Matthew 3:17

Tuesday, 10 September 2024

And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17

“And behold! A voice out of the heavens, saying, ‘This is My Son – the Beloved in whom I approved’” (CG).

In the previous verse, after being immersed, Jesus came up from the water. When He did, He saw the Spirit of God descending and coming upon Him. The narrative now continues with, “And behold! A voice out of the heavens.”

This is the first of three times that a voice comes in this manner. The other two instances are at the Transfiguration and again during Jesus’ week of Passion –

“While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’” Matthew 17:5

“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 ‘Father, glorify Your name.’
Then a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.’
29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to Him.’” John 12:27-29

As for the plural, heavens, it is a common Hebrew expression that is found throughout Scripture, even from Genesis 1:1. God is in His heaven. Man is on earth with the skies, the heavens, above him. In this case God’s voice thus extends from the heavenly realm through to the earthly realm, summed up in the term “heavens.” Of the words of the Father, He was “saying, ‘This is My Son.’”

The issue of sonship in Scripture can be complex. The word can mean one naturally generated from another, as when a father begets a son. It can mean someone adopted as a son, such as Israel is declared to be in Exodus 4:22 –

“Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn.”’”

A son can also be a descriptor, such as, “He is the son of a fool.” It would mean that he is like a fool, not that his mother or father was literally a fool. The term son can also mean a person in a relational aspect regardless of actual family ties, such as when Paul says, “To Timothy, a true son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2). And so forth.

In this case, the Father is proclaiming that Jesus is His Son in a literal sense. Matthew 1:18 has already said that Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit. He has no human Father. As God the Father has proclaimed Jesus is His Son, it would be hard to come to any other conclusion than that He literally means Jesus is begotten of Him.

In the case of Exodus 4:22, it is clear that Israel is a nation and a group of people. Thus, the term “son” is to be taken metaphorically. There is nothing to assume that God is speaking in metaphor here. With that stated, He continues with, “the Beloved.”

The word is agapétos, beloved. The word is consistently used in the gospels to refer to Jesus. So strong is this connection that Cambridge notes, “In late Greek it is nearly interchangeable with ‘only-begotten.’” There is a filial bond that is being expressed in these words, calling out for the reader to understand the intimate connection between the  two.

Having said that, the same word immediately takes on a new tone in the epistles where it is used again and again when referring to the relation that is established between God and saved believers and between believers in Christ. For example –

“Therefore be imitators of God as dear [agapétos] children.” Ephesians 5:1

“Therefore, my beloved [agapétos], as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Philippians 2:12

Lastly, the voice from the heavens declares, “in whom I approved.” It is a compound word eudokeó, signifying “good or well” and “to think.” Thus, it signifies to approve of something. Strong’s says it especially signifies to approbate, meaning a formal or legal approval or agreement to something.

In this case, God has formally sent forth His Son to accomplish the redemption of man. Jesus is the chosen instrument to overcome the works of the Devil and to restore man to Himself. When the work is accomplished, it will be a formal, legal matter that is once and for all time resolved.

Life application: Although the words in this verse, when united with other verses seen so far, don’t prove the Trinity, they certainly allude to it. As noted, in Matthew 1:18, it said that Mary was with Child of the Holy Spirit, who is God.

As things reproduce after their own kind, it is understood that Jesus is thus God and Man. Here in verse 3:17, it is seen that Jesus is the Son of the Father. The voice is not the same manifestation as that of the Spirit because the Spirit descended upon Jesus and yet the voice is from the heavens.

In other words, the text is showing us a distinction between the three, and yet they are each God. As there is One God and God is One (Romans 3:30 and Galatians 3:20), then either the Bible is a confused book that is giving us a faulty presentation of God or there is a Godhead and within that Godhead there are three distinct Persons that comprise the One God.

The Bible doesn’t provide any other options. Explanations conjured up by cults that deviate from this recognizable presentation of God have various reasons for doing so. However, their presentations do not properly align with what is clearly seen in Scripture.

Whether you have a full understanding of the Trinity or not, it is important to recognize that this is what the Bible reveals. We do not need to understand something in its entirety to believe it. Faith involves accepting what we know to be true even if we do not fully grasp it. Have faith in the doctrine of the Trinity. It is how God has presented Himself to us because it is how God is.

Heavenly Father, we will certainly be searching out Your goodness and Your being for eternity. No matter how long we look to You, there will always be something new revealed to us. Thank You for Jesus who has made this possible. We have restoration through Him. Now eternity in Your presence is assured. Thank You, O God. Amen.