From: Matthew 3:13-17

Jesus is Baptized

[13] Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him.
[14] John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and
do you come to me?” [15] But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for thus
it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. [16] And when
Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the
heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and
alighting on him; [17] and lo, a voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved
Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

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Commentary:

13. Jesus spent about thirty years (Lk 3:23) in what is normally called his “hid-
den life”. We should marvel at the silence of the Incarnate Word of God during
this period. There may be many reasons why he waited so long before beginning
his public ministry, but one factor may have been the Jewish custom whereby
rabbis did not carry out their function as teachers until they were thirty years
old. Whatever the reason, by his long years of work beside St Joseph, our Lord
teaches all Christians the sanctifying value of ordinary life and work. The Baptist
prepares the people to receive the Messiah, according to God’s plan; and it is
only then that Jesus commences his public life.

14. St John’s reluctance to baptize Jesus is not surprising since he had given
such forthright witness to Him. Jesus did not need to be baptized by John since
he had no sin, but he chose to receive this baptism (see the note on v. 15) be-
fore beginning to preach, so to teach us to obey all God’s commands (he had
already subjected himself to circumcision, presentation in the temple and being
redeemed as the first-born). God wished Jesus to humble himself even to the ex-
tent of submitting to the authority of others.

15. “Righteousness” (or “justice”) has a very deep meaning in the Bible; it refers
to the plan which God, in his infinite goodness and wisdom, has marked out for
man’s salvation. Consequently, “to fulfill all righteousness” should be, understood
as fulfilling God’s will and designs. Thus, we could translate “fulfill all righteous-
ness” as: “fulfill everything laid down by God.” Jesus comes to receive John’s
baptism and hence recognizes it as a stage in salvation history — a stage fore-
seen by God as a final and immediate preparation for the messianic era. The ful-
fillment of anyone of these stages can be called an act of righteousness. Jesus,
who has come to fulfill his Father’s Will (Jn4:34), is careful to fulfill that saving
plan in all its aspects. See the note on Mt 5:6.

16. Jesus possessed the fullness of the Holy Spirit from the moment of his con-
ception. This is due to the union of human nature and divine nature in the person
of the Word (the dogma of the hypostatic union). Catholic teaching says that in
Christ there is only one person (who is divine) but two natures (divine and human).

The descent of the Spirit of God spoken of in the text indicates that just as Je-
sus was solemnly commencing his messianic task, so the Holy Spirit was be-
ginning his action through him. There are very many texts in the Old Testament
which speak of the showing forth of the Holy Spirit in the future Messiah. This
sign of the Spirit gave St John the Baptist unmistakable proof of the genuineness
of his testimony concerning Christ (cf. Jn 1:29-34). The mystery of the Holy Trinity
is revealed in the baptism of Jesus: the Son is baptized; the Holy Spirit descends
on him in the form of a dove; and the voice of the Father gives testimony about his
Son. Christians must be baptized in the name of the three divine persons. “If you
have sincere piety, the Holy Spirit will descend on you also and you will hear the
voice of the Father saying to you from above: ‘This was not my son, but now afte
Baptism he has been made my son”’ (St Cyril of Jerusalem, “De Baptismo”, 14).

17. Literally, as the RSV points out, “This is my Son, my (or the) beloved”.
When the expression “the beloved” goes with “the son”, normally it refers to an
only son (cf. Gen 16; Jer 6:26; Amos 8:10; Zech 12:10). Repetition of the article
and the solemnity of the passage show that, in the language of the Bible, Jesus
is not just one more among the adopted sons of God, nor even the greatest of
them. Rather, it declares strongly and correctly that Jesus is “the Son of God”,
the Only-begotten who is totally different from other men because of his divine
nature (cf. Mt 7:21; 11:27; 17:5; Jn 3:35; 5:20; 20:17; etc.).

Here we can see the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies, especially Isaiah 42:
1, which is applied now to Jesus through the voice of the Father speaking from
heaven.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

First reading
Isaiah 42:1-4,6-7 ©

Here is my servant, in whom my soul delights

Thus says the Lord:

Here is my servant whom I uphold,

my chosen one in whom my soul delights.

I have endowed him with my spirit

that he may bring true justice to the nations.

He does not cry out or shout aloud,

or make his voice heard in the streets.

He does not break the crushed reed,

nor quench the wavering flame.

Faithfully he brings true justice;

he will neither waver, nor be crushed

until true justice is established on earth,

for the islands are awaiting his law.

I, the Lord, have called you to serve the cause of right;

I have taken you by the hand and formed you;

I have appointed you as covenant of the people and light of the nations,

to open the eyes of the blind,

to free captives from prison,

and those who live in darkness from the dungeon.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 28(29):1-4,9-10 ©

The Lord will bless his people with peace.

O give the Lord, you sons of God,

give the Lord glory and power;

give the Lord the glory of his name.

Adore the Lord in his holy court.

The Lord will bless his people with peace.

The Lord’s voice resounding on the waters,

the Lord on the immensity of waters;

the voice of the Lord, full of power,

the voice of the Lord, full of splendour.

The Lord will bless his people with peace.

The God of glory thunders.

In his temple they all cry: ‘Glory!’

The Lord sat enthroned over the flood;

the Lord sits as king for ever.

The Lord will bless his people with peace.

Second reading	Acts 10:34-38 ©

God had anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit

Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: ‘The truth I have now come to realise’ he said ‘is that God does not have favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.

‘It is true, God sent his word to the people of Israel, and it was to them that the good news of peace was brought by Jesus Christ – but Jesus Christ is Lord of all men. You must have heard about the recent happenings in Judaea; about Jesus of Nazareth and how he began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil.’

Gospel Acclamation	cf.Mk9:8

Alleluia, alleluia!

The heavens opened and the Father’s voice resounded:

‘This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.’

Alleluia!

Gospel	Matthew 3:13-17 ©

'This is my Son, the Beloved'

Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. John tried to dissuade him. ‘It is I who need baptism from you’ he said ‘and yet you come to me!’ But Jesus replied, ‘Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that righteousness demands.’ At this, John gave in to him.

As soon as Jesus was baptised he came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice spoke from heaven, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.’