Holy Trinity
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; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17 ESV
Many of you were baptized as infants, brought in arms by your parents to the baptismal font. Some of you were baptized as adults, after having been told about what the Son of God did for your salvation.
We are baptized because of our need. We are born of sinful parents and are in need of cleansing that only God can work through His Word. It was different with Jesus. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary and was without sin. He came as our representative, to live under the law and to fulfill all righteousness for us.
When Jesus of Nazareth stepped from the water of the Jordan River, the three-in-one God revealed Himself. The Spirit of God descended from the heavens in the form of a dove, a testament to Jesus’ being anointed for His work and as confirmation of His person. A voice from heaven declared that Jesus of Nazareth was His Son, the Beloved One. God was well pleased in Him and had every reason to be. By faith in Him and His completed work is God well pleased with us.
We rejoice to know this God of Love, who declares us righteous by virtue of the righteous life of the Son and grants this gift to us by the working of the Spirit of God. To God alone be the glory.
Within the Jordan’s crystal flood In meekness stands the Lamb of God
And, sinless, sanctifies the wave, Mankind from sin to cleanse and save.
The Lutheran Hymnal 131:3