Jesus Baptized, John Testifies

Jesus is Baptized and John Testifies, Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, John 1:9-13, 15-18, 29-34

Matthew 3:13 Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. 16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and [a]he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and [b]lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is [c]My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

Mark 1:9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens [a]opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; 11 and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

Luke 3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

John 1:9 There was the true Light [a]which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His [b]own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were [c]born, not of [d]blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 1:15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me [a]has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” 16 For of His fullness [b]we have all received, and [c]grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth [d]were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who [a]has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ 31 I did not recognize [b]Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing [c]in water.” 32 John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not recognize [d]Him, but He who sent me to baptize [e]in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes [f]in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

Footnotes:

a. Matthew 3:16 Or He

b. Matthew 3:16 Lit coming upon Him

c. Matthew 3:17 Or My Son, the Beloved

Footnotes:

a. Mark 1:10 Or being parted

Footnotes:

a. John 1:9 Or which enlightens every person coming into the world

b. John 1:11 Or own things, possessions, domain

c. John 1:13 Or begotten

d. John 1:13 Lit bloods

Footnotes:

a. John 1:15 Lit has become before me

b. John 1:16 Lit we all received

c. John 1:16 Lit grace for grace

d. John 1:17 Lit came to be

Footnotes:

a. John 1:30 Lit has become before me

b. John 1:31 I.e. as the Messiah

c. John 1:31 The Gr here can be translated in, with or by

d. John 1:33 I.e. as the Messiah

e. John 1:33 The Gr here can be translated in, with or by

f. John 1:33 The Gr here can be translated in, with or by

Commentary

My study this week covers several passages because the account of this event is in all four gospels. Since this is one of the first points at which all the accounts converge, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at the historical legitimacy of the gospel accounts. I encourage you to take a look at this comprehensive article about the reliability of the gospel authors and subsequent translations https://evidenceandanswers.org/article/historical-reliability-of-the-gospels/. For the purpose of this post, I wanted to call out that, while the testimonies must agree on major points in order to be considered accurate, if they all contained the exact same details, it would undermine the authors’ credibility insomuch as it would indicate collusion (https://www.gotquestions.org/four-Gospels.html).

In addition to the baptism account, I included some of the earlier passages in John because they demonstrate the fact that the world would not recognize Jesus, and thus would necessitate the testimony of John the Baptist. (Later in the post, I also cover another shade of meaning to the word “recognize”, which will further explain that passage.) These verses also complement the event which introduces Jesus as a public figure, the Messiah who has come to save us and give us access into the family of God if we will recognize Him, receive Him, and believe in His name.

In the passage from Matthew, we note that John the Baptist attempted to hinder Jesus from baptism (the literal translation of the Greek = ‘was hindering’ https://biblehub.com/text/matthew/3-14.htm). John does this for two reasons; baptism was an outward expression of an inward decision to repent, and Jesus, being sinless, could not ‘turn from’ the path which he had already been traveling. Also, as John states, he felt himself unworthy of the opportunity and responsibility. Jesus encourages John to passively allow the ritual because it is important to Jesus that He demonstrate all the rites of a faithful Jew and also inaugurate “His public ministry as the Messiah” (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1169).

As Jesus comes up from the water, the Spirit of God descends upon His shoulder, and the voice of the Father speaks from Heaven. This is one of the few times in the Bible when all three persons of the trinity are active at once, and it is significant in particular because the Father publicly voices His approval of the Son (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1238). The form taken by the Holy Spirit is a dove, which is significant for a number of reasons. “The dove was a symbol of innocence and purity (cf. Mt 10:16) and served as an ideal symbolic representation for the Holy Spirit since it is a totally defenseless animal” (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1169). Also, as we see in the passage from John, John the Baptist was told that he would see the Spirit descend on the Messiah, and that’s how he would be certain of His deity. This idea of the Spirit alighting on the Messiah also recalls Isaiah 11:2, which I’ve pasted below in the scripture reference section. Based on the fact that John already recognized a holiness in Jesus, which caused him to hinder Jesus from being baptized, this sign of the dove seems to cement an idea John already had about who Jesus was.

The passage from John indicates that John the Baptist had not recognized Jesus until the dove alighted on him, but the literal translation of the Greek word is ‘knew’ (https://biblehub.com/text/john/1-33.htm), which to me could indicate that John was not completely certain, or did not ‘know’, until he saw the Spirit descend as he had been told he would. In terms of the translators’ choice of the word ‘recognize’, this application could be more like a formal acknowledgement, as in “The United States promptly recognized Israel” (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/recognize). This idea is corroborated by the fact that John 1:10 says the world did not “know” Him. “The verb used here (Gr gnosko) means to acknowledge or recognize. The world rejected Him” (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1298).

Because I just picked up something else interesting, I also want to explore the being of the Holy Spirit. My family just got back from a vacation to Colonial Williamsburg, where one of the presentations was made by a Shawnee Indian. He discussed many aspects of Shawnee culture, including hunting, war, language, and religion. As he described the religion they observe, he said they believe in one God, their creator, who has three parts. They believe humans bear the image of their creator and that humans have three parts, also: spirit, flesh, and energy/animation. When they die, they believe that all their three parts will return to the place from which they came; the spirit will return to Heaven to be with their creator, their flesh will return to dust, and their energy/animation will return to the underworld to be recycled. While not every aspect of this belief system coincides with Judeo-Christian beliefs, I was really surprised at the similarities. When I was talking to my husband about it, he said of course it makes sense because we all came from the original line of Adam and Noah, so all people knew the truth at one time; it has just become twisted or perverted in different ways over time and with cultural changes.

When I dove back into my study after I returned home, I looked again at the Pictorial Encyclopedia passage about the Holy Spirit, and here’s what I read in the opening lines, which explain the Old Testament depiction of the Holy Spirit. “By analogy, the word was applied to the breath of man, and since human breath is at once the evidence of animal vitality and the vehicle of thought and passion, the word means both the principle of animation and the distinctive spiritual principle in man (Gen 6:17; Job 17:1; Ezek 37:6). The OT writers also believed that man was made in the divine image, that he had received his vital breath from God, and at death, when he breathed his last, gave his spirit back to God. Thus God is described as having a…Spirit, the source of that breath of life by which all living creatures are animated, and the Giver of those unique qualities that make man like Himself” (Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol 3 pg. 183). Again, the similarities in religions developed across the globe from one another is astounding.

I was talking about it with a friend, who also happened to be in Williamsburg at the same time (small world!), and she wondered how much the Shawnee religion may have been influenced by early European settlers. That idea may not be without merit, and I did a little reading on the Shawnee religious traditions. I found some articles that said the Shawnee were always very religious and retained their own religion in spite of European influence and other articles that indicate there may have been some Christian influence, after all. Most articles agree that, in what we recognize as Shawnee religion today, there is a supreme deity, and then a subordinate Great Spirit, who was the agent of creation and who will one day bring the good people of the world to be with her and punish the wicked who remain. They all agree that the Great Spirit is a female in Shawnee tradition. There are some articles that also refer to a third subordinate deity, as well as an evil counterpart who lives in the underworld. In addition, several sites said that many Shawnee have converted to Christianity today (http://www.bigorrin.org/archive123.htm).

Back to the idea of baptism and the Holy Spirit, if our modern definition of baptism is that another person has to submerge a new believer in the water and resurrect him, what does it mean to be baptized with the Holy Spirit? Although the baptism of water and of the Holy Spirit happened simultaneously with Jesus, John the Baptist made it very clear to his followers that he was merely baptizing in water, and that the Messiah would offer another kind of baptism altogether. At Pentecost the disciples were baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5) in the upper room, and in Acts 11:16, we see that Cornelius’ family was baptized with the Holy Spirit in their home. Neither of these took place simultaneously with water baptism. However, when Jesus commanded His disciples in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” He seems to imply that we now manifest both water and Spirit baptisms at once. Part of the origin of the word baptize is from the Greek Christian word baptein, which meant “to dip, steep, dye, color” (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/baptize). So if water baptism is a symbolic outer cleansing, perhaps baptism of the Holy Spirit is that metamorphosis of the essential quality of a person, the same irreversible process by which water becomes tea, or vinegar becomes Easter egg dye. We become a “new creation”.

See the next post here https://onthepath.online/2019/05/10/temptation-in-the-wilderness/

Scripture References

Mk 1:9-11 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; 11 and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

Lk 3:21-22 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

Jn 1:31-34 did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” 32 John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

Mt 2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee,

Ps 40:7 Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. 8 I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.”

Jn 4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.

Jn 8:29 And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”

Ac 7:56 and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

Ps 2:7 I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.

Is 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.

Mt 12:18 “Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

Mt 17:5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”

Mk 9:7 Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!”

Lk 9:35 Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!”

Jn 12:28 Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

Mt 3:13 Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. 16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

Mt 2:23 and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Lk 2:51 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

Mt 14:23 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.

Lk 5:16 But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.

Lk 9:18 And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the people say that I am?”

Lk 9:28 Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming

2 Pe 1:17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”—

1 Jn 2:8 On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining

1 Co 8:6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

Col 1:16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.

Heb 1:2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.

Jn 11:52 and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.

Gal 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Jn 1:7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him

Jn 3:18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

1 Jn 3:23 This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.

1 Jn 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Jn 3:5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Jas 1:18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

1 Pe 1:23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.

1 Jn 2:29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.

1 Jn 3:9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Eph 1:23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Eph 3:19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Eph 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

Col 1:19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,

Col 2:9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

Jn 7:19 “Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why do you seek to kill Me?”

Jn 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Ro 5:21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ro 6:14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Jn 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

Jn 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Jn 18:37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

Ex 33:20 But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!”

Jn 6:46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.

Col 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

1 Ti 6:16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

1 Jn 4:12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.

Jn 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

1 Jn 4:9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him

Lk 16:22 Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.

Jn 13:23 There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.

Jn 3:11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.

Is 53:7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.

Jn 1:36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

Ac 8:32 Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “He was led as a sheep to slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He does not open His mouth.

1 Pe 1:19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

Rev 5:6 And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.

Rev 5:8 When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Rev 5:12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” 13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”

Rev 6:1 Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.”

Mt 1:21 She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

1 Jn 3:5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.

Mt 3:11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Jn 1:27 It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

Jn 1:15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’”

Mk 1:8 I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Lk 3:16 John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you [a]with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Ac 1:5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Mt 4:3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

Jn 1:49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.”

Mt 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.

Is 11:2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

Gen 6:17 Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish.

Job 17:1 “My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished, The grave is ready for me.

Ezek 37:6 I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Acts 1:5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 11:16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized [a]with the Holy Spirit.’