Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons


Luke

The baptism of Jesus. 3:21-22

[Seed logo] Introduction
      This small episode in Luke's gospel is the third in a group of six witnesses or testimonies to Jesus. Our particular episode concerns the witness of Jesus' baptism. We see in Jesus' baptism the hope of redemption, and in the words from heaven, the commissioning, on our behalf, of God's servant messiah.

The passage
      v21. The people were coming to John to be baptized, and Jesus joined the crowd and was baptized along with the people. Jesus certainly doesn't need to undergo a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. In accepting John's baptism, Jesus shows his full support for John's mission, and at the same time, he identifies with the very people he has come to save. Jesus' baptism is a symbolic act in that it is a visible replay of Israel's escape from bondage in Egypt. The gospel writers are keen for us to see Jesus as remnant Israel, so Jesus passes through the water like Israel of old, but unlike Israel, he does not fail his time of testing in the wilderness. In his baptism, the sinless one sets out on the journey to become sin on behalf of sinners, so that sinners might be without sin.
      v22. Following his baptism, Jesus has a vision. It's as if the separation between heaven and earth is breached and the Holy Spirit, in dove-like form, comes to Jesus, while at the same time, God the Father speaks. The Holy Spirit comes upon Jesus, anointing him, setting him apart and equipping him for his divine service of healing the brokenhearted and announcing freedom, Isa.61:1. Then, God the Father speaks, authenticating Jesus' messianic credentials. God commissions Jesus as his Messiah-Servant. He does this by quoting scripture. First Psalm 2:7, a quote from the coronation liturgy of God's Messianic King. Then Isaiah 42:1, a quote from the ordination liturgy of God's Suffering Servant. So, although this vision is for Jesus alone, none-the-less, God announces to the heavens and the earth that this Jesus is the glorious coming messiah-king, who will soon bring all things into subjection to himself, and that he is also God's suffering-servant, who through his suffering and death will save a people unto God.

A washing for Israel
      The theology behind this short passage is quite substantial. For the people of Israel, their king represented the nation. The king was a corporate entity. When the prophets spoke of the coming king, the messiah, they did so in a way that retained this corporate identity. The messiah was, in a sense, the people. So, prophecies concerning the new Israel, or the righteous king, were interchangeable. Jesus the Messiah, King David's greater son, is also the new Israel. Through faith we are united to Jesus and so we become with him the new Israel, the chosen, called-out, people of God.
      In our passage for study these themes are intertwined. Jesus represents Israel, escaping from the bondage of Egypt through the Reed Sea, passing through the waters into the wilderness. The prophets foretold the day when suffering Israel would be released from the bondage of sin and death and possess the blessing of eternal life. This promised day finds its fulfilment in Jesus who takes upon himself the role of faithful Israel. Unlike Israel of old, Jesus did not fail the test in the wilderness, but remained faithful, even unto the cross.
      Our passage for study images this corporate role, both in Jesus' baptism and in the words from heaven. Jesus is regaled as king with words from the royal psalm, 2:7. Linked to this is the reference from Isaiah 42:1 where Jesus is displayed as the suffering servant.
      So, in simple terms, Jesus, as the representative of the people of God, sets forth on his mission to carry a people from bondage and death to freedom and life. He does this in his own life as the glorious messianic king who suffers on behalf of the people. So in him, through faith, we escape bondage and head for the promised land of freedom and life.
      For Luke, the baptism of Jesus sits in the middle of John's ministry. In truth, having baptized Jesus, John's mission is over. For Luke, the incident serves to witness who Jesus is. He is the Christ, the messiah, the servant king. To this messiah shall be gathered a lost people, and through their incorporation with him they will find life eternal.
      For those of us who read the story today, we find assurance in the knowledge that in Christ we have passed through the Reed Sea, we have escaped the bondage of sin, and are assured that we will be carried to the promised land. In Christ, we have become God's unique beloved children in whom he is "well pleased." This possession is not gained nor retained by our faithfulness, but by the faithfulness of the one who went before.

Discussion
      1. If Jesus doesn't need to be baptized, nor receive the Holy Spirit, then why did he submit to John's baptism and why did the Holy Spirit come upon him?
      2. What is the witness of Jesus' baptism?
      3. How do we share in his baptism? 4. The words from heaven, what do they tell us about Jesus?


Notes

Textual notes   Abbreviations,   Bibliography
 
v21
      egeneto (ginomai) aor. "-" - it came to pass, happened. "Now it happened that ....", NJB.
      en tw/ baptisqhnai (baptizw) aor. pas. inf. "when [all the people] were being baptized" - while were baptized. The preposition with the articular infinitive forms a temporal clause. Note the time sequence with the action that follows: "Jesus was baptized", "was praying", "heaven opened", preceded by "had been baptized", Nolland.
      aJpanta ton laon "all the people" - The "all" obviously does not mean everyone, but does serve to indicate the success of John's ministry. John has fully prepared Israel for the messiah's coming. Mark indicates that only Jesus witnesses what follows, Matthew tells us that at least John is able to see what follows, whereas Luke leaves us guessing. It is unlikely that the crowd witnesses what follows, although the Spirit's descent "in bodily form" may indicate otherwise.
      baptisqentoV (baptizw) gen. aor. part. "[Jesus] was baptized" - having been baptized. Genitive absolute in the aorist tense, establishing the second temporal (time) step, see above. Understandably, Jesus' willingness to submit to John's baptism has been an ongoing bother to New Testament commentators. We need to note, that other than Matthew, both Mark and Luke see no need to apologize for Jesus' willingness to be baptized by John, nor any need to explain the paradox of the one who baptizes with the Spirit being baptized by the one who baptizes with water. Fitzmyer summarizes the usual explanations as to why Jesus may have submitted to baptism as: i] he is aware of his personal sin - "a sinner among a crowd of sinners", Murray. Obviously discounted; ii] Jesus wants to show his approval for John's ministry; iii] Jesus was a disciple of John. There is no evidence for this; iv] Jesus' baptism is symbolic of his sacrificial death on behalf of sinners - expressing the "buried with Christ" idea. Fitzmyer himself suggests that Jesus' baptism serves to support John's ministry as a basis for his own, and that it demonstrates the necessity of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Some commentators work on Matthew's "it is fitting to perform every righteous act", 3:15, but what does this mean? Jesus could just be saying it's the right thing to do. A.M. Hunter, with his usual clarity (love the old AM!), probably best expresses the views of the majority of conservative commentators when he states that the sinless Jesus underwent a baptism for the repentance of sins because "he discerned the hand of God in John's mission, and by his acceptance of John's baptism identified himself with the people he came to save." At the beginning of his ministry Jesus was "numbering himself among the transgressors." This idea is then extended by some to include the substitutionary idea of "buried with Christ." In his baptism Jesus becomes "the one great Sinner who repents", Barth, ie. in his baptism the sinless one set out on the journey to become sin on behalf of sinful Israel, so that sinful Israel might be without sin. Although theologically sound, the gospel writers give no overt hint that Jesus' baptism can be spiritualized in this way. Of course, a lack of comment doesn't mean that there is nothing to comment about, given that the gospel writers are more than restrained when it comes to theological comments, eg. note the little that is said concerning the meaning of Jesus' death in the synoptic gospels. Although the gospel writers give us few specific theological leads, they do happily employ typology. Jesus' baptism, followed as it is, by the temptation, reflects Exodus typology, something that was very much in the mind of the gospel writers. Jesus, as representative Israel, responds to the divine call to the wilderness where Israel's sonship will be restored, passes through the water and out into the wilderness. The Exodus motif is of course redemptive, and although unstated in the gospel accounts of Jesus' baptism, is probably the central idea. So, Jesus, as faithful Israel, the son of God, does what Israel must do, he steps forward in faith to play the part of the representative repentant sinner, and as faithful Israel, is declared by God as his beloved son. As Barth puts it, in his baptism Jesus becomes "the one great Sinner who repents." "When all the people had been baptized, Jesus too was baptized", Barclay.
      proseucomenou (proseucomai) gen. pres. part. "was praying" - praying. Genitive absolute in the present tense, establishing the third temporal step, although the present tense indicates that Jesus' prayer continues while the heaven opens. Humble preparation indicates the importance Jesus gives to what follows. "While he was praying", Barclay.
      ton ouranon (oV) "heaven" - the heaven. Possibly Luke is referring to the sky, "the sky parted", but he probably intends God's domain.
      anew/cqhnai (anoigw) aor. pas. inf. "was opened" - to be opened. The infinitive serves as the final temporal step and is therefore best translated as a simple verb in the present tense, "heaven opened." "An apocalyptic revelation motif, cf. Ezk.1:1", Nolland. The heavens open so that the Spirit may descend and God speak. "The heaven opened."

v22
      katabhnai (katabainw) aor. inf. "descended" - to descend. Possibly a temporal infinitive. The Holy Spirit is not usually described as "coming down", although Nolland notes that Exodus typology is possibly at work here, "the Holy Spirit came down from the Lord and led them", Isa.63:14, LXX.
      epi "on" - upon. Note Mark has "into" him. "Upon" aligns with Old Testament usage. The Spirit usually comes "upon" a person, covers a person, to set them apart, lead and support them in a divine task, such that they are "anointed of the Spirit."
      swmatikw/ eidei "in bodily form" - in bodily outward appearance. Adj. + noun. The dative is locative. Both words indicate approximation rather than actual form. The words are not in Mark and so Luke is probably stressing the fact that the Holy Spirit takes "the appearance of a dove", is "dove-like." Of course, it is possible that dove-like describes the descent, not the Holy Spirit; "the Holy Spirit in bodily form came down like a dove [flies down]", Barclay.
      peristeran (a) "a dove" - a dove, pigeon. "Pigeon" doesn't quite have the same ring to it! The "dove" doesn't actually represent the Holy Spirit, it is the Holy Spirit, although Luke describes the incident as a vision, a theophany. In this vision, Jesus sees the Holy Spirit as being dove-like. The Spirit comes to Jesus, the representative Israel, sets him apart, equips him for the service, to proclaim good news to the lost, to heal the brokenhearted and announce freedom, Isa.61:1. Like the baptism itself, the descent of the Spirit is all part of the inauguration of messiah's mission. Jesus does not need the Spirit's assistance, but the new Israel does.
      fwnhn (h) "a voice" - The "voice" is God's voice, again a theophany. In apocalyptic literature, God is described as speaking, usually for the purpose of instruction, here obviously commissioning.
      su "you" - Emphatic position. Jesus is being singled out, over and above John.
      oJ uJioV mou "[you are] my son" - The designation, "son of God", is used as a title for the messiah, although in the Old Testament it could be used of the king, the nation, or even angels. The term "beloved son" may actually incorporate the idea of Jesus' unique relationship of sonship to God the Father, but here it is more likely identifying Israel as God's son, his chosen people, encapsulated in the messianic king. This first part of the divine words is a quote from the coronation liturgy of the messianic King found in Psalm 2:7.
      oJ agaphtoV adj. "whom I love" - Although unlikely, note the LXX variant "you are my son, today I have begotten you." The word sometimes carries the sense of a particular, or uniquely set-apart association, so "my one and only son whom is dearly love", even "my only son." The adjective functioning as a substantive may be attributive "my beloved son", NRSV alt., or in apposition "you are my son, the beloved", NRSV, as NIV. The latter translation seems best as it better separates the two quotations. The phrase expresses the unique relationship the messiah has with God.
      eudokhsa (eudokew) aor. "I am well pleased" - I have come to delight. The phrase "well pleased" is drawn from Isaiah 42:1. The words were often used with Psalm 2:7 in messianic prophecies circulating in the first century. Some scholars follow an alternate reading which just quotes from Psalm 2:7, "Thou art my son, today I have begotten thee." Isaiah 42:1 comes from the ordination liturgy of the Servant of the Lord, the Servant whose journey is one of suffering.


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