from the water" because He had been in it. This is the same thing, in the form of inoffensiveness toward men. And here have we not a striking illustration of the Incarnation? shape of a dove, which is a very fit emblem of the Spirit of God Luke makes absolutely clear that what was seen was something ‘physical’ with an appearance almost like a dove. But the Spirit is never visibly ‘seen’, only His effective working is seen. . lo. Matthew 3:16 REV and Commentary - And when Jesus had been baptized, immediately as he stepped away from the water, Look!, th - Bible verse The revelation of the Trinity at the baptism of Jesus gives special significance to the formula of baptism: ‘in’ (or ‘into’) ‘the name of the Father,’ etc. But the only thing that was actually visible was ‘the Spirit of God’ (Luke - ‘the Holy Spirit’) coming down from Heaven like a dove and settling on Jesus. For here He is in visible form. THE CONTEXT Chapter 3 opens with John the Baptist preaching repentance and baptizing in the wilderness of Judea (3:1-12). And was not such that "Holy, harmless, undefiled One," the "Separate from sinners?" It was almost incredible for anyone who knew the Scriptures that the Spirit would come visibly. of God, here said to descend and light on Christ, is the same, A temporary embodiment of the Holy Spirit occurred to publicly inaugurate our Lord as the Messiah. Matthew 3:16-17. As the Holy Spirit the third hypostasis in the Trinity, assumes the bodily form of a dove by way of self-manifestation to the eyes of men, so what difficulty in supposing that the second person of the Trinity should become God manifest in the flesh in a human form? The Spirit of God (or the Lord) coming on someone is a common feature in the Old Testament where the Spirit comes on charismatic leaders (the Judges, Saul and David), on prophets, on the coming Righteous King (Isaiah 11:1-4), on the Servant of YHWH (Isaiah 42:1-4), and on the Anointed Prophet (Isaiah 61:1-2). Again, "Be ye harmless as doves," says Christ Himself (Matthew 10:16). By this God was indicating, not just that Jesus was filled with the Spirit, but that the Spirit was on earth in bodily form in Jesus, as in no other before or since. Only a Person could be thus embodied. The accidental, or even Providential, appearance of a real dove would not call for such marked mention in all four Gospels. rendered thus; and Jesus, when he was baptized, was scarcely come up out And Jesus, when he was baptized, &c. — Hereby he was, 1st, installed into his ministerial office, as the priests were by washing, Exodus 29:4; Leviticus 8:6; Leviticus 2 d, engaged solemnly in the same military work with us against sin and Satan; 3d, admitted a member of the gospel Church, as he was before of the Jewish, by circumcision; 4th, he was baptized as a public person, the Head of his Church, in whom, and by virtue of whose baptism, all his members are baptized spiritually, Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12. However, who can read this account without thinking Evangelist in relating this circumstance, is with respect to what Doubtless some miraculous appearance in the sky. 1. The Holy Spirit comes to anoint Jesus [Christ means anointed], to identify him (John 1:32-34) and to give him power (John 3:34). This together with John 1:32-34 indicates that Jesus and John were the only witnesses of this remarkable event. And we are well pleased with him. That is, the Spirit invested itself with a dove form, in order to make itself visible to their senses. The more grammatical sense points to the complacency of the Father in the Son, when He assumed the office of Mediator (comp. A declaration to John that ‘this is’ the Messiah. God Agrees. And Jesus, when he was baptized All rights reserved. Lange even suggests that the stars appeared. And when with this we compare the predicted descent of the Spirit upon Messiah (Isaiah 11:2), "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him" [w. 16. Can there be a doubt about the burden of that prayer; a prayer sent up, probably, while yet in the water-His blessed head suffused with the baptismal element; a prayer continued likely as He stepped out of the stream, and again stood upon the dry ground? and some indeed read the word "straightway", in connection with The Columba Press. We'll send you an email with steps on how to reset your password. But there, if the signs are to be seen as indicating the Holy Spirit and not the God of Sinai Himself, the dove was replaced by the wind and fire, possibly based partly on John’s symbolism. "O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs (see, "And I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending AND REMAINING ON HIM [ kai (, John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, John Lightfoot's Commentary on the Gospels, Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament, Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament, Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary, Heinrich Meyer's Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament, Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible, Alexander MacLaren's Expositions of Holy Scripture, Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament, Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament, Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments, George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, E.M. Zerr's Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament. ‘He saw’ almost certainly refers to John, as the voice in the third person in Matthew 3:17 makes clear. No combination of pictures could better express the ministry of Jesus. From the water. . As our perfect example in all things (see I John 2:6; I Peter 2:21), He came to John to be baptized to show us the steps we must take to reach the same destination He did—the Kingdom of God. And - adds Luke (Luke 3:21), "while He was praying;" a grand piece of information. But at any rate, the mode of his baptism was such as to make it the symbol and picture of the spiritual baptism which forthwith descended upon him in dovelike form. Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. This is unique in Scripture. The Divine nature and eternal Sonship of Christ are obviously implied. circumstance strongly in favour of baptism by immersion: for that Commentary on Matthew 16:21-23 (Read Matthew 16:21-23) Christ reveals his mind to his people gradually. It was an anointing of Him (already the Anointed One) as God’s Messiah (Acts 4:27; Acts 10:38). My beloved Son, lit, ‘My Son the beloved!’ Used in a unique sense. He rejects Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism because of their unworthiness (3:7-10), and attempts to reject Jesus as a candidate for baptism because of his super-worthiness affection of Christ, on whom he lighted; or it was in some other waters of Jordan, where he had been baptized; and which the Jews HENRY ALFORD (1810-1871) The New Testament for English Readers Matthew Commentary. Unto him and he saw, i.e., Jesus; though John also saw it (John 1:33). We cannot understand the purpose of commentators who endeavour to mar the beauty of this gracious manifestation by talking of its not being a dovelike form, but forsooth a quivering motion, (of what?) this phrase, and not with the words "went up": but there is no We cannot understand the purpose of commentators who endeavour to mar the beauty of this gracious manifestation by talking of its not being a dovelike form, but forsooth a quivering motion, (of what?) All others received the Spirit by measure. Having been baptised by John, Jesus came out of the water, and immediately ‘the Heavens were opened’. Psalms 45:7; Isaiah 61:1. Ephesians 1:4; John 17:24). This also ties in with Matthew’s continual and pointed emphasis on Isaiah’s prophecies from Matthew 3:3 to Matthew 13:17, a passage which then continues through to Matthew 20:28. The person of the Holy Ghost in a bodily shape, (. The person of the Father; a voice came out of heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, etc. token of peace and reconciliation, when the waters were abated persons of thought and sense. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I lo… Article Images Copyright © 2021 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. of Noah's dove, which brought in its mouth the olive leaf, a He . The Greek text is favourable to this interpretation. Baptism is therefore to be performed, not by sprinkling, but by washing the body.” Dr. Schaff wrote: “While the validity of baptism does not depend on the quantity or quality of water, or the mode of its application, yet immersion and emersion [emergence] is the primitive and expressive mode to symbolize the idea of entire spiritual purification and renovation.” Dr. Schaff also says: “The Greek word ‘baptize’ as derived from a root that means ‘to dip,’ ‘to immerse.’” All the great scholars agree with these views. "Thou art fairer than the children of men; grace is poured into Thy lips; therefore God hath blessed Thee forever!" --- As a dove, or like a dove in a bodily shape. It would also be a reminder of the dove who returned to the ark with the symbol of coming fruitfulness in its beak (Genesis 8:11), the symbol that judgment was at least temporarily put aside and of a new opportunity for creation to begin again. Commentary on Matthew 3:7-12 (Read Matthew 3:7-12) To make application to the souls of the hearers, is the life of preaching; so it was of John's preaching. way for the visible descent of the Holy Ghost in a bodily shape. Yet I do not hesitate to admit that Christ also, so far as he was man, received from it additional certainty as to his heavenly calling. How long it took those closest to Jesus to recognise that this experience indicated this fact we do not know, but it does explain why John the Baptiser was able to declare, ‘I saw and bear witness that this is the Son of God’ (John 1:34). xvii,) and by the crowd in the temple. The Spirit of God. Matthew 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, see, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting on him: KJV: And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: It was done on purpose, that believers might learn to receive, and to contemplate with reverence, his divine power, and that the weakness of the flesh might not make him despised. The opening of the Heavens was a way of speaking of God acting from Heaven. into it; must have been in it, and was baptized in it; a John (John 1:32) says: ‘it abode upon Him;’ the outward sign was temporary, the anointing was permanent. But at any rate, the mode of his baptism was such as, to make it the symbol and picture of the spiritual baptism which forthwith, That is, Jesus saw the dovelike Spirit. 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