Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 3:22
And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
22. in a bodily shape ] This addition is peculiar to St Luke, and is probably added to shew the distinctness and reality of what Theodoret calls the ‘spiritual vision’ ( ).
like a dove ] The expression or used by each of the Evangelists, and St John’s “and it abode upon Him” (Joh 1:32), sufficiently prove that no actual dove is intended. The Holy Spirit is symbolised by a dove from early times. The Talmudic comment on Gen 1:2 is that “the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters like a dove ”
“And with mighty wings outspread
Dovelike sat’st brooding on the vast abyss.”
Milton ( Par. Lost, i. 20).
Comp. 2Es 5:26 , “of all the fowls that are created thou hast named thee one dove.” Mat 10:16. A mystical reason was assigned for this in some fathers, because the numerical value of the letters of the Greek word peristera, ‘a dove,’ amounts to 801, which is also the value of Alpha Omega. We are probably intended to understand a dovelike, hovering, lambent flame descending on the head of Jesus; and this may account for the unanimous early legend that a fire or light was kindled in Jordan (Just. Mart. c. Tryph. 88, and the Apocryphal Gospels).
a voice came from heaven, which said ] Rather, out of heaven. The last words should be omitted with the best MSS. This Bath Kl or Voice from heaven also occurred at the Transfiguration (Mat 17:5) and in the closing week of Christ’s life (Joh 12:28-30). This is one of the passages which so distinctly imply the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity.
I am well pleased ] Rather, I was well pleased.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape,…. In a corporeal form, in a visible manner, and was seen with bodily eyes, at least by John the administrator; to whom this was a signal of his being the Messiah, and a fresh confirmation of it:
like a dove upon him; either in the form of a dove, or this corporeal form, whatever it was, descended and hovered on him as a dove does:
and a voice came from heaven; at the same time the Holy Ghost came down upon him; which said,
thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased: and was the voice of the Father; and the whole of this was an answer of Christ’s prayer;
[See comments on Mt 3:16] [See comments on Mt 3:17] [See comments on Mr 1:11].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Descended (). Same construction as the preceding infinitive.
The Holy Ghost ( ). The Holy Spirit. Mr 1:10 has merely the Spirit ( ) while Mt 3:16 has the Spirit of God ( ).
In a bodily form ( ). Alone in Luke who has also “as a dove” ( ) like Matthew and Mark. This probably means that the Baptist saw the vision that looked like a dove. Nothing is gained by denying the fact or possibility of the vision that looked like a dove. God manifests his power as he will. The symbolism of the dove for the Holy Spirit is intelligible. We are not to understand that this was the beginning of the Incarnation of Christ as the Cerinthian Gnostics held. But this fresh influx of the Holy Spirit may have deepened the Messianic consciousness of Jesus and certainly revealed him to the Baptist as God’s Son.
And a voice came out of heaven ( ). Same construction of infinitive with accusative of general reference. The voice of the Father to the Son is given here as in Mr 1:11, which see, and Mt 3:17 for discussion of the variation there. The Trinity here manifest themselves at the baptism of Jesus which constitutes the formal entrance of Jesus upon his Messianic ministry. He enters upon it with the Father’s blessing and approval and with the power of the Holy Spirit upon him. The deity of Christ here appears in plain form in the Synoptic Gospels. The consciousness of Christ is as clear on this point here as in the Gospel of John where the Baptist describes him after his baptism as the Son of God (Joh 1:34).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
The Holy Ghost. Better, Spirit. Matthew has the Spirit of God : Mark, the Spirit.
In a bodily shape. Peculiar to Luke.
Thou art my beloved son. Lit., Thou art my son, the beloved. So Mark. But Matthew, This is my son, the beloved.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And the Holy Ghost descended,” (kai katabenai to pneuma to hagion) “And the Holy Spirit descended or was caused to come down,” upon Him to anoint Him for His ministry, from that hour, Luk 4:1; Luk 4:14; Luk 4:18; Isa 61:1-2.
2) “In a bodily shape like a dove upon him,” (somatiko eidei hos peristeran ep’ auton) “in a bodily form appearing as a dove upon him,” to identify Him visibly as the Son of God, as formerly told to John the Baptist, Joh 1:31-33; Mat 3:16; Mar 1:10. The Holy Spirit is symbolized by a dove.
3) “And a voice came from heaven, which said,” (kai phone eks ouranou genesthai) “And a voice was caused to come out of heaven,” clearly declaring, Mat 3:17; This voice was also heard on the Mount of Transfiguration, Luk 9:35.
4) “Thou art my beloved Son;” (su ei ho huios mou ho agapetos) “You are my beloved Son,” Mar 1:11; Mat 17:5; Joh 1:1-2; Joh 8:29. The voice of the Father, and the presence of the Spirit upon Jesus, give testamentary evidence of the trinity of God.
5) In whom I am well pleased.” (en soi eudokesa) “in you I was well pleased,” in what you said to John the Baptist, and in what he did to you, Mat 3:17; Mat 17:5; Mar 1:11.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(22) In a bodily shape.The words are peculiar to St. Luke, and tend to confirm the traditional symbolism which finds in the dove the emblem of the Holy Spirit. They, at least, fall in naturally with this view; but the other construction, that the Holy Spirit descended, after the manner of a dove, first hovering and then resting, in a bodily form (undefined) of some sort, is, at least, not excluded.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
22. The Holy Ghost descended Were these supernatural phenomena, it is asked, a mere vision, made up of conceptions like a dream, wrought in the mind of John, or were they an external reality? Beyond all question, we reply, an external reality. The Apocalypse is a series of visions produced by inspiring power within the seer’s mind without any external object; but this movement of the Spirit upon Jesus was, externally, as real as John or Jesus himself. But how can God’s Spirit move from place to place? God’s Spirit, we reply, is not a pantheistic, move-less vapor a universal, fixed, and stagnant essence but a living, personal, powerful Being, omnipotent to operate according to His own will. And if angelic spirits, like Gabriel, can invest themselves with visible embodiments, or if even a human spirit can be clothed with a material body, so beyond all question can the Divine Spirit. And we must firmly repudiate that utter falsification of Luke’s words of which many, even orthodox commentators of the present day, are guilty. Every evangelist mentions the dove; and Luke declares there was bodily shape like a dove. To make this (with Olshausen, Van Oosterzee, and others) a ray of light, a shapeless something “with a quivering motion as of a dove,” is not to interpret Luke’s language, but to substitute words of one’s own.
There is nothing in the narrative to show that it was a private transaction, and equally nothing to show that it was in the presence of and seen by numbers.
A dove As the lamb is the gentle and tender image of Jesus, so the dove is the symbol of the pure and gentle Spirit. “Harmless as doves” is the Saviour’s simile for his followers in the Spirit. To the simplicity of antiquity such symbols were permanent, impressive lessons, shaping the crude mind to high and holy conceptions. Olshausen well says, “According to biblical symbolism certain mental characters appear expressed in several animals, as the lion, the lamb, the eagle, the ox.” And so he might have inferred, that as it is the form of the animal that expresses the symbol, so the shape of the dove must have been present in that most signal of all instances of the exhibited symbol.
Voice from heaven As true a voice, with as true an articulation, as ever came from human or superhuman organs of utterance. It was no dream or conception of John’s, but a reality to his perception. And such a voice and articulation are no more difficult to divine power than the inarticulate thunder through the medium of electric fluid, and no more incredible when properly authenticated.
From heaven The voice came audibly from heaven; the dove came visibly from “the heaven opened.” Heaven, as we have elsewhere shown, (note on Mar 16:19,) is, both in conception and reality, up, above us. Hence, both in conception and in reality, a shape or a voice from heaven must come down to us. It comes down through space and atmosphere. If it be a reality it cuts through both. It comes through the open air, ether, and firmament. Let the retina of the eye be duly quickened, and the very opening of air and firmament becomes visible. Even then there is not conception but perception.
The ancient Greek Church celebrated the baptism of Jesus upon the sixth day of January, under the title of EPIPHANY, or Manifestation. The reason of this Chrysostom thus concisely asks and answers: “Why is not the day on which he was born called Epiphany, but the day on which he was baptized? Because he was not manifested to all when he was born, but when he was baptized. For to the day of his baptism he was generally unknown, as appears from those words of John the Baptist, ‘There standeth one among you whom ye know not.’ And what wonder that others should not know him when the Baptist himself knew him not before that day?”
But Augustine furnishes several additional reasons combined together for celebrating the Epiphany: “On this day we celebrate the mystery of God manifesting himself by his miracles in human nature; either because on this day the star in heaven gave notice of his birth; or because he turned water into wine at the marriage feast at Cana in Galilee; or because he consecrated water for the reparation of mankind by his baptism in the river Jordan; or because with the five loaves he fed five thousand men. For in either of these are contained the mysteries and joys of our salvation.” From all this it is clear that the celebration by the Church of a Scripture event, on a certain day, is no very conclusive proof that the day is the authentic anniversary of the event. For the three first centuries in the Greek Church Christmas and the Epiphany were on the same day, namely, the sixth of January. Mat 1:1-17.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Luk 3:22. Thou art my beloved Son; See on Mat 3:17. The epithet beloved given to the Son on this occasion, marks the greatness of the Father’s affection for him, and distinguishes him from all others to whom the title of God’s Son had been given. Accordingly we find our Lord alluding to it with peculiar pleasure, in his intercessory prayer, Joh 17:26. It was therefore the voice of God the Father which was heard at Christ’s baptism; probably loud like thunder, as in the instance recorded by Joh 12:29 making a sound which no human organ of speech was able to form, and consequently it could not be mistaken for the whispering voice of any of the multitude present, see Pro 8:30 to which it is thought the voices allude. The Son of God was one of the Messiah’s known titles, founded on Psa 2:7. Isa 7:14 where it is expressly attributed to him; and therefore, according to the received language of the Jews, Jesus was on this occasion declared from heaven to be their long expected Deliverer, and his mission received a most illustrious confirmation from the Father Almighty; a confirmation, on which Jesus laid great stress, as absolutely decisive, Joh 5:37. For, lest the people might have applied the words of the voice to the Baptist, the Holy Spirit alighted upon Jesus, and remained visible for some time in that singular symbol, see Joh 1:33 which probably surrounded his head in the form of a large glory, and pointed him out as God’s beloved Son, in whom the richest gifts and graces resided. Thus all present had an opportunity to hear and see the miraculous testimony; particularly the Baptist, who, as soon as he beheld the Spirit remaining upon Jesus, is supposed to have made use of the words, This is he of whom I spake, &c. Joh 1:15. The descent of the Spirit on Jesus was predicted Isa 42:1; Isa 61:1. In like manner, the voice from heaven is supposed to be predicted Psa 2:7.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
Ver. 22. See Trapp on “ Mat 3:16 “ See Trapp on “ Mat 3:17 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the Holy Ghost = the Spirit the Holy [Spirit]. See App-101.
in a bodily shape. Peculiar to Luke.
upon. Greek. epi. App-104.
from = out of: Greek. ek. App-104.
My beloved Son = My Son, the beloved [Son].
I am well pleased = I have found delight.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Luk 3:22. , in a bodily appearance) On the other hand there also are seen at times from the kingdom of darkness bodily appearances.-, thou) This is a reply to His prayers, mentioned in Luk 3:21.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Thou art
Lit. This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I delighted. Cf. Joh 1:1; Joh 1:2; Joh 8:29; Mat 17:5.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Thou art: Luk 9:34, Luk 9:35, Psa 2:7, Isa 42:1, Mat 12:18, Mat 17:5, Mat 27:43, Col 1:13, 1Pe 2:4, 2Pe 1:17, 2Pe 1:18
Reciprocal: Psa 45:7 – hath Mat 3:16 – and he Mat 3:17 – This Mar 1:10 – the Spirit Mar 12:6 – his Luk 4:1 – full Luk 4:3 – General Luk 11:31 – a greater Joh 1:32 – I saw Joh 1:34 – this Joh 5:32 – is another Joh 6:27 – for him Joh 14:26 – Holy Ghost Act 10:38 – God Col 2:9 – bodily
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
[Like a dove.] If you will believe the Jews, there sat a golden dove upon the top of Solomon’s sceptre. “As Solomon sat in his throne, his sceptre was hung up behind him: at the top of which there was a dove; and a golden crown in the mouth of it.”
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Luk 3:22. In a bodily form. This must be taken literally, especially in an exact historical account like that before us. See Mat 3:16.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, the solemn investing of Christ into his office, as Mediator, is attended with a threefold miracle; namely, the opening of the heavens, the descending of the Holy Ghost, and God the Father’s voice concerning the son.
The heavens were opened; to show, that heaven, which was closed and shut against us for our sins, is now opened to us, by Christ’s undertaking for us.
Next, The Holy Ghost descends like a dove upon our Saviour. Here we have a proof and evidence of the blessed Trinity; the Father speaks from heaven, the Son comes out of the water, and the Holy Ghost descends after the manner of a dove, hovering and overshadowing him. But why did the Holy Ghost now descend upon Christ?
First, for the designation of his person, to show that he was the person set apart for the work and office of a mediator.
Secondly, for the unction and sanctification of his person for the performance of that office. Now was he anointed to be the king, priest, and prophet of his church.
Lastly, we have here the voice of God the Father, pronouncing.
1. The nearness of Christ’s relation: This is my Son.
2. The endearedness of his person: This is my beloved Son.
3. The fruit and benefit of this near relation unto us: In thee I am well pleased.
Learn hence, 1. That there is no possibility for any person to please God out of Christ; neither our persons nor our performances can find acceptance with God, but only in and through him, and for his sake.
2. That the Lord Jesus Christ is the ground and cause of all that love and good will which God the Father showeth to the sons of men.
In Christ, God is well pleased with us as a reconciled Father; out of him a consuming fire; Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
This was a theophany, God appearing in corporeal form. The dove is a biblical symbol of peace (Gen 8:8-12; cf. Gen 1:2). Primarily it signified the coming of God’s peaceful Spirit to empower Jesus for His ministry (Isa 42:1; cf. Isa 64:1). Secondarily it represented the peace that Jesus would impart to those who believed on Him. [Note: See L. E. Keck, "The Spirit and the Dove," New Testament Studies 17 (1970-71):41-67.] Only Luke wrote that the Spirit came "in bodily form" thereby giving the theophany more substance. The voice from heaven identified Jesus as God’s beloved Son (cf. Luk 1:32; Exo 20:1; Psa 2:7; Isa 42:1). God announced that His favor rested on Jesus, not that He as the Father felt delight in His Son. [Note: Morris, p. 100.] With this guarantee of divine enablement, Jesus was ready to begin His ministry.
"The risen Jesus connects the beginning of the apostles’ mission with the coming of the Spirit upon them (Luk 24:46-49; Act 1:8), and the Pentecost scene shows that the coming of the Spirit leads immediately to the first preaching and expansion of the community. Thus in both Luke and Acts the descent of the Spirit initiates the central sequences of events which dominate these writings." [Note: Tannehill, 1:57.]
"The primary application of this text comes in its Christology. Many in our culture respect Jesus, regarding him as a religious teacher of great significance and even placing him among the top religious teachers of all time. Others even acknowledge him as a prophet, giving him a seat in a rather limited club of divine revealers. But as high as these notes of respect are, they pale in comparison to the biblical portrait. Luke shows that Jesus is not like anyone who came before him or anyone since. The Hall of Religious Fame into which he is placed has only one portrait in it-his. There have been other great teachers, prophets, and kings, but there is only one who has combined all of those roles as God’s Son." [Note: Bock, Luke, pp. 119-20.]