TEXT [Commentary]

B. The Baptism of Jesus (3:13-17; cf. Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22)

13 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”

15 But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.[*]” So John agreed to baptize him.

16 After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened[*] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

NOTES

3:13 to be baptized by John. Jesus’ arrival at the Jordan (cf. 3:6) to be baptized by John led to a brief discussion between John and Jesus before John acquiesced (3:14-15). The statement that Jesus had come from Galilee connects with 2:22-23 and resumes the narrative of Jesus’ preparation for ministry. According to Luke 3:23, Jesus was about 30 years old at this time.

3:14 I am the one who needs to be baptized by you. The paradoxical character of Jesus’ baptism has always challenged interpreters. John was baptizing those who repented and confessed their sins (3:6). John refused to baptize those who bore no fruit of repentance (3:8). In contrast, Jesus was initially refused baptism because he evidently did not need to repent and bring forth fruit (3:14). John did not view his baptism as worthy of Jesus (Carson 1984:107). In historical perspective, if John’s baptism only prepared people for Jesus’ ultimate baptism in Spirit and fire, why should Jesus submit to John’s authority (Davies and Allison 1988:324)? John expressed his incredulity at Jesus’ request by noting that their roles should be reversed: Jesus should baptize John. It is unclear how John came to his convictions about Jesus, but it seems plausible that John would have learned from his mother Elizabeth about the remarkable circumstances of Jesus’ birth and his own role as Jesus’ forerunner (Luke 1).

3:15 It should be done. Jesus commanded John to perform the baptism immediately because it was appropriate for them in this way to fulfill all righteousness. It is anachronistic to take this statement as pertaining to Christian baptism (as does Bruner 1987:84-85). This statement features two key Matthean themes, fulfillment (see the discussion in the commentary on 1:25) and righteousness. It has been argued that fulfilling all righteousness means that Jesus was taking upon himself the obligation to obey the law, which had been stressed by John (Harrington 1991:62; Hill 1972:96; cf. 21:33). This fits Matthew’s theology but still does not adequately handle the fulfillment theme in Matthew. It seems best to conclude with others (Carson 1984:105-108; Davies and Allison 1988:325-327) that Jesus fulfilled all righteousness by fulfilling the OT pattern and prediction about the Messiah. In Jesus’ baptism, he and John fulfilled the OT by introducing the Messiah to Israel. This baptism, an inauguration of Jesus’ ministry to Israel, led immediately to OT fulfillment in that the Spirit, as a dove, came upon the Messiah (Isa 11:1-2; 42:1; cf. Matt 12:18, 28) and the Father endorsed his Son in the voice from heaven (Ps 2:7; Isa 42:1; cf. Matt 17:5). In baptism, Jesus as the servant proclaimed and exemplified the righteousness envisioned by the prophets. Additionally he identified in baptism with the repentant righteous remnant within the nation of Israel (cf. 3:5-6). Though he had no sin to confess, his baptism nevertheless demonstrated his humility and anticipated his ministry to lowly but repentant people (cf. 2:23; 11:19; 12:20; 21:5).

3:16 After his baptism. Matthew passed over the baptism of Jesus quickly in order to stress two attesting events that pertain to OT fulfillment: the heavenly vision (3:16) and the heavenly voice (3:17). The former relates to the coming of the Spirit upon Jesus (cf. Isa 11:1; 42:1; 61:1), and the latter relates to the Father’s endorsement of Jesus (cf. Ps 2:7; Isa 42:1). Taken together, the two events foreshadow two key interrelated features of Jesus’ ministry. He is empowered by the Spirit (cf. 12:18, 28) and he is approved by the Father (cf. 17:5). Theologians often look at this text as an anticipation of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity (cf. 28:19). In 3:16 Matthew stresses the immediacy of the dramatic attesting events that followed the baptism. Jesus left the water, received the vision of the heavens standing open, and saw the Spirit descending as a dove upon him (cf. Gen 1:2; 8:8-12; Hos 7:11). The opening of heaven is a regular feature of biblical apocalyptic visions (cf., e.g., Isa 64:1; Ezek 1:1; John 1:51; Acts 7:56; Rev 4:1). It is likely that the dove’s descent recalls Gen 1:2 and hints that Jesus is the agent of God’s eschatological new creation (19:28).

3:17 This is my dearly loved Son. The heavenly voice confirms and interprets the import of the heavenly vision of the Spirit’s descent. The words of the heavenly voice express the Father’s approval of the Son (cf. 17:5) in words blending the suffering servant motif from Isa 42:1 with the sonship motif of Ps 2:7. The servant motif interprets the baptism by which Jesus identified with the righteous remnant of Israel. The sonship motif recalls the unique circumstances of Jesus’ conception and infancy (1:16, 18-25; 2:15) and sets the scene for Satan’s tests (4:3, 6). The sonship motif also implies Jesus’ Davidic connections (1:1; cf. 2 Sam 7:13-14; Ps 89:27). Although it is true, as a matter of Christian theology, that the Father is eternally pleased with the Son, it is more likely here that the baptism of Jesus is the specific event that pleased the Father (Gundry 1982:53).

COMMENTARY [Text]

The story of Jesus in Matthew 3:1–4:16 centers on John’s ministry. John prepared the way for Jesus, and his baptism of Jesus was the occasion for the coming of the Spirit and the Father’s approval of his beloved son. This sonship, affirmed by the Father at John’s baptism of Jesus, was immediately tested by Satan. After this testing, the imprisonment of John led to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. With the presentation of the ministry of John, Matthew’s Gospel for the first time parallels Mark (1:1-11), Luke (3:1-23), and John (1:19-34).

When compared to Mark and Luke, Matthew’s account presents two very noticeable unique features. He alone presents the dialogue between Jesus and John in which John hesitates and Jesus ties the necessity of his baptism to the fulfilling of all righteousness (3:14-15). This unique section highlights distinctive Matthean themes of fulfillment and righteousness.

Another unique feature of Matthew is his account of the Father’s endorsement of the Son (3:17). Here Matthew couches the Father’s words in the third person (“this is my son . . . with him I am pleased”), instead of the second person (“you are my son . . . with you I am pleased”). As frequently noted by interpreters, this has the effect of making the endorsement more public in Matthew, though Matthew may intend the endorsement to be only for John’s benefit. Also this form of the endorsement brings it into conformity with the Father’s words at the transfiguration (17:5). Perhaps the third person language is also intended to confront Matthew’s audience more directly with the truth of Jesus’ sonship.

The concluding pericope of Matthew 3 on Jesus’ baptism (3:13-17) has profound Christological implications. Several trajectories should be mentioned. In 3:17 Jesus is described in terms that clearly represent Isaiah’s suffering servant whom God has chosen (cf. especially Isa 42:1). Related to this is the sonship typology metaphorically applied to Israel as a nation (Exod 4:22; Jer 3:19; 31:9, 20; Hos 11:1) and to David as the ideal king who serves God (2 Sam 7:5-16; Ps 2:7; 89:3, 20, 26-27). The fulfillment of Old Testament covenantal promises to the nation and to the king is found in Jesus, who recapitulated Israel’s history as he sojourned in Egypt and passed through the waters before being tested in the wilderness. Additionally, it is possible that the emphasis on Jesus as the Father’s beloved son is intended to recall Isaac’s relationship to Abraham (Gen 22:2). More likely are the creation overtones found in the dove-like Spirit, who descends upon Jesus in a manner that calls Genesis 1:2 to mind. Thus, in Jesus God has begun nothing less than the renewal of all of creation (cf. 19:28). It remains for the rest of Matthew’s narrative to develop the distinctive understanding of Jesus and the new people of God that has been begun here.

Matthew 3 has an important role in the Gospel narrative. Gardner (1991:68) is correct in pointing out that two main purposes are served by the story of John and Jesus’ baptism. This account provides the basis for the transition between John and Jesus, and it attests Jesus’ unique identity as the Servant-Son of God. John as the forerunner now passes from center stage so that the spotlight may shine on Jesus. While John will appear again in the story, there can be no doubt about his subservience to Jesus in redemptive history. Jesus will proclaim the same message as John (3:2; 4:17) and eventually suffer a similar fate as John’s (17:12), but John’s great redemptive historical significance pales in comparison with that of Jesus’ (11:11). Davies and Allison (1988:343) also point out how John’s ministry serves to initiate Matthew’s definition of the genuine people of God and Matthew’s dualism regarding those who respond correctly and incorrectly to the message of God’s rule. The genuine people of God are not merely Abraham’s descendants but those who show their repentance by their changed lifestyles. Those who show no repentance are in danger of imminent judgment.

In concluding the discussion of Matthew 3, first a brief word needs to be said on synoptic relationships. After his unique material on Jesus’ genealogy and infancy in the first two chapters, Matthew’s narrative of John’s ministry and the baptism of Jesus in chapter 3 parallels the other Gospels to some extent. All three of the synoptics cite Isaiah 40:3 as speaking of John’s ministry. Mark’s account is briefest, though Mark 1:2 alludes to Malachi 3:1, along with Isaiah 40:3, as the basis of John’s ministry. Luke’s account is the most lengthy, detailing the rulers who were on the scene when John arrived (Luke 3:1-2), citing a lengthier section of Isaiah 40 than Matthew does (Luke 3:5-6) and giving a brief summary of dialogue between John and his audience (Luke 3:10-15). Luke and Matthew both speak of Jesus baptizing in the Spirit and fire (Matt 3:11; Luke 3:16), whereas Mark mentions only the Spirit (Mark 1:8).