Luke 3:21-22
21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. 22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
The Epiphany of Our Lord is a major festival in the church Year as it focuses squarely on Christ. The traditional Gospel for Epiphany is the account in Matthew 2 where the Wise Men come from afar to worship the young Child Jesus in the house with Mary and Joseph.
The Church Year then fast-forwards to Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan River. St. Luke’s presentation of this momentous event is a bit briefer than the parallels in Matthew 3 and Mark 1. Yet in all three accounts we have the appearance of all three Persons of the Holy Trinity: Jesus the Son, God the Father speaking from heaven, and the Holy Spirit alighting on Jesus in the form of a dove.
Even though all three Persons of the Holy Trinity are co-equal in power, majesty, and might, and the Trinity cannot be fractionalized (for when you have one you have them all), clearly Jesus is the central focus and figure. The Holy Spirit “points’ to Jesus by descending in bodily form, and God the Father literally “points’ to Jesus as He proclaims, “You are My beloved Son.” Even regarding Creation, Jesus is the central Actor “without whom nothing was made” (Jn 1:3).
Why is God the Father pleased with His Son? Jesus has perfectly obeyed His Father’s will, that of fulfilling the Law and living the perfect life for all mankind, suffering for the sins of the world, dying for those sins, and rising again to defeat even death for us all.
Jesus is the One who does it all; He’s the One who gets it right. He is the One who is worthy to take the place of all men, because He is more than a man. He is the Son of God and the Son of Man, the One in Whom His Father is well-pleased. Trust in Him by God-given faith and you are saved.
Let us pray: O God, who by the leading of a star manifested Your only-begotten Son to the Gentiles, mercifully grant that we, who know You now by faith, may after this life have the fruition of Your glorious Godhead; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
