We hear that when all the other people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized also. Luke slips the comment in as though it was a subject of no great matter, yet follows with this wonderful story of the Holy Spirit descending like a dove and a voice from heaven commending Jesus as God’s son. Was it something everyone heard? Was it a personal vision Jesus later shared with his friends and family? It is often assumed it must have been witnessed by many, but it is also questioned whether, if many had experienced it, there would have been more “buzz” about it.
Spiritual experiences are hard to explain, to quantify or objectify. Many people never try to describe theirs, because no matter how genuine and life-changing it might be, it sounds strange when described with limited human words. We are familiar with the story of Jesus and it is described so simply it makes sense to us, whether or not it was experienced by Jesus or by many.
Especially notable in the story of the baptism is the comment that he was praying. Prayer seems to have been natural and meaningful to Jesus, and so obviously helpful to him, that his disciples would note it and ask him to teach them to pray also.
Luke goes on to tell us that Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work. John tells of an occasion when people challenge Jesus saying, “you are not yet fifty years old…” Jesus’ age was approximate. What is clear that he began his work as a mature adult, not as a youth.What was he doing until then? Jesus may have been taking care of his younger siblings. Because Joseph isn’t mentioned, it can be presumed that he had passed away by this time. If there were younger children in the home, Jesus as the eldest son, would have taken on that responsibility for their livelihood. We note that some traditions hold that the siblings of Jesus mentioned in the bible were step-brothers and sisters, from an earlier marriage of Joseph. This is never explained, only that there was a family life and his siblings wanted him back home with them, which seems to indicate they had lived together in strong family relationship.
The details of the immediate family of Jesus are probably of greater interest to us than to the writers of the gospels, who were concerned primarily with telling the good news. Luke and Matthew both give genealogies of Jesus. Both trace through Joseph, although giving different lists. Some people assume that Matthew as tracing Joseph’s ancestry, as the legal father of Jesus, and that Luke was actually tracing Mary’s. It matters little whether the lists agree or whether anyone believes that genealogy can actually be traced to Adam. Matthew’s emphasis was apparently to show Jesus’ identity as an Israelite, although it is often noted that he included non-Israelites such as Rehab and Ruth in the list (notable also that they were women). Luke, by tracing it back to Adam seems to be stressing the humanity of Jesus in common with all other humans.
Have you experienced a spiritual moment?
Have you ever tried to describe it?
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