The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. 30 He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ 31 I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” 32 John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. 33 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.’ 34 Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
After Jesus was baptized, he was led into the desert by the Spirit where he fasted and was tempted by the devil (Mt. 4:1-2). When he returned from the desert, John saw him coming and declared to his disciples that Jesus was the Lamb of God which in OT times would have conjured up the image of a sacrificial lamb being offered up as a sin offering, an atonement for sin under Mosaic Law (2 Chron. 29:20-24; Is. 53:7; Ex. 12:6-7). John the Baptist acknowledged that even though he was born before Jesus in time, Jesus, the Word of God, existed before him in dignity and righteousness because of his preexistence as the Son of God.
John, like most Israelites, expected a Messiah who would fulfill the prophetic promises of the OT. The common belief was that the Messiah would be a powerful and triumphant figure who would liberate the Israelites from oppression and establish a kingdom of justice and peace (Is. 42:1-4; 61:1-3; Jer. 23:5-6). At that time, the Israelites were under Roman rule and they were anticipating the Messiah to be a military leader who would free them from Roman oppression and restore the glory of the Davidic kingdom. Jesus came as a spiritual Messiah, emphasizing the kingdom of God and salvation through faith, healing the sick, raising the dead, and proclaiming the Good News to the poor. John had been in the desert for many years and did not recognize Jesus. He was unsure if he was the Messiah (Mt. 11:2-6). Jesus’ true identity was revealed to JBap when he baptized Jesus with water and the Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove (Mt. 3:13-17). It was divinely revealed to JBap that Jesus was the Messiah who would baptize with the Holy Spirit (v. 32).
Jesus’ baptism by John was not for the forgiveness of sins but to make Jesus’ identity known to Israel (v. 31). John saw the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus in the form of a dove and remain on him, and heard the voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son (Mt. 3:17)” which confirmed that Jesus is the Son of God. The event symbolized the anointing and empowering of Jesus for his public ministry. Jesus could now begin his mission to preach the Good News about the Kingdom of God and baptize with the Holy Spirit.
Almighty God, we give You thanks always for calling us to do your will and sending down your Holy Spirit to strengthen us for our mission. Grant, we pray, that we may serve you as Jesus did and willingly give of ourselves for the salvation of others. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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