Matthew 3:13-17
Jesus came from Galilee to John to be baptized by him.
During the Second Temple Period, there were generally four groups of Jews: Pharisees, Sadducces, Zealots and Essenes.
Pharisees: Believed in the primacy of Torah and the rabbinic interpretation of the Law. Jesus was a Pharisee. He has discussions with many other Pharisees, and their disputes are about how to interpret the Law. Note that a Pharisee never comes up to Jesus and says, “God didn’t give Moses the Law.” That is not a topic for debate- the Law came from Moses, period. Everyone agreed on that. The debate lies in and around how that Law should be interpreted and applied. When the Pharisees try to trap Jesus, it’s always framed within his interpretation of the Law vs. their interpretation of the Law. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, the Pharisees were the only Jewish community to survive. Instead of Jewish life revolving around the Temple in Jerusalem, Jewish life came to focus on how the Law was interpreted and applied by different rabbis. As a result, it came to be known as “Rabbinic Judaism.” All of the many flavors of Judaism today, from Ultra-Orthodox to Reform, are the result of different rabbinic interpretations of the same Law. Just as Jesus debated with other rabbis 2,000 years ago about how to interpret the Law, today rabbis also debate about how to interpret the Law.
Sadduces: Believed in the primacy of the sacrifices at the Temple. They were centralized around Jerusalem, since that is where the Temple was. The Sadduces would have been largely the priests and their families. This is the circle and community of Zachariah and Elizabeth, since Zachariah was a priest. They believed that the peace and calm of Jerusalem was the most important thing, so that they could continue offering sacrifices. As such, a rabble-rouser like Jesus was problematic because he threatened to cause a riot among the Jews. If there was a riot, the Sadduces feared that the Romans would destroy the Temple. In the Gospel of John, we hear Caiaphas, the high priest for the year, say, “do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” (Jn 11:50) His focus is not on the justice of the death of one man. Rather, his attention is on keeping his people alive and able to worship God through the sacrifices at the Temple. He knows that in the face of revolt, the Romans will show no mercy and will destroy the entire people, if necessary. Eventually, the fears of the Sadducees were realized. In 70 AD, there was a large (second) Jewish Revolt, when the Romans destroyed the Temple, burned Jerusalem to the ground and killed the priests.
Zealots: Believed that the best approach to dealing with the occupying Romans was to fight them. There were a number of attempted revolts, many beginning in Galilee, in the North of Israel. Eventually, the Zealots succeeded in leading a sizable revolt, which led to the utter destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Some sources believe that Judas was a Zealot, which was why he turned over Jesus. By this thinking, Judas was attempting to force Jesus’ hand and put him in a position where he would have to respond with the military strength Judas believed he would use to destroy Rome and free the Jewish people. Clearly, Judas misunderstood Jesus’ mission. When Jesus did not respond with military force, Judas saw the profound mistake he had made and killed himself (Suicide is strictly forbidden in the Torah/Law, so for Judas to kill himself means he knew he was going against God’s Law directly, but he likely felt that it was the only appropriate response to his own actions.)
Essenes: Believed that the entire world had become too worldly, and the only solution was to escape from it and live in small secluded communities- similar to hermits. The Essenes at Qumran are a fine example. They lived in community, similar to the early church, sharing all their possessions and working together. They collected texts and are responsible for storing the Dead Sea Scrolls in jars which were later found by a shepherd boy. We are unsure of how that community perished, but there are currently no existing Essene communities. Some scholars believe that John the Baptist had been influenced by, if not become a part of, the Essene movement. What is the basis for this? He is described as wearing simple, if not a bit eccentric, clothing (camel hair, leather belt…) . He is also described as eating locusts and wild honey- this “living on the land” concept could be an Essene ideology. Additionally, the Gospel of Luke says that John “was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.” (Lk 1:80) Historically, it makes sense that Elizabeth and Zachariah would have sent John away after his birth. Herod had just decreed that all baby boys under the age of two should be killed. So perhaps they sent him to live in an Essene community until the danger had passed.
John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?”
Here we hear John echoing the words of his mother, Elizabeth. What did Elizabeth say when Mary came to her? “How does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk 1:43) We can imagine that John grew up hearing about how his mother’s cousin had come to his mother and what had happened. We can also see the humility of Elizabeth has been passed to John. He knows that he has value, but he also knows his place.
Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it for now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him.
Jesus’ response indicates that this is the plan “for now,” which means that there may be a different plan later. It is also demonstrative of Jesus leading by example. He will be baptized because it is a righteous thing to do, and in so doing, he is demonstrating to all who witness or hear of his actions that they too should be baptized.
After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
The Baptism of Jesus is so important that it is recounted in all four Gospels, and the language harkens back to Isaiah (42:1), stating “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chose one with whom I am pleased.” The language of Isaiah is also reflected in the other three versions of the Gospel:
Mark: “On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “ You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Mk 1:10-11)
Luke: “heaven was opened, and the holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “you are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Lk 3:22)
John: “John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.” (Jn 1:32-34)
Common to all four:
- Holy Spirit in the form of a dove
- Heavens opening
- Voice from heaven
Matthew, Mark and Luke (Synoptic Gospels):
- “my beloved Son”
- “well pleased”
Differences:
Mark: Heavens are “torn apart” like the veil of the Holy of Holies at Jesus’s death. The voice says, “YOU are my…..with YOU I am…” so God is talking directly to Jesus, telling him who he is.
Luke: “YOU are my…with YOU I am…” so God is talking to Jesus. Luke also puts the baptism of Jesus within the context of a larger group of people who are all being baptized.
John: John the Baptist is giving his account of what happened. Not only that, John the Baptist is telling us what it meant, because he had previously been told to go and baptize with water and be on the look-out for the Holy Spirit coming down.
Matthew: “heavens were opened FOR HIM and HE SAW…” It is unclear as to whether anyone else there saw what Jesus saw. It is as if the Father and Son are having a private moment of revelation. Then the voice says, “THIS IS my….” indicating that God is not talking to Jesus any more. Now He is talking to the people. He is pointing to Jesus and telling them who He is.
Take it to the kitchen table:
The Council of Nicaea established that Jesus was both fully man and fully God. That is a cornerstone of our faith. What neither Scripture nor doctrine is clear on is how that impacted Jesus’ real world life and experiences.
My question: Did Jesus grow up knowing that he was the Son of God? God could have dropped him from heaven at thirty to begin his mission, but he did not. That means that God must have wanted Jesus to have a human childhood. A little boy in Nazareth should be climbing trees, throwing rocks into the sea of Galilee, focussing on his studies, and worrying about his Bar Mitzvah. Giving him the knowledge that he was the Son of God, destined to save all humanity, would probably get in the way. More importantly, Jesus needed to learn obedience- first to his earthly mother and father. Only after learning this obedience to earthly parents could he have the strength to live in obedience to his heavenly Father. The passion, death and resurrection of Jesus are not possible if he is not obedient to God’s will.
To ponder: Was Jesus’s baptism the moment where God told Jesus who he was and what his mission was?
Make It Yours
God knew what life Jesus needed to live in order for him to complete his mission. Jesus needed a family. Jesus needed to scrape his knees and get boo-boo kisses from Mary. Jesus needed to be told to “shake it off” from Joseph. Those little moments of tenderness, love, and challenge are what formed Jesus into the man that God needed him to be so that he could be the Messiah and Savior of the World.
Salvation came through a family.
Salvation still comes through families. Your family. My family.
- Do you act like it? Or do you see your family/children as an obstacle to your holiness?
How often do we say, “I wish I had time to grow my faith, but I’m so busy with the kids”? How often do we make comments like, “my kids make me so holy” with a tone that indicates that a better statement would be, “my kids make me want to kill them, but I don’t, which is a miracle, so I guess I’m holier than I was before.”
- If your vocation is marriage and motherhood, God has given you this tool to grow your soul.
Reflect on the Following:
- Do I see God in my spouse? (If the answer is “no,” look harder- He’s there)
- Do I see my husband as a son of God?
- How does looking at my husband as a son of God change how I treat him? How I talk to him? How I talk about him?
- Do I see my children as sons/daughters of God?
- How does looking at my children as children of God change how I treat them? How I talk to them? How I talk about them?
- Do I believe that my primary mission as mother is to keep the tiny humans alive? Do I know that I am called to grow them so that when God calls them, they will hear His voice and answer with courage and conviction?
- Do I see my friends/co-workers as children of God?
Challenge 1: Talk to your husband/friends/co-workers as if they are a son/daughter of God. Pay attention to your tone of voice. Give them the benefit of the doubt.
Challenge 2: Talk to your children as if they are children of God. Imagine this: God sends an angel to you and says, “I need you to raise the children who will bring my love into the world.” How do you raise those children? Do you try to understand them, or just tolerate them until they are out of the house? Guess what? God said that to you in the angel of your pregnancy test. That was God saying, “I need you to raise my children.” No other mother was the right mother for your children- only you. Embrace the fact that you are the perfect mother for your children, just as they are the perfect children for you. That doesn’t mean that either one of you are perfect, just perfect for each other. That doesn’t mean that there will be no struggles or challenge. That means that God put these of His children in your lap because they need your boo-boo kisses and your hugs and your kitchen table. But in the end, God will want them back, so be sure they are ready when He calls.
Teach It:
Family Treasures: You can either do the whole family in one evening or break it up and do one person each evening. Make a poster for each family member (or a piece of cardstock) and have everyone else tell all of the treasures and blessings that person brings to the family.
We did this one evening, and it opened my eyes not only to how my children see each other, but also what they noticed about each other. It also opened up talking about each other’s strengths as a topic of conversation during our normal daily life. So often we focus on the negative things about those around us. We may think the positive things, but we don’t necessarily say them, and we should.
