God spoke from heaven three times during the public ministry of Jesus Christ. He declared Jesus to be His Son in whom He was well pleased.
Having good references from others play an important role in life. Our trust in others often begin with the reliable references we receive from people we already trust. But if we can trust the word of reputable people, how much more should we be able to trust God when He speaks? God made it unmistakably clear during Jesus’ public ministry that Jesus is His Son and we should listen to Him.
God speaks from heaven at Jesus’ baptism
Jesus arrives from Galilee to be baptized by John the Baptist
John’s public ministry began about the time he was age 30, around 26 AD. God had anointed him to be the one who would be the forerunner of the Messiah. Many people from Judea and nearby came to hear John’s preaching and be baptized by him. About six months after John began his ministry, Jesus left Galilee and came to the Jordan River, where John was baptizing repenting sinners. Jesus had been living in relative obscurity for the first 30 years of His life. But it was now time to launch His public ministry.
So, Jesus identified Himself to John, and asked John to baptize Him. John didn’t recognize John even though their mothers were relatives, since they grew up far apart. (John lived in the wilderness, southeast of Jerusalem, while Jesus lived His life about sixty or seventy miles north, in the region of Galilee.)
John’s reluctance to baptize Jesus
John knew that the Messiah had to be the Holy One, who is without sin. So, he was surprised by Jesus request to undergo a baptism of repentance since He had no need to repent. John’s reaction seems reasonable. But Jesus explained that it was necessary to do so in order to fulfill all righteousness. Whatever God required of people, Jesus did, because He would have to live a life of perfect righteousness to qualify as an acceptable sacrifice for sin.
John was apparently concerned that if Jesus was baptized, it might lead others to believe He was an acknowledged sinner. But, that wouldn’t happen because at the very time Jesus is praying and coming out of the water, the Holy Spirit descends upon Him and the Father declares, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”. There is no need to protect Jesus from false accusations.
Each member of the Trinity bears witness to Jesus’ Messiahship.
Two things happen when Jesus comes up out of the water and heaven opens up. First, God appears in a visible way as the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus and remains with Him. Secondly, God audibly confirms Jesus to be His Son and declares His approval of Him.
Therefore, each Person of the Trinity simultaneously performs a unique role in Jesus’ baptism. This is evidence that there are three distinct persons in the Godhead, as opposed to Modalism. (Modalism, or Sabellianism, is the heretical teaching that God is a single person who has eternally existed and yet He has revealed himself in three modes or forms.)
The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus to officially anoint and empower Jesus for the duties that belong to Him as Messiah. He was always in perfect harmony with the Holy Spirit because He had always yielded His humanness to the power of the Holy Spirit. But here, God put His power on Jesus in a way all could see. This is a special anointing of power connected to the public ministry Jesus was about to launch.
Jesus’ deity is affirmed by the Father when He calls Jesus His Son
The Jews could not mistake what was meant when the Father declared, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”. They knew what Scripture said about the Son. Psalm 2:1-12 is a great messianic Psalm about the Messiah, the Son of God who will come and rule the nations with a rod of iron.
Jesus’ adversaries maintained that Jesus was a mere man, and His supernatural power came from Beelzebub. (See Matthew 12:24.) They were enraged when Jesus would refer to God as his Father and Himself as God’s Son. They knew Jesus was claiming equality with God. (See John 5:18, John 10:32-33.)
God’s witness of the Son means that Jesus is of the same essence and nature as God. He is equal with God, and He is one with God. Just as a son is the same nature as his father, because he caries the same genetics, so the same divine nature is conveyed when Jesus is identified as the Son.
God speaks from heaven at Jesus’ transfiguration
Jesus strengthens the disciples’ faith after the highs and lows of ministry
At a highpoint in Jesus ministry, He asked the disciples who do the people say He is. They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” Then Jesus asked, “What about you? Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Then Jesus announced His blessing on Peter, for this was not revealed to him by man, but by the Father in heaven.
From then on, Jesus began to explain that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things, and be killed and be raised to life on the third day. Peter couldn’t handle this revelation, and he began to rebuke Jesus saying, “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
Jesus knew how devastated the disciples had become after hearing this news. He knew it was time to strengthen the disciples faith. Up to this point, their faith was built upon Jesus’ words and actions, not by His outward appearance. However, it was now time to build their faith by visibly revealing His inner glory.
The transfiguration of Jesus reveals His true glory
So, He took his inner circle of disciples (Peter, James and John) up to a high mountain to pray. While there, Jesus was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became dazzling white. And there appeared before them, Moses and Elijah, in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke to Him about His departure, which He was about bring to fulfillment in Jerusalem.
As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters–one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone.
After hearing God’s voice, surely these disciples understood that the death of Jesus was a part of God’s perfect plan. As they came down the mountain, Jesus told them not to share what they had seen, until the Son of Man had been raised from the dead. So, they kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time.
God speaks from heaven during Jesus’ prayer
Jesus heart was troubled by the thought of suffering the terrible wrath of God
Sometime during the week before Jesus was crucified, Jesus told Andrew and Philip that the time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. He likened His upcoming death to a seed that must die so it can produce many seeds. Paradoxically, He said that a man who loves his life will lose it, and a man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves Him must follow Him, and the Father will honor the one who serves Him.
But at the same time, Jesus said His heart was troubled. From the very beginning, He knew that He had come to this world to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin. He was never forced to do this. He was willing to humble Himself to accomplish this redemptive work. But as the time grew nearer, the terror of enduring the terrible wrath of God for the sins of His people became more pronounced. It was not the physical pain of the crucifixion that He was dreading, it was the spiritual pain of separation from His God.
Jesus came to do His Father’s will and to glorify Him once again
Yet, He was not about to refuse to follow through with His mission. It was the reason for His incarnation. He could call down thousands upon thousands of angels to prevent His death. But it was the will of His Father that He offer Himself as a ransom for sin. So, he prayed, “Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” God glorified His name through the entire public ministry of His Son. He came to do His Father’s will. He spoke the words the Father gave Him to speak, and He only did what the Father told Him to do. In every respect, Jesus fulfilled His Father’s will and this glorified the Father. Now, He would glorify His Father once again by becoming the Lamb of God and dying for the sins of everyone who would believe in Him.
Jesus’ heart was lifted up by being reminded about what His obedience would ultimately accomplish. First, the evil world system would be judged. Secondly, Satan would be driven out. And thirdly, once He is lifted up (i.e., crucified), He would draw all kinds of people to Himself.
God speaks to us through Jesus, who is the Word of God
So, we see that God the Father is the greatest witness of the Son Jesus Christ. The Father loves the Son with a perfect love. He came into the world to save sinners and establish God’s kingdom. It’s because of Jesus that we have salvation. He condescended to set aside the prerogatives of His deity and submit himself to being human. Jesus fulfilled the Father’s will through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. It’s through His condescension and ultimate sacrifice as our substitute that provides for us salvation.
Come to the wellspring of life
God speaks to us today through His written Word. He’s telling us to repent of our sin and believe in His Son Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of all our sin. This is His free gift of love for us. Don’t ignore such a great salvation as this.
Ask yourself two very important questions. First, are you sure that you’ll go to heaven when you die? Secondly, are you certain why God should let you into heaven? If you don’t know for sure, you can settle that matter today. Visit my post, How to Begin Your Life Over Again and you’ll know where and how you’ll spend eternity.
And for crystal clear YouTube presentations of the gospel message from several trusted sources, click here
