Holy Boldness

2. The Spirit descended upon Him. 3. The voice of the Father spoke to Him. The open heavens represented a sudden increase of awareness of divine activity. The descent of the Spirit represented empowerment and anointing for divine assignment. The voice articulated Jesus’ identity and the father’s pleasure, which is the ultimate prize of a journey of obedience. The voice of the father announced a truth that was the defining reality of Jesus’ life, “Thou are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” The announcement of Jesus’ sonship was nothing short of revolutionary. The statement comes from two Old Testament Messianic scriptures, Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1. Psalm 2 is a Messianic Psalm con cerning Israel’s ideal king, who was also God’s son. Isaiah 42 is the first of the servant prophecies of Isaiah. Jesus crossed a threshold thrusting Him into deeper intimacy and assurance of His identity and calling but also leading into the next stage of His development. It would be impossible to overstate the significance of these words to Jesus. In essence, they represent the two major focuses of all the messianic prophetic scriptures. They represent the Messiah King who would rule the world and the suffering servant, the priest, who would suffer and die for the sins of the world. The combined quotes touched both the lion and the lamb natures of Jesus. Judaism in the time of Jesus had no concept of both figures being the same person. The Servant/King motif stood behind everything that Jesus would do from here on out. These words were more than an encouragement or affirmation but represent a commissioning into the ministry of Messiahship. This Trinitarian encounter between Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit must have been intensely personal and powerful to Jesus. The words and deeds of Jesus from this point on, the authority he wields, the demands He makes, His attitude towards men assume at every point that this encounter was deeply personal and impacting for Jesus. There is no way to account for such a phenomenon as Jesus without recognizing in Him a deep and sustained awareness of the Father’s delight. Jesus’ demeanor and command of every situation is nothing short of stunning. The Gospels reveal Jesus as the one who assumes absolute authority with everything He says and every move He makes. Jesus simply takes com- The Power of Divine Endorsement

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