SEV Biblia, Chapter 3:16
Y Jess, despus que fue bautizado, subi luego del agua; y he aquí los cielos le fueron abiertos, y vio al Espíritu de Dios que descendía como paloma, y venía sobre l.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Matthew 3:16
Verse 16. The heavens were opened unto him] That is, to John the Baptist-and he, John, saw the Spirit of God-lighting upon him, i.e. Jesus. There has been some controversy about the manner and form in which the Spirit of God rendered itself visible on this occasion. St. Luke, Luke iii. 22, says it was in a bodily shape like to a dove: and this likeness to a dove some refer to a hovering motion, like to that of a dove, and not to the form of the dove itself: but the terms of the text are too precise to admit of this far-fetched interpretation.
This passage affords no mean proof of the doctrine of the Trinity. That three distinct persons are here, represented, there can be no dispute. 1. The person of Jesus Christ, baptized by John in Jordan. 2. The person of the Holy Ghost in a bodily shape, (swmatikw eidei, Luke iii. 22) like a dove.
3. The person of the Father; a voice came out of heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, &c. The voice is here represented as proceeding from a different place to that in which the persons of the Son and Holy Spirit were manifested; and merely, I think, more forcibly to mark this Divine personality.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 16. And Jesus, when he was baptized , etc.] Christ, when he was baptized by John in the river Jordan, the place where he was baptizing, went up straightway out of the water . One would be at a loss at first sight for a reason why the Evangelist should relate this circumstance; for after the ordinance was administered, why should he stay in the water? what should he do there? Everyone would naturally and reasonably conclude, without the mention of such a circumstance, that as soon as his baptism was over, he would immediately come up out of the water. However, we learn this from it, that since it is said, that he came up out of the water, he must first have gone down into it; must have been in it, and was baptized in it; a circumstance strongly in favour of baptism by immersion: for that Christ should go down into the river, more or less deep, to the ankles, or up to the knees, in order that John should sprinkle water on his face, or pour it on his head, as is ridiculously represented in the prints, can hardly obtain any credit with persons of thought and sense. But the chief view of the Evangelist in relating this circumstance, is with respect to what follows; and to show, that as soon as Christ was baptized, and before he had well got out of the water, lo the heavens were opened : and some indeed read the word straightway, in connection with this phrase, and not with the words went up: but there is no need of supposing such a trajection, for the whole may be rendered thus; and Jesus, when he was baptized, was scarcely come up out of the water, but lo , immediately, directly, as soon as he was out, or rather before, the heavens were opened to him ; the airy heaven was materially and really opened, parted, rent, or cloven asunder, as in ( Mark 1:10) which made way for the visible descent of the Holy Ghost in a bodily shape. A difficulty arises here, whether the words, to him, are to be referred to Christ, or to John; no doubt but the opening of the heavens was seen by them both: but to me it seems that John is particularly designed, since this vision was upon his account, and for his sake, and to him the following words belong; and he, that is, John, saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him : for this is what was promised to John, as a sign, which should confirm his faith in Jesus, as the true Messiah, and which he himself says he saw, and upon which he based the record and testimony he bore to Christ, as the Son of God; (see John 1:32,33,34) not but that the descent of the Holy Ghost in this manner might be seen by Christ, as well as John, according to ( Mark 1:10). The Spirit of God, here said to descend and light on Christ, is the same, which in the first creation moved upon the face of the waters; and now comes down on Christ, just as he was coming up out of the waters of Jordan, where he had been baptized; and which the Jews f186 so often call jwr jymh dlm l , the Spirit of the king Messiah, and the spirit of the Messiah. The descent of him was in a bodily shape, as Luke says in ( Luke 3:22) either in the shape of a dove, which is a very fit emblem of the Spirit of God who descended, and the fruits thereof, such as simplicity, meekness, love, etc. and also of the dove-like innocence, humility, and affection of Christ, on whom he lighted; or it was in some other visible form, not expressed, which pretty much resembled the hovering and lighting of a dove upon anything: for it does not necessarily follow from any of the accounts the Evangelists give of this matter, that the holy Spirit assumed, or appeared in, the form of a dove; only that his visible descent and lighting on Christ was wsei peristera , as a dove descends, hovers and lights; which does not necessarily design the form of the creature, but the manner of its motion. However, who can read this account without thinking of Noahs dove, which brought in its mouth the olive leaf, a token of peace and reconciliation, when the waters were abated from off the earth? Give me leave to transcribe a passage I have met with in the book of Zohar f187 ; a door shall be opened, and out of it shall come forth the dove which Noah sent out in the days of the flood, as it is written, and he sent forth the dove, that famous dove; but the ancients speak not of it, for they knew not what it was, only from whence it came, and did its message; as it is written, it returned not again unto him any more: no man knows whither it went, but it returned to its place, and was hid within this door; and it shall take a crown in its mouth, and put it upon the head of the king Messiah.
And a little after, the dove is said to abide upon his head, and he to receive glory from it. Whether this is the remains of some ancient tradition, these men studiously conceal, concerning the opening of the heavens, and the descent of the Spirit of God, as a dove, upon the Messiah; or whether it is hammered out of the evangelic history, let the reader judge.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 13-17 - Christ's gracious condescensions are so surprising, that even the strongest believers at first can hardly believe them; so deep an mysterious, that even those who know his mind well, are apt to star objections against the will of Christ. And those who have much of the Spirit of God while here, see that they need to apply to Christ for more. Christ does not deny that John had need to be baptized of him yet declares he will now be baptized of John. Christ is now in a stat of humiliation. Our Lord Jesus looked upon it as well becoming him to fulfil all righteousness, to own every Divine institution, and to sho his readiness to comply with all God's righteous precepts. In an through Christ, the heavens are opened to the children of men. Thi descent of the Spirit upon Christ, showed that he was endued with his sacred influences without measure. The fruit of the Spirit is love joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness temperance. At Christ's baptism there was a manifestation of the thre Persons in the sacred Trinity. The Father confirming the Son to be Mediator; the Son solemnly entering upon the work; the Holy Spiri descending on him, to be through his mediation communicated to his people. In Him our spiritual sacrifices are acceptable, for He is the altar that sanctifies every gift, 1Pe 2:5. Out of Christ, God is consuming fire, but in Christ, a reconciled Father. This is the sum of the gospel, which we must by faith cheerfully embrace __________________________________________________________________
Greek Textus Receptus
και 2532 CONJ βαπτισθεις 907 5685 V-APP-NSM ο 3588 T-NSM ιησους 2424 N-NSM ανεβη 305 5627 V-2AAI-3S ευθυς 2117 ADV απο 575 PREP του 3588 T-GSN υδατος 5204 N-GSN και 2532 CONJ ιδου 2400 5628 V-2AAM-2S ανεωχθησαν 455 5681 V-API-3P αυτω 846 P-DSM οι 3588 T-NPM ουρανοι 3772 N-NPM και 2532 CONJ ειδεν 1492 5627 V-2AAI-3S το 3588 T-ASN πνευμα 4151 N-ASN του 3588 T-GSM θεου 2316 N-GSM καταβαινον 2597 5723 V-PAP-ASN ωσει 5616 ADV περιστεραν 4058 N-ASF και 2532 CONJ ερχομενον 2064 5740 V-PNP-ASN επ 1909 PREP αυτον 846 P-ASM
Vincent's NT Word Studies
16. As a dove (wsei peristeran). In the form of a dove, and not, as some interpret, referring merely to the manner of the descent - swiftly and gently as a dove (compare Luke iii. 22 "In a bodily form, as a dove"). The dove was an ancient symbol of purity and innocence, adopted by our Lord in Matt. x. 16. It was the only bird allowed to be offered in sacrifice by the Levitical law. In Christian art it is the symbol of the Holy Spirit, and that in his Old Testament manifestations as well as in those of the New Testament. From a very early date the dove brooding over the waters was the type of the opening words of Genesis. An odd fresco on the choir-walls of the Cathedral of Monreale, near Palermo, represents a waste of waters, and Christ above, leaning forward from the circle of heaven with extended arms. From beneath him issues the divine ray along which the dove is descending upon the waters. So Milton:"Thou from the first Wast present, and with mighty wings outspread Dove-like sat'st brooding on the vast abyss And mad'st it pregnant."
In art, the double-headed dove is the peculiar attribute of the prophet Elisha. A window in Lincoln College, Oxford, represents him with the double-headed dove perched upon his shoulder. The symbol is explained by Elisha's prayer that a double portion of Elijah's spirit might rest upon him.
It has been asserted that, among the Jews, the Holy Spirit was presented under the symbol of a dove, and a passage is cited from the Talmud: "The Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters like a dove." Dr. Edersheim ("Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah") vigorously contradicts this, and says that the passage treats of the supposed distance between the upper and lower waters, which was only three finger-breadths. This is proved by Gen. i. 2, where the Spirit of God is said to brood over the face of the waters, "just as a dove broodeth over her young without touching them." "Thus the comparison is not between the Spirit and the dove, but between the closeness with which a dove broods over her young without touching them, and the supposed proximity of the Spirit to the lower waters without touching them." He goes on to say that the dove was not the symbol of the Holy Spirit, but of Israel. "If, therefore, rabbinic illustration of the descent of the Holy Spirit with the visible appearance of a dove must be sought for, it would lie in the acknowledgment of Jesus as the ideal typical Israelite, the representative of his people."
Robertson's NT Word Studies
3:16 {The Spirit of God descending as a dove} (pneuma qeou katabainon hwsei peristeran). It is not certain whether Matthew means that the Spirit of God took the form of a dove or came upon Jesus as a dove comes down. Either makes sense, but Luke (#Lu 3:22) has it "in bodily form as a dove" and that is probably the idea here. The dove in Christian art has been considered the symbol of the Holy Spirit.
