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Bible > Commentaries > Matthew 3:17

Matthew 3:17
And see a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
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EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(17) A voice from heaven.The words were heard,
so far as the record goes, as the sign was seen, by our
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EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary
Matthew 3:17.

Here neither is

to be supplied, after Luke 3:22; nor does the

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Lord and the Baptist only. It was a testimony to them,

and not to the multitude. The precise force of the latter
clause, in whom I was well pleased, points (to speak
after the manner of men) rather to a definite divine act
or thought, than to a continued ever-present
acceptance. He who stood there was the beloved Son,
in whom, in the beginning, the Father was wellpleased. To the Baptist this came as the answer to all
questionings. This was none other than the King to
whom had been spoken the words, Thou art my Son
(Psalm 2:7), who was to the Eternal Father what Isaac
was to Abraham (the very term beloved son is used in
the Greek of Genesis 22:2, where the English version
has only), upon whom the mind of the Father rested
with infinite content. And we may venture to believe that
the voice came as an attestation also to the human
consciousness of the Son of Man. There had been
before, as in Luke 2:49, the sense that God was His
Father. Now, with an intensity before unfelt, and
followed, as the sequel shows, with entire change in life
and action, there is, in His human soul, the conviction
that He is the Son, the beloved.
Here, as before, it is instructive to note the legendary
accretions that have gathered round the simple
narrative of the Gospels. Justin (Dial. c., Tryph. p. 316)
adds that a fire was kindled in Jordan. An Ebionite
Gospel added to the words from heaven, This day
have I begotten thee, and further adds, a great light
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to be supplied, after
; nor does the
participle stand for the finite tense. See on Matthew
2:18. But literally: and lo, there, a voice from heaven
which spoke. Comp. Matthew 17:5; Luke 5:12; Luke
19:20; Acts 8:27; Revelation 4:1; Revelation 6:2;
Revelation 7:9.

dilectus, not unicus (Loesner, Fischer,

Michaelis, and others). The article, however, does not
express the strengthened conception (dilectissimus), as
Wetstein and Rosenmller assert, but is required by
grammar; for the emphasis lies on , to
which the characteristic attribute is added by way of
distinction. Comp. Khner, II. 1, p. 529 f. Exactly so in
the same voice from heaven, Matthew 17:5.

] Hebraistic construction imitative of

. See Winer, p. 218 [E. T. 291]. Fritzsche, ad
Rom. II. p. 371 (Polybius ii. 12. 13 does not apply here);
frequently in LXX. and Apocrypha.
The aorist denotes: in whom I have had good pleasure
(Ephesians 1:4; John 17:24), who has become the
object of my good pleasure. See Hermann, ad Viger. p.
746; Bernhardy, p. 381 f.; Khner, II. 1, p. 134 f. The
opposite

is

Romans

9:13;

, Hom. Il. xx. 306.

The divine voice solemnly proclaims Jesus to be the
Messiah,

; which designation, derived from

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have I begotten thee, and further adds, a great light

shone around the place, and John saw it, and said,
Who art thou, Lord? and again a voice from heaven,
saying. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased. And then John fell down, and said, I beseech
Thee, O Lord, baptise Thou me. But He forbade him,
saying, Suffer it, for thus it is meet that all things should
be accomplished.
More important and more difficult is the question, What
change was actually wrought in our Lords human
nature by this descent of the Spirit? The words of the
Baptist, He giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him
(John 3:34) imply the bestowal of a real gift. The words
that follow here, He was led by the Spirit (Matthew
4:1), The Spirit driveth Him (Mark 1:12), show, in part,
the nature of the change. We may venture to think even
there of new gifts, new powers, a new intuition (comp.
John 3:11), a new constraint, as it were, bringing the
human will that was before in harmony with the divine
into a fuller consciousness of that harmony, and into
more intense activity; above all, a new intensity of
prayer, uttering itself in Him, as afterwards in His
people, in the cry, Abba, Father (Mark 14:36; Romans
8:15; Galatians 4:6). There also we may think of the
Spirit as making intercession with groanings that
cannot be uttered.

Psalm 2:7,[386] is in the divine and also in the Christian

consciousness not merely the name of an office, but
has at the same time a metaphysical meaning, having

,
Johannine idea,

come forth from the Fathers being,

Romans 1:4,

containing

the

(according to Matthew
1:20, Luke 1:35, also the origin of the corporeity). That
the passage in Isaiah 62:1 (comp. Matthew 12:18) lies
at the basis of the expression of that voice, either alone
(Hilgenfeld) or with others (Keim), has this against it,
that is the characteristic point, which is
wanting in Isaiah l.c., and that, moreover, the other
words in the passage do not specifically correspond
with those in Isaiah.
[386] In the Gospel according to the Hebrews the words
of the voice ran, according to Epiphanius, Haer. xxx. 13
:

,
. So also
substantially in Justin, c. Tr. 88. Manifestly an addition
from later tradition, which had become current from the
well-known passage in Psalms 2. Nevertheless,
Hilgenfeld regards that form of the heavenly voice as
the more original. See on the opposite side, Weisse,
Evangelienfrage, p. 190 ff.
REMARK.

Benson Commentary
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The fact of itself that Jesus was baptized by John,

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Matthew 3:17. And lo! As a further token of the

divine regard to Christ, and of the glorious dignity of his
person, a voice from heaven, saying, to John,
concerning Christ, This is my beloved Son, and to Christ
himself, Thou art my beloved Son, Luke 3:22. For it is
not improbable that both sentences were pronounced;
the voice uttering the words, Thou art my beloved Son,
&c. while the Spirit was descending, as if they had been
directed to Jesus alone, in answer to his prayer; and,
after the Spirit rested on Jesus, the voice, speaking to
the Baptist and the multitude, said, This is my beloved
Son, &c. St. Luke informs us, that he was praying when
this happened, and it is observable that all the voices
from heaven, by which the Father bore witness to
Christ, were pronounced while he was praying, or
quickly after. Luke 9:29; Luke 9:35; John 12:28. In
whom I am well pleased Or, in whom I delight, That
is, whose character I perfectly approve, and in whom I
acquiesce as the great Mediator, through whom will I
show myself favourable unto sinful creatures. See
Isaiah 42:1. The original word properly signifies an
entire acquiescence, or a special and singular
complacency and satisfaction. This the Father took, in
the person and undertaking of Christ; and this, through
him, he takes in all true believers, who, by faith, are
united to him, and made members of his body. And O,
how poor, in comparison of this, are all other kinds of
praise, yea, and all other pleasures! To have the
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although left doubtful by Fritzsche, admitted only as

possible by Weisse, who makes it rather to be a baptism
of the Spirit, while relegated by Bruno Bauer to the
workshop of later religious reflection, stands so firmly
established by the testimony of the Gospels that it has
been recognised even by Strauss, although more on
priori grounds (L. J. I. p. 418). He rejects, however, the
more minute points as unhistorical, while Keim sees in it
powerful and speaking figures of spiritual occurrences
which then took place on the Jordan; Schenkel again
introduces thoughts which are very remote; and
Weizscker recognises in it the representation of the
installation of Jesus into His vocation as Ruler, and that
by the transformation of a vision of Jesus into an
external fact, and refers the narrative to later
communications probably made by the Lord to His
disciples. The historical reality of the more minute
details is to be distinguished from the legendary
embellishments of them. The first is to be derived from
John 1:32-34, according to which the Baptist, after an
address vouchsafed to him by God, in which was
announced to him the descent of the Spirit as the
Messianic of the person in question, saw the
Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descend upon Jesus,
and abide upon Him, and, in accordance with this,
delivered the testimony that Jesus was the Son of God.
The seeing of the Baptist, and the testimony which he
delivered regarding it, is accordingly to be considered
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approbation, and be the delight of God; this is praise,

this is pleasure indeed! This is, at once, true glory and
true happiness, and is the highest and brightest light
that virtue can appear in.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

3:13-17 Christ's gracious condescensions are so
surprising, that even the strongest believers at first can
hardly believe them; so deep and mysterious, that even
those who know his mind well, are apt to start objections
against the will of Christ. And those who have much of
the Spirit of God while here, see that they need to apply
to Christ for more. Christ does not deny that John had
need to be baptized of him, yet declares he will now be
baptized of John. Christ is now in a state of humiliation.
Our Lord Jesus looked upon it as well becoming him to
fulfil all righteousness, to own every Divine institution,
and to show his readiness to comply with all God's
righteous precepts. In and through Christ, the heavens
are opened to the children of men. This descent of the
Spirit upon Christ, showed that he was endued with his
sacred influences without measure. The fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. At Christ's
baptism there was a manifestation of the three Persons
in the sacred Trinity. The Father confirming the Son to
be Mediator; the Son solemnly entering upon the work;
the Holy Spirit descending on him, to be through his
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as based on John 1:32-34, as the source of the

tradition preserved in the Synoptics, in the simplest form
in Mark. According to Ewald, it was in spirit that Jesus
saw (namely, the Spirit, like a dove, consequently in all
its liveliness and fulness, according to Isaiah 11:2) and
heard what He Himself probably related at a later time,
and that the Baptist himself also observed in Jesus, as
He rose up out of the water, something quite different
from what he noticed in other men, and distinguished
Him at once by the utterance of some extraordinary
words. But, considering the deviation of Johns narrative
from that of the Synoptics, and the connection in which
John stood to Jesus and the Baptist, there exists no
reason why we should not find the original fact in John.
Comp. Neander, L. J. p. 83 f.; Schleiermacher, p. 144
ff.; Ewald, Gesch. Chr. p. 230 f. Moreover, that seeing
of the Spirit in the form of a dove is a spiritual act,
taking place in a vision (Acts 7:55; Acts 10:10 ff.), but
which was transformed by the tradition of the apostolic
age into an external manifestation, as the testimony of
John (John 1:34), which was delivered on the basis of
this seeing of his, was changed into a heavenly voice
(which therefore is not to be taken as Bath Kol, least of
all as in the still reverberation of the thunder and in the
gentle echo of the air, as Ammon maintains, L. J. p.
273 f.). The more minute contents of the heavenly voice
were suggested from Psalm 2:7, to which also the old
extension of the legend in Justin, c. Tryph. 88, and in
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the Holy Spirit descending on him, to be through his

mediation communicated to his people. In Him our
spiritual sacrifices are acceptable, for He is the altar
that sanctifies every gift, 1Pe 2:5. Out of Christ, God is
a consuming fire, but in Christ, a reconciled Father.
This is the sum of the gospel, which we must by faith
cheerfully embrace.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A voice from heaven - A voice from God. This was
probably heard by all who were present. This voice, or
sound, was repeated on the mount of transfiguration,
Matthew 17:5; Luke 9:35-36; 2 Peter 1:17. It was also
heard just before his death, and was then supposed by
many to be thunder, John 12:25-30. It was a public
declaration that Jesus was the Messiah.
My beloved Son - This is the title which God himself
gave to Jesus. It denotes the nearness of his relation to
God, and the love of God for him, Hebrews 1:2. It
implies that he was equal with God, Hebrews 1:5-8;
John 10:29-33; John 19:7. The term "Son" is expressive
of love of the nearness of his relation to God, and of his
dignity and equality with God.
I am well pleased - or, I am ever delighted. The
language implies that he was constantly or uniformly
well pleased with him; and in this solemn and public
manner he expressed his approbation of him as the
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the Ev. sec. Hebr. in Epiph. Haer. xxx. 13, points.

Consequently the appearance of the dove remains as
an actual occurrence, but as taking place in vision
(Orig. c. Cels. i. 4348. Theodore of Mopsuestia:

,

,

, ),
as also the opening of the heavens (Jerome: Non
reseratione elementorum, sed spiritualibus oculis).
Origen designates the thing as .
Comp. Grotius, Neander, Krabbe, de Wette, Bleek,
Weizscker, Wittichen. Finally, the question[387]
whether before the time of Christ the Jews already
regarded the dove as a symbol of the Divine Spirit, is so
far a matter of perfect indifference, as the Baptist could
have no doubt, after the divine address vouchsafed to
him, that the seeing the form of a dove descending from
heaven was a symbolical manifestation of the Holy
Spirit; yet it is probable, from the very circumstance that
the took place precisely in the form of a
dove, that this form of representation had its point of
connection in an already existing emblematic mode of
regarding the Spirit, and that consequently the
Rabbinical traditions relating thereto reach back in their
origin to the pre-Christian age, without, however (in
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Redeemer of the world.

The baptism of Jesus has usually been regarded as a
striking manifestation of the doctrine of the Trinity, or
the doctrine that there are three Persons in the divine
nature:
(1) there is the Person of "Jesus Christ," the Son of
God, baptized in Jordan, elsewhere declared to be
equal with God, John 10:30.
(2) the Holy Spirit descending in a bodily form upon the
Saviour. The Holy Spirit is also equal with the Father, or
is also God, Acts 5:3-4.
(3) the Father, addressing the Son, and declaring that
He was well pleased with him.
It is impossible to explain this transaction consistently in
any other way than by supposing that there are three
equal Persons in the divine nature or essence, and that
each of these sustains an important part in the work of
redeeming people.
In the preaching of John the Baptist we are presented
with an example of a faithful minister of God. Neither the
wealth, the dignity, nor the power of his auditors
deterred him from fearlessly declaring the truth
respecting their character. He called things by their right
names. He did not apologize for their sins. He set their
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answer to Lcke on John), having to drag in the very

remote figure of the dove descending down in order to
brood, according to Genesis 1:2. Here it remains
undetermined in what properties of the dove
(innocence, mildness, and the like; Theodore of
Mopsuestia:

the point of comparison was originally based.

Moreover, according to John 1:32 ff., the purpose of
what took place in vision does not appear to have been
the communication of the Holy Spirit to Jesus
(misinterpreted by the Gnostics as the reception of the

), but the making known of Jesus as the Messiah

to the Baptist on the part of God, through a

of the Holy Spirit. In this the difficulty

disappears which is derived from the divine nature of
Jesus, according to which He could not need the
bestowal of the Spirit, whether we understand the Spirit
in itself, or as the communicator of a nova virtus
(Calvin), or as

(Thomasius), or
divine for the work of

as the Spirit of the

the Messiah (Hofmann), as the spirit of office (Kahnis),
which definite views are not to be separated from the
already existing possession of the Spirit. The later
doubts of the Baptist, Matthew 11:2 ff. (in answer to
Hilgenfeld, Weizscker, Keim), as a momentary
darkening of his higher consciousness in human
weakness amid all his prophetic greatness, are to be
regarded neither as a psychological riddle nor as
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transgressions fairly before them, and showed them

faithfully and fearlessly what must be the consequence
of a life of sin. So should all ministers of the Gospel
preach. Rank, riches, and power should have nothing to
do in shaping and gauging their ministry. In respectful
terms, but without shrinking, all the truth of the Gospel
must be spoken, or woe will follow the ambassador of
Christ, 1 Corinthians 9:16.
In John we also have an example of humility. Blessed
with great success, attended by the great and noble,
and with nothing but principle to keep him from turning it
to his advantage, he still kept himself out of view, and
pointed to a far greater Personage at hand. So should
every minister of Jesus, however successful, keep the
Lamb of God in his eye, and be willing - nay, rejoice - to
lay all his success and honors at Jesus' feet.
Everything about the work of Jesus was wonderful. No
person had before come into the world under such
circumstances. God would not have attended the
commencement of his life with such wonderful events if
it had not been of the greatest moment to our race, and
if he had not possessed a dignity above all prophets,
kings, and priests. His "name" was to be called
"Wonderful, Councillor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace;" "of the
increase of his government and peace" there was to be
"no end;" "upon the throne of David and of his kingdom,
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regarded neither as a psychological riddle nor as

evidence against his recognition of Jesus as the
Messiah, which was brought about in a miraculous
manner; and this is the more conceivable when we take
into consideration the political element in the idea of the
Messiah entertained by the imprisoned John (comp.
John 1:29, Remark). If, however, after the baptism of
Jesus, His Messianic appearance did not take place in
the way in which the Baptist had conceived it, yet the
continuous working of the latter, which was not given up
after the baptism, can carry with it no well-founded
objection to the revelation of Jesus as the Messiah,
which is related in the passage before us. Comp. on
John 3:23.
[387] Talmudic and Rabbinical witnesses, but no preChristian ones, are in existence for the Jewish manner
of regarding it (amongst the Syrians the dove was held
sacred as the symbol of the brooding power of nature;
see Creuzer, Symbol. II. p. 80). See Chagig. ii.,
according to which the Spirit of God, like a dove,
brooded over the waters (comp. Bereshith rabba, f. iv.
4; Sohar, f. xix. 3, on Genesis 1:2, according to which
the Spirit brooding on the water is the Spirit of the
Messiah). Targum on Song of Solomon 2:12 : Vox
turturis, vox Spirituss. Ir. Gibborim, ad Genesis 1:2;
Bemidb. rab. f. 250. 1. See also Sohar, Num. f. 68, 271
f., where the dove of Noah is placed in typical
connection with the Messiah; in Schoettgen, II. p. 537 f.
Comp. besides, Lutterbeck, neutest. Lehrbegr. I. p. 259
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to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with

justice forever" Isaiah 9:6-7; and it was proper that a
voice from heaven should declare that he was the longpromised prince and Saviour; that the angels should
attend him, and the Holy Spirit signalize his baptism by
his personal presence. And it is proper that we, for
whom he came, should give to him our undivided
affections, our time, our influence, our hearts, and our
lives.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible
Commentary
17. And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This isMark
and Luke give it in the direct form, "Thou art." (Mr 1:11;
Lu 3:22).
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleasedThe verb
is put in the aorist to express absolute complacency,
once and for ever felt towards Him. The English here, at
least to modern ears, is scarcely strong enough. "I
delight" comes the nearest, perhaps, to that ineffable
complacency which is manifestly intended; and this is
the rather to be preferred, as it would immediately carry
the thoughts back to that august Messianic prophecy to
which the voice from heaven plainly alluded (Isa 42:1),
"Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; Mine Elect, IN
WHOM My soul delighteth." Nor are the words which
follow to be overlooked, "I have put My Spirit upon Him;
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Comp. besides, Lutterbeck, neutest. Lehrbegr. I. p. 259

f.; Keim, Gesch. J. I. p. 539. The dove was also
regarded as a sacred bird in many forms of worship
amongst the Greeks.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

17. a voice from heaven] Thrice during our Lords
ministry it is recorded that a voice from heaven came to
Him. The two other occasions were at the
Transfiguration and in the week of the Passion (John
12:28).
heaven] lit. as above heavens.
beloved] The original word is used specially and only of
the Saviour in the Gospels, Mark 12:6 and Luke 20:13
cannot be called exceptions. In late Greek it is nearly
interchangeable with only-begotten.

Bengel's Gnomen
Matthew 3:17. , ..., a voice, etc.) A most open
manifestation of God, such as those recorded in Acts
2:2-3; Exodus 19:4; Exodus 19:9; Exodus 19:16; Exodus
40:34-35; Numbers 16:31; Numbers 16:42; 1 Kings
8:10-11; 1 Kings 18:38.

, This is) St
Mark and St Luke record that it was said, , Thou
art. St Matthew has expressed the meaning. The
words,

occur again in Matthew

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He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles." (The

Septuagint perverts this, as it does most of the
Messianic predictions, interpolating the word "Jacob,"
and applying it to the Jews). Was this voice heard by
the by-standers? From Matthew's form of it, one might
suppose it so designed; but it would appear that it was
not, and probably John only heard and saw anything
peculiar about that great baptism. Accordingly, the
words, "Hear ye Him," are not added, as at the
Transfiguration.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Ver. 16,17. This story is also related Mark 1:10,11 Lu
3:21. Luke saith that Jesus praying, the heaven was
opened. Mark saith, cloven asunder. It is most probable
that the opening of the heavens mentioned (though
possibly far more glorious) bare a proportion to that
opening of the heavens which we often see in a time of
great lightning, when the air seemeth to divide to make
the fuller and clearer way for the light.
Unto him; that is, unto John.
And he saw the Spirit of God descending like a
dove, and lighting upon him. The Spirit of God is an
invisible substance, and cannot be seen by human
eyes, but the shape assumed by any person of the
Trinity may be seen. Whether it was a real dove, or only
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words, , occur again in Matthew

17:5. Faith assents, declaring, Thou art the Son of
God, as in Matthew 16:16. , the) The article
introduced twice has great emphasis., Son) See
John 1:18; John 3:16, beloved) This might
appear to be a proper name (cf. ch. Matthew 12:18), so
as to produce these two predications: (1.) This is My
Son; (2.) He is the Beloved, in whom I am well pleased. It
is clear, however, from Luke 3:22, that Beloved is an
epithet. Love is something natural, because This is the
Son; good-pleasure, something, as it were, additional,
because He does the things which please the Father.
He is the Beloved, the only one; He shares not the
Fathers love with another.

in whom) The

preposition , in, indicates especially the object, and

then also the cause of the Fathers good-pleasure. The
Son is of Himself the object of the Fathers goodpleasure, and in the Son, all persons and all things. A
phrase of the LXX.; cf. Gnomon on Colossians 2:18.
, I am well pleased) The verb

,
, good-

to be well pleased, and the noun

pleasure, are employed when one is pleased either by
what one has, or does oness self, or by that which
another has or does. Both parts of this notion agree
with the present passage concerning the good-pleasure
of the Father in the Son; for there is an eternal

(natural

affection) towards the only-begotten,

a perpetual graciousness towards the Mediator, and in
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the appearance of a dove, is little material for us to

know. It was certainly one or the other; nor could any
representation at this time be more fit, either to let the
world know the dove like nature of Christ, Isaiah 42:2,
or what should be the temper of all those who receive
the same Spirit, though by measure, and are by it
taught to be innocent as doves. Not that Christ had not
received the Spirit before, but that his receiving of it
might be notified to others. This dove, or appearance of
a dove, lighted upon Christ, thereby showing for whose
sake this apparition was. Christ was not confirmed only
to be the Son of God by this appearance of the Holy
Spirit in the form of a dove, and lighting upon him, but
also by a voice from the excellent glory, saith Peter, 2
Peter 1:17; God forming a voice in the air which spake,
saying,
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased. The word signifieth, a dearly beloved Son.
The
same
voice
was
repeated
at Christs
transfiguration, Matthew 17:5. Peter from it concludes
the certainty of the faith of the gospel, in the
aforementioned text.
In whom I am well pleased: the word signifieth a special
and singular complacency and satisfaction: I am
pleased in his person, according to that, Proverbs
8:30; I am well pleased in his undertaking, in all that he
shall do and suffer in the accomplishment of the
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a perpetual graciousness towards the Mediator, and in

Him towards us, the sons of reconciliation. In ch.
Matthew

27:5,

are

added

the

words,

, Hear Him; for then He was about to speak

of His passion: now they are not added; for, at the
commencement of His ministry, He only taught that
which the Father spake, This is My Son.

Pulpit Commentary
Verse 17. - Lo; peculiar to St. Matthew - a reminiscence
of Aramaic diction. A voice. Similarly in Matthew 17:5
(Transfiguration, cf. 2 Peter 1:17, 18); John 12:28 (like
thunder); [possibly Acts 2:6, Pentecost]; Acts 9:4 (Paul's
conversion); 10:13, 15 (Peter). Talmudic and rabbinic
writings often mention the Bath-Qol as speaking from
heaven. The character of the occasions on which the
voice is heard in the New Testament on the one hand,
and in the Jewish writings on the other, shows the
complete difference in the moral aspect of the two
voices. The latter is at best little more than a parody of
the former. (For the meaning of the expression BathQol vide especially Weber, p. 188; Edersheim, 'Life,'
1:285.) From heaven; out of the heavens (Revised
Version), pointing to the phrase in ver. 16. Saying.
Western authorities add, "unto him," mostly reading the
following words in the second person (cf. Mark and
Luke). This is my beloved Son. Very similar if not
identical words were spoken at the Transfiguration
(Matthew 17:5), Matthew giving precisely the same,
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redemption of man. We are made accepted in the

Beloved, Ephesians 1:6. This text (as is generally
observed) is a clear proof of the trinity of persons or
subsistences in the one Divine Being: here was the
Father speaking from heaven, the Son baptized and
come out of the water, the Holy Ghost descending in the
form or shape of a dove.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And lo, a voice from heaven, saying,.... At the same
time the heavens were opened, and the Spirit of God
descended as a dove, and lighted on Christ, and whilst
it abode upon him, an extraordinary voice was heard;
hence the note of attention and admiration, "lo", is
prefixed unto it, as before, to the opening of the
heavens; being what was unusual and surprising; and
as denoting something to be expressed of great
moment and importance. The Jews, in order to render
this circumstance less considerable, and to have it
believed, that these voices from heaven heard in the
time of Jesus, and in relation to him were common
things, have invented a great many stories concerning ,
"the voice", or "the daughter of the voice from heaven";
which they pretend came in the room of prophecy: their
(t) words are,
"after the death of the latter prophets, Haggai,
Zechariah and Malachi, the holy Spirit departed from
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(Matthew 17:5), Matthew giving precisely the same,

Mark and Luke only omitting "in whom I am well
pleased," and Luke also reading "chosen" instead of
"beloved." It would seem more natural to suppose that
the words spoken on the two occasions were really
slightly different, and that therefore Matthew is the less
accurate. My .... Son (cf. Psalm 2:7). My beloved
Son. The expression is probably based on Isaiah 42:1
(cf. infra, Matthew 12:18, note); but this does not
necessitate the punctuation of the Revised Version
margin, and Westcott and Herr margin: "My Son; my
beloved in whom," etc. (For the expression, comp. also
Mark 12:6 (not in the parallel passage, Matthew 21:37);
Ephesians 1:6.) In whom I am well pleased; rather, in
whom I have delight (cf. Isaiah 62:4, Authorized
Version). The tense () is equivalent to "my
delight" fell on him, he became the object of my love"
(Winer, 40:5, b, 2). The Spirit came, the Father bore
witness. "Thus the Baptist receives through a revelation
the certainty of the Messiahship of Jesus, and thus the
reader learns that the Son of David, who through his
birth (ch. 1.) and the fortunes of his childhood (ch. 2.)
was certified as the Messiah, now also is announced to
the last of the prophets as the Son of God, to whom
Jehovah, in Psalm 2:7, etc., had promised the Messianic
dominion of the world" (Weiss, 'Matthaus-Evang.'). Yet
not only so; the words probably revealed to the Lord
Jesus himself more of his exact relationship to the
Father than he had before as Man realized. Such an

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Israel, and thenceforwards they used "Bath Kol", the

"voice". One time they were sitting in the chamber of the
house of Guria in Jericho, and there came to them , "the
voice from heaven", (saying;) there is one here, who is
fit to have the Shekinah (or divine majesty) abide on
him, as Moses our master; but because his generation
was not worthy, therefore the wise men set their eyes
on Hillell, the elder; and when he died, they said
concerning him, this was a holy man, a meek man, a
disciple of Ezra. Again, another time they were sitting in
a chamber in Jabneh, and there came to them "the
voice from heaven", (saying;) there is one here, who is
fit to have the Shekinah dwell on him; but because his
generation was not worthy, therefore the wise men set
their eyes on Samuel the little.''
I have cited this passage at large, partly because,
according to them, it fixes the date and use of "the
voice"; and partly, because it affords instances of it,
wherefore more need not be mentioned; for, it would be
endless to repeat the several things spoken by it; such
as encouraging Herod to rebel, and seize his master's
kingdom (u); forbidding Ben Uzziel to go on with his
paraphrase on the Hagiographa, or holy books, when
he had finished his Targum on the prophets (w);
declaring the words of Hillell and Shammai to be the
words of the living God (x); signifying the conception,
birth, and death of (y) persons, and the like; all which
seem to be mere fiction and imagination, diabolical
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Father than he had before as Man realized. Such an

assurance of his true nature, and of the Father's delight
in him, would be of essential service in strengthening
him for his work (cf. Matthew 17:5). There are two other
matters connected with our Lord's baptism recorded by
tradition (cf. especially Resch, 'Agrapha,'pp. 346-367)additional words spoken, and an additional sign given.
The words spoken are found in "Western" authorities of
Luke 3:22, "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten
thee," evidently with a desire to emphasize the
application of the second psalm. The additional sign is
the light or fire. The simplest form of this is (Tatian's
'Diatessaron,' edit. Zahn), "A light rose upon the
waters;" and in the Ebionite Gospel apud Epiph.,
"Immediately a great light shone round about the place;"
more fully in Justin Martyr ('Trypho,' 88), "When Jesus
had gone down into the water, fire was kindled in the
Jordan;" also in a now lost 'Pred. Paul,' "When he was
being baptized, fire was seen upon the water;" and in
the Cod. Vercellensis of the Old Latin, "When he was
being baptized, an immense light shone round from the
water, so that all who had come thither were afraid."
Although there is no intrinsic objection to this symbol
having taken place, it is very improbable that in this
case the evangelists would not have recorded it. The
legend may have arisen from ver. 11, or, and more
probably, from an endeavour to make the baptism
parallel to the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:2); cf.
Ephraem, in Resch ('Agrapha,' p. 358), "John drew near
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seem to be mere fiction and imagination, diabolical

delusions, or satanical imitations of this voice, that was
now heard, in order to lessen the credit of it. But, to
proceed; this extraordinary voice from heaven, which
was formed in articulate sounds for the sake of John;
and, according to the other Evangelists, was directed to
Christ, Mark 1:11 expressed the following words, "this is
my beloved Son". "This" person, who had been baptized
in water, on whom the holy Spirit now rested, is no other
than the Son of God in human nature; which he
assumed, in order to be obedient to this, and the whole
of his Father's will: he is his own proper "son", not by
creation, as angels, and men; nor by adoption, as
saints; nor by office, as magistrates; but in such a way
of filiation as no other is: he is the natural, essential,
and only begotten Son of God; his beloved Son, whom
the Father loved from everlasting, as his own Son; the
image of himself, of the same nature with him, and
possessed of the same perfections; whom he loved,
and continued to love in time, though clothed with
human nature, and the infirmities of it; appearing in the
likeness of sinful flesh; being in his state of humiliation,
he loved him through it, and all sorrows and sufferings
that attended it. Christ always was, and ever will be
considered, both in his person as the Son of God, and
in his office as mediator, the object of his love and
delight; wherefore he adds,

and worshipped the Son, whose form an unwonted

lustre surrounded."

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in whom I am well pleased. Jehovah the Father took

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infinite delight and pleasure in him as his own Son, who

lay in his bosom before all worlds; and was well pleased
with him in his office relation, and capacity: he was both
well pleased in him as his Son, and delighted in him as
his servant, Isaiah 42:1 he was pleased with his
assumption of human nature; with his whole obedience
to the law; and with his bearing the penalty and curse of
it, in the room and stead of his people: he was well
pleased with and for his righteousness, sacrifice and
atonement; whereby his law was fulfilled, and his justice
satisfied. God is not only well pleased in, and with his
Son, but with all his people, as considered in him; in him
he loves them, takes delight in them, is pacified towards
them, and graciously accepts of them. It would be
almost unpardonable, not to take notice of the
testimony here given to the doctrine of the Trinity; since
a voice was heard from the "father" in heaven, bearing
witness to "the Son" in human nature on earth, on whom
"the Spirit" had descended and now abode. The
ancients looked upon this as so clear and full a proof of
this truth, that they were wont to say; Go to Jordan, and
there learn the doctrine of the Trinity. Add to all this,
that since this declaration was immediately upon the
baptism of Christ, it shows that his Father highly
approved of, and was well pleased with his submission
to that ordinance; and which should be an encouraging
motive to all believers to follow him in it.
(t) T. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 11. 1. Sota, fol. 48. 2. Yoma.
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(t) T. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 11. 1. Sota, fol. 48. 2. Yoma.

fol. 9. 2.((u) T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 3. 2. (w) Megilla,
fol. 3. 1. (x) T. Hieros. Beracot, fol. 3. 2. (y) T. Bab.
Sanhedrim, fol. 22. 1. T. Hieros. Sabbat. fol. 8. 3.

Geneva Study Bible

And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased.

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