'He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon
Him.' MATT. iii. 16.
This Gospel of Matthew is emphatically the gospel of the Kingdom. It
sets forth Jesus as the long-promised Messiah, the Son of David. And
this conception of Him and of His work, whilst it runs through the whole
of the Gospel, is more obviously influential in shaping the selection of
incidents and colouring the cast of the language, in the early portion.
Hence the genealogy with which the Gospel begins dwells with emphasis on
His royal descent from David. Hence the story of the wise men of the
East is given, who came to do their homage to the new-born King of the
Jews, whose innocent poverty and infancy are set in contrast with the
court and character of the cruel Herod who had for an hour usurped the
title. Hence, also, the mission of John the Baptist is all summed up in
his proclamation: 'The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.' He is the herald
that runs before the chariot of the advancing Monarch, and shouts to a
slumbering nation, 'The King! the King!'
Preserving the same reference to the royal dignity of Jesus, we may look
at His baptism as being His public assumption of His Messianic office,
and at this descent of the Holy Spirit as the anointing or coronation of
the King. As His meek head rose, glistening from the waters of the
baptism, there fluttered down upon Him the gentle token of the manifest
designation from the Heavens, which solemnly declared Him to be the Son
of God, anointed Messias, King of Israel and of the world.
So in looking at this incident, I take simply two points of view, and
consider its bearing on Jesus, and on us.