Luke 3:21-38
When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph,
the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat,
the son of Levi, the son of Melki,
the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,
25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos,
the son of Nahum, the son of Esli,
the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath,
the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein,
the son of Josek, the son of Joda,
27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa,
the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel,
the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melki,
the son of Addi, the son of Cosam,
the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,
29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer,
the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat,
the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon,
the son of Judah, the son of Joseph,
the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,
31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna,
the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan,
the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse,
the son of Obed, the son of Boaz,
the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,
33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram,
the son of Hezron, the son of Perez,
the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob,
the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham,
the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu,
the son of Peleg, the son of Eber,
the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan,
the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem,
the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch,
the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel,
the son of Kenan, 38 the son of Enosh,
the son of Seth, the son of Adam,
the son of God.
This is a heavy passage. Why did Jesus get baptized when He had never sinned? Isn't baptism a picture of salvation? Jesus didn't need to get saved? Why did the Spirit descend on Him? Didn't He already have the Spirit? If John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from birth, would Jesus be any less? And what's the deal with the dove? And why did He wait until 30? And why give the geneology through Joseph when Joseph wasn't really His father?
I can't tackle all those but the one that jumped out at me was the Holy Spirit descending on Him like a dove in bodily form. What's that?
I guess from watching so many "Jesus" films I pictured a dove flying down and landing on His shoulder but it wasn't that at all. Somehow, something like this "spirit" in AMC's The Preacher floated down from the sky and people were able to see it land on Him. Or maybe it was like the form in The Predator that was invisible, yet they could see a form. It maybe fluttered like a dove but had the shape of a body. Who told the writers of the gospel, because this was even before He started calling disciples to follow Him? It appears from John 1 that John the Baptist had disciples who, when Christ came on the scene, were instructed by John to follow Jesus instead. These were probably the ones that recounted it to Matthew, Peter, Luke, and John.
But why did it happen, Certainly, Jesus already had the Spirit, He didn't need the life of God inside Him, He already had it. Here is my theory. In the previous blog I talked about the two parts of salvation and maybe Jesus is giving a real life parable of salvation. Baptism and going under water represents the washing of our sins away by the blood of Jesus and our willing admitting to the need for forgiveness of sins. It symbolizes being buried or dying to the old self. Then the being raised from the water symbolizes going forth with the rest of your life as a clean forgiven person. The problem is that this is moral reformation. This is the best that John the Baptist could do. We have all seen people addicted to porn, alcohol, smoking, drugs, shopping, eating, etc. make a decision to change but 6 months later they are back to their old lifestyle. That is moral reformation. It lacks the power to do it.
Jesus came to give spiritual transformation. He rose from the dead, symbolized by coming out of the water, so that He could send the Holy Spirit to come inside of us at salvation and transform us from the inside out - to give us rebirth. This gives us the ability to walk in newness of life. Jesus' baptism was the symbolic passing of the torch from the Old Testament to the New Testament. We now can change from the sons of Adam to the sons of God, and like Jesus, hear God say to us, "You are my son in whom I am well pleased."
Thank you Lord for dying for me, defeating death, advocating for me in Heaven, and sending Your Holy Spirit to transform me. Thank You Father for adopting me into Your family and calling me your own. Help me to live like that, today. Amen
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