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.”
(Matthew 3:13-17)
The event of Jesus’s baptism is narrated in all of the Synoptic Gospels (Mk. 1:9-11, Lk. 3:21-22) and is referenced in John’s Gospel (Jn. 1:32-34). That alone should highlight for us the importance of this event, with Matthew’s account providing the most detail out of the four.
On the surface, the notion of Jesus receiving baptism might surprise us. It certainly surprised John, as he protests in verse 14, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” John had just acknowledged the coming Messiah as “mightier” than he. He feels theologically and personally unqualified for such a task. Yet Jesus insists that his baptism “is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (3:15). Rather than stressing his unparalleled worthiness in line with John’s earlier comments, Jesus in his baptism chooses to identify himself with his people and consecrates the launch of his public ministry.
As Jesus emerges from the water, he sees the Holy Spirit “descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.” John knew, at the sight of this, that standing before him was the very Son of God (Jn. 1:32-34, cf. Ps. 2:7), the chosen servant of God promised long ago (Isa. 42:1). But the Spirit’s descent achieves more than serving as a sign of Messiahship. The Spirit’s descent is significant in the context of redemptive history. Sinclair Ferguson elaborates:
This is a new stage of service for Jesus. He enters into the public arena. In the frailty of human flesh he stands in need of a fresh and greater endowment of the Spirit, in order that, through his death, resurrection and ascension, he may become the One who enters into such unmeasured possession of the Spirit that he himself will be able to baptize with the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn. 1:33-34)… The Spirit comes on Christ as the head of the new creation; but that creation will emerge only out of the costly sacrifice of himself as a sin-offering on Calvary."1
Here we see that Jesus is anointed by the Holy Spirit and with power for the ministry that is to come (Acts 10:38). The Spirit is the intimate companion and comforter and advocate of Jesus Himself. It is through Him that Jesus offers himself to God (Heb. 9:14-15). But the most remarkable news of all is that the Holy Spirit is not a Helper for Jesus alone. He is the Helper sent to us by Jesus himself.
In his Farewell Discourse, Jesus tells his disciples that he and his Father will together send the Holy Spirit to believers:
“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” (Jn. 15:26)
“It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. (Jn. 16:7)
And this is exactly what transpires with the opening of the Book of Acts. Jesus promises the Holy Spirit’s coming and empowering (Acts 1:8), ascends to the Father (Acts 1:9), and the Spirit descends at the day of Pentecost on the believers (Acts 2:1-4). The gift of the Spirit is a gift to the Church from the ascended and enthroned Christ. The Spirit’s descent at Pentecost, like the Spirit’s descent at Christ’s baptism, signals a “visible manifestation of a coronation.”2
With all of this in mind, consider again the remarkable words we looked at a couple of weeks ago in Galatians 4:6: “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts” (emphasis mine). In Christ, you and I are filled with the very Spirit who rested on Jesus Christ at the Jordan.
The glorious news of the Holy Spirit for our lives is summarized well by Fred Sanders: “The Holy Spirit is always already at work before you recognize his activity, and when you recognize him, it’s because he is at work enabling you to do so. He is the prevenient person.”3
Let us rejoice in the reality of the Holy Spirit today. With his presence, we are empowered to do the Lord’s work, strengthened in the moment of testing, guided into the truth, convicted when in error, freed from the power of sin, comforted by the hope of the gospel, and helped along until Kingdom Come.
Sinclair Ferguson, The Holy Spirit, 46-47.
Ferguson, The Holy Spirit, 84.
Fred Sanders, The Holy Spirit: An Introduction, 160.