Matthew 3:16 Commentary and Bible Study

In this verse and the next we see the Trinity operating together in perfect agreement: the incarnate Son is baptized and ready to begin his public ministry; the Spirit of God come down visibly from heaven to remain on him throughout his earthly ministry, and the Father testifies to the perfect obedience of the Son which fills him with pleasure. All the focus is on the Son, the member of the godhead who is to carry out the work of redemption on earth, and who is the mediator between God and man.Having been baptized Jesus comes immediately out of the water, eager to begin his work. Although Matthew records this as what Jesus saw, all this takes place in the sight of the people and not privately. John the Baptist tells us that he too saw the Spirit come down on Jesus as a dove (John 1:32), and so did all the people. The word ‘lo’ or ‘behold’ signifies the amazing spectacle which human beings witnessed when they were able to gaze, for the moment, right into heaven as if it was a physical location and to see the traverse of the Spirit of God from there to the Son of God now on earth. The Spirit took the form of a dove, but there is no indication that this was a private vision or a private voice just for John; apparently all the people could witness these extraordinary events. This was ‘like a dove’, but was not really a dove, the dove in Scripture representing gentleness and peace, which was to characterise the ministry of Christ, Christ himself describing the dove as harmless. There was a divine impression made upon them that this was indeed what they were seeing. Communication between heaven and earth was opened up, breaking the normal rule of heaven being hidden to men on earth. What was now for a short time made visible continued to be true after this, though it could no longer be seen. In the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, there was continual interaction between heaven and earth throughout his earthly life. Later he said ‘he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him’ (John 8:29).Not till the incarnation was the doctrine of the Trinity made clear. At that time it was made undeniable, however difficult a doctrine it is for human beings to understand. It was expounded in concrete terms by these events which showed there are three distinct persons, who are nevertheless equal in all attributes and working in harmony together: the concert of the Trinity. Human being caught sight of the Trinity ‘in action’, each with their distinct role in the plan of redemption. Now each member of the Godhead must be thought of as a distinct person with a distinct part to play. Here is a fallen human world with man in rebellion against his Creator, and yet here are all three members of the Godhead, not destroying mankind as might be expected, but working together to accomplish salvation. Heaven commended his baptism, his fulfilment of all righteousness, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him. For Christ, baptism marked the start of his public ministry when John introduced him to the world.The Father cannot keep silent about his love for his Son at the baptism and later at the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Christ’s baptism represents his willingness to go ahead with all that lies in the future, a future which he is well aware of, for he knows exactly why he has come into the world. He knows he has come to destroy the work of the devil, and through immeasurable suffering to redeem a people and bring many sons to glory. He cheerfully and confidently proceeds into this work, and he is unlike any other man that has ever lived in that he is entirely without sin, and has an obedience which comes from the very centre of his being.