Bible Study series: Matthew 3:13-17. John the Baptist baptizes his relative Jesus, and Father God declare his delight and love for his Son. I wonder how much God loves you and me.
A warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together. I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click on this link:
In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
I also comment more at that link.
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17
3 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan in order to be baptized by him. 14 But John was preventing him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?” 15 But in reply, Jesus said to him, “Permit it now, for in this way it is appropriate for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John permitted him. 16 And after being baptized, Jesus instantly got up out of the water, and look! Heaven opened up to him and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and coming upon him. 17 And listen! A voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I delight!” (Matt. 3:12-17)
Commentary
This whole scene is a nice “family photo” of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. See v. 17 for more comments on the Trinity and some links.
13:
In v. 1, John “appeared.” Here in this verse Jesus appeared. It is the same verb.
14:
John had just announced that he baptized in water and people came to confess their sins. Jesus, on the other hand, was about to baptize people with the Holy Spirit and fire. There is a qualitative difference between the people and the one conceived by the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not need to confess his sins, and nor is he shown doing this.
15:
So what does it mean to fulfill righteousness. “(1) There is the salvation-historical thrust as Jesus identifies with his people Isa. 53:12 in preparing for the saving activity of God (his saving work is the will of God = righteousness). (2) Jesus obeys his Father’s will = all righteousness) by assuming the role of suffering Servant (Isa. 53:11) and so endorses John’s ministry” (Osborne on 3:15).
Blomberg:
“To fulfill all righteousness” means to complete everything that forms part of a relationship of obedience to God. In so doing, Jesus identifies with and endorses John’s ministry as divinely ordained and his message as one to be heeded. (comment 3:15, emphasis original)
Jesus so identified with the people that while they were being baptized, so was he. Was he baptized for forgiveness of sins, when he was proclaimed to be sinless (John 8:45-46; Heb. 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:21-22; 1 John 3:5)?
8. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Was Sinless
His baptism is not for the forgiveness of sins, as the voice from heaven confirms. Rather, his baptism accomplished these truths, as follows:
First, this was his ministry launch. The Messiah was here for those who had eyes to see and ears hear. Second, his baptism was a public consecration by God, and a public declaration of God’s love and acceptance and delight in his Son. The crowds did not get that declaration, so his declaration was unique. Consecration means to be set apart from the unclean and common. Third, however, Jesus also identified with the crowds, as noted. He was about to become the people’s sacrificial offering (2 Cor. 5:21), so he had to get down in the water to show he too was a human. This shows a double imputation. Jesus’s righteousness goes to the people by identifying with them. And the crowd’s sins go to him. This will be developed in Paul’s theology. Fourth, Luke records that John’s family was Levitical, descendants of Aaron, the first high priest. So John is in a sense preparing a sacrifice. Jesus will live the life of sacrifice. Fifth, by being baptized, he put his stamp of approval on John’s ministry (BTSB). Sixth, typologically, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, but Moses was not permitted to cross the Jordan. So Jesus surpasses Moses.
But there’s a seventh reason, which is relational.
Peter was Jesus’s lead apostle, and no doubt he observed this principle operating in his Lord’s life:
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because,
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.” [Prov. 3:34]
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. (1 Pet. 5:5-6, NIV)
James was Jesus’s (half-)brother and he too saw the same virtue being lived out in his Lord’s life:
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (Jas. 4:10)
Were Jesus, James and John First Cousins? Was Clopas Jesus’ Uncle?
I believe that to fulfill all righteousness, Jesus had to temporarily submit and humble himself before John and his ministry of the baptism of repentance, before Jesus’s own ministry could be launched. He may have followed John for longer than we think, just reading Matthew’s Gospel. Recall that Phil. 1:5 says: “rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.” John proclaimed that the one coming after was mightier than he was, and so he was surprised when his superior relative came down into the water.
To “fulfill all righteousness” (emphasis added), Jesus had to be baptized by John, in order first to humble himself and second in order to be exalted. Yes, Jesus was fully righteous, but he had to pass the humility test, just as he had to pass the temptation that Satan was about to throw at him in the wilderness. Jesus passed both tests. Then at the end of his life he had to pass the trial by death. Philippians. 1:6 says: “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” He passed this test too. Therefore his Father resurrected him, and at his Son’s ascension the Father was about to exalt him to the highest heavens, next to his own throne, where he is now seated.
Finally, Philippians 2:9-11 affirms:
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. (NIV)
It all began with Jesus humbling himself before his cousin in water baptism, whose ministry would not be as long-lasting and far-reaching as Jesus’s ministry. Now Jesus was exalted to the highest heaven, all because he humbled himself first.
This humility could be reflected in Isaiah 53:11, where the Servant of the Lord, who is to suffer for his people, is righteous and will make many righteous. To make many righteous and to fulfill all righteousness, he had to humble himself. One translation translates “righteousness” as “requirement” since to live righteously is to obey the requirements of the law (France). Jesus was fulfilling the law.
It is not a far leap to see water as cleansing the soul, as well, though, but as noted, that was not the purpose in Jesus’s case. But it is interesting that all sorts of ritual bathing places have been found in Israel, existing up to Jesus’s days. And no, Jesus did not have to be ceremoniously cleansed, either.
Turner adds in his comment on v. 15:
In baptism, Jesus, as the Suffering Servant, proclaims and exemplifies the righteousness envisioned by the prophets. Fulfilling all righteousness implies that Jesus’s baptism is a key event in unfolding everything that will eventually be entailed in rightly relating the world to God. … Additionally Jesus identifies in baptism with the repentant remnant within the nation of Israel (cf. Matt. 5-6).
Then Turner goes in the direction I went: baptism anticipates his humility. This humility will be tested by Satan who will offer him all the kingdoms of the world (Matt. 4:1-11).
16:
Jesus came up out of the water. Baptism is immersion. Once again, see my post on baptism:
“opened”: it is the standard verb for opened up, but the reality is different: heaven itself was opened. God opened it. Heaven is coming down to honor the Son, who came from heaven.
“came upon”: this is the standard verb and adverb “come” and “upon.” The Spirit is often said to “fall on” and “come upon” people.
Baptized, Filled, and Full of the Spirit: What Does It All Mean?
Luke’s version uses more nuanced language about the dove: “bodily” “in the appearance.” Matthew just goes for the straightforward description. The Spirit of God came down like a dove.
17:
“listen!” It is my translation of the standard “behold!” Behold is a seeing verb, but in this context I made it into a hearing verb. So I’m not a total literalist. It simply means to pay attention or notice an unexpected turn of events. Catch what is happening in the story. However, if you wish to go for “behold,” then that is your choice.
Alternative translation: “This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I have been delighted!”
“beloved”: it is the adjective agapētos (pronounced ah-gah-pay-tohss), and it means “beloved” or “dear.” It can be used of children, friends, fellow-Christians (1 Cor. 4:17; Col. 4:14; 3 John 2, 5, 11). Of the Messiah it has the strong connotation of “only beloved” (Matt. 3:17; Luke 3:22). I believe the Shorter Lexicon is a little off on the latter meaning and right on about the former one. That is, the adjective can mean that we too have God’s love. We too are well-pleasing to God after we repent and receive the baptism for the forgiveness of our sins. Are we well pleasing and beloved of God before our repentance? No, not in the same way. Yes, God loves people before they are born again (John 3:16), but God’s judicial wrath also remains on them until they repent and ask for his forgiveness (John 3:36).
“Son of God”: Let’s look into some more systematic theology. Jesus was the Son of the Father eternally, before creation. The Son has no beginning. He and the Father always were, together. The relationship is portrayed in this Father-Son way so we can understand who God is more clearly. Now he relates to us as his sons and daughters. On our repentance and salvation and union with Christ, we are brought into his eternal family.
6. Titles of Jesus: The Son of God
When Did Jesus “Become” the Son of God?
The OT background is Isaiah 42:1: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights. I have put my Spirit on him; he will bring forth justice to the nations” (ESV). “So Jesus at one and the same time is the Spirit-filled Davidic Messiah, Son of God, and Servant. This explains Jesus’ self-understanding that he fulfills the Servant concept (cf. Matt. 5:3-6; 11:2-6; 12:18-21; Luke 4:18-19) and the special Son” (Osborne, comment on 3:17).
The Trinity: What Are the Basics?
The Trinity: What Are Some Illustrations?
The Trinity: Why Would God Seem So Complicated?
The Trinity: What Does He Mean to Me?
The announcement about the Son refers to Psalm 2:7: “You are my Son, and today I have begotten you.” No, Jesus was not begotten at his baptism, but it refers to the relationship between the Father and Son. The Psalm is an anointing psalm for the king. “Begotten” in this context means a new beginning as king, a coronation. Also, as noted, Isaih 42:1 says, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights.” Turner prefers Isaiah 42:1 over Psalm 2:7 because the Spirit is put on the Servant in Isaiah 42:1. Fair enough.
“delight”: it comes from the Greek verb that means “to think, believe, suppose, consider.” How do we combine the prefix and the stem? First, in some contexts it means, “consider good, consent, resolve” (Luke 12:12; Rom. 15:26; 2 Cor. 5:8; Col. 1:19; 1 Thess. 2:8). Further, in other contexts it means “be well pleased, take delight (Matt. 3:17; 12:18; Luke 3:22; 1 Cor. 10:5; 2 Pet. 12:17); or “delight in, approve, like” (2 Cor. 12:10; 2 Thess. 2:12; Heb. 10:6, 8). So God thought well of his Son Jesus. The Father loved and liked his Son. The Father took delight in and approved of his Son. See Ps. 2:7 and Is. 42:1 for further study.
A word on the verb tense of “delight.” It is in the aorist (past), but it may be so general that it does not refer to a past event (Olmstead p. 55). But if you think it does refer to the past, then you may read it as “In whom I have delighted” or “in whom I have been pleased.”
To conclude ….
It is great to see the family photo of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. At his baptism, the Son humbled himself before his relative John and the people. Now the Father will exalt him. The Father declares his love for his Son during baptism. If we remain in Christ, then Father God delights in us and likes and loves us, too.
GrowApp for Matt. 3:13-17
1. The Father delights in his Son. When you are in Christ, the Father also delights in you. Do you believe this? Why or why not?
RELATED
9. Authoritative Testimony in Matthew’s Gospel
1. Church Fathers and Matthew’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES
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