Church Fathers Commentary Luke 3:21-22

"Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, that, Jesus also having been baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased." — Luke 3:21-22 (ASV)

St. Ambrose of Milan: In a matter related by others, Luke rightly gave us only a summary, leaving more to be understood than was expressed in the fact that our Lord was baptized by John. As it is said, Now when all were baptized, it came to pass. Our Lord was baptized not so that He might be cleansed by the waters, but to cleanse the waters themselves, so that they, purified by the flesh of Christ who knew no sin, might possess the power of baptism.

St. Gregory of Nazianzus: Christ also comes to baptism, perhaps to sanctify baptism itself, but doubtless to bury the old Adam in the water.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Our Lord Himself declares the reason for His baptism when He says, Thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness. For what is righteousness, if not to first do yourself what you would have another do, and so encourage others by your example? Therefore, let no one avoid the washing of grace, since Christ did not avoid the washing of repentance.

St. John Chrysostom: There was a Jewish baptism that removed the defilements of the flesh, but not the guilt of the conscience. Our baptism, however, separates us from sin, washes the soul, and generously gives us the outpouring of the Spirit. John’s baptism was superior to the Jewish one, for it did not lead people to observe bodily purifications but taught them to turn from sin to virtue. Yet it was inferior to our baptism, as it did not convey the Holy Spirit or grant the forgiveness that comes by grace, for each baptism had its own distinct purpose.

Christ was not baptized with either the Jewish or our own baptism. He did not need the pardon of sins, nor was His flesh—which was conceived by the Holy Spirit from the very beginning—lacking the Holy Spirit. He was baptized with the baptism of John so that from the very nature of that baptism, you would understand that He was not baptized because He needed the gift of the Spirit.

Luke also notes that after being baptized, Jesus was praying. This is to show you how fitting constant prayer is for anyone who has received baptism.

The Venerable Bede: Although all sins are forgiven in baptism, the weakness of our fleshly nature is not yet made strong. We rejoice at the overwhelming of the Egyptians after crossing the Red Sea, but in the wilderness of this worldly life, we meet other enemies. With the grace of Christ directing us, these foes can be subdued by our efforts until we arrive in our true homeland.

St. John Chrysostom: He says, The heavens were opened, as if they had been shut until then. But now that the higher and lower sheepfolds are brought into one, and there is one Shepherd of the sheep, the heavens opened, and humanity is made a fellow citizen with the Angels.

The Venerable Bede: The heavens were not opened for Christ Himself, for His eyes already scanned their innermost parts. Instead, this event reveals the power of baptism: when a person comes forth from it, the gates of the heavenly kingdom are opened to them. As their flesh is bathed unharmed in the waters, whose touch was once feared, the flaming sword is extinguished.

St. John Chrysostom: The Holy Spirit also descended upon Christ as the Founder of our race, so that the Spirit might first be in Christ, who received Him not for Himself, but for us. Hence it follows: And the Holy Spirit descended. Let no one imagine that Christ received the Spirit because He did not already have Him. For as God, He sent the Spirit from above, and as man, He received Him below. Therefore, the Spirit descended from Him to Him—that is, from His deity to His humanity.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It seems very strange that He should receive the Spirit when He was thirty years old. But just as He came to baptism without sin, so He was not without the Holy Spirit. For if it was written of John, He shall be filled with the Spirit from his mother’s womb, what must we believe about the man Christ, whose flesh was conceived not carnally but spiritually? Therefore, He condescended at this moment to prefigure His body—that is, the Church—in which the baptized especially receive the Holy Spirit.

St. John Chrysostom: That baptism had elements of both the old and the new. For receiving baptism from a Prophet pointed to the old order, but the Spirit’s descent signified something new.

St. Ambrose of Milan: The Spirit rightly appeared in the form of a dove, since He cannot be seen in His divine substance. Let us consider the mystery: why a dove? Because the grace of baptism requires innocence, that we should be innocent like doves. The grace of baptism also requires peace, a peace symbolized by the olive branch the dove once brought to the ark, which alone escaped the deluge.

St. John Chrysostom: Alternatively, to show the Lord's meekness, the Spirit appears now in the form of a dove, but at Pentecost He will appear as fire to signify punishment. When offenses were about to be pardoned, gentleness was necessary; but now that grace has been obtained, what remains for us is the time of trial and judgment.

St. Cyprian of Carthage: The dove is a harmless and pleasant creature, with no bitter gall, no fierce bite, and no violent, tearing talons. Doves love human homes and live together in one house, nurturing their young together. When they fly, they stay side-by-side, living their lives in community, giving a sign of peaceful harmony with their beaks, and in every way fulfilling a law of unity.

St. John Chrysostom: Christ had indeed already revealed Himself at His birth through many prophecies, but because people would not pay attention to them, He who had in the meantime remained hidden revealed Himself again more clearly in a second birth. Previously, a star in the heavens declared Him; now, the Father declares Him at the waters of the Jordan. As the Spirit descended upon Him, He poured out that voice over the head of the one being baptized, as it follows: And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son."

St. Ambrose of Milan: We have seen the Spirit, but in a bodily form, and we may hear the Father, whom we cannot see. The Father is invisible because He is the Father. The Son is also invisible in His divinity, but He chose to reveal Himself in the body. And because the Father did not take on a body, He therefore wished to prove to us that He was present in the Son by saying, "You are my Son."

St. Athanasius of Alexandria: The holy Scriptures present two meanings for the name "Son." One is similar to what is spoken of in the Gospel, where He gave them power to become the sons of God. The other is the sense in which Isaac is the son of Abraham. Christ is not simply called a Son of God; the definite article is used so that we should understand that He alone is truly and by nature the Son. Hence, He is called the Only Begotten.

If, according to the madness of Arius, Christ is called Son in the same way as those who obtain the name through grace, He would seem to differ from us in no way. Therefore, we must confess that Christ is the Son of God in that other sense, just as Isaac is acknowledged to be the son of Abraham. For a son is that which is naturally begotten of another and does not take its origin from anything outside of that nature.

But, it is asked, was the birth of the Son accompanied by suffering, as a human birth is? By no means. Since God cannot be divided, He is the Father of the Son without suffering. This is why the Son is called the Word of the Father, because not even a human word is produced with suffering.

And since God is by nature one, He is the Father of only one Son, and for this reason the word "Beloved" is added. For when a man has only one son, he loves him very much; but if he becomes the father of many, his affection is divided among them.

Since the prophet had previously announced the promise of God, saying, "I will send Christ my son," and since that promise was now, in a sense, fulfilled at the Jordan, God rightly adds, "In you I am well pleased."

The Venerable Bede: It is as if He said, "In You I have set My good pleasure"—that is, to accomplish through You what seems good to Me.

St. Gregory the Great: Alternatively, anyone who corrects his actions through repentance shows that he is displeased with himself, since he is amending what he has done. And since the omnipotent Father spoke of sinners in human terms, saying, "It repents me that I have made man," He, so to speak, was displeased with Himself in the sinners whom He had created. But in Christ alone He was pleased with Himself, for in Him alone He found no fault for which He might blame Himself, as it were, through repentance.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The words of Matthew, "This is my beloved Son," and those of Luke, "You are my beloved Son," convey the same meaning, for the heavenly voice spoke one of these phrases. Matthew wished to show that the words, "This is my beloved Son," were meant to declare to the hearers that He was the Son of God. For this was not revealed to Christ, who already knew it, but to those who were present and for whom the voice came.