This is my beloved Son

Today we begin a journey that will take us through Matthew as we are on the road to Easter.

Jan. 3 – Matt 3:13-17

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, 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 it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he consented. 16 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. 17 And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’

John the Baptist (that is the John in this passage) was to be the forerunner – the one who prepared the way for Jesus. The warm-up act. When Jesus arrived where John was baptizing people in the Jordan River and asked to be baptized, John was not willing to do the baptism. Because John was baptizing people who were repenting of their sins, as a sign that they were going to live new, transformed lives. And Jesus had nothing to repent of, nothing to confess that he had done wrong, nothing to repent of. So why would Jesus be baptized?

It was a public passing of the baton – John had done his job, had prepared the way, now it was Jesus who would be the one to proclaim the good news. Glancing ahead to Matthew 4:12, we are told “when Jesus heard that John had been arrested”, King Herod’s arrest of John brings an end to John’s ministry shortly after the baptism of Jesus.

Second, here as Jesus’ ministry begins, God the Father and the Holy Spirit speak and act to say they are part of what is going on here. That is Jesus is baptized the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove comes upon Jesus, and God the Father speaks from heaven – “This is my beloved Son” (or “my Son, the beloved”). The three persons of the Trinity are present – Jesus is affirmed and encouraged by both the Holy Spirit and the Father – an important marker at the beginning of his ministry. The Trinity was unified in Jesus’ ministry.

When Jesus speaks, it is the voice of God. When Jesus acts, it is the Holy Spirit at work. When Jesus felt alone, he knew that God the Father and the Holy Spirit were with him. The Trinity is in complete harmony regarding Jesus’ mission and purpose.  

PRAYER: 

God of mercy and wonder, we are amazed at the perfect harmony within the Trinity, one in purpose, one in vision. We rejoice that you, O Triune God of grace, were willing to act for our redemption. We are in awe of this your gift given to and for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.