Bazile, Castera. Baptism of Jesus, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54305 [retrieved January 12, 2020]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PortAuPrinceMural.jpg.
“… and lo, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him.” – Matthew 3:16b
A family of doves built a nest in a flower basket on our patio. I have mentioned this in several contexts and they taught me many lessons. With great interest, we watched as that family, and later, others, came and nested there, hatched their young, and sent them on their way. The site of doves descending is a wonder of nature. The vision of the Spirit descending is a wonder of super nature.
There was little reason for Jesus to be baptized except to fulfill all righteousness and to identify with sinful humanity in preparation for His sacrificial death on the cross. However, as He stepped into the nest of human experience and began to bear the burden of our frail weakness and disobedience, He was affirmed by the Father and knew the pleasure of His purposes.
As little birds stumble out of the nest and first began to fly, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to face temptation as we face it. He committed in His baptism to be as vulnerable as those He came to save. By the power of the same Spirit and Word available to us, He stood in the face of Satan’s lures.
The baptism of Jesus speaks of His credibility and ties to us as our elder brother, the first born of a new creation. Where He leads, we can follow, because He has avoided none of the steps we must take. As He identified with us in His baptism, so we identify with Him and His redemption in ours. As His Spirit descends upon us in the new birth, we can ascend. Because He has been in the valley of temptation, we can be victorious.
Because He has born our sins, we can be free.
