Jesus: The Perfect Son

Matthew 3:13-17; John 1:29-34 - Jesus: The Perfect Son

Introduction

If you have been in the church for a long time, you have more than likely been taught that Jesus is the Son of God. And you have probably recited the words, “I believe in God the Father Almighty and in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord…” But what does this really mean, and why does it matter?

Today we are going to see that Jesus is the Son of God and because of this only he can rescue us from judgment.

Context

God and humanity are at odds. It was this way from shortly after creation. Even though God promised to one day send someone to save the world, death and misery reigned for some 4,000 years. The only glimmer of hope was God’s people, Israel, who were not very good at loving him. For most of their history, they looked more like the rest of the world…evil and unjust. Generation after generation came and went, but still, no one came who would save the world.

Then seemingly out of nowhere two men were born…John the Baptist and Jesus. Both of their births were miraculous. John was born of an elderly woman and Jesus of a young couple, Mary and Joseph, or so it seemed. But Jesus’ birth was truly unique, because Mary was impregnated before she was married to Joseph, and it wasn’t by another man. She was impregnated by the Holy Spirit, God himself.

Jesus was the only son born of a woman whose Father was not a sinner. Jesus, as we learned last week, is eternal. He is and always was God, eternally begotten of the Father, not created. By the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit, the eternal God, Jesus, the Son, added a human body and a reasonable soul to himself. The eternal God would now have a human nature and grow up just like us but without sin and evil.

Jesus grew up, honoring his Heavenly Father and his earthly father and mother. His whole childhood can be summarized in two ideas. First, Jesus grew up strong and wise and in the favor of God. Second, Jesus’ entire life was spent seeking and doing his Father’s will.

And now in the account we are about to read in Matthew 3:13-17 and John 1:29-34 he is about 30 years old.

Content

Matthew 3:13–14 says, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.” Here, John, the final OT prophet is preaching a message of repentance to Israel. The message was that the time has come! The kingdom of God has finally arrived in the person of God, the Messiah, who has come in the flesh. All must turn to him and repent or face punishment. John’s baptism represented repentance and cleansing from sin, turning toward God and aligning with his kingdom.

Jesus: a humble God who is for us

Already though, at the outset, things are not going as expected. First, notice how Jesus comes from Nazareth in Galilee (we see it is from the tiny town of Nazareth in Mark). He is a humble God, showing up in a humble neighborhood, Nazareth, that wasn’t much of anything. It was a place where people would say, “Can anything good come from there?”

Second, Jesus comes to John to be baptized. Jesus has already lived a perfect life, loving God and fulfilling all God’s requirements. Yet, now that he is embarking on his official ministry of redeeming God’s people, he must fulfill all righteousness. What does this mean? He must fulfill God’s saving activity that was prophesied in the OT. He begins by entering into the place or stead of his people. He must be baptized by John on behalf of the people. This baptism of repentance shows how he represents us and repents on our behalf. Even though Jesus didn’t need repentance or cleansing, he identified with the sinful people he came to save through his substitutionary life and death.

Jesus: the true Passover

Next, in John 1:29–31 we read, “…he (John the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.””

As John sees Jesus, he is given spiritual insight. He then proclaims that Jesus is the fulfillment of the final Exodus, where the ultimate Passover Lamb is slain to take away the sins of not only God’s people, but all who turn to him in repentance and faith throughout the world and deliver them from the captivity of Satan. You see, John makes a declaration that Jesus is the fulfillment of all God’s promises.

Jesus is what everyone was waiting for! God would be their God, and they would be his people. Jesus came to break the power of Satan, wipe away the penalty for our sins, and give the great gift of the Holy Spirit to his people (the presence of God in our day-to-day lives).

John had previously said, “The one who comes after me is ahead of me, because he existed before me.” He references this here and thus makes a statement about Jesus’ nature as God. In other words, John was older than Jesus, but Jesus was before him because he was eternally existent.

And so, John says that up to this point he did not know that Jesus was the Messiah. His ministry’s purpose was to prepare for the coming Messiah, and as he fulfills the purpose of his ministry, now that the Messiah is revealed.

Jesus: the perfect uncreated new creation (second Adam)

Thus, as John sees Jesus coming to be baptized, we read in Matthew 3:14-17, “…John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented. 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.’”

John very clearly sees that Jesus doesn’t need to repent and be cleansed, instead, John needs to repent to Jesus and be cleansed by him, and so John tries to refuse baptizing Jesus. Jesus, however, must be baptized because his life’s purpose was to do the will of God and be the substitute for God’s people.

And so, John agrees and baptizes Jesus. Then something incredible happens. First, the heavens open and the Spirit hovers over and then rests upon Jesus. In language characteristic of prophetic visions, John and Jesus see a heavenly reality that no one else can see. This scene is symbolic of Jesus’ empowerment for ministry, but it also reminds us of Genesis 1 and creation where the Spirit hovers over the waters. This represents Jesus as the one who brings about a new creation. It also possibly represents ceremonial cleanliness and gentleness. Thus, as we have seen, Jesus is the creator, and now, in a sense, we see him as the uncreated new creation. Second, the Father speaks from heaven a declaration of perfection, Jesus isn’t just very good, but Jesus is the new man, the second Adam, who God declares to be not simply very good, but perfect. This should remind us of the end of day 6 of creation.

How do I know this is the imagery? The Gospel of Mark uses language that makes this clear, but John has already framed Jesus as the Word of God, God, the light of the world, the life of men, and on top of this, the very next story is Jesus going to be tempted just like Adam and Eve. We are seeing a kind of second creation with the perfect man, the second Adam who will succeed for us and then allow us to enter into it.

But what is amazing is that this second Adam is going to live the right way, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Notice how the Spirit didn’t just manifest himself, but instead rested upon him. Revealing that Jesus’ entire life and mission would be empowered by and be done through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus: the one and only beloved Son

But notice that Jesus is not simply perfect, but beloved. Jesus is the one and only Son who is not only dearly loved by the Father, but who also pleases the Father. This is made clear by the voice from heaven. God Almighty, our Father, says from heaven “This is my beloved Son, in whom I delight.” This phrase is jam-packed with meaning.

In Psalm 2:7–8 it says, “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.”  Here the Messiah King will subdue the nations to God. Then, in Isaiah 42:1, part of a larger section that outlines God’s salvation for Israel through the suffering servant says, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.” Here we see the servant of God who will do God’s will of bringing the nations to God. But notice here that the Spirit has been put upon him by the Father.

Jesus: crushed for us

And so, the Father blends two of his declarations together, Psalm 2 and Isaiah 42. Psalm 2 was sung at the crowning of Israel’s kings, and so it identifies Jesus as the divinely appointed King who would rule with divine authority and whose kingdom would have no end. Isaiah 42 speaks of Jesus as the servant of God and messiah who in Isaiah 53 we see would be “pierced for our rebellion, and cursed for our iniquities.” Thus, Jesus is King and Savior. What this shows us is that Jesus’ ministry would be to suffer and die, and rise to restore God’s people to a right relationship with God by bearing their iniquities and sins. And this is pleasing to the Father. The Father would give up his Son, his only Son, his unique Son, to bring us into his family.

But what is incredible is that instead of just using the language of “you are my Son”, he adds “my beloved Son”. This word beloved is a word which carries the meaning of one who is in a very special relationship with another. God declares that Jesus is the Messianic king who has a unique relationship with him.

Thus, the immediate context shows us that Jesus is the only or beloved Son of the Father who has come to earth to complete God’s mission to redeem a people for himself through his suffering, death, and resurrection. But he is the one on whom the Father takes special pleasure or delight in, his Son. He is infinitely pleased with Jesus as his eternal Son, but he is also pleased with Jesus as the Messiah and Suffering Servant. In other words, as Jesus accepts and identifies with Israel, being willing to take upon their sin, he pleases the Father.

And so, we read in John 1:32–34, “And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”” And thus, John the Baptist is a witness to the reality that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of the Father?

Most scholars believe that there are four senses. First, a messianic sense, in other words, Jesus is God’s chosen deliverer of God’s people who would suffer and die for them. This is seen in Psalm 2 and Isaiah 42. Second, an origin sense, in other words, he has no human father. He is from God from all eternity. Third, an ethical or religious sense, in other words, he is perfectly obedient to the will of the Father as other sons were not. Fourth, an eternal sense, in other words, he has been the Son of the Father from all eternity. What we should see in all this is that Jesus didn’t become God’s Son through adoption or election, but was rather eternally, uniquely, and only God’s Son, and as such he has an utterly unique and amazing relationship with the Father.

And so, as we look throughout the Gospel of John and the rest of the Gospels, we see six things that it means for Jesus to be the Son of God. First, Jesus as the Son of God has been sent into the world by the Father. This is clearly stated in John 3:16-17 and is repeated throughout the Gospel. Jesus as the Son of God lives out the mission of his Father.

Second, Jesus as the Son of God returned to the Father. Right before the crucifixion, Jesus knew it was time for Him to leave this world and go to the Father.

Third, Jesus as the Son of God is dependent on the Father. This is clear from John 5:19, “The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” Jesus is in absolute unity with the Father and dependent upon him as the Son.

Fourth, Jesus as the Son of God is the revealer of the Father. This is first mentioned in the closing verse of the prologue to John’s gospel: “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known”. Jesus is the only one who has ever seen the Father and the only way to the Father.

Fifth, Jesus as the Son of God is object of the Father’s love. The Father’s love for the Son leads him to place everything in Jesus’ hands. The Father loves the Son and shows him everything He does. The Father loves him because He willingly laid His life down. This loving relationship between the Father and the Son was from eternity and is absolutely and completely unique. Jesus prayed that the disciples would see the glory given to him by the Father because the Father loved Him before the creation of the world.

Sixth, Jesus as the Son of God holds a unique relationship with the Father. In Mathew 11:25-30 Jesus has such a unique relationship with the Father that no one knows the Father except him, and no one knows him except the Father, so much so that no one can know the Father unless Jesus reveals him to them. He and the Father are one.

This is what it means that Jesus is the Son of God. He has an utterly unique and amazing relationship with the Father. In fact, it is so unique that no one else can have this kind of a relationship with God on their own. The eternally begotten Son is the unique One, the Son of God.

Consequence

What does all this mean? And why does it matter? The author of Hebrews explains it to us in Hebrews 1:1-3a, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”

Jesus Christ is the Son of God who created and sustains the world. He is the one who is the revealer of God. And it is only God that can reveal himself because of our finiteness. So, in order to understand God, we must do so on his terms and with his communication. And what is that? Jesus alone. Jesus, the Son of God, is the only one who can reveal the Father to us and tell us how we can have relationship with him and what this relationship is going to be like.

But we shouldn’t miss this one point of application. The Father was pleased to give up his Son, his only Son, his unique Son, to bring us into his family. As it says in Isaiah 53:5–6, 11, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. …Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.” In other words, the Father willingly gave up his Son, his only Son, because he loved you! What are we going to do with this knowledge? Will we fall upon our knees in worship to the God of all who would love us like this? Will we trust our God who would love us this deep, high, and wide? Will we tell others of this love or squander it for ourselves? Will we allow this love to penetrate our souls and change the way we think and act?