Matthew 3:13-17: a reflection

13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14But John would have hindered him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?” 15But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. 16Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him. 17Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

At Jesus' baptism, before he has begun his public ministry, before he has preached a sermon or performed a miracle, the heavens open, the Spirit descends, and the Father's voice declares: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. The Father's love and pleasure are declared over the Son at the very start, before any public work. Jesus is the beloved Son, well-pleasing to the Father, before he has done anything in his ministry.

Notice when the Father's love and pleasure are declared: at the start, before Jesus' public ministry begins. The Father does not wait until Jesus has proven himself, preached, healed, accomplished his work, to declare his love and pleasure; he declares it at the very beginning, before any public work. Jesus is the beloved Son before he has done anything in his ministry; the Father's love grounds his ministry, rather than being earned by it. Belovedness comes first, before the doing.

That order, belovedness before doing, is a truth we deeply need. We can imagine that God's love and pleasure must be earned by our doing, our accomplishments, our faithful work; and so we strive to earn a love we already have. But the Father declared his love and pleasure over Jesus before any public work; and for those who are in Christ, God's love comes first, grounding our doing, not earned by it. You are beloved of God, in Christ, before you have done anything to earn it; God's love grounds your life and work, rather than being earned by them. Do not strive to earn a love you already have; rest in being beloved of God, as the Father declared his love over the Son before his ministry began. Let your doing flow from your belovedness, not your belovedness from your doing; you are God's beloved, in Christ, before and apart from anything you accomplish, as the Father declared his love over Jesus before he had begun his work. Rest in that belovedness, and let your life flow from it, rather than striving to earn a love that is already yours in Christ.

Lord, at Jesus' baptism, before he had begun his public ministry, before he had preached a sermon or performed a miracle, the heavens opened, the Spirit descended, and the Father's voice declared: this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. The Father's love and pleasure were declared over the Son at the very start, before any public work. Show me when the Father's love was declared: at the start, before Jesus' ministry began. The Father did not wait until Jesus had proven himself to declare his love; he declared it at the very beginning. Jesus was the beloved Son before he had done anything in his ministry; the Father's love grounded his ministry, rather than being earned by it. That order, belovedness before doing, is a truth I deeply need. I can imagine that your love and pleasure must be earned by my doing, my accomplishments, my faithful work; and so I strive to earn a love I already have. But the Father declared his love over Jesus before any public work; and for those in Christ, your love comes first, grounding my doing, not earned by it. I am beloved of you, in Christ, before I have done anything to earn it. Keep me from striving to earn a love I already have; help me rest in being beloved of you, Lord, as the Father declared his love over the Son before his ministry began. Let my doing flow from my belovedness, not my belovedness from my doing. Help me rest in being your beloved in Christ.