Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 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; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
"John was widely recognized because of his baptism. Baptism was so associated with John's ministry that it became his identifying sign. It caused him to be known as John the Baptist. But this sign was external. Israel in the course of her history had had peculiar identifying signs previously. Circumcision was the external sign that one was rightly related to Abraham and to his covenant. Sabbath observance was the sign that one was rightly related to Moses and his law. Now the sign that one was rightly related to John and his message was submission to the external rite of water baptism. All these external signs were given to the nation Israel. When Messiah comes, He will have a new sign by which to identify God's people. It had been promised in Joel 2;28 and Ezekiel 36:25-27 that God would give His Holy spirit as a gift to all those in Messiah's kingdom. John promised that when Messiah came, He would 'baptize you with the Holy Spirit' (Lk 3:16). The One who would give the Spirit as an identifying sign of relationship would be the true Messiah—not the one who gave the external preparatory sign. Messiah's baptism would not be external but internal. Whereas any external sign could be duplicated by men, the work which Messiah would do in giving the Holy Spirit to believers could not be duplicated by men. Such a baptism would identify the true Messiah and also be a true identification of those who belong to Him. John gave a second part of the baptizing work of the Messiah when he said, 'He will baptize you ... with fire' (Lk 3:16). Fire was associated with judgment just as the winnowing fork of Matthew 3:12 was a sign of judgment. When Messiah comes to rule, He will remove all that is worthless, useless, and lifeless; He will accept into His kingdom only what has life—the life which men have received from Him." (Pentecost)
to fulfill all righteousness - "Jesus fulfilled all the righteous requirements to be Israel's Messiah. Also, by allowing John to baptize Him, He identified with sinners whom He came to save, though, of course, He Himself had no sin to repent of." (Ryrie)
vss 16-17 - "This is the first clear expression of the concept of the Trinity. The descent of the Spirit upon Christ was for special power at the beginning of His public ministry." (Ryrie)
"John was widely recognized because of his baptism. Baptism was so associated with John's ministry that it became his identifying sign. It caused him to be known as John the Baptist. But this sign was external. Israel in the course of her history had had peculiar identifying signs previously. Circumcision was the external sign that one was rightly related to Abraham and to his covenant. Sabbath observance was the sign that one was rightly related to Moses and his law. Now the sign that one was rightly related to John and his message was submission to the external rite of water baptism. All these external signs were given to the nation Israel. When Messiah comes, He will have a new sign by which to identify God's people. It had been promised in Joel 2;28 and Ezekiel 36:25-27 that God would give His Holy spirit as a gift to all those in Messiah's kingdom. John promised that when Messiah came, He would 'baptize you with the Holy Spirit' (Lk 3:16). The One who would give the Spirit as an identifying sign of relationship would be the true Messiah—not the one who gave the external preparatory sign. Messiah's baptism would not be external but internal. Whereas any external sign could be duplicated by men, the work which Messiah would do in giving the Holy Spirit to believers could not be duplicated by men. Such a baptism would identify the true Messiah and also be a true identification of those who belong to Him. John gave a second part of the baptizing work of the Messiah when he said, 'He will baptize you ... with fire' (Lk 3:16). Fire was associated with judgment just as the winnowing fork of Matthew 3:12 was a sign of judgment. When Messiah comes to rule, He will remove all that is worthless, useless, and lifeless; He will accept into His kingdom only what has life—the life which men have received from Him." (Pentecost)
to fulfill all righteousness - "Jesus fulfilled all the righteous requirements to be Israel's Messiah. Also, by allowing John to baptize Him, He identified with sinners whom He came to save, though, of course, He Himself had no sin to repent of." (Ryrie)
vss 16-17 - "This is the first clear expression of the concept of the Trinity. The descent of the Spirit upon Christ was for special power at the beginning of His public ministry." (Ryrie)
No comments:
Post a Comment