Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 3:16

"And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him;" — Matthew 3:16 (ASV)

St. Ambrose of Milan: For, as we have said, when the Savior was washed, the water was cleansed for our baptism, so that a washing could be administered to the people who were to come. Moreover, it was fitting that in Christ's baptism those things which the faithful obtain by baptism would be signified.¹

Pseudo-Chrysostom: This action of Christ has a figurative meaning for all who would be baptized after Him. Therefore, the text says, immediately He ascended, and not simply He ascended. For all who are worthily baptized in Christ immediately ascend from the water; that is, they make progress in virtues and are led toward a heavenly dignity. Those who went down to the water as carnal and sinful sons of Adam immediately ascend from the water as spiritual sons of God. But if some, by their own faults, make no progress after baptism, how does that reflect on the baptism itself?

Rabanus Maurus: Just as by the immersion of His body He dedicated the washing of baptism, He has shown that for us also, after receiving baptism, the entrance to heaven is open and the Holy Spirit is given, as it follows: and the heavens were opened.

St. Jerome: This was not an actual parting of the visible element, but something seen by the spiritual eye, just as Ezekiel also relates at the beginning of his book that he saw the heavens open.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: For if the physical creation of the heavens had been opened, the text would not have said, were opened to Him, because a physical opening would have been visible to all.

But someone might ask: Are the heavens then closed to the eye of the Son of God, who is present in heaven even while on earth? It must be understood that just as He was baptized according to the condition of the humanity He had taken upon Himself, so the heavens were opened to His sight in His human nature, even while He was in heaven in His divine nature.

Remigius of Auxerre: But was this the first time the heavens were opened to Him in His human nature? The faith of the Church both believes and holds that the heavens were just as open to Him before as they were after. It is said here that the heavens were opened because, for all those who are born again, the door of the kingdom of heaven is opened.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Perhaps before this there were unseen obstacles that hindered the souls of the dead from entering the heavens. I suppose that since Adam's sin, no soul had ascended to the heavens, but they were continually closed. Then, behold, at Christ's baptism they were opened again. After He had overcome the great tyrant death by the cross, the heavens, never to be closed again, no longer needed gates. Thus the Angels do not say, Open, you gates, for they were already open, but rather, take away the gates (Psalm 24:7).

Alternatively, the heavens are opened to the baptized in the sense that they see the things in heaven, not with the physical eye, but by believing with the spiritual eye of faith.

Or, in another sense, the heavens are the divine Scriptures. All read them, but not all understand them, except for those who have been baptized in such a way that they receive the Holy Spirit. Thus, the Scriptures of the Prophets were at first sealed to the Apostles, but after they received the Holy Spirit, all Scripture was opened to them.

However we interpret it, the heavens were opened for Him, which means for all, on His behalf. It is as if an emperor were to say to someone making a request for another, “I grant this favor not to him, but to you”—meaning, it is granted to the other person for your sake.

Glossa Ordinaria: Or, such a bright glory shone around Christ that the blue vault of the sky seemed to be actually parted.²

St. John Chrysostom: But even if you do not see it, do not be unbelieving because of that. In the beginning of spiritual matters, visions perceptible to the senses are always offered for the sake of those who cannot conceive of things that have no body. Even if these do not occur in later times, faith can be established by those wonders that were once performed.

Remigius of Auxerre: Just as the door of the kingdom of heaven is opened to all who are born again through baptism, so also all who are baptized receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Christ, after having been born once among men, is born a second time in the sacraments, so that just as we adore Him then, born of a pure mother, we may now receive Him immersed in pure water. His mother brought forth her Son and yet remains a virgin; the wave washed Christ and is made holy. Lastly, the same Holy Spirit who was present to Him in the womb now shone around Him in the water. He who then made Mary pure now sanctifies the waters.³

Pseudo-Chrysostom: The Holy Spirit took the likeness of a dove, as it is an animal that, more than others, is a symbol of love. All other forms of righteousness which the servants of God possess in truth, the servants of the Devil possess in false imitation; the love of the Holy Spirit alone is something an unclean spirit cannot imitate. The Holy Spirit has therefore reserved for Himself this special manifestation of love, because no testimony so clearly shows where He dwells as does the grace of love.

Rabanus Maurus: Seven qualities in the baptized are symbolized by the dove. The dove makes her home near rivers, so that when a hawk is seen, she can dive under the water and escape. She chooses the best grains of corn. She feeds the young of other birds. She does not tear with her beak. She is without bitterness. She makes her rest in the caverns of the rocks. Her song is a lament.⁴

In the same way, the saints dwell beside the streams of Divine Scripture so that they may escape the assaults of the Devil. They choose wholesome doctrine for their food, not heresy. By their teaching and example, they nourish people who have been children of the Devil (that is, his imitators). They do not pervert good doctrine by tearing it to pieces as heretics do. They are without irreconcilable hatred. They build their nest in the wounds of Christ's death, which is a firm rock to them—their refuge and hope. As others delight in song, so they delight in groaning for their sins.

St. John Chrysostom: It is also an allusion to ancient history, for in the great flood, this creature appeared bearing an olive branch and bringing news of rest to the world. All of these things were a type of things to come. For now, a dove appears again, pointing out our Liberator and, in place of an olive branch, bringing the adoption of the human race.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It is easy to understand how the Holy Spirit can be said to be “sent,” when a dove, as it were, descended in visible shape upon the Lord. That is, a certain appearance was temporarily created in which the Holy Spirit could be visibly shown. This operation, made visible and offered to human sight, is called the mission of the Holy Spirit—not because His invisible substance was seen, but so that the hearts of men might be stirred by the external appearance to contemplate the unseen eternal reality.⁵

Yet this creature, in whose shape the Spirit appeared, was not taken into a unity of person, as was the human nature taken from the Virgin. For the Spirit neither blessed the dove nor united it to Himself for all eternity in a unity of person. Furthermore, though that dove is called the Spirit, insofar as it shows a manifestation of the Spirit, we cannot say of the Holy Spirit that He is God and dove, as we say of the Son that He is God and man. Nor is it as we say of the Son that He is the Lamb of God, a title not only declared by John the Baptist but also seen by John the Evangelist in the vision of the slain Lamb in the Apocalypse. For that was a prophetic vision, not presented to the physical eyes in a physical shape, but seen in the Spirit through spiritual images.

Concerning this dove, however, no one ever doubted that it was seen with the physical eye. We do not say the Spirit is a dove in the same way we say Christ is a Rock—for that Rock was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). That Rock already existed as a created thing and was called by the name of Christ (whom it symbolized) because of the similarity of its function. This was not the case with the dove, which was created at that moment for this single purpose.

It seems to me more like the flame that appeared to Moses in the bush, or the pillar of fire that the people followed in the wilderness, or the thunder and lightning that occurred when the Law was given on the mountain. All of these were visible objects intended to signify something and then pass away. The Holy Spirit is said to have been “sent” because such forms have been seen from time to time; these physical forms appeared for a moment to show what was necessary, and then they ceased to exist.

St. Jerome: It rested on the head of Jesus so that no one would suppose the Father's voice was spoken to John and not to the Lord.

1. Ambrosiaster, Serm. 12. 4
2. non occ.
3. App. Serm. 135. 1
4. ap. Anselm
5. de Trin., ii, 5