John Calvin 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)

And, behold, the heavens were opened to him. The opening of the heavens sometimes means a manifestation of heavenly glory, but here it also means a cleft, or opening, of the visible heaven, so that John could see something beyond the planets and stars. The words of Mark can have no other meaning: he saw the heavens torn open.²⁹⁶

An exact inquiry into how this opening was made would be unimportant, nor is it necessary. It is sufficient for us to believe that it was a symbol of the Divine presence. As the Evangelists say that John saw the Holy Spirit, it is probable that the opening of the heavens was chiefly for his sake. Yet I do not hesitate to admit that Christ also, insofar as he was man, received from it additional certainty about his heavenly calling. This appears to be the tendency of the words of Luke: while Jesus was praying, the heaven was opened, (Luke 3:21). For, though his prayers were always directed towards the benefit of others, yet as man, when he began so arduous a struggle, he needed to be armed with a remarkable power of the Spirit.

But here two questions arise. The first is, why did the Spirit, who had formerly dwelt in Christ, descend upon him at that time? This question is answered by a passage from the prophet Isaiah, which will be addressed in another place.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord God hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, (Isaiah 61:1).

Though the grace of the Spirit was bestowed on Christ in a remarkable and extraordinary manner (John 3:34), yet he remained at home as a private person until he was called to public life by the Father. Now that the full time had come for him to prepare to discharge the office of Redeemer, he was clothed with a new power of the Spirit—and this, not so much for his own sake as for the sake of others.

This was done so that believers might learn to receive and to contemplate his divine power with reverence, and so that the weakness of his flesh might not cause him to be despised.

²⁹⁶ “Il vid les cieux mi-partir, ou se fendre.” — “.” — “He saw the heavens divided in the middle, or deft.”or deft.”