Matthew 3.13-17, Beloved Son Anointed

“On the banks of the Jordan, our King is revealed. He humbles Himself. He is anointed by the Spirit. He is affirmed by the Father.”

That scene in Matthew 3 is quiet and thunderous at the same time. A river. A prophet. A line of people confessing sins. Then Jesus steps forward. Not apart from them. With them. The King does not arrive with distance or spectacle. He arrives with humility. He enters the same water as everyone else, though He carries no guilt of His own.

This is where the gospel becomes personal. Many of us live with an inner sense that we must earn God’s nearness. We try to clean ourselves up first. We manage appearances. We promise improvement. Yet at the Jordan, heaven opens before Jesus has done anything public at all. The Spirit descends. The Father speaks. Approval is declared before achievement. Love precedes performance.

“He fulfills all righteousness. He ushers in what will become a new creation and embodies the love of the Father.”

Jesus is not turning from His own sin; He is stepping into ours. He stands where we stand so that we might one day stand where He stands. The water becomes more than a ritual. It becomes a sign that God is not distant from our brokenness. He moves toward it. He enters it. He begins something new from within it.

“As the heavens were torn so that His voice and the Spirit could be made manifest…”

The language is strong. The heavens are not politely opened. They are torn. A barrier removed. A silence broken. God speaks into the ordinary flow of human life and names His Son beloved. That word echoes forward into every life joined to Christ. Identity is given, not negotiated. Adoption is received, not achieved.

“One day the trumpet will sound…”

The Jordan is not only about beginnings. It points to endings that are also beginnings. One day the trumpet will sound, the dead in Christ will rise, and we will be gathered into the presence that once tore open the heavens at the Jordan. The humility of the King leads to the victory of the kingdom.

“Our response is simple but profound: trust Him, follow Him, and live as beloved children in His kingdom.”

Not complicated. Not hidden. Trust. Follow. Live as beloved, in your praying, your failures, and your ordinary days. On the banks of the Jordan, our King is revealed, and we remember who He is and who we are becoming in Him.

~PW 🌮🛶

Check out the full sermon and transcript here: Matthew 3.13-17, Beloved Son Anointed