Jesus

Most of us are familiar with Matthew’s account of Jesus’ baptism. In his gospel, God makes a public announcement: “This is my son, whom I love. I am well pleased with him.”

But in Mark and Luke, these words come not so much as a public proclamation but as an affirmation and blessing from Father to Son: “You are my son. I love you. I am so pleased with you.”

I love N. T. Wright’s insights about this blessing:
“The whole Christian gospel could be summed up in this point: that when the living God looks at us, at every baptized and believing Christian, he says to us what he said to Jesus on that day. He sees us, not as we are in ourselves, but as we are in Jesus Christ. It sometimes seems impossible, especially to people who have never had this kind of support from their earthly parents, but it’s true: God looks at us, and says, ‘You are my dear, dear child; I’m delighted with you.’ Try reading that sentence slowly, with your own name at the start, and reflect quietly on God saying that to you, both at your baptism and every day since.”

Mike Cope