Spirit’s descent upon Jesus
Key Verses: 2, 4, 8, 12, 14, 16, 17
As we read about John the Baptist, we might be thinking, “What a nut!” I was strange for his day as well. But what you might not know, or maybe have forgotten, Bible Prophets often do some strange things. Their message is often very simple like John’s: repent! Jonah went into Nineveh with the same simplicity. So what does it mean to repent? It is really very simple. You turn around and go the opposite direction. You were going toward sin, now you turn away from it. You were running from God, now you run to God. That is repentance.
Repentance is a complete change of life, not just a momentary confession. The religious leaders were coming, but John called their bluff. Their whole life needed to change, not just adding some water. (A humorous reference to baptism!) John says that if their lives don’t radically change, judgment is in their future. But the push does not end there. After John someone is coming who is of such importance, that tying his shoe is an honor too great for John. This One, Jesus, will bring the end time judgment. He has the instruments of judgment in His hands. This is important, because God is the one who brings this judgment. This connection is made on purpose. Jesus is God.
One of the big symbols of baptism is identification with someone. The Israelites were “baptized” with Moses in the Red Sea, but none of them got wet! John doesn’t want the religious leaders to be identified with him, because their lives do not reflect the values that God is calling His people to hold. When we are baptized today, we are identifying with Jesus and with our local church body. It is a public declaration of that connection, the old has gone, the new has come. Dead to the past, alive in Christ.
Jesus came and was baptized by John, the irony of which was not lost on John. The One who holds the instruments of judgment identifying with repentance, something He doesn’t need to do personally. And when that identification is completed in baptism, God shows up in all His personhood. The Spirit descends like a dove, not as a dove. His movement down onto Jesus was like the movement of a dove. He did not take the form of a dove with wings and feathers. A dove moves gently and slows as it approaches the landing zone. The Spirit did not land like a parrot on a pirates’ shoulder, nor like a sci-fi transmutation. He arrived. And the Father’s voice was heard declaring who Jesus was: His Son, the third person of the Trinity. All present, all tangible, all real.
The Arnold Journey 