Matthew 3:16-17. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
It’s probably safe to assume that many of us reading this today have had some sort of “daddy issues” (or maybe “mommy issues”) at some point in our lives. The relationship of a parent to a child is so formative, so influential, so powerful, and therefore it can be so damaging. The words spoken by a father to their child can bring life or death; they can make you or break you. Many of us grew up never hearing “I love you,” or “I’m proud of you,” from a father. There was no pursuing love. Affirmation only came when we had earned it with our accomplishments.
It’s also safe to say that Jesus never had any “daddy issues.” How do we know? Because, as we heard it declared for us in John 1, the eternal Son and the eternal Father have always been one in love and unity. And now, here in Matthew 3, we see it demonstrated for us at Christ’s baptism – This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.
At his baptism, Jesus didn’t BECOME the Son of God. Rather, Son is his eternal identity, and beloved is his eternal status. But at his baptism, Jesus, the eternal Son, was ordained into ministry. He was declared to be the Servant-Messiah of God. The Father is telling the world that it is his Son who fulfills all the promises made by God throughout the Old Testament.
When we hear the Father publicly declare Jesus to be his Son, we hear the Davidic covenant being renewed.
2 Samuel 7:14. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.
We can hear Jesus declared to be the Psalm 2 Messiah of God, come to rule the nations.
Psalm 2:7-8. 7I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
When we see the Spirit of God descend on Jesus, and we hear the Father declare that he is well pleased with Jesus, we hear the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming Servant of the Lord.
Isaiah 42:1. Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him;
But above all, we hear the Father’s own deeply personal love for his Son. Love was spoken over him BEFORE his ministry even began. Before Jesus had accomplished anything. Before the wilderness temptations. Before the miracles. Before the sermons. Before the cross. We can hear unconditional love and affirmation bestowed on the Son by the Father because of who he was, not because of what he had done. It is from this empowering unconditional love of the Father that Christ will enter into his life of sacrifice for us, a life of submission to his Father by the power of the Spirit.
If there’s one thing that God wants you to know today from your own baptism of the Spirit into union with Christ, it is that you too are deeply loved by the Father. Loved unconditionally. Accepted without accomplishment. The Father is pleased with you because of who you are, not because of what you have done. May the Father’s delight in us produce the same sacrifice and submission that guided the life of the eternal Son. May it produce to live is Christ.
You: Do you have “daddy issues” with God? Do you trust his love for you?
You in Christ: In Christ, God is as pleased with you as he is with Jesus. Do you believe this?
Christ in you: How can you live from the Father’s love today rather than for the father’s love?
To Live is Christ 