In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Jesus travels from Nazareth to the banks of the Jordan to be baptised by John. Wherever John was doing his baptising (there are two possibilities), it would have been a long journey for Jesus. Perhaps two weeks on the road in total. We are reminded that Jesus always travels with purpose – he does not stumble across any person or any scene.
Jesus is baptised, and heaven opens up. The vault separating man from God is – just for an instant – torn apart. This is a moment of immediate access between heaven and earth, prefiguring the tearing of the temple curtain at Jesus’ crucifixion. We should be well aware: Jesus’ baptism inaugurates his mission – but this mission will terminate in the cross (until, of course, he is raised). This is why he came.
The Spirit descends like a dove. Paintings of this scene depict an actual dove, but the dove is really meant to convey the gentleness with which the Spirit moved to rest upon Jesus. This man is the Prince of Peace. Also from Isaiah, Jesus is the one upon whom the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord rests (Isaiah 61).
It’s notable that Jesus doesn’t come ‘confessing his sins’, as all others baptised by John did. But the scene does end with a kind of ‘confession’. God in heaven speaks, and declares Jesus to be his Son. There are undertones here of kingship (Psalm 2), sacrifice (Genesis 22: ‘your only son, Isaac, whom you love’) and the servant of Isaiah 42, but the main sense is of mutual affection within God. The Spirit rests gently upon the Son, who is loved by and pleasing to the Father.
Author: Nick Raven
17/04/2020