The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. 30 He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ 31 I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” 32 John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. 33 I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.’ 34 Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
After Jesus was baptized, he was led into the desert by the Spirit where he fasted and was tempted by the devil (Mt. 4:1-2). When he returned from the desert, John saw him coming and declared to his disciples that Jesus was the Lamb of God which in OT times would have conjured up the image of a sacrificial lamb being offered up as a sin offering, an atonement for sin in accordance with Mosaic Law (2 Chron. 29:20-24; Is. 53:7; Ex. 12:6-7). John the Baptist acknowledged that even though he was born before Jesus in time, Jesus, the Word of God, existed before him in dignity because of his preexistence as the Son of God.
John had been in the desert for many years before his public ministry and most likely would not have known who Jesus really was until he baptized Jesus with water (Mt. 3:14). Jesus’ full identity was revealed to John when the Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove and it was divinely revealed to him that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mt. 3:11). Fire signifies purification and is an allusion to Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4)
Jesus’ baptism by John was not for the forgiveness of sins but to make Jesus known to Israel (v. 31). John saw the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus and remain on him, and heard the voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son (Mt. 3:17)” which confirmed that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus could now begin his mission to preach the Good News about the Kingdom of God and baptize with the Holy Spirit.
Almighty God, we give thanks to you always for calling us to do your will and sending down your Holy Spirit to strengthen us for our mission. Grant, we pray, that we may serve you as Jesus did and willingly give of ourselves for the salvation of others. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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