9It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. 11Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
I was wondering what it must have been like for John to baptize Jesus. We just read in the previous passage that John felt he wasn't even worthy of loosening Jesus' sandal strap. Could you imagine being the one to baptize Jesus!
The other thing that just struck me about this passage that I had never thought of before was the voice from heaven proclaiming Jesus as His son and being very pleased with Him. I know Jesus took on human form and must have experienced many of the same human feelings and emotions we all go through. I wonder if this proclamation from heaven was just as much for Jesus as for the people at Jesus' baptism. I wonder if even Jesus, who knew he was well loved by God His Father, still had that human need to hear praise from His Father and have it proclaimed for all to hear. This is just another reinforcement of how important it is for us to praise our children and tell them of our love, even though they know we love them. Especially when they are getting ready to leave on a new life journey - college, marriage, new career, etc.
One thing that troubles me about this passage is Why was Jesus baptized? The previous passage said people were baptized for the remission of their sins. Jesus was sinless. So what was the purpose of his baptism? A footnote in my Bible says:
| Jesus was not baptized for His own sins, because he was guiltless. His baptism gave approval to the ministry of John and was an act of dedication to His own ministry. In effect, He was identifying himself with the people he came to save. |
I like the first part of this explanation, but the last statement isn't a conclusion I would arrive at.
With the Spirit descending on him like a dove, does that mean this is the first time he was filled with the Holy Spirit, in preparation for his new ministry? Actually, this falls in a little better with the previous passage where John said "I baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." I wonder if this was the first baptism with the Holy Spirit. John performs the ritual in the water, but the baptism is fulfilled by God as he sends the Holy Spirit upon Jesus.
Other times I wonder why he waited till the age of 30 to start his ministry. I would have thought by that age most people were well settled into their careers. Jesus should have been a very well established carpenter by then. It just seems that when someone knows what their mission in life is, they would start it as soon as they were old enough to leave home. Though I like the fact that Jesus first lived a life as a carpenter. This makes it easier to feel that Jesus can relate to us better as our lives continue through our years in our jobs, etc. He knows what it is like to run a business, have deadlines, manage work and home, etc.