The theologians divide their studies of Christ into the categories of His person and His work. There are those things having to do with His identity and nature, that is, His person; and there are those things having to do with His ministry and atoning sacrifice, that is, His work.

Who is Jesus and what has He come to do? Luke through John the Baptist has been eager to tell us, especially in the third chapter. He led us through John the Baptist’s ministry, in which John was solely focused on preparing the way for the coming Christ/Messiah through the proclamation of baptism and repentance for the forgiveness of sins (3:3). Who is the Lord for whom John is the forerunner (3:4ff)? He is, as John describes Him, “the bestower of forgiveness, the baptizer in the Holy Spirit, the trial judge of men, the executor of the coming wrath.”[1]

Now, through baptism, the opening of heaven, the descent of the Holy Spirit, the heavenly voice, the genealogy, we will learn still more of Jesus’ identity and calling, as well as have what we already know reinforced, that we might have confidence that Jesus is the Son of God, and Son of Man.

Stands with sinners

Now it came about when all the people were baptized, that Jesus also was baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened (Lk 3:21)

Unlike the other gospel accounts of Jesus’ baptism (Mt 3:13-17; Mk 1:9-11; cf. Jn 1:29-34), Luke doesn’t mention John the Baptist’s name. Why? Because his narrative has moved from John to Jesus. Luke focuses all the attention on Jesus. His account is brief, yet important because it marks the call of Jesus to His public ministry through the endowment of the Holy Spirit and confirming heavenly voice. The emphasis, even grammatically, is upon the opening of heaven and the descent of the Spirit. The baptism itself is but a subordinate clause and event.

Still, we need to ask, why does Jesus submit to a “baptism of repentance”? He had not sinned. He had no transgressions of which He needed to repent. He did so in order to identify with sinners. He saw the crowds flocking to John’s baptism. He determined to take His place with them. Notice the wording: “when all the people were baptized . . . Jesus also was baptized.” He is participating with His countrymen in this rite of renewal. “At the outset of His ministry He publicly identified with the sinners He came to save,” as Morris explains.[2] Though He Himself was without sin, He is determined to stand with sinners, to serve sinners, to die for sinners, and to save sinners. He is the suffering servant who will be “numbered with the transgressors” (Is 53:11,12). It was for the same reason that the family had Jesus circumcised. “What is baptism but an evangelical circumcision? What was circumcision but a legal baptism?” asks Joseph Hall (1574–1656). “He would be circumcised to sanctify His church that was; and baptized to sanctify the church that should be; that so, in both testaments, He might open a way into heaven.”[3]

He is not only being baptized with us, but for us. His is a substitutionary baptism that anticipates a substitutionary atonement. Jesus Himself makes this connection as He will later speak of His death as a baptism.

But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! (Lk 12:50)

Similarly, He will ask,

You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? (Mk 10:38)

Baptism is not only a symbol of cleansing, but also of death and resurrection. Believers, the Apostle Paul will teach, are “buried with (Christ) through baptism into death” (Rom 6:3-5). Jesus’ baptism points to the cross, where He who knew no sin, “became sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21). He takes on our guilt and dies on our behalf, in our place, for us, that we might be saved. Don’t run from God. He has given us One who stands with us, through whom we might be reconciled to God.

The meaning of His baptism goes deeper still. Jesus speaks of “fulfill(ing) all righteousness” through His baptism (Mt 3:15). He completely conforms to the will of God, announced in His law and through John the Baptist, that He might not only bear our guilt, but impute that righteousness to us. A “great exchange” will take place at the cross, as Luther described it. Jesus will take on our guilt, and in exchange, we will receive His righteousness. This is the minus and plus of salvation. Sin is taken away. But God doesn’t leave us at a “neutral position.” The righteous status of Christ is credited to us. God sees us in Christ as righteous. He accepts us in the same way He accepts His beloved Son. Jesus through baptism identifies with and for sinners.

Anointed Servant

and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased.” (Lk 3:22)

The Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus “in bodily form like a dove,” refers to “the Spirit gently descending upon the head of Jesus as a dove might descend, so that it looked like a dove,” suggests Marshall.[4] The anointing of the Spirit is confirmation of Jesus’ identity and mission. The visibility of the Spirit places this outside the realm of a mere private experience. “I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven and remaining upon Him,” says John the Baptist (Jn 1:32). This visible descent is further confirmation of Jesus’ identity and mission. John continues,

"And I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” (Jn 1:33,34)

The endowment of the Spirit publically identifies Jesus as the prophet Isaiah’s promised Servant of the Lord (43:10; 49:3-6; 52:15–53:12) upon which God would place his Spirit (Is 42:1; cf. 11:2; 48:16; 61:1).

The anointing of the Spirit also marks Jesus’ acceptance of His calling. He is anointed to preach (Lk 4:18; cf. Is 61:1). The Apostle Peter says that “God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power” (Acts 10:38). 

The ministry that Jesus will conduct will be empowered by the Holy Spirit. For 30 years He has led an ordinary life. Now He is inaugurating His public ministry. For that He will need the special endowments of the Holy Spirit. Calvin relates the descent of the Spirit to Jesus’ human needs. “He had, insofar as His humanity required it, need of the defense of the Spirit’s unique power, in embarking on such a rigorous campaign.”[5]

We can’t miss as well that it was “while He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended” (Lk 3:21b, 22a). Dependence upon the Holy Spirit and prayer (the two, of course, are intimately related) is an important theme throughout Luke. Only Luke tells us that the dove descended “while He (Jesus) was praying” (v 21). As we’ve seen (see chapter 1) prayer is featured before nearly every major juncture in Jesus’ life (e.g. 5:16; 6:12; 9:29; 22:40; 23:40), as also is the leading and empowerment of the Holy Spirit (e.g. 4:14; 10:21). Jesus taught likewise that we are to pray for the Holy Spirit (11:13) and to seek the empowering of the Holy Spirit (Lk 24:46-49). Jesus depended on the Holy Spirit. We are to depend on the Holy Spirit. Jesus depended on prayer. We are to depend on prayer. We are to walk in the Spirit, be led by the Spirit, worship in the Spirit, sing and pray in the Spirit (Gal 5:16-18; 25; 1 Cor 14:15). By the power of the Spirit we are to put sin to death (Rom 8;13,14); by the gifts of the Spirit we minister effectively (1 Cor 12; Rom 12:6ff); by the fruit of the Spirit our lives are transformed (Gal 5:22ff). Jesus is modeling all of this for us.

Unique Son

and a voice came out of heaven, “Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased.” (Lk 3:22b)

“Thou art My beloved Son,” echoes Psalm 2:7, and is a declaration of Jesus’ unique identity and status. He is the “beloved Son,” which in this context, as applied to a son or daughter, means God’s” only” Son.[6] He is not merely a son of God, but the Son of God (cf. 1:35). He is the “only begotten from the Father” (Jn 1:14). The voice provides “unimpeachable sanction of Jesus with regard to His identity and mission,” says J. B. Green.[7] It provides further confirmation. Further, Jesus’ unique sonship is seen in relation not just to the Father, but also the Holy Spirit. “We have all the three Persons of the Godhead spoken of, as co-operating and acting at one time,” observes J. C. Ryle.[8] Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the same in substance with the Father and Holy Spirit, and equal in power, glory, and eternity.

”Beloved Son” also echoes Genesis 22:2, when Abraham was commanded to sacrifice Isaac, “your only son, whom you love.” It is, as such, a reminder that Jesus is the sacrificial victim that God will provide. “In Thee I am well pleased” indicates God’s pleasure, or even His delight in His Son, and is also derived from Psalm 42:1. Jesus is both the beloved Son of Psalm 2:7 and the servant of Isaiah 42:1, whose suffering culminates in Isaiah 53. He is both Son of God and suffering Servant.

The next time we hear the language of “this is my beloved Son,” at the Transfiguration, the exhortation follows, “listen to Him” (Lk 9:35; Mt 17:5). We can take this to be the point here as well. The voice from heaven confirms Jesus’ identity and mission. He is One to whom we must listen. Pay attention to what He says. Don’t be put off by His humility, His plainness, or his suffering (Isa 53:1ff). No one will ever speak with more authority than He. No one will ever supersede Him. He will never be outdated. A superior will never exist. He is utterly reliable, authoritative, and eternally true. One can never go wrong listening to Him. Why? Because He is the beloved Son of God with whom God is well-pleased. When He says He is the way, the truth, and the life, He can be believed (Jn 14:16). When He says He is the resurrection and the life, He can be trusted (Jn 11:25). When He says He is the light of the world, He can be relied upon (Jn 8:12). When He says He is the bread of life, we can feed upon Him and satisfy the hunger of our souls and quench our spiritual thirst (Jn 6:35). We can stake both time and eternity on what Jesus says.

True Man

Finally, Jesus is identified a true man. Luke provides us with his genealogy of Jesus in verses 23-38.

And when He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being supposedly the son of Joseph, the son of Eli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai, the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah, the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. (Lk 3:23-38)

It has long been noticed that Luke’s genealogy differs from Matthew’s (1:1-17). There are 77 names in the list from Jesus to Adam. They are arranged in 11 groups of 7, with the most important names falling at the beginning and end of the groups. The genealogy also tells us that Jesus was about 30 when He began His public ministry, the age when the Levites began their service (Num 4:47), the age when David began to reign (2 Sam 5:4), and the age when a man was seen as fully mature. Jesus was not only of the right descent, but also the right age.

Luke’s genealogy goes back to Adam, Matthew’s only to Abraham. The two are nearly identical from Abraham to David, and then diverge. Why the differences? There are a number of theories. One suggestion is that Luke gives us the genealogy of Mary and Matthew of Joseph, (this was the view of J. C. Ryle, and many others).[9]  He was not only of the right descent, but alsot He was However, this is not what Luke says. He purports to be tracing Joseph’s line (v 23). J. Gresham Machen’s view was that Matthew records the legal descendants of David, those who were the legal heirs to David’s throne had it continued, whereas Luke gives us the direct line of descendants in the branch to which Joseph belonged.[10] There are several other competing theories as well. Which view is correct is impossible to determine “in the present state our knowledge,” says Morris.[11] What is the point of the genealogy, placed as it is following the baptism, that marked Him as the unique Son of God? It “shows Him to be a real man,” says Morris, “not a demi-god like those in Greek and Roman mythology.”[12] It also “points to an essential element in His Messianic qualifications,” that He was a descendant of David, as well as a descendant of Adam.[13] Its point, Marshall agrees, is “to show that Jesus has His place in the human race created by God,” and “to stress the universal significance of Jesus for the whole of the human race, and not merely for the seed of Abraham.”[14]

Jesus, as a descendant of Adam, is the representative of all humanity. He comes to serve and save all humanity. Does humanity have a problem? Indeed it does, and the problem reaches all the way back to Adam. It is an inherent problem, built into us since the fall. We have been corrupted by sin, all of us, all children of Adam. Is there evidence of this problem? We see it everywhere, don’t we? The past century gave us eloquent testimony to the problem of the human race. The turn of the century arrived with such optimism. It was an age of progress, an age of scientific and technological achievement. We experienced an industrial revolution and a communications revolution and a transportation revolution. Man had arrived. What happened? World War I, World War II, Soviet Communism, the Iron Curtain, the Bamboo Curtain, the Holocaust, the Concentration Camps, the Gulags, the Cold War, the Killing Fields, the Boat People, and the list goes on. Humanity has a problem and Jesus comes to solve that problem, to deliver us and save us. He will do so through His cross, paying the debt of our sin, breaking its power, reconciling us to God, and empowering us to gain victory over sin. Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of Man, the anointed, endorsed, confirmed Savior of sinners. Those who turn to Him will not be disappointed.