There is no record of any prophecy from God for 400 years after the Prophet Malachi. Therefore, the Jewish people were excited when another prophet appeared and began speaking to them. His name was John and he preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As a result of his preaching many people repented of their sins and were baptized by him.
Then, one day, something happened which startled John. In chapter 3, verses 21 through 23 of his inspired Gospel, Luke tells us what happened. “Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also had been baptized, and was praying. The sky was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased.” Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old…”
Jesus’ baptism raises an important question. John urged sinners to repent and be baptized. Jesus was totally without sin. Why, then, did He need to be baptized? The Apostle Matthew records that John thought it was inappropriate for him to baptize Jesus. “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.” (Matthew 3:13-15 NIV)
What role or function did Jesus’ baptism have in fulfilling God’s purpose? Remember that John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. We can think of repentance as dying to our previous lifestyle. No, Jesus had no sins or bad habits to repent of but, from this point on, His life was going to be radically different than it was before. He was turning his back on the building trade and the carpenter shop in Nazareth. From this point on, His entire attention was going to be focused on fulfilling the mission God sent Him to accomplish. In His baptism, He was dying to His old life.
Even more importantly, it was at His baptism that Jesus received His divine commission. As soon as Jesus was baptized, the Spirit came upon Him. In addition to the Spirit, a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:23 NIV) What is the significance? Aside from demonstrating that Jesus had God’s approval, we can say that Jesus received His anointing at His baptism. Jesus implied as much when He read from the prophecy of Isaiah at the synagogue at Nazareth. “The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”” (Luke 4:17-21 NIV)
Later, the Apostle Peter indicated the same thing at the house of Cornelius, “You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached – how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” (Acts 10:37-38 NIV)
The Spirit came on Jesus at His baptism. It was then He was commissioned to do His ministry and it was then that He received the power to do it.
But this raises an objection. Wasn’t Jesus born ‘king of the Jews’? Wasn’t He identified as the Savior, Christ and Lord at His birth? Since this is so, how can we say that He was anointed at His baptism? Perhaps an analogy with a physical kingdom will help clarify the situation. Suppose an heir is born to an earthly king. Though he is royalty; though he will inherit the kingdom; though he is born to be king, he does not actually become the king until he goes through the investiture ceremony. In the same way, though He was born to be the Christ, Jesus did not actually become the Christ until His anointing at His baptism.
After telling us about Jesus’ baptism, Luke recites Jesus’ genealogy. We will not take the time to read the long list of names. Instead, we will merely mention a few important points. The first thing to notice is that this genealogy is very different than the one given by Matthew. How can this be? Matthew records Joseph’s ancestry. Though Joseph was not Jesus’ actual father, legally he was considered Jesus’ father. Luke, on the other hand, provides Jesus’ actual blood-line through His mother, Mary. This is apparent because Luke speaks of Joseph as Jesus’ supposed father. Then he gives Jesus’ actual line of descent. Thus, in Matthew we have Jesus’ legal genealogy, while in Luke we have His actual or blood genealogy. The important thing to note is that both lines go back to King David. Therefore, no matter how one traces the ancestry of Jesus – whether by law or by blood, He is the heir of King David – thus fulfilling the prophecies that the Christ would come from David’s line.
Another name which is prominent in both genealogies is Abraham. Through Jesus, Abraham’s descendant, God would fulfill His promise to Abraham that, “…all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:3 NIV)
Luke also emphasizes that Jesus is the Son of God. At Jesus’ baptism a voice from heaven proclaimed Him to be the Son of God. The genealogy Luke provides also traces Jesus’ ancestry back to “…Adam, the son of God.” (Luke 3:38) Like Adam, Jesus had no biological father. “the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7 NIV) In contrast to Adam, Jesus was not created. He was with God from the beginning. However, in order to become and live as a man, Jesus was born to a woman through the power of the Holy Spirit. His mother, Mary was a virgin. Since neither Adam or Jesus had a physical father, it is appropriate to refer to both of them as the ‘son of God.’ This is also a reason why Jesus is sometimes called the ‘second Adam.’
When tempted, the first Adam succumbed and sinned. If you would like to know how the second Adam faced temptation, be sure to listen to our next program.