Text: Matthew 3:16 – “ When He had been baptized,
Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened
to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon
Him.”
After John agrees to baptize Jesus (see his objection in yesterday’s post). We see another point that emphasizes the form of Baptism that the New Testament practiced in this passage. Notice the phrase, “ Jesus came up immediately from the water….” It pictures John lifting Jesus up from his submersion into the water. This picture is also in the account of Philip and eunuch –
Acts 8:36-39 – “Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.”
When Jesus has fulfilled this act of righteousness, we see that the heavens were opened. The expression means that John was permitted to see far into the heavens beyond what the natural vision would allow. We can find a similar idea when Stephen was stoned (Acts 7:55-56) – “But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’”
The Holy Spirit then descends like a dove upon Jesus. The dove, among the Jews, was the symbol of purity of heart, harmlessness, and gentleness. The form of the dove chosen here was doubtless an emblem of the innocence, meekness, and tenderness of the Savior.
The Messiah is “The Anointed One.” He is the Prophet, Priest, and King. In the Old Testament, the anointing was by oil, and that was a representative of the Spirit of God. Here – we see the presence of the Spirit of God at this event. The gift of the Holy Spirit, in this manner, was the public approbation of Jesus, and a sign of his being set apart to the office of the Messiah. We are not to suppose that there was any change done in the moral character of Jesus, but only that he was publicly set apart to his work, and solemnly approved by God in the office to which he was appointed.
Today we have seen today the Anointing of the Holy Spirt, and
tomorrow we will see the Approval of the Father.
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