The Greek text stresses the fact that Jesus" departure from the water and God"s attestation of Him as the Messiah occurred at the same time. The NIV translation gives this sense better than the NASB. [source][source][source]
The person who saw the Spirit descending was evidently Jesus. Jesus is the person in the immediately preceding context. John the Evangelist recorded that John the Baptist also saw this ( John 1:32), but evidently no one but Jesus heard the Father"s voice. In fact the baptism of Jesus appears to have been a private affair with no one present but John and Jesus. The phrase "the heavens were opened" or "heaven was opened" recalls instances of people receiving visions from God. In them they saw things unseen by other mortals (e.g, Isaiah 64:1; Ezekiel 1:1; cf. Acts 7:56; Revelation 4:1; Revelation 19:11). The phrase implies that new revelation will follow to and through Jesus. What Jesus saw was the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, not in a dove-like fashion, descending on Him (cf. Luke 3:22). This is the first explicit identification of the Holy Spirit and a dove in Scripture. It was an appropriate symbol because of its beauty, heavenly origin, freedom, sensitivity, purity, and peaceful nature. [source][source][source]
"The descent of the Spirit upon Jesus denotes the divine act whereby God empowers him to accomplish the messianic ministry he is shortly to begin ( Matthew 4:17). Such empowerment, of course, is not to be construed as Jesus" initial endowment with the Spirit, for he was conceived by the Spirit. Instead, it specifies in what way Jesus proves to be the mightier One John had said he would be ( Matthew 3:11). It also serves as the reference point for understanding the "authority" with which Jesus discharges his public ministry. Empowered by God"s Spirit, Jesus speaks as the mouthpiece of God ( Matthew 7:28-29) and acts as the instrument of God ( Matthew 12:28)." [1][source]
In Isaiah 42:1 the prophet predicted that God would put His Spirit on His Servant. That happened at Jesus" baptism. Matthew"s account shows fulfillment though the writer did not draw attention to it as such here. When God"s Spirit came on individuals in the Old Testament, He empowered them for divine service. That was the purpose of Jesus" anointing as well ( Luke 4:14; Luke 5:17; cf. Luke 24:49). [source][source][source]
An audible revelation followed the visual one ( Matthew 3:17). The voice from heaven could be none other than God"s. After400 years without prophetic Revelation , God broke the silence. He spoke from heaven to humankind again. Matthew recorded God"s words as a general announcement (cf. Matthew 17:5). The other evangelists wrote that God said, "You are my beloved Son" ( Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). Evidently the accounts in Mark and Luke contain the actual words God used, the ipisissima verba, whereas Matthew gave a free quotation of God"s words, the ipisissima vox. These Latin terms mean essentially "own words" and "own voice" respectively. As used in New Testament studies, the former phrase indicates a verbatim quotation and the latter a free quotation. The former refers to the words the speaker in the narrative used and the latter to the words of the writer who interpreted the speaker"s words. Matthew probably gave a free quotation because he used what happened at Jesus" baptism as evidence of His messiahship. [source][source][source]
"Had the crowds heard the voice from heaven, it is inexplicable why one segment of the public does not at least entertain the idea that Jesus is the Son of God. And had John heard the voice from heaven, it is odd that his question of Matthew 11:2-3 contains no hint of this. On the contrary, it reflects the selfsame view of Jesus that John had expressed prior to the baptism, namely, that Jesus is the Coming One ( Matthew 3:11-12)." [2][source]
The words God spoke identified Jesus as the Messiah promised in the Old Testament. The term "Son of God" was one that God used of David"s descendant who would follow him on Israel"s throne ( 2 Samuel 7:13-14; Psalm 2:7; Psalm 89:26-29; cf. Matthew 1:20; Matthew 2:15; Matthew 4:3; Matthew 4:6). God"s commendation also linked Jesus with the Suffering Servant at the commencement of His ministry ( Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 53). The Beloved One is equivalent to the One with whom the Father was "well pleased" ( Isaiah 42:1). Genesis 22:2 may also be behind this announcement since that verse describes Isaac as Abraham"s beloved only son (cf. Psalm 2:7; Isaiah 42:1). Consequently, Son of God is a messianic title. [3] Notice the involvement of all three members of the Trinity in Jesus" baptism. This indicates its importance. [source][source][source]
"For the first time the Trinity, foreshadowed in many ways in the O.T, is clearly manifested." [4][source]
In this one statement at the beginning of Jesus" ministry, God presented Him as the Davidic Messiah, the Son of God, the representative of the people, and the Suffering Servant. Matthew had presented Jesus in all of these roles previously, but now God the Father confirmed His identity. [source][source][source]
". . . God"s baptismal declaration at Matthew 3:17 reveals itself to be climactic within the context of Matthew 1:1 to Matthew 4:16 because this is the place where God"s understanding of Jesus as his Son ceases to be of the nature of private information available only to the reader and becomes instead an element within the story that henceforth influences the shape of events. To illustrate this, notice how the words Satan speaks in Matthew 4:3; Matthew 4:6 ("If you are the Son of God ...") pick up directly on the declaration God makes in the baptismal pericope ("This is my beloved Son ...")." [5][source]
"Because Matthew so constructs his story that God"s evaluative point of view is normative, the reader knows that in hearing God enunciate his understanding of Jesus, he or she has heard the normative understanding of Jesus, the one in terms of which all other understandings are to be judged. In Matthew"s story, God himself dictates that Jesus is preeminently the Son of God." [6][source]
"He did not become Son of God at His baptism, as certain heretical teachers in the early Church maintained; but it was then that He was appointed to a work which He alone could perform, because of His unique relationship with His Father." [7][source]
Matthew passed over all the incidents of Jesus" childhood, including His appearance at the temple ( Luke 2:41-50), because his interests were selective and apologetic rather than merely historical. He introduced Jesus as the messianic King of Israel who fulfilled Old Testament prophecy and received divine confirmation from God with an audible word from heaven (cf. Exodus 20:1). [6][source]
In chapter1Matthew stressed the glories of Messiah"s person. In chapter2he gave a preview of the reception He would receive as Israel"s Messiah. In chapter3he introduced the beginning of His ministry with accounts of His earthly forerunner"s heralding and His heavenly Father"s approbation. [source][source][source]