets go; he permits.
ἀφίησιν
This is the verb’s closing echo: John’s response repeats the permission Jesus names at the opening.
πληρῶσαι
plērōsai
GROWS FROM
πληρόω
plēroō
To fill, make full, or bring to fullness.
“fulfil” in this verse is plērōsai. The verb pictures fulfillment as something brought to fullness, not merely a requirement checked off. Paired with “us,” it places that fullness in a shared act.
ALSO GROWS
plērēs: Full; complete.
πλήρης
The adjective makes the root’s image plain: what is fulfilled has become full.
plērōma: Fullness; that which fills.
πλήρωμα
This noun names the state or result of fullness, opening “fulfil” as movement toward something made complete.
δικαιοσύνην
dikaiosynēn
GROWS FROM
δίκαιος
dikaios
Right or just; in this verse, alignment.
“righteousness” in this verse is dikaiosynēn. The word carries the sense of rightness and justice, with alignment bringing its relational shade forward. Joined to “fulfil,” it presents alignment as something brought to fullness through what becomes fitting for both participants.
ALSO GROWS
dikaioō: To set right; to justify.
δικαιόω
This verb expresses movement into rightness, showing the family’s concern with a relation or condition being put in alignment.
dikaiōma: A just requirement; a right act.
δικαίωμα
This noun connects rightness to what is fittingly enacted, echoing the verse’s emphasis on what becomes fitting for both.
THE PATTERN
What is fitting reaches fullness through willing participation in the work already unfolding.
I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.THE THREAD
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.The same Greek word-family pair appears here: righteousness (dikaiosynē, alignment) is fulfilled (plēroō, brought to fullness). The phrase “in us” echoes Matthew’s “for us,” opening fulfillment as a shared reality.
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