Jesus’ Baptism and ours

Baptism is something that often divides churches. Some hold that a certain amount of water needs to be used and only a certain mode is acceptable. Others use holy water and words that must be applied of the baptism is invalid. While Christians disagree on the mode and timing of baptism, few deny the importance of it. This is, in part, because Jesus himself was baptized and we want to follow him. We come in our study of Luke’s Gospel to the baptism of Jesus.

On the one hand, Jesus’ baptism was ordinary. We read in Luke 3:21, “Now when all the people were baptized” that Jesus was also baptized. This shows us the normalness of the event. It happened while others were being baptized. But why was Jesus baptized? He did not need to repent, and he certainly did not need the washing away of sins. Why does he come out to be baptized by John? There are several reasons, but most significant is that Jesus came to identify with sinners.

Jesus is getting ready to take up his public ministry and so he comes to receive the Spirit’s empowerment and the Father’s endorsement before that ministry begins. Think of where Jesus is going after his baptism: into the wilderness to face temptation. The Spirit is to empower him for not just that event, but for all that he will encounter in his life. This brings us to the uniqueness of the event. We read, “when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened.” The picture of the heavens opening is a way of recording God’s dramatic action, a vision from heaven or the breaking in of revelation.

We read in Luke 3:22, “and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” What is going on here? What was visible was not an actual dove, but rather what was seen is compared to a dove. The manner of the Spirit’s descent was like the way a dove floats gracefully through the air. All three synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) record the event and John provides a recap of the event in John the Baptist’s words. All felt the need to include it. There are some differences in the way that it is presented, though. For Mark, the Spirit comes into Jesus. Luke and Matthew word the account in light of the figure of the dove and, since a dove cannot go into, but can alight upon someone they speak of the Spirit coming upon Jesus. The point, though, is the same: Jesus received the Holy Spirit before taking up his work.

What are we to make of God’s announcement? The grammar indicates that all the clauses of this verse are subordinate to the confession of the Father. This is only one of two times that the Father speaks regarding the Son (the second time will be in the Transfiguration) and the only time that the Holy Spirit comes on the Son. We have here the three persons of the Trinity in one place at the same time!

God is saying three things about Jesus: that he is his son, that he is beloved, and that God is well-pleased with him. These are all drawing on different Old Testament images. The reference to Jesus as the Son is the easiest to see (and the most common) from Psalm 2:7. This was an enthronement Psalm, for the King of Israel. It came to be attached to the messianic hope of a king in David’s line. Here, God is declaring that Jesus is this expected King. The reference to God’s being pleased is from Isaiah 42:1. Jesus is the one who brings justice, the chosen one of the Father in whom he delights. The reference to Jesus being God’s beloved Son comes to us from Isaiah 41:8. In this verse the ideas of Servant, chosen and beloved are tied together and alludes to the chosen and intimate relationship that Jesus has to the Father.

The Spirit that led Jesus into the wilderness and sustained him through the temptation is the same Spirit that empowers the church and individual believers. Just as God has promised to keep his Servant, so he has promised to keep his people. This does not guarantee a perfect life; rather, it guarantees that an imperfect life will in the end be perfected.

Pastor Everett Henes, the pastor of the Hillsdale Orthodox Presbyterian Church, can be reached at pastorhenes@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Opinion