Isaiah 42:1-4,6-7; Psalm 28(29); Acts 10:34-38; Matthew 3:13-17
In this “servant song” second Isaiah rejoices when, in 539 BC, King Cyrus released Israel from their exile in Babylon. But he asked how had this come about? It was not any human agency. It was Israel’s God who freed his servant, Israel, whom he had formed and chosen for a purpose, and given his spirit.
After calling all to praise the Lord, the psalm describes a magnificent theophany: God’s majesty revealed in a tremendous thunderstorm.
In Acts, Peter applies this message to Jesus, whom “God anointed with the Holy Spirit”. Peter had just had a vision showing that nothing we eat can make us unclean. Therefore he felt willing to enter the house of Cornelius, against the Jewish Law. Then the Holy Spirit came upon this Gentile household. So Peter had to baptise them: he now understands how the Gospel must be taken to Gentiles, in spite of Jewish purity laws.
After a big build-up by the Baptist about the coming of the powerful messiah, the adult Jesus appears for the first time in this Gospel, and quietly insists on being baptised by John. Jesus has to be identified with sinners to fulfill God’s plan. God then confirms Jesus as his Son. Thus fortified, Jesus will then be led into the wilderness to be tested by the devil.
Psalm Response: The Lord will bless his people with peace.
(Isaiah 42:1-4,6-7; Psalm 28(29); Acts 10:34-38; Matthew 3:13-17)