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Matthew 3:17

in Matthew 3

And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

KJV

And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

This verse in Matthew 3

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Ambrose of Milan

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 397.

(Ambrosiaster. Serm. x. 1.) And no wonder that the mystery of the Trinity is not wanting to the Lord's laver, when even our laver contains the sacrament of the Trinity. The Lord willed to show in His own case what He was after to ordain for men.

This site's exposition

the Spirit of God descending like a dove

on Matthew 3:16-17

All three persons of the Godhead appear together in one scene, the Son baptized in the water, the Spirit descending like a dove and lighting on him, and the Father's voice from heaven naming him. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, draws together Psalm 2:7's royal decree and Isaiah 42:1's chosen servant, the king and the suffering servant identified as one person at the very start of his ministry. The dove's bodily descent, which Luke also records, marks a moment the church has long read as the clearest trinitarian scene in the Gospels.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A voice from heaven - A voice from God. This was probably heard by all who were present. This voice, or sound, was repeated on the mount of transfiguration, Mat 17:5; Luk 9:35-36; 2Pe 1:17. It was also heard just before his death, and was then supposed by many to be thunder, Joh 12:25-30. It was a public declaration that Jesus was the Messiah. My beloved Son - This is the title which God himself gave to Jesus. It denotes the nearness of his relation to God, and the love of God for him, Heb 1:

on Matthew 3:13-17

We have here the account of our Lord Jesus Christ’s baptism. This was his first step when he entered on his ministry. When the Jewish priests took up their office they were washed with water ( Exodus 29:4 ), and when our great High Priest begins the great work he came into the world to accomplish he is publicly baptized. We should notice firstly in these verses the honour placed upon the sacrament of baptism . An ordinance of which the Lord Jesus himself partook is not to be lightly esteemed.

The words behind it

17 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Psalms 2:7

    I will proclaim the decree spoken to Me by the LORD: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.

    it leads to

    • Hebrews 5:5

      So also Christ did not take upon Himself the glory of becoming a high priest, but He was called by the One who said to Him: “You are My Son; today I have become…

    • Acts 13:33

      He has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.’

    • Hebrews 1:5–6

      For to which of the angels did God ever say: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father”? Or again: “I will be His Father, and He will be My Son”?

    • Matthew 17:5

      While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”

    • Psalms 89:27

      I will indeed appoint him as My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

  • Through

    Isaiah 42:1

    “Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.

    it leads to

    • Luke 3:22

      and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Matthew 12:18–21

      “Here is My Servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations.

  • Through

    Matthew 12:18

    “Here is My Servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 42:1

      “Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.

Where this verse is studied

About Matthew

John the Baptist Preaching in the Wilderness — Gustave Doré (engraving), public domain
John the Baptist Preaching in the Wilderness — Gustave Doré (engraving), public domain

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew and Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.