Setting the Scene
We’re in the ancient Middle East, 25 to 30 years after the miraculous events surrounding Jesus’ birth.
Jesus’ family has settled in Galilee in the north. 60 to 70 miles south, Jesus’ cousin, John, has a thriving ministry in the Judean wilderness.
John preaches repentance and preparation for the Kingdom of God to come into power. Crowds come to him, confessing their sins and being baptized. But all the while, John reminds them that One is coming after him who is far mightier. John baptizes with water, but this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:1-12).
Into this atmosphere of revival and expectation, Jesus enters for the first time in Matthew’s gospel as an adult.
Jesus Comes to Be Baptized
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. (Matthew 3:13)
You might wonder why Jesus would want to be baptized by John. John wondered too…
John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:14)
John would have reversed it. “Let the Holy Spirit and fire baptism begin!” But Jesus insisted.
Jesus Explains
“Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. (Matthew 3:15)
This is mysterious, and never fully explained. “Let it be so now” indicates that it was the right timing or sequence for Jesus to be baptized by John rather than the reverse. It was “fitting,” or appropriate, “to fulfill all righteousness.” It would somehow complete or bring to fruition what God considered right.
Would Jesus’ baptism endorse John’s ministry? Or identify Jesus as the coming One John had been pointing to? Or identify Jesus with those being baptized?
Those explanations make sense, but the passage points us in a different direction altogether.
The Point of the Passage
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him… (Matthew 3:16)
After their brief conversation, John baptized Jesus, immersing him in the Jordan River. Drenched, Jesus waded out of the water onto the shore.
Then something big happened. The sky opened to Jesus and he saw the Spirit descending and landing on him in a form that looked like a dove.
…and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)
Here we come to the point of the passage, what’s meant to reverberate in our hearts and minds as we close our Bibles. Jesus is God’s beloved Son.
God Wants Us to Know that Jesus is His Son
We can tell this is the point because of what comes before and after the passage:
- Matthew has been focused on Jesus’ sonship since the beginning of his gospel, establishing through the opening genealogy that Jesus is the son of David and Abraham, legitimately the king of Israel.
- In the very next passage, Satan tempts Jesus on this very point. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down” (Matthew 4:3).
We Must Listen to the Son of God
The fact that Jesus is God’s Son is a theological treasure box. But for our purposes here, let’s consider one practical implication. It means we need to listen to him.
In Matthew 17:5, God says again, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” But this time, God adds, “Listen to him.”
Hebrews 1:1-2 says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.”
Even though we cannot fully understand the theological mechanics of Jesus being God’s Son, we can understand that it makes him the highest human authority of all time. And what does one do in relation to an authority figure? One listens and submits.
The fact that Jesus is God’s Son means that we are to listen to and submit to him above all other human authorities.
Jesus is uniquely qualified to tell us what is true and what to do.
Jesus doesn’t speak theories; he speaks truths.
Jesus doesn’t issue suggestions; he issues commands.
Don’t be persuaded by lesser authorities who contradict Jesus’ word contained in the Bible.
When the world rebels against Jesus’ truths and commands, let it motivate us to listen and submit even harder.
We Must Repent of Ignoring the Son of God
Many in the churches claim to follow Jesus as the Son of God but do not listen and submit to his teachings.
Here are just two brief examples:
- We know Jesus commands us to love and pray for our enemies, yet many insult those they disagree with on social media.
- We hear Jesus, through his authorized apostles, command us not to neglect gathering with our church, yet many devote themselves to hobbies instead.
We have no right to reject or ignore Jesus’ statements this way. If you are capable of doing so without God’s conviction and discipline, you may not be a Christian at all.
Jesus warns in Matthew 7:21-23:
Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.
I am concerned that many would say to Jesus today, “Savior, Savior, did we not come to the altar, and get baptized, and join the church in your name?” Yet he will reply, “Depart from me, for though you trusted in me as your Savior, you did not follow me as your Lord.”
Jesus is more than a life preserver. He is the Son of God, our rightful Authority.
If you have been rejecting or ignoring Jesus’ teachings or commands, repent today. Devote yourself to listening to and submitting to him.
