The Son of Man, The Son of God

Luke 3:21–38 NIV84

21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” 23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melki, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melki, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Kenan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Introduction

We come this morning to a very important and significant passage.

And I think it’s true to say that most would understand that what takes place at the baptism of Christ is important in terms of the delcaration that comes from God, and the Spirit coming down on Him like a dove, few would see the significance of the genealogy.

It’s one of those sections in the Scriptures that we would typically skip over in our general reading of Scripture, and quiet times etc. But the genealogy itself is important - not in terms of every single name listed - but in terms of the truths that are conveyed about our Saviour.

All four of the Gospel accounts have a record of the baptism of Jesus, and the descending of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus.

This event is a pivotal and very important event in the life of Christ.

It is the event that marks the start of Christ’s formal ministry.

But it is also the account in Luke’s Gospel where demonstrates to Most Excellent Theophilus who Jesus truly is.

He is going to show that Jesus is both the Son of Man - descended from men. But He is more than that - He is the Son of God.

1. The Baptism of Jesus (v.21a)

In verse 21a, we read these words...

The New International Version (1984) The Baptism and Genealogy of Jesus

When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too.

You will recall that at the start of the ministry of John the Baptist, there were these large crowds of people going out into the Judean wilderness to see John. He was a highly regarded prophet, and the people wanted to hear what he had to say. Certainly, God’s hand would have been instrumental in leading the people out to listen to John.

But as we saw last week, John was baptising people with a baptism of repentance, which repentance was required to be evidenced by the producing of fruit in the lives of the people being baptised. It was of no value to undergo this baptism of repentance, if there was no evidence that true repentance had taken place.

John was calling people to live different lives; lives that gave glory to God; even as he prepared the way for the work that the Messiah would do.

And it’s at this time, and into this context, that Jesus approaches John as he is baptising in the Jordan river. And he goes to John and says that John should baptise him also.

Now we know the response of John well. He was taken aback at this...

Matthew 3:14 NIV84

14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

Now let’s just pause for a moment there. John was demonstrating through his words that he recognised and acknowledged the superiority of Jesus. Last week we considered something of this as we looked at the words that John used to speak of Jesus when he pointed the crowds to Jesus. John said that he was not even worthy to untie the sandals of the one that was to come after him.

And yet now, this one who is so far exalted above him, is coming to him and asking him to baptise him.

And so the question is usually asked, why was Jesus Baptized? Although Luke doesn’t record that for us here, the other accounts of this important even give us an understanding of why Jesus needed to be Baptized.

Matthew 3:15 NIV84

15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

This is going to become important as we consider Jesus being the son of man, and being the one to fulfill all that the forefathers failed to fulfill in history past.

Yes, Jesus is going to be the Son of God - that will be shown here. But he is also the son of man. He will also fulfill all the duties and responsibilities that man ought to have fulfilled before a Holy God.

Christ is among his brothers and sisters. He was not different in terms of his appearance. He was the Saviour that came to die in the place of people. He was one that came to take the place, to stand in the place of men who were sinners.

As such, it was necessary for him to fulfill all righteousness. He needed to be the one that

Psalm 89:19–20 NIV84

19 Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people you said: “I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have exalted a young man from among the people. 20 I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him.

How much more so is this true of Jesus Christ. He appears in the midst of the people, even as one of the crowd. He was a man - the Son of Man.

But He would be the perfect man!!

As we continue in our text, consider next with me…

2. The Anointing of Jesus (v.21b-22)

From verse 21b we read...

The New International Version (1984) The Baptism and Genealogy of Jesus

And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.

Three things that we should focus our attention on as we consider this anointing of Jesus.

The first is the fact that when this happened...

2.1. He was praying

Jesus was a man of prayer. He was regularly on his knees before His Father, committing all of his ways into his hands.

Even as the very Son of God, His communion with His heavenly Father, His dependence on His heavenly Father through prayer, remained central in all that He did.

We see in Scripture that at every significant moment in Jesus’s life, he was found to be praying. These include the feeding of the 5000, and the 4000; the selecting of His twelve disciples, where he prayed the whole night; at the moment of his transfiguration etc.

But it wasn’t merely at these significant events that Jesus prayed. Rather, he prayed as a regular habit....

Luke 5:16 NIV84

16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Simply put, Jesus was a man of prayer.

And here, at this significant juncture in His own life, as He is about to embark on his public ministry, Luke records that Jesus was in prayer. He was in communion with His Father as this Baptism and anointing of Jesus takes place.

The second important thing that we note from this occasion was that...

2.2. The Holy Spirit Descended on Him (v.21b-22a)

The New International Version (1984) The Baptism and Genealogy of Jesus

heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.

Notice firstly the opening of the heavens here.

As Luke records this, he is speaking of a physical, but supernatural occurrence of the clouds being pulled back, and sky in some manner being pulled apart, with a dove then descending on Christ.

But inasmuch as the physical account was striking, what is of great significance is the fact that this was a moment of revelation by God Himself. Whenever we find in the Scriptures this picture of the heavens being opened up, we will find that God is bringing about revelation concerning Himself.

In Acts 7:56 we have the account of Stephen seeing the heavens opened.

Acts 7:56 NIV84

56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

There was God’s revelation to Stephen that Christ was indeed ascended into the heaven, and was ruling at the right hand of God.

And so it was in this account. What was unfolding before the eyes of those present at Jesus baptism was a particular revelation concerning the status of Jesus Christ as He would be sent out to minister in the world.

As the heavens are opened, we find the Spirit - the third person of the trinity, descending on Jesus.

In this instance, the coming of the Spirit is not with visible tongues of fire, as would be the case with the early church and the Spirit coming. Rather, the Spirit descended in bodily form, like a dove.

What is clear from this is that it was a public event, rather than a private experience. It was an event that was witnessed by those who were there.

There are a number of possibilities in terms of what the dove would represent. Some have suggested that it symbolized peace; purity. The puritan Thomas Goodwin wrote...

“....a dove is the most meek and the most innocent of all birds; without gall, without talons, having no fierceness in it, expressing nothing but love and friendship to its mate in all its carriages, and mourning over its mate in all its distresses. And accordingly, a dove was a most fit emblem of the Spirit that was poured out upon our Saviour when He was just about to enter on the work of our salvation. For as sweetly as doves do converse with doves, so may every sinner and Christ converse together.

All seem fitting possibilities.

But the great significance is on the very fact that Spirit indeed came upon Jesus Christ.

Now, we must understand that this was not so much a situation where Christ was suddenly being given a spirit.

Rather, it was a visible and public declaration by God of the fact that Jesus would perform His ministry by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Later on, we will read these words from Christ...

Luke 4:18 NIV84

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,

Jesus was empowered and sent by God under the power of His Spirit to declare the Gospel. This event at the Baptism of Jesus was simply the initiating moment of that ministry.

As Peter preached the Gospel to Cornelius and his household, he spoke about...

Acts 10:38 NIV84

38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

All through Christ’s ministry, it will be evident that He preaches with power and with authority, and that He does all that he does as the One who uniquely was empowered by the Spirit.

This leads us to the next consideration as this Baptism takes place, and that is that Jesus is...

2.3. Declared to be God’s Son

We read in verse 22b...

The New International Version (1984) The Baptism and Genealogy of Jesus

And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

This is most certainly a climactic point in this event, as God the Father declares His love for Jesus as His own Son.

Now recall that this was not the moment that Jesus “became” God’s son. He had always been the Son of God. He had existed in glory with the Father before he entered into the world. Jesus had said to his parents in the Temple, at the young age of 12, that he needed to be in His Fathers house. But here is the point where God declares to those looking on that Jesus is indeed His son.

And He declares both that He loves Him, and that He is well pleased with Him.

This was a fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah...

Isaiah 42:1 NIV84

1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.

As we go on in this text, we will begin to pick up some important implications of the fact that God was pleased with His Son.

The significance of this declaration by God concerning His son is not merely due to the fact that he was his son… most fathers, certainly godly ones, are pleased with their sons; they are proud of their sons. But God’s declaration here speaks to the fact that He was pleased with the obedience of the Son. Even in this very act of baptism, Jesus was exercising obedience to the Father in order to fulfill all righteousness. And so Christ would go on to live a life that was well pleasing to God in every way.

With all this in mind, we must go on to consider thirdly...

3. The Sonship of Jesus Confirmed (vv.23-38)

This section contains a lengthy genealogy.

This section progresses on from the baptism of Jesus in a very particular and important way. And we’ll see why this is as we look further at this genealogy.

Just to put your minds at ease - we’re not going to delve into every name and their significance within this genealogy. In fact, many of the people listed we have little to no further information on them.

But there are a number of significant point that we must recognise.

Before I point some of these things out, I want to just touch briefly on the matter of the differences between the Genealogy of Matthew and of Luke. There are very noticeable differences between them.

For one, there is a difference in the names that are presented. Sometimes you will come across names that are similar between the genealogies. Then when you compare, you find the fathers names, or the sons names, are different. And it leaves us scratching our heads as to what’s going on, and who has this right and who has things wrong.

This has obviously caused some debate. It has led men people to use this situation as a grounds for discrediting the Scripture as a whole, or either Matthew’s account or Luke’s account in terms of the genealogy of Jesus.

We also find that the number of names that are recorded in each for the periods where there are overlaps. are not the same. So Luke has a fair number more names recorded than Matthew does.

I’m not going to delve into these differences, and all the possible explanations for the differences. I simply want to say that there are a number of very plausible explanations that have been given, and if this interests you, there is sufficient material that is readily available for you to go and do the investigations.

Just one thing that I will say is that we should understand the genealogies not merely / simply as a record of where someone descended from. The genealogies had a different purpose. One of those key purposes was to demonstrate inheritance - that someone would have an inheritance.

Matthew uses his genealogy to demonstrate that Christ fulfilled certain promises to Jewish people. And so he structures his genealogy in a particular way etc.

Having said that, we must consider together just some noteworthy points in the genealogy that Luke presents.

Firstly, it is clear from this section that Jesus was the...

3.2.1. Son of Men

Firstly, Jesus was the “Son of Men.” He was descended (as it was supposed - in the words of Luke) from men.

This is not insignificant.

Luke is showing us this family tree in order to teach us the humanity of Christ, that He's a real flesh and blood human being with a genealogy and a lineage, just like you and me.

This is important, because it is only through a man that men would be able to be redeemed. One verse in particular that demonstrates this is found in Galatians 4...

Galatians 4:4–5 NIV84

4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

Only one who was born under the law would be able to redeem those who lived under the law but failed to uphold it.

There were no angels, no heavenly hosts that were born under law. Only people were placed under the law that God gave.

It was only this perfect law-keeper that would be able to stand in our place and take the punishment that was deserving for us.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV84

21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Further to this, the fact that he was human would allow us as people to relate to Him, knowing that He understands us in all of our frailties and weaknesses, and has endured trials and sufferings in this world just like we do… with the very important distinction that he was without sin.

Hebrews 4:15 NIV84

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

And so here in this genealogy, we have it clearly demonstrated for us (in fact over and over again) that Jesus was the son of people. There is a lineage establishing this.

But Luke does include those very particular and important names in his genealogy. While not every person in the genealogy is well-known, and has much detail, what this does serve to indicate is that there is a connection between Christ and these important figures in the Jewish history.

There are two names in particular that must stand out to us. The first is Abraham (v.34)

This genealogy will show you that Jesus is the seed of Abraham, in whom all of the Abrahamic promises are fulfilled.

There were wonderful promises made to Abraham...

Genesis 12:1–3 NIV84

1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 12:7 NIV84

7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

God made a promise to Abraham, and ultimately that promise would only come to fulfillment through Jesus Christ. While Abraham had been turned into a great nation in the form of Israel, the promise would go on to be a blessing to all nations.

Galatians 3:16 NIV84

16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.

Already Luke has recorded… Mary’s Song.... now touches again...

Luke 1:54–55 NIV84

54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful 55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.”

Another name that is pertinent within this text is David (v.31). Now, we’ve already considered together that David was the one who was promised to have an heir to the throne.

Recall Zechariah’s song...

Luke 1:68–69 NIV84

68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. 69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David

The genealogy confirms this… Jesus is the Messiah. He is truly descended from David.

But there is another very significant thing to note from this genealogy, and that is that Luke links Jesus to Adam.

Notice in Luke’s Genealogy that he takes it back all the way to Adam. Not so in Matthew...

Two reasons why this is important.

Firstly, Jesus represents all of humanity. This is not only for the Jewish people. This is for the whole world.

Recall - Luke writing to Gentile....

Secondly… Christ will fully be the second Adam.

Where Adam failed… Christ will succeed...

The verse after this genealogy is over will introduce you to Jesus going into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan.

Now, you will remember that Adam — the first Adam — was tempted once by Satan in the form of the serpent in a garden that was perfect and lush.

And he failed.

And Luke wants you to remember that this son of Adam, who is the second Adam, who will be tempted not in a garden, but in a wilderness — and not once, but three times — will not fail and does not fail, and reverses all that Adam had done.

He's the second Adam.

Romans 5:15–17 NIV84

15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Secondly, we see concerning this Genealogy that Jesus is the...

3.2.2. Son of God

Luke doesn’t stop at Adam… he goes even further back - Son of God.

The fact that Luke places this genealogy where he does in the Gospel is significant. You will recall that Matthew begins his Gospel message with the genealogy. Right off the bat, Matthew wanted to establish the credentials of Jesus in terms of his descendancy, so that he can demonstrate to his Jewish readers,

He marks Jesus out clearly as the Son of God. Matthew will take Jesus all the way back to Abraham; Jesus’ lineage in Luke goes all the way back to God. Luke is drawing attention to the fact that this is not just a man, this is the very Son of God…a very important fact in light of what you've seen in the baptism and what you will see in the wilderness as Jesus is tempted by Satan.

Look down with me at Luke 4… temptation in the wilderness…

Luke is recording what he does here to demonstrate that Jesus was truly the Son of God.

Application and Conclusion

Christ has fulfilled all righteousness. He is our perfect redeemer.

Consider the sinfulness of each person in the family tree…

Not a list of great people that were perfect in every way… a list of sinners.

But Jesus comes - indeed as the second Adam - he is perfect in every way.

We can rest in Him. We, too, are sinners.. But Christ was perfect.

Christ intercedes for us today...

He is the second Adam.

He is the Son of God

He lives to make intercession for us… what an encouragement.