Luke is not as interested in the actual baptism of Jesus (3:21–22) as he is in the events that accompany it. The descent of the Spirit indicates that Jesus is being anointed for his ministry (cf. Acts 10:37–38). The descent of the dove in bodily form, the opening of heaven, and the voice from God point perhaps to the inauguration of the new creation (Gen. 1:2; 8:8–12) and the reality of the Spirit’s descent. It is characteristic of Luke to mention that Jesus was praying. The words of the heavenly voice contain allusions to Psalm 2:7, Isaiah 42:1, and Genesis 22:2, indicating that Jesus is God’s Son and servant. This passage is not teaching that Jesus was adopted as God’s Son, for Luke 1:35 shows that Luke considers Jesus to be God’s Son from the beginning.

The inclusion of the genealogy …