The Trinity Made Manifest
and Christ's earthly mission inaugurated
As John the Baptist baptized penitent sinners in the River Jordan, he foretold the imminent arrival of one who would deliver an even mightier baptism:
“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Matthew 3:11 NAS
That mighty one, Jesus of Nazareth, did indeed come to the Jordan. But his first order of business was to himself be baptized by John.
The Baptist demurred, protesting that John needed to be baptized by Jesus, not the other way around. After all, Jesus was sinless and had no need of repentance. And John, though a great prophet, was still a sinner, and so needed the savior to baptize him in the Holy Spirit just as much as anyone else.
But Jesus insisted, telling John that it was nonetheless proper and becoming that they should perform the ritual.
Why? I’m not sure. But perhaps Jesus sought to model submission to baptism for the benefit of those who did need repentance and salvation.
Or maybe baptism was a necessary prelude to the glorious event that happened next. As Matthew related:
After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him, and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
In this passage we see, perhaps more vividly than anywhere else in the Bible, the Holy Trinity, i.e., God in all three of His persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ is God the Son: the person of God who became incarnate; who dwelled among us; who died for our sins; who was resurrected; and who will return.
The Spirit of God that settled on Jesus is God the Holy Spirit: the person of God who bestowed the baptized Christ with supernatural power to teach and heal; who later empowered Jesus’s apostles; and who even now dwells in all Christian believers offering counsel and aid to those who heed its calls.
And the voice from the heavens that proclaimed Jesus as His Son is God the Father: the person of God who created us, the universe we inhabit, and by extension the laws, both moral and natural, that govern us and that universe.
John baptized Jesus, who then was revealed to be God the Son, imbued by God the Holy Spirit, and recognized and approved by God the Father. Jesus was then ready to go about His Father’s business, offering to all mankind salvation through baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Thank you for taking the time to open us up to the Word of God. God’s blessings upon you!