Matthew 3
Matthew 3:1-12:
The Preaching of John the Baptist
1Now in those days John the Baptist came*, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”
4Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; 6and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8“Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; 9and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 10“The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11“As for me, I baptize you £with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12“His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
John the Baptist Prepares the Way for Jesus—
- When John “came preaching” (3:1), the people were excited. They considered John to be a great prophet, and they were sure that the eagerly awaited age of the Messiah had come.
- Indeed, it had, and God was ushering in a brand-new covenant and a new era in his dealings with humanity.
- John spoke like the prophets of old, saying that the people must turn from their sin to avoid punishment and turn to God to experience his mercy and approval.
- This is a message for all times and places, but John spoke it with particular urgency—he was preparing the people for the coming Messiah and for his kingdom. Our calling is similar to John’s, for we, too, can prepare the way for others to come to Jesus. How much urgency do you feel for those who still need to hear the message?
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. (nkjv)
In these five words, Matthew summed up the story that Luke would record in greater detail (see Luke 1:5-25, 39-45, 57-80).
John was a miracle child, born to Elizabeth and Zacharias (Zechariah, in some Bible versions). Elizabeth was unable to have children, and advanced age rendered her and Zacharias certain to remain childless.
- Zacharias was a priest. One day, while he was carrying out his duties in the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and explained that Zacharias and Elizabeth would have a baby boy whom they should name John.
- Then he added: “He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:16-17 nrsv).
- There had not been a prophet in Israel for more than four hundred years. It was widely believed that when the Messiah came, prophecy would reappear (Joel 2:28-29; Malachi 3:1; 4:5).
- John was that prophet, preaching a message of repentance. The word translated “preaching” comes from the Greek word meaning “to be a herald, to proclaim.” Matthew described John as a herald proclaiming news of the coming King, the Messiah. The title “the Baptist” distinguished this John from many other men with the same name—baptism was an important part of his ministry (3:6).
- John’s mother, Elizabeth, was a cousin to Jesus’ mother, Mary. Thus, Jesus and John the Baptist were distant cousins. It is likely that they knew of each other, but John probably did not know that Jesus was the Messiah until Jesus’ baptism by John (see 3:16-17).
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (nrsv)
- John the Baptist’s preaching focused specifically on one message—preparing hearts for the coming Messiah. Preparation could only occur through repentance. John called the people to repent—to turn away from sins and turn toward God.
- To be truly repentant, people must do both. Without apology or hesitation, John preached that the people could not say they believed and then live any way they wanted (see 3:7-8).
- They had to understand that they were sinners, that sin is wrong, and that they needed to change both their attitude and their conduct.
- Repentance was a radical concept for Jews who considered themselves already “the people of God.” In the Old Testament, “repent” means the radical return to God of those who have broken the covenant with him. John used the word this way.
V.2 – “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near…” (nrsv) (Note They assign the Sense to be: “To reconsider” What do you think of that? Matt3.v2
Why did they need this radical repentance?
- Because the kingdom of heaven had arrived. The kingdom of heaven began when God himself entered human history as a man.
- Passages referring to God’s kingdom appear 50 times in Matthew’s Gospel alone; the phrase “kingdom of heaven” occurs 33 times. Mark and Luke refer to it as the “kingdom of God.” This is a “kingdom” where God reigns.
- The phrase indicates a present reality and a future hope.
- Matthew’s use of “kingdom of heaven” relates to his Jewish audience and their reluctance to use the name of God.
- But there is no theological distinction implied between “kingdom of heaven” and “kingdom of God.”
- Passages referring to God’s kingdom appear 50 times in Matthew’s Gospel alone; the phrase “kingdom of heaven” occurs 33 times. Mark and Luke refer to it as the “kingdom of God.” This is a “kingdom” where God reigns.
- Today Jesus Christ reigns in the hearts of believers, but the kingdom of heaven will not be fully realized until all evil in the world is judged and removed. Christ came to earth first as a suffering Servant; he will come again as King and Judge to rule victoriously over all the earth.
The phrase “has come near” portrays that God has interrupted history with a dramatic new revelation of his power.
Discussion of the timing of the arrival of God’s kingdom fills many pages of scholarly work. The issues seem to fall into three main views:
1. Futurist—Since the Old Testament view of the kingdom of God refers to his rule over a geographical area and in a political reality, this rule must be in the future. Thus, Jesus was announcing that the rule was “near” or “at hand.” Most Jews held this view and would not accept the message of repentance.
2. Realized—This view sees God’s kingdom as announced and inaugurated with Jesus’ ministry on earth. The rule of Satan’s kingdom was broken as Jesus cast out demons. With Jesus’ initiation of God’s rule on earth, all humanity must carry out his will by living in love and peace on earth.
3. Two-pronged approach—This view recognizes the kingdom of God as both present and future. The rule of God transcends all time. God ruled before Christ came to earth, but in the ministry of Christ, new power was released through Christ, requiring people to encounter and decide to follow God.
* This looks forward both to the Resurrection and to Pentecost for further authentication and enabling. However, God’s geographical and political rule will be revealed at a future time when Christ returns.
Turn Around
John the Baptist’s theme was “Repent!” Repentance means doing an about-face—a 180-degree turn—from the kind of self-centeredness that leads to wrong actions such as lying, cheating, stealing, gossiping, taking revenge, abusing, and indulging in sexual immorality. A person who stops rebelling and begins following God’s way of living prescribed in his Word is a person who has repented. The first step in turning to God is to admit your sin, as John urged. Then God will receive you and help you live the way he wants. Remember that only God can remove sin. He doesn’t expect us to clean up our lives before we come to him.
This third view integrates the Scriptures and explains the teachings of Christ most satisfyingly. It enables us to see God’s kingdom as both present (Matthew 12:28; Luke 7:22-23; 17:20-21) and future (Matthew 6:10; Mark 9:47; Luke 13:28-29).
For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.’” (nkjv)
The prophet quoted is Isaiah (Isaiah 40:3), one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament and one of the most quoted in the New Testament.
- Here Matthew quoted from the Septuagint (often abbreviated as lxx), the Greek version of the Hebrew Old Testament.
- Isaiah recorded God’s promise to bring the exiles home from Babylon.
- He also wrote about the coming of the Messiah and the person who would announce his coming, John the Baptist (Isaiah 40:3).
- Like Isaiah, John was a prophet who urged people to confess their sins and live for God.
- Both prophets taught that the message of repentance is good news to those who listen and seek the healing forgiveness of God’s love, but terrible news to those who refuse to listen and thus cut off their only hope.
- Matthew understood that John the Baptist was, in fact, the voice that came crying out to the people of Israel. The Greek word for “crying” is boao, meaning “to cry out with great feeling.” John the Baptist’s message was full of emotion and came directly from God. John was merely God’s mouthpiece for the important message that God was sending to his people: Prepare the way of the Lord. How were they to do this?
The word “prepare” refers to making something ready; the word “way” could also be translated “road.”
- The picture could come from the ancient Middle Eastern custom of sending servants ahead of a king to level and clear the roads to make them passable for his journey.
- The people in Israel needed to prepare their minds to eagerly anticipate their King and Messiah. The verbs are in the imperative, meaning that John spoke them as a military general would speak commands—to be obeyed immediately and without hesitation. Those who accepted John’s status as a true prophet from God understood these words as God’s words to them, humbled themselves, repented, received baptism, and opened the “way” for their Messiah to take hold of their lives.
John’s call to make His paths straight meant much the same as preparing the way.
- The “paths” are the way to people’s hearts.
- For Jesus to be able to reach them, people needed to give up their selfish way of living, renounce their sins, seek God’s forgiveness, and establish a relationship with almighty God by believing and obeying his words (Isaiah 1:18-20; 57:15). Again, the verb is in the imperative; John was issuing an impassioned command to his fellow Israelites (see also Luke 7:24-28).
Why did this voice come from the wilderness?
- The word “wilderness,” also translated “desert,” refers to a lonely, uninhabited place.
- John preached in the Judean wilderness, the lower Jordan River valley.
- Isaiah’s use of the word “wilderness” alludes to the wilderness experience of the children of Israel on their exodus from Egypt to Canaan. The wilderness represents the place where God would once again act to rescue his people and bring them into fellowship with him.
John the Baptist’s powerful, to-the-point preaching and his wilderness living made him a curiosity, separated him from the false piety of many of the religious leaders, and gave him an unmistakable resemblance to the ancient prophets.
- We can only speculate on John’s motives for living in the wilderness. Perhaps he wanted (1) to get away from distractions so he could hear God’s instructions; (2) to capture the undivided attention of the people; (3) to symbolize a sharp break with the hypocrisy of the religious leaders who preferred their luxurious homes and positions of authority over doing God’s work; and (4) to fulfill Old Testament prophecies that said the Messiah’s forerunner would be preaching “in the wilderness.”
Straight Ways
John the Baptist “prepared” the way for Jesus. People who do not know Jesus need to be prepared to meet him. We can prepare them by explaining their need for forgiveness, demonstrating Christ’s teachings by our conduct, and telling them how Christ can give their lives meaning. We can “make straight paths for him” by correcting misconceptions that might be hindering people from approaching Christ. Someone you know may be open to a relationship with Christ. Can you be their “John the Baptist”? Are you ready to explain, to challenge, and to win others? Take the first step today.
Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. (nrsv)
- John must have presented a strange image! He was outfitted for survival in the wilderness—like a desert monk. He dressed much like the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 1:8). Elijah too had been considered a messenger preparing the way for God (see Malachi 3:1; 4:5).
- John’s striking appearance reinforced his striking message, distinguishing him from the religious leaders, whose flowing robes reflected their great pride in their position (12:38-39).
- Having separated himself from the evil and hypocrisy of his day, John lived differently from other people to show that his message was new.
- John not only preached God’s law, he “lived” it. Many people came to hear this preacher who wore odd clothes and ate unusual food.
- John’s appearance and food fit the description of the Nazirite vow (see Luke 1:15; also Numbers 6:1-8). Some people probably came simply out of curiosity and ended up repenting of their sins as they listened to his powerful message.
- People may be curious about your Christian lifestyle and values. You can use their simple curiosity as an opener to share how Christ makes a difference in you.
His diet, locusts and wild honey,
- was common for survival in the desert regions. Locusts were often roasted and were considered “clean” food for the Jews (Leviticus 11:22); wild honey could be found in abundance, made by the wild bees who nested in the clefts of rocks and in the trees of the valley.
Being Weird
John’s appearance and lifestyle dramatically contrasted with the people of his day. He looked and lived as he did both out of necessity and to further demonstrate his message. Some people go to great extremes today to demonstrate their loyalty to sports teams: They buy jackets, license plates, ties, and collectibles.
Since the days of the early church, faithful Christians have shown loyalty in many ways. Some have adopted clothes and eating habits similar to John’s. Some have tried to imitate Peter or other early Christian leaders.
Today, with so much loyalty evident on any city block (just count the baseball caps), Christians need “caps” to show their commitment to Jesus. And the Bible suggests the most important emblems: attitudes like loving others, being hopeful under stress, and trusting in God for daily needs. Badges like these show others how faith in the living God makes a difference in your life. What loyalties does your life portray?
People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. (niv)
- The verb form of “went out” is in the imperfect tense, indicating continuous action. From Jerusalem (the holy city of the Jews) and from the whole region of the Jordan, a stream of people constantly flowed into the wilderness to hear John the Baptist preach.
- John attracted so many people because he was the first true prophet in four hundred years. His blasting of both Herod and the religious leaders was a daring act that fascinated common people. But John also had strong words for the others in his audience—they too were sinners and needed to repent.
- His message was powerful and true. The people were expecting a prophet like Elijah (Malachi 4:5; Luke 1:17), and John seemed to be the one!
Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. (niv)
- Many of the people who “went out” to hear John (3:5) came confessing their sins.
- Then they were baptized. When you wash dirty hands, the results are immediately visible. But repentance happens inside with a cleansing that isn’t seen right away. So John used a symbolic action that people could see: baptism.
- The Jews used baptism to initiate Gentile converts, so John’s audience was familiar with the rite. Here, John gives baptism a special meaning: It was used as a sign of repentance and forgiveness.
Matthew 3:7-12 – 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Baptism of Jesus
Matthew 3:13-17:
The Baptism of Jesus
13Then Jesus arrived* from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. 14But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted* Him. 16After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is £My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
Baptism of the Son
Matthew 3:13-17 – 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Esv
We know that John was about six months older than Jesus (Luke 1:26) and that Jesus began His ministry when He “was about thirty years of age” (Luke 3:23).
23When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli,
- If John began preaching at the same age, he would have been ministering for about six months when Jesus came to him for baptism.
- But we have no reason to believe that the two began ministering at the same age. And though we know how old Jesus was when He began, we are given no reason as to why He began at that age.
Some scholars suggest that the age of 30 was the generally accepted age for Jewish religious leaders to begin their ministry. According to Numbers 4:30, 29“As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families, by their fathers’ households; 30from thirty years and upward even to fifty years old, you shall number them, everyone who enters the service to do the work of the tent of meeting. – priests entered the priesthood at that age.
But that provision was temporary, because a short while later the age was lowered to 25 (Num. 8:24) and later to 20 (1 Chron. 23:24)—where it continued to be through the reign of Hezekiah (2 Chron. 31:17) and even through the Captivity (Ezra 3:8). We therefore lack clear insight, either biblical or traditional, as to why either John or Jesus began to minister when they did.
We know from the parallel passage in Luke that when Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan, He did not come for a private ceremony. “Now it came about when all the people were baptized, that Jesus also was baptized” (Luke 3:21) Jesus was not to have a private, secret anointing as David first did (1 Sam. 16:13; cf. 2 Sam. 2:4).
The word “Arrived” is from paraginomai, which, as we saw in relation to the magi (2:1) and John the Baptist (“came,” 3:1), was often used to indicate an official arrival or public appearance.
- We learn from Mark 1:9 that Jesus not only came from Galilee, but specifically from Nazareth, when He came to see John.
- It is clear from all the gospel accounts (cf. Mark 1:9; Luke 3:21; John 1:29) that Jesus came alone. No family members or friends accompanied Him, and He had as yet called no disciples.
We know from John’s greeting to Jesus that he recognized Him immediately, but we have no idea how well they knew each other at this time.
- They were cousins, and before their births Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months in the hill country of Judah, where the two women shared with each other their wonderful blessings (Luke 1:39-56).
- Elizabeth knew before Jesus’ birth that Mary’s child would be the Messiah, because she addressed Mary as “the mother of my Lord” (Luke 1:43). Surely Elizabeth would often have shared this wonderful news with her son John, the one whom the angel had told her husband would be “the forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17; cf. v. 66).
- Both boys grew physically and spiritually (Luke 1:80; 2:40), but they did so separately—Jesus in Nazareth and John in the wilderness. It may be, therefore, that they had little, if any, ongoing firsthand acquaintance with one another.
Jesus came to John specifically to be baptized by him, as indicated by the aorist passive infinitive (baptisthēnai), which emphasizes purpose.
- But the idea of Jesus’ being baptized by him was unthinkable to John.
- He not only knew Jesus’ human identity but His divine identity.
- The apostle John tells us that John the Baptist “saw Jesus coming to him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’” (John 1:29).
- John knew that this was God’s own anointed Messiah, come to fulfill God’s redemptive purpose. The Baptist’s first reaction to Jesus’ request for baptism was I have need to be baptized by You.
- 3:2, 6, 11), of which he himself had need; but Jesus had no sins to confess or be forgiven of. John’s baptism was for those who turned from their sin and thereby became fit for the arrival of the great King. Why, then, would the sinless King Himself want to be baptized?
It was because John the Baptist was fully aware of Jesus’ deity and sinlessness that he tried to prevent Him.
- The pronouns in John’s statement are all emphatic, giving evidence of his bewilderment. I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?
- John resisted baptizing Jesus for exactly the opposite reason that he resisted baptizing the Pharisees and Sadducees. They were in great need of repentance but were unwilling to ask for it and gave no evidence of having it. John therefore refused to baptize them, calling them a “brood of vipers” (3:7).
- Jesus, by contrast, came for baptism, though He alone of all mankind had no need of repentance. John refused to baptize the Pharisees and Sadducees because they were totally unworthy of it. Now he was almost equally reluctant to baptize Jesus, because He was too worthy for it.
- John knew that his baptism for repentance from sin was totally inappropriate for Jesus. John acknowledged Jesus as the Christ, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Why should the One who takes away sin submit Himself to a ceremony that represents confession and repentance of sin?
John’s attempt to prevent Jesus from being baptized is therefore a testimony to Jesus’ sinlessness. This prophet, of whom the Lord Himself said there had “not arisen anyone greater” (Matt. 11:11), knew that he himself was not sinless.
- I have need to be baptized by You, he told Jesus, and do You come to me? “I am only a prophet of God,” John was saying, “and I am sinful like everyone whom I baptize. But You are the Son of God and sinless. You are not a sinner. Why, then, do you ask me to baptize You?”
- Among John’s many God-given insights into who Jesus was, what He was like, and what He had come to do, was his knowledge that the One who now stood before Him was without sin. In a less direct but yet definite way, John declared with the writer of Hebrews that Jesus, though “tempted in all things as we are, [is] yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).
- So even in his reluctance to baptize Christ, John was fulfilling the role of a herald and the office of a prophet by proclaiming the perfection of the Savior.
Why did Jesus, who was even more aware of His own sinlessness than John was, want to submit Himself to an act that testified to confession and repentance of sin? Some interpreters suggest that He intended His baptism to be a sort of initiatory rite for His high priesthood, reflecting the ceremony which prepared the Old Testament priests for their ministry. Others suggest that Jesus wanted to identify Himself with the Gentiles, who were initiated into Judaism as proselytes by the act of baptism. Still others take Jesus’ baptism to be His recognition and endorsement of John’s authority, His accrediting of John as a true prophet of God and the genuine forerunner of His own ministry. A fourth view is that the Lord intended to be baptized vicariously for the sins of mankind, making His baptism, along with His atoning death on the cross, a part of His sin-bearing, redemptive work.
But none of those views is supported by Scripture, and none fits the context of the present passage.
The voluntary “descent” to Jordan, and in it the fulfilling of all righteousness.
- At 13 He said: “I must be about My Father’s business” – THEREFORE, He went to submit to its “initiatory rite” of Baptism.
- Thus, the Baptism of John was in itself only a consecration to, and preparatory initiation for, the new Covenant of the Kingdom.
- IT was an act of submissive obedience on the part of the Perfect One.
- It was to submit to its initiatory rite of Baptism.
- Jesus said, Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. These are words of royal dignity and humility.
Jesus understood John’s reluctance and knew that it came from deep spiritual commitment and sincerity. He gave permission for John to do what, without divine instruction, he would never have been willing to do.
- He assured the prophet that in this way it is fitting, and went on to explain to John that His baptism was important for both of their ministries, for us to fulfill all righteousness.
- For God’s plan to be perfectly fulfilled, it was necessary for Jesus to be baptized and to be baptized specifically by John.
- As the King of kings Jesus recognized that He had no ultimate obligation to pay taxes to a human government. When Peter on one occasion asked about the matter, Jesus replied, ‘“What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?’ And upon his saying, ‘From strangers,’ Jesus said to him, ‘Consequently the sons are exempt.
- But, lest we give them offense,… give it [a stater coin] to them for you and Me’” (Matt. 17:25-27). As Scripture makes clear in many places, it is proper and right for believers, even though they are sons of God, to honor and pay taxes to human governments (see Rom. 13:1-7; Titus 3:1; 1 Pet. 2:13-15). In every case, Jesus modeled obedience. In His baptism He acknowledged that John’s standard of righteousness was valid and in action affirmed it as the will of God to which men are to be subject.
Jesus came into the world to identify with men; and to identify with men is to identify with sin. He could not purchase righteousness for mankind if He did not identify with mankind’s sin. Hundreds of years before Christ’s coming, Isaiah had declared that the Messiah “was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors” (Isa. 53:12). Jesus’ baptism also represented the willing identification of the sinless Son of God with the sinful people He came to save.
- He who had no sin took His place among those who had no righteousness. He who was without sin submitted to a baptism for sinners. In this act the Savior of the world took His place among the sinners of the world. The sinless Friend of sinners was sent by the Father “in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3); and He “made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21; cf. Isa. 53:11). There was no other way to fulfill all righteousness.
- and therefore a prefigurement of Christian baptism.
- Jesus made only two other references to personal baptism, and each related to His death. Not long before His final trip to Jerusalem He told His disciples, “I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!” (Luke 12:50).
- On the other occasion He was responding to the request by James and John that they be given the top positions in His heavenly kingdom. “You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” (Mark 10:38). Jesus’ supreme identification with sinners was His taking their sin upon Himself, which He did at Calvary.
- Though John, having been given such a brief explanation, could not possibly have comprehended the full meaning of Jesus’ baptism, he accepted His Lord’s word and obeyed. Then he permitted Him.
Anointing of the Spirit
And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, (3:16)
John’s baptism, and that of Jesus’ disciples during His earthly ministry (John 4:1-2), represented cleansing, or washing, from sin.
- Christian baptism represents the believer’s identification with Christ’s death and resurrection (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12). In both cases the significance of the act is lost if it does not involve immersion. Sprinkling or pouring does not fit either the symbolism of cleansing or of dying and being raised.
- The Greek word itself (baptizō) means literally to dip an object into water or other liquid, not to have the liquid put on the object.
- The Christian church knew no form of baptism but immersion until the Middle Ages, when the practice of sprinkling or pouring was introduced by the Roman Catholic church—which itself had previously always baptized by immersion.
- The great Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) said, “In immersion the setting forth of the burial of Christ is more plainly expressed, in which this manner of baptizing is more commendable.” The Catholic church did not recognize other modes until the Council of Ravenna, held in France in 1311. It was from the Catholic church that Lutheran and Reformed churches inherited the form of sprinkling or pouring. The Church of England did not begin the practice of sprinkling until 1645. The Eastern Orthodox church has never permitted any mode but immersion.
- That Jesus went up immediately from the water indicates that He had been all the way into the water. John was baptizing in the Jordan (3:6), and his custom was to baptize where “there was much water” (John 3:23), which would have been pointless if only sprinkling were used (cf. Acts 8:38-39).
At the moment Jesus came out of the river, behold, the heavens were opened.
- As one commentator suggests, “Just as the veil of the Temple was rent in twain to symbolize the perfect access of all men to God, so here the heavens are rent asunder to show how near God is to Jesus, and Jesus is to God.”
When the heavens opened before John the Baptist, he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, just as the Lord had promised (John 1:33).
- The confirming sign was that of a dove, the only instance in which the Holy Spirit was ever so represented.
- To the Jewish mind of that day the dove was associated with sacrifice. Bullocks were sacrificed by the rich and lambs by the middle class, but most of the people were poor and could only afford a dove.
Why did the Holy Spirit come upon Jesus?
When He became a man, Jesus did not lose His divinity. He was still fully God in every way. In His deity He needed nothing.
- But in His humanity He was here being anointed for service and granted strength for ministry.
- The Spirit anointed Him for His kingly service, as Isaiah had predicted: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners” (Isa. 61:1).
- Among other things, the Spirit of God came upon Jesus in His humanness in a special way (John 3:34) that empowered Him to cast out demons (Matt. 12:28), to do miraculous signs and wonders (Acts 2:22), and to preach (cf. Acts 10:38). Like every human being, Jesus became tired and hungry and sleepy. His humanness needed strengthening, and that needed strength was given by the Holy Spirit (cf. Matt. 4:1; Luke 4:14).
Jesus’ anointing with the Holy Spirit was unique.
- Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the great King whose coming the Lord had called John to announce and to prepare men for.
Confirmation By The Father
and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” (3:17)
All the Trinity participated in Jesus’ baptism.
- The Son had confirmed His own kingship by saying, “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (v. 15), and
- the Spirit had confirmed His right of messiahship by resting on Him (v. 16).
- The final aspect of Jesus’ coronation, or commissioning, was the Father’s confirming word. For a sacrifice to be acceptable to God it must be pure, spotless, without blemish (Ex. 12:5; Lev. 1:3; Deut. 17:1; etc.).
- Of this One who willingly identified Himself with sinners by His baptism and who was marked by the Holy Spirit as the dove of sacrifice, the Father now said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.
Beloved (agapētos) connotes a deep, rich, and profound relationship.
- It is used here of the Father’s great love for His Son,
- but it is also used elsewhere of His love for believers (Rom. 1:7)
- and for what believers’ love toward each other should be (1 Cor. 4:14).
- Only in His Son could the Father ever be fully well-pleased (eudokeō). God had examined, as it were, His beloved Son, who would offer Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of those with whom He was willing to identify Himself. No imperfection could be found in Him, and God was delighted. Matt3v17
As believers, we too are a delight to the Father, because we are now in the Son.
- Because the Father finds no imperfection in His Son, He now by His grace finds no imperfection in those who trust in Him (cf. Rom. 3:26; 5:17, 21; Gal. 2:20; 3:27; Eph. 1:3-6; etc.).
The fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God is central to the gospel. In no passage is that made more clear than in Hebrews 1:1-8:
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high; having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did He ever say, “Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him, and He shall be a Son to Me”? And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.” And of the angels He says, “Who makes His angels winds, and His ministers a flame of fire.” But of the Son He says, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.”
- Jesus Christ is the fullest expression of God, superior to and exalted above everything and everyone else.
- The Son is the manifestation of God, the radiance of God’s personal glory, the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4). In Him all deity dwells (Col. 1:15-19; 2:9).
And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. (nrsv)
- Apparently the action of the Spirit of God descending from heaven like a dove was a sign that Jesus was the Messiah and that the age of the Spirit predicted by the prophets was formally beginning (Isaiah 61:1).
- The Bible does not tell us that anyone but Jesus saw the heavens … opened. It says they were opened to him.
- The opening of the heavens presented God’s intervention into humanity in the human presence of God in Jesus Christ. It was as if the heavens rolled back to reveal the invisible throne of God (Isaiah 63:19–64:2).
- The second sign, “the Spirit of God descending like a dove,” was probably visible to all the people, for Luke recounts that “the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove” (Luke 3:22 nrsv).
- The descent of the Spirit, and the form of the dove itself, represented to Israel God’s mighty workings in the world.
- At creation, “the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:2 niv).
- After the great Flood, the dove carried the news to Noah of the receding waters (Genesis 8:8-12).
His nature was revealed not by a thunderclap or lightning bolt, nor by an eagle or a hawk, but with a gentle dove. Jesus the Messiah would have a different way and a different message than even John expected.