Jesus then appeared, arriving at the Jordan River from Galilee. He wanted John to baptize him. John objected, “I’m the one who needs to be baptized, not you!”
But Jesus insisted. “Do it. God’s work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism.” So John did it.
The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”
Why did Jesus, who was perfect in the first place, need to be baptised? Ideas:
1) He was identifying himself with the penitent people of God – not the Pharisees who were just stood by, critcial, and watching.
2) The baptism was for the world’s sin that he was later to die for
3) He was setting an example for us all
4) An inauguration of his public ministry
I only truly looked at this a couple of weeks ago, it had always puzzled me, but I had done nothing about finding out the answer.
Now I’m wondering why the Bible makes a point of telling us about John’s clothes and diet? Is it to demonstrate that so many people were drawn by God despite the fact that he appeared as an oddball – God used that – did some come just because they heard about this oddness and wanted to see for themselves the man who had survived on locusts and honey? Did God use their curiousity to draw them to Him?
Also – could the whole crowd see this dove-like spirit and hear the voice of God? WHAT would the reaction have been amongst the crowd – awe, fear, did they run towards it? away from it? cover their faces? Scream? Fall silent? Hard to imagine the scene !!!
“This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life”
Just struck me that this is the second of Jesus’ genealogies. A lot shorter than the one in chapter 1!
Pam,
John’s diet was what the very poor would have eaten – especially in the wilderness. It was also what a crowd of very strict, pious, sort of seperatists, called the essenes ate – apparently their parties were wild!
His clothing is dead interesting though. Its exactly what the prophet Elijah was said to have worn back in 2 Kings 1:8. John is compared with Elijah later on in Matthew. People would have thought, “he’s a prophet”, or at least “he thinks he’s a prophet” and that was saying a lot becasue their hadn’t been any bona fide prophets around for centuries. So they would realise that if he’s the real McCoy then something momentous us happenning. Which then keys straight into his message. Cool.
Good question about the crowds. The gaps in the gospels are often dead important. That’s all I’ll say….