"Hear O Israel, the Lord thy God is ONE LORD. Love the Lord with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind, and all of your strength ..." which is confirmed by Jesus in Mark 12:29-31.
Jesus' baptism is described in all four gospels as follows:
John 1:29-34 states: "The next day John sees Jesus coming unto him, and saith, "Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. This is He of whom I said, "After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for He was before me. And I knew Him not: but that He should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water." And John bare record, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him. And I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, "Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizes with the Holy Ghost." And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God."
Matthew 3:13-17 states, "Then comes Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?" And Jesus answering said unto him, "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness." Then he suffered Him. And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Mark 1:9-11 states, "And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him: and there came a voice from heaven, saying, "Thou art My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Luke 3:21-22 states, "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, "Thou art My beloved Son; in Thee I am well pleased."
Because many people have not studied the scriptures, the general populace misunderstands what really happened at the time Jesus went to John the baptizer to be baptized. This day, we hope to offer some clarification based on the four scriptural accounts from the gospels above. For starters, it is important to note that Jesus was baptized to confirm an earlier prophecy -- "for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness."
Second, John the baptizer was informed by the Holy Ghost - the One and Same Holy Ghost who overshadowed Mary so that she could bring forth a son that when he (John) saw the Holy Ghost LIKE a dove descend AND ALSO REMAIN on Jesus, that He was the prophesied Lamb of God.
We know this to be true from John's gospel when John bare record -- "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove ... and it abode upon Him. But I knew Him not; BUT HE that sent me to baptize with water the same said unto me, "Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, AND remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizes with the Holy Ghost."
Third, the sign of the Holy Ghost descending was LIKE a dove -- not an actual physical dove descending. This had to happen so that John the baptizer would know Jesus, the lamb of God. Therefore, the Holy Ghost descending like a dove was the confirmation John required, as told to him from afore. Thus, when Jesus came up out of the water and saw the heavens opened, it was for the benefit of John.
As for the voice from heaven, we need to acknowledge that the voice from heaven was for the benefit of everyone -- so that they too would recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah. Or, as Luke wrote, "My beloved Son, in Thee I am well pleased." As we know from the scriptures, they saw Jesus Only! For purposes of comparison, the same voice is heard in Matthew 17:7-9 (on the Mount). There, the scripture states, "And Jesus came and touched them, and said, "Arise, and be not afraid." And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only."
Note that John always pointed to Jesus - whose shoes he was not worthy to tie. It is He that will baptize us with the Holy Ghost. (As an aside, we know that when Jesus ascended, He THROUGH the Holy Ghost gave commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen. (Acts 1:2-3)
The scripture never mentions Jesus AND the Holy Ghost as separate beings, because the doctrine of Christ described in II John 1:9 clearly states, "Whosoever transgresses, and abides not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abides in the doctrine of Christ, he hath BOTH the Father and the Son."
So, back to the Son -- in the beginning, well actually from before the world was formed, the Lord God knew that He would have to come forth as a mighty man (Isaiah 42:13; Isaiah 9:6) Or as Isaiah 7:13 states, "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Emmanuel, according to Matthew 1:21-23 is interpreted as God with us.
Do you remember Jesus' parable, where they want to kill the heir, so they inherit the earth? That parable is telling here. Note also when Jesus said, "I and My Father are One!" in John 10:30, and "If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father and know Him" in John 14:6-12, the revelation was specifically for His disciples.
But as we know from other scriptures, the disciples only recognized what Jesus was saying to them AFTER His death and resurrection. Why did God have to identify Himself as a Son, clothing Himself in sin-prone flesh (yet without sin)? So that satan would do what had to be done. Hebrews 9 offers particular insights -- that there had to be a sacrifice. (Hebrews 9:1-28) In order for redemption to become available, it had to include the shedding of blood.
Specifically, as Hebrews 9:8 states, "the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing!"
Thus, there was no Son prior to the day that the Holy Ghost -- the Great I AM -- decided to be made manifest. This scripture is confirmed in I Timothy 3:16.
And when the angel of the Lord said, "And ye shall call His Name JESUS, for He shall save His people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21-23)
Indeed, "He was in the world and the world was made by Him but the world knew Him not. He came unto His own and His own received Him not." (John 1:10-11)
More to come. Stand in the offering plate.
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