Then Jesus appeared: he came from Galilee to the Jordan to be
baptised by John. 14John tried to dissuade him, with
the words, 'It is I who need baptism from you, and yet you come to me!' 15But Jesus replied, 'Leave it like this for the time being;
it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that uprightness demands.'
Then John gave in to him. 16And when Jesus had been baptised he at once came up
from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. 17And
suddenly there was a voice from heaven, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour
rests on him.'
It was at this time that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised in the Jordan by John. 10And
at once, as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart
and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. 11And a voice came
from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you.'
Now it happened that when all the
people had been baptised and while Jesus after his own baptism was at prayer, heaven opened 22and
the Holy Spirit descended on him in a physical form, like
a dove. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son; today have I fathered
you.'
And John declared,
'I saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from heaven and rest on him. 33I
did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptise with water had said to
me, "The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is
to baptise with the Holy Spirit." 34 I have seen and I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.'
1. The
undescribed background for the events described in these passages raises
multiple topics for meditation:
A. Did
Jesus and Mary know what was coming? Did they anticipate that this trip to the
Jordan was just a one-off pilgrimage, or did they understand that it was a
decisive shift from one phase of Jesus’ life to another? These passages do not speak to that, and other
parts of scripture point in both directions:
i.
Isaiah
49:3-4 suggests that Messiah would not always understand what was
happening as He fulfilled His mission.
ii.
Mark
6:30-34, Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane, and the failures of His efforts
to keep His miracles secret indicate that He did not have complete knowledge of
how His earthly ministry would go on a day-to-day/hour-by-hour basis.
iii.
The general tenor of Jesus’ statements about being a faithful
executor of the Father’s directions suggests that He may not have known what
those directions were going to be before He received them. See John
5:19, 6:38, 8:28, 12:49, 14:24.
iv.
Mark
3:21 suggests that Jesus’ family did not fully understand Jesus’
earthly ministry as it was occurring.
v.
On the other hand, Luke
2:49 and Matthew
3:14-15 indicate that Jesus had some understanding of His life’s
special purpose before He started His public ministry.
B. If
Jesus knew that this was indeed the end of His old way of life, what prompted Him
make that change? Luke
3:23 tells us that Jesus was about 30 years old when He began His
public ministry, so He was well into adulthood. He had presumably been working
during that time. What inspired Him to leave that life for a radically
different one? Was it some sort of express divine communication, similar to
those Mary and Joseph received in connection with Jesus’ birth/infancy? Did He
get some sort of preview of what was about to happen, similar to that given
John the Baptist, as described in John
1:33? Was it the general buzz around John the Baptist? That last
scenario is consistent with Luke’s description of Jesus’ baptism, where Jesus
is one of many baptized that day.
C. Also,
if Jesus and Mary knew that this was more than a mere pilgrimage, what had to
be done to wrap up Jesus’ old life? What
practical matters/issues/tensions had to be worked through?
2. Regardless
of what got Jesus there and what He knew about what was about to happen, there
is no question about the fact that He had to make real effort to get to there:
A. He had
to travel a significant distance, likely on foot. And in addition to the
physical effort involved, Luke
10:30 reflects that travel in those days was not without hazard.
B. Jesus
had to at least temporarily leave His family and work, therefore causing
domestic disruption and lost income.
C. He
faced regional prejudice once He got there. Folks from Galilee were apparently
looked down upon by others. See John
1:46, 7:52.
D. And
once He got there he faced resistance from John, albeit innocent and fleeting
resistance. See Matthew
3:14-15.
E. In
short, this was not an easy, passive, acceptance of God’s will, but instead
involved great effort. We see the same dynamic in Mary and Joseph’s response to
God’s will concerning Jesus’ birth and infancy. Although we often (and
rightfully) think of the passion when we think of the great cost paid for our reconciliation
with God, we should not overlook the other, very real, sacrifices Jesus and His
earthly family made.
3. Those
realities illustrate an often overlooked dynamic: yielding to God’s will is not
a passive act; it often (indeed usually) involves affirmative action. Jesus’
obedience here required Him to take concrete, positive, action.
4. These
events also illustrate a related dynamic: God’s response sometime only occurs after the His servants take affirmative
action in reliance upon His invitation/instruction. For example, Peter and
company only receive the provision they need to engage (or reengage) in
fulltime ministry after they follow
Jesus’ fishing advice. See Luke
5:1-11, John
21. The disciples are only able
to feed the multitudes after they
follow Jesus’ instructions about the seemingly inadequate fishes and loaves.
See Matthew
14:15-21, Matthew
15:32-38, Mark
6:35-44, Mark
8:1-9, Luke
9:12-17, John
6:5-13. The 72 are only able to exercise the powers
Jesus promises after they go out on
the road. See Luke
10:1-24. Here, Jesus’ unique status is definitively revealed only after he takes the affirmative action of
leaving Galilee in response to whatever prompted that action.
5. Regardless
of whether Jesus fully understood what was going to happen here before it did,
Matthew’s account makes it clear that John did not. But that lack of
comprehension did not prevent John performing the part of God’s plan he was created
for. As Jesus later put it, “there has never been anyone greater than John the
Baptist[.]” Matthew 11:11(NJB). That goes to show that:
A. Even
those right in the middle of God’s will can sometimes not quite get what’s
going on.
B. Such
lack of comprehension does not limit our effectiveness if we keep pressing on
with what we do understand God wants of us. For more on this topic check out Fear does not
equal Failure and Doubt does not equal Disqualification.
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