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13 At that time Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John objected, saying, “I need to be baptized by you. Why are you coming to me?” 15 Jesus answered, “Let it be for now, for thus it is fitting that we should fulfill all righteousness.” So John consented. 16 After Jesus was baptized, as he was coming up from the water, behold, the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove that came upon him. 17 Then there was a voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Comments
Jesus comes to be baptized by John, not to repent from sins, but out of solidarity with the human race. When John objects, Jesus tells him that this is to fulfil all righteousness, which to a Jew means being in right relationship with God and neighbor. Jesus must be baptized to inaugurate his God-given mission and to be in union with his fellow human beings.
All four Gospels report that that Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove (Mt 3.16, Mk 1.10, Lk 3.22, Jn 1.32). The meaning of this is uncertain. The following Biblical associations may be relevant:
A dove signaled to Noah that the flood waters were subsiding in Gen 8.6-12.
Lev 5 offers doves as an acceptable sacrificial animal for those who are too poor to be able to offer a sheep or goat for a purification offering. In other words, it is a creature that removes the guilt of the poor.
The Hebrew word for dove is jonah (יונﬣ). In Mt 12.39, Jesus says that no sign will be given to his generation except for the “sign of Jonah.” In context, he is probably speaking of the OT Prophet Jonah, but it also may have a double meaning referring back to the dove at his baptism.
The Trinity is fully present in this scene. The Son obediently begins the mission entrusted to him by the Father and receives the Spirit. The word Messiah / Christ (which are the same word in Hebrew and Greek respectively) means anointed one. Jesus is the Christ because he is anointed by the Spirit. The Father blesses the event by speaking from heaven words similar to Is 42.1, the first line of one of Isaiah’s messianic Servant Songs.
