At his baptism, the Spirit of God descended on Jesus to prepare him for his messianic calling, for he will “baptize in the Spirit” – Matthew 3:7-17.
- “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance: and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say to you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham. And even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees: every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” – (Matthew 3:7-10).
- (Matthew 3:11-12) – “I indeed baptize you in water for repentance: but he that is coming after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire, whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor; and he will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.”
All who responded to the call and prepared to welcome the Messiah would experience the “baptism in the Spirit.” Those who refused would experience the other side of the coin. This warning was applicable both to individual Israelites, and to the entire nation.
- (Matthew 3:13-17) –“Then comes Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized of him. But John would have hindered him, saying, I have need to be baptized of you, and you come to me? But Jesus, answering, said to him, Suffer it now: for thus it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him; and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
- (John 1:32) - “And John bore witness, saying, I beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it remained upon him.”
- (John 3:34-36) - “For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God: for he gives not the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and He has given all things into his hand. He that believes on the Son has everlasting life; but he that obeys not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.”
The voice from heaven acknowledged Jesus as His “Son.” In doing so, it combined words from two messianic passages:
- (Psalm 2:7) - “I will surely tell of the decree of Yahweh: he said to me, You are my Son, today, I have begotten you.”
- (Isaiah 42:1) - “Behold, my servant whom I uphold; my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.”
Together, they define the identity and mission of the Messiah. He is God’s royal “Son” destined to reign from David’s throne. But the Spirit was given to the ‘Suffering Servant’ from the book of Isaiah. In other words, he would fulfill his royal role as the ‘Suffering Servant of Yahweh.’
The descent of the Spirit signified the equipping of Jesus to carry out his mission. The heavenly voice demonstrated divine approval of his messiahship, and in this context, of his submission to the baptism of John. His ministry began with an act of obedience to His Father.
Jesus had arrived at the Jordan River “from Galilee.” After his baptism, anointed and equipped by the Spirit, he would return to Galilee to commence proclaiming the Gospel – “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” But first, the Spirit would “drive him into the wilderness,” where he was tested by Satan.
[Download PDF copy from Google Drive]
No comments:
Post a Comment