Pleasing God

When Jesus came up out of the water, having been baptized by John,  "a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased'" (Mt 3:17).  Why did the Father make this dramatic expression of his pleasure with Jesus?

The reasons for his pleasure are beyond counting as we consider the fact that Jesus' pre-incarnate state was infinite oneness witth the Father, but at that moment, why did the Father choose to make this proclamation?  In systematic theology, I was taught it was because Jesus began, at his baptism, his public ministry so the Father publicly proclaimed his approval.  I get that and I have to agree that such timing was important to launching a new defined direction in his life.

However, I believe there was something more personal and more central to who Jesus was than ministry direction, which prompted the Father to express his pleasure with the Son.  The basis for my belief is found in the narrative leading up to the voice from heaven: "Jesus came to from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.  But John tried to deter him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?'  Jesus replied, 'Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness'" (Mt 3:13-16).

Later, Paul would call us to "have the same mindset of Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking on the very nature of a servant" (Phil 2:5-7).  It was this mindset, one of humility, that allowed him to let go of his divine perrogative and come into this world being born in a manger to suffer and die for us.

It was this same mindset of humility that allowed him to allow John to baptize him instead of the other way around.  It was this mindset of humble desire to raise up the Father's will above his own and even his own life that I believe prompted the Father's heart to erupt with pride and extreme pleasure in his only begotten Son, saying, "That's my Boy!  I couldn't be more proud.  I love him so much."  (personal paraphrase of Mt 3:17).

This is the character of Christ that allowed him to be our Savior as much as his sinless life, his willingness to be humbled for our benefit above himself.  And, when we, like him, adopt this model for our lives,  we will "humble ourselves before the Lord and he will lift us up" (Js 4:10).  Jus' Say'n.