Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Luke 3:21-22
Then, all of a sudden, he’s there.
When Jesus comes down to the river, nothing marks him out as anything special. Matthew records a conversation (“I should be baptized by you . . .”), John a proclamation (“Behold the Lamb of God!”) but Luke seems almost dismissive: When all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying . . . There he stands among the people, his head, still damp from the Jordan, bowed in prayer. Presumably others are praying as well; to be baptized by John was without doubt a profound religious experience. Imagine a camera crew at the scene, filming for a documentary about John, the first prophetic voice in 400 years. The lens pans slowly across dozens of people all kneeling by the river or standing in the water, heads uniformly bowed. It would pass right over the Son or God because nothing marks him out at first. No one knows who he is. And possibly, he doesn’t know who he is, or not to the fullest. His conversation with John in Matthew 3:13-15 indicates he knows his calling to fulfill all righteousness, but how? We’re not allowed into his mind; we only see him there, head bowed, praying.
But then our imaginary camera stops, zooms in. Mark, with his flair for the dramatic and immediate, says the heavens were ripped apart, torn open! Matthew says the heavens were open to him, and he saw the Holy Spirit descend, indicating that this magnificent vision was for Jesus alone. Luke is more matter-of-fact: the heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven . . .
Messiah, or Christ in the Greek, means “the anointed one.” Here Jesus becomes Christ; here he receives his anointing from the Holy Spirit. If he didn’t know before in his human flesh, he knows now–he’s the one. The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.”* The LORD—my Father!
Trinitarian love, existing from eternity, recognizes itself in a new dimension, joins hands, confirms its bond and its purpose. He’s here; they are agreed; it’s beginning. Christ is linked firmly to the divine Voice and white-feathered Spirit, but also to dust—a link in the genealogy chain stretching all the way back to Adam who was formed from the dust of the ground. We meet him coming and going—the dust reaches up, the Spirit comes down, and at the place where they meet kneels an ordinary man you’d never look twice at, head still damp from Jordan’s water, praying.
*Psalm 2:7
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