Luke 3:22

This was a theophany, God appearing in corporeal form. The dove is a biblical symbol of peace (Genesis 8:8-12; cf. Genesis 1:2). Primarily it signified the coming of God’s peaceful Spirit to empower Jesus for His ministry (Isaiah 42:1; cf. Isaiah 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. Luke 1:32; Exodus 20:1; Psalms 2:7; Isaiah 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 (Luke 24:46-49; Acts 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.]