16 And having been baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water, and lo, opened to him were the heavens, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him,
and immediately coming up from the water, he saw the heavens dividing, and the Spirit as a dove coming down upon him;
And it came to pass, in all the people being baptised, Jesus also being baptised, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit came down in a bodily appearance, as if a dove, upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, saying, `Thou art My Son -- the Beloved, in thee I did delight.'
Lo, My servant, I take hold on him, My chosen one -- My soul hath accepted, I have put My Spirit upon him, Judgment to nations he bringeth forth.
and I knew him not, but, that he might be manifested to Israel, because of this I came with the water baptizing. And John testified, saying -- `I have seen the Spirit coming down, as a dove, out of heaven, and it remained on him; and I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water, He said to me, On whomsoever thou mayst see the Spirit coming down, and remaining on him, this is he who is baptizing with the Holy Spirit; and I have seen, and have testified, that this is the Son of God.'
The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah `is' on me, Because Jehovah did anoint me To proclaim tidings to the humble, He sent me to bind the broken of heart, To proclaim to captives liberty, And to bound ones an opening of bands.
And it cometh to pass, in the thirtieth year, in the fourth `month', in the fifth of the month, and I `am' in the midst of the Removed by the river Chebar, the heavens have been opened, and I see visions of God.
And himself is the head of the body -- the assembly -- who is a beginning, a first-born out of the dead, that he might become in all `things' -- himself -- first, because in him it did please all the fulness to tabernacle,
And I -- this `is' My covenant with them, said Jehovah, My Spirit that `is' on thee, And My words that I have put in thy mouth, Depart not from thy mouth, And from the mouth of thy seed, And from the mouth of thy seed's seed, said Jehovah, From henceforth unto the age!
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Matthew 3
Commentary on Matthew 3 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 3
At the start of this chapter, concerning the baptism of John, begins the gospel (Mk. 1:1); what went before is but preface or introduction; this is "the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.' And Peter observes the same date, Acts 1:22, beginning from the baptism of John, for then Christ began first to appear in him, and then to appear to him, and by him to the world. Here is,
Mat 3:1-6
We have here an account of the preaching and baptism of John, which were the dawning of the gospel-day. Observe,
The beginning of the gospel in a wilderness, speaks comfort to the deserts of the Gentile world. Now must the prophecies be fulfilled, I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, Isa. 41:18, 19. The wilderness shall be a fruitful field, Isa. 32:15. And the desert shall rejoice, Isa. 35:1, 2. The Septuagint reads, the deserts of Jordan, the very wilderness in which John preached. In the Romish church there are those who call themselves hermits, and pretend to follow John; but when they say of Christ, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth, ch. 24:26. There was a seducer that led his followers into the wilderness, Acts 21:38.
Mat 3:7-12
The doctrine John preached was that of repentance, in consideration of the kingdom of heaven being at hand; now here we have the use of that doctrine. Application is the life of preaching, so it was of John's preaching.
Observe,
Mat 3:13-17
Our Lord Jesus, from his childhood till now, when he was almost thirty years of age, had lain hid in Galilee, as it were, buried alive; but now, after a long and dark night, behold, the Sun of righteousness rises in glory. The fulness of time was come that Christ should enter upon his prophetical office; and he chooses to do it, not at Jerusalem (though it is probable that he went thither at the three yearly feasts, as others did), but there where John was baptizing; for to him resorted those who waited for the consolation of Israel, to whom alone he would be welcome. John the Baptist was six months older than our Saviour, and it is supposed that he began to preach and baptize about six months before Christ appeared; so long he was employed in preparing his way, in the region round about Jordan; and more was done towards it in these six months than had been done in several ages before. Christ's coming from Galilee to Jordan, to be baptized, teaches us not the shrink from pain and toil, that we may have an opportunity of drawing nigh to God in ordinance. We should be willing to go far, rather than come short of communion with God. Those who will find must seek.
Now in this story of Christ's baptism we may observe,
Now, when he was coming up out of the water, and all the company had their eye upon him,