Cycle A
Five days ago, we celebrated the first manifestation of Jesus, in Bethlehem, to the pagans. Today we celebrate the second, to all, at the Jordan, through the voice of heaven. Then they told us that Jesus is the king of the Jews; today, God the Father tells us that he is his beloved Son, his chosen one.
The Baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3,13-17)
The Gospels are full of silences that almost irritate the reader. Why does Jesus decide to go to the Jordan? How did he find out what John the Baptist was doing and saying? Why is he so interested? No evangelist says so. They all focus on the essential, not on satisfying our curiosity, even pious one.
In the account of Matthew, we can distinguish three moments: the dialogue with John, the coming of the Spirit, and the voice from heaven.
The dialogue with John is exclusive to the Gospel of Matthew. When Mark wrote his Gospel, the fact that Jesus was baptized by John did not pose problems. However, Matthew perceives a genuine scandal for Christians in this scene: how is it possible for Jesus to place himself below John and submit to a baptism for the forgiveness of sins? To avoid this possible scandal, he introduces a dialogue between the two protagonists, highlighting the reason Jesus puts forward: “It is right that we fulfill everything God wills.” Thus, he makes clear what will be most important to him throughout his life: fulfilling the will of God.
At the same time, we learn that his performance will be at times astonishing, a mystery that we can never fully penetrate and that may even provoke scandal in the best-intentioned people. From the first scene, Jesus is disconcerting us.
Precisely at the moment of his greatest humiliation, his greatest exaltation takes place. Mark recounts the episode as a personal experience of Jesus: “As he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased’” (Mk 1:10-11). Only Jesus sees the heavens open, and the voice is addressed only to him: “*You are* my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased”. Matthew, on the other hand, presents the scene as a great public event. The heavens open for everyone, and the voice proclaims: “*This is* my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased”. It is not a matter of Jesus having a new, special experience; it is those present who realize the importance of Jesus.
The coming of the Spirit upon Jesus has special importance, because among some rabbis there was the idea that the Spirit had ceased to communicate after Ezra (5th century BC). Now, when it comes upon Jesus, a new stage is inaugurated in the history of God’s relationships with humanity. Because that Spirit that comes upon Jesus is the same with whom he will baptize us, according to the words of John the Baptist.
The voice of heaven. In any hypothesis, whether as a personal experience or as a public proclamation, it is very important to know the meaning of the words: “You/this is my beloved Son, my chosen one.” To a Jewish listener, these words recall two texts with very different meanings. Psalm 2:7: “*you are my son*, I have begotten you today,” and the beginning of the first song of the Servant of Yahweh (Isaiah 42:1). The psalm speaks of the king, God’s son, at the moment of his enthronement. Isaiah refers to a character who saves his people with great patience and suffering. It seems that Matthew wants to evoke both ideas: the dignity of Jesus and salvation through suffering. All of this, which now only remains hinted at, will be confirmed throughout the Gospel.
At some point, the reader may be shocked by the things Jesus does and says, which will ultimately cost him his life, but they must remember that he is not a blasphemer or a heretic, but the Son of God guided by the Spirit.
Jesus’ future program (Isaiah 42,1-4.6-7)
The words of the heavens not only speak of Jesus’ dignity, but also outline a program for him. This is what the first reading of this Sunday, taken from the book of Isaiah (42,1-4.6-7), indicates.
The program indicates, above all, what it will not do: shout, clamor, raise its voice, which is equivalent to threatening and condemning; breaking the broken reed and snuffing out the flickering wick, symbols of dangerous or weak beings, that it is preferable to eliminate (enough to think of Levi, the tax collector, the woman caught in adultery, the prostitute…).
It then says what it will do: promote and implement the right, or, in other words, open the eyes of the blind, bring the captives out of prison; these images probably refer to the activity of the Persian king Cyrus, of whom the prophet expects the liberation of the peoples subjected by Babylon; applied to Jesus, they have a different, more global and profound meaning, which includes spiritual and personal liberation.
The program also includes how it will behave: “it will not falter or break.” Its mission will not be easy or well received by everyone. Criticism and condemnations will abound, especially from Jewish religious authorities (scribes, Pharisees, high priests). But at all times it will remain firm, until death.
Mission accomplished: he went about doing good (Acts 10:34-38)
The second reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, Peter, addressing the centurion Cornelius and his family, summarizes the activity of Jesus in these few words: “He went about doing good.” A good example for living our baptism.
José Luis Sicre
English version translated with AI