“A voice
Came from heaven.
‘You are my Son!
The Beloved one!
With you
I am well pleased.’”
καὶ φωνὴ ἐγένετο ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν Σὺ εἶ ὁ Υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός, ἐν σοὶ εὐδόκησα.
This voice from the heavens addressed Jesus personally, as in Luke, chapter 3:22. However, in Matthew, chapter 3:17, the voice was not directed at Jesus, while John had no mention of a voice from heaven. Mark said that a voice came from the heavens (καὶ φωνὴ ἐγένετο ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν) that said that Jesus was his beloved son (Σὺ εἶ ὁ Υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός) with whom he was well pleased (ἐν σοὶ εὐδόκησα). The idea of a heavenly voice had a very strong tradition in the Jewish writings of the Hebrew Bible, especially among the prophets. The gospel writers did not clarify whether others saw or heard these things. In fact, this saying and incident after the baptism of Jesus might have been the basis for a Subordinationschristologie that Jesus the Son was somehow subordinate to the Father. According to this adoption theory, God the Father had to send his Spirit to anoint and empower Jesus in this concrete event, before he could begin his public ministry. This adoptionist theory, and the Christological disputes of the later 4th century CE, led to the diminution of this baptismal event within later patristic and medieval theological circles. Nevertheless, the baptism of Jesus has become the starting point for any theological reflection about early Christian initiation practices. It is not clear whether all the primitive Christian communities linked the baptism of Jesus with the baptism of the new followers of Christ, despite the fact that many post-apostolic Christians did so.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 