87
17. καὶ ἰδού, ἆ Ch. x. 16; xxi. 14. Lk. ii. 24.
e Ch. xii. 18; μας 05
Cor. x. 5-
Heb. x. 38 (all with ev and dat.)
2 SSCL have ηνδοκ., which Tischendorf follows. W.H. as in Τ. R.
all events is real: the thoughts reflected and symbolised in the vision and the voice.
Ver. 16. εὐθὺς may be connected with βαπτισθεὶς, with ἀνέβη, or with ἠνεῴχθησαν in the following clause by a hyperbaton (Grotius). It is commonly and correctly taken along with ἀνέβη. But why say straightway ascended? Euthy. gives an answer which may be quoted for its quaintness: ‘‘ They say that John had the people under water up to the neck till they had confessed their sins, and that Jesus having none to con- fess tarried not in the river”. Fritzsche laughs at the good monk, but Schanz substantially adopts his view. There might be worse explanations.—xai ἰδοὺ ἠνεῴχθησαν, etc. When Jesus ascended out of the water the heavens openedand He (Jesus) saw the spirit of God descending as adove coming upon Him. According
to many interpreters, including many of .
the Fathers, the occurrence was of the nature of a vision, the appearance of a dove coming out of the heavens. 6 εὐαγγελιστὴς ovx εἶπεν ὅτι ἐν φύσει περιστερᾶς, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν εἴδει περιστερᾶς--- Chrys. Dove-like: what was the point ofcomparison? Swift movement, accord- ing to some ; soft gentle movement as it sinks down on its place of rest, according to others. The Fathers insisted on the qualities of the dove. Euthy. sums up these thus: φιλάνθρωπον γάρ ἐστι καὶ ἀνεξίκακον' ἀποστερούμενον γὰρ τῶν νεοσσῶν ὑπομένει, καὶ οὐδὲν ἧττον τοὺς ἀποστεροῦντας προσίεται. Καὶ καθα- ρώτατόν ἐστι, καὶ τῇ εὐωδίᾳ χαίρει. Whether the dove possesses all these qualities—philanthropy, patient endur- ance of wrong, letting approach it those who have robbed it of its young, purity, delight in sweet smells—I know not; but I appreciate the insight into the spirit of Christ which specifying such particulars in the emblematic significance of the dove implies. What is the O. T. basis of the symbol? Probably Gen. vili.9, 10. Grotius hints at this without altogether adopting the view. Thus we obtain a contrast between John’s con- ception of the spirit and that of Jesus as
reflected in the vision. For John the emblem of the spirit was the storm) wind of judgment; for Jesus the dove with the olive leaf after the judgment b- water was past.
Ver. 17. οὗτός ἐστιν: ‘this is,”’ as if addressed to the Baptist; in Mk.i. 9, σὺ el, as if addressed to Jesus.—év ᾧ εὖδοκ.:
a Hebraism, } 2 yor .—ev8dxqoa,a0r-
ist, either to express habitual satisfac- tion, after the manner of the Gnomic Aorist (vide Hermann’s Viger, p. 169), or to denote the inner event=my good pleasure decided itself once for all for Him. So &chanz; cf. Winer, § 40, 5, on the use of the aorist. εὐδοκεῖν, according to Sturz, De Dialecto Macedonica et Alex- andrina, is not Attic but Hellenistic. The voice recalls and in some measure echoes Is. xlii. 1, ‘‘ Behold My servant, I uphold Him; My chosen one, My soul delights in Him. I have put My spirit upon Him.” The title “Son” recalls Ps. ii. 7. Taking the vision, the voice, and the baptism together as interpreting the consciousness of Jesus before and at this time, the following inferences are sug- gested. (1) The mind of Jesus had been exercised in thought upon the Messianic vocation in relation to His own future. (2) The chief Messianic charism appeared to Him to be sympathy, love. (3) His religious attitude towards God was that of a Son towards a Father. (4) It was through the sense of sonship and the intense love to men that was in His heart that He discovered His Messianic vocation. (5) Prophetic texts gave direc- tion to and supplied means of expression for His religious meditations. His mind, like that of John, was full of prophetic utterances, but a different class of oracles had attractions for Him. The spirit of John revelled in images of awe and ter- ror. The gentler spirit of Jesus delighted in words depicting the ideal servant of God as clothed with meekness, patience, wisdom, and love.