Jesus Prays at His Baptism

Luke 3:21, 22: "And it came to pass when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus, having been baptized, was praying, that heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily appearance like a dove upon Him, and there was a voice from heaven, saying, “Thou art My beloved Son; in Thee I am well pleased.”

Although this episode is also reported in Matthew and Mark, the Gospel of Luke is the only one which mentions that Jesus prayed during His baptism. This emphasis upon prayer in Luke is consistent with the premise that a major theme of this gospel is the reformation of our understanding—the part of our mind that is focused on learning truth, having faith, and communing with God in prayer.

The beautiful words, “heaven was opened,” suggest that a revelation took place as Jesus prayed, a revelation which found expression in the divine utterance: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22).

This episode speaks to each of us of the importance of prayer in our lives. These are the times when we turn inward in search of the Father, listening for guidance, instruction, comfort, inspiration, and revelation. This process of turning inward in search of that which is deeply spiritual is essential. Without it, our efforts to serve others will be based on the weak and crumbling foundation of our own self-hood. We should never let our egos interfere with the great work the Lord wants to do through us. In prayer, we quiet the inner chatter, we enter the stillness, we speak to God and listen for the divine response. As it is written in the Hebrew scriptures, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

“The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him” (Habakkuk 2:20).

To silence “the earth” is to temporarily put aside the cares of the external world while resting in God. In brief, it is the endeavor to silence the voice of the ego long enough to hear the voice of God. This is at the heart of a contemplative life. ¹

Before beginning any vital work, the first step is to begin with prayer. Jesus’ baptism in Luke captures this idea beautifully. Jesus was about to begin His public ministry. But before the heavens could be opened to Him, before the revelation and the inspiration could come, Jesus needed to take that first crucial step. He needed to pray: “And while He prayed, heaven was opened.” It was only then that He was ready to begin His public ministry. As it is written, “Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age”.

Teachings like these remind us of how important it is to precede action with contemplation, and precede public service with private devotion. While ministry and service are noble ends, they must be filled with the wisdom of spiritual purpose. Behind every successful, worthwhile action is a life grounded in contemplation and prayer. ²

Footnotes:

637. The implications of 'I will destroy them together with the earth' meaning that the human race would perish together with the Church are as follows: If the Lord's Church had been completely wiped out on earth, the human race could not have remained in being at all, for all without exception would have perished. As previously stated, the Church is as the heart. As long as the heart is alive, surrounding organs and limbs are able to live as well. But the moment the heart dies, everything else dies as well. The Lord's Church on earth is as the heart, and from it the human race, even that part of it lying outside of the Church, has life. The reason why is totally unknown to anybody. But so that something of this may be known, let it be said that the whole human race on earth is like the body and all its parts, with the Church resembling the heart. And if there were no Church, with which as a kind of heart the Lord might unite Himself by way of heaven and the world of spirits, there would be a severance; and once the human race was severed from the Lord it would perish instantly. This is the reason why since man was first created there has always been some Church in existence; and as often as the Church has begun to perish it has nevertheless remained with certain people.

[2] This was also the reason why the Lord came into the world. Unless, in His Divine mercy, He had come, the whole human race on this planet would have perished, for at that time the Church was nearing its end, and scarcely any good or truth was surviving. The reason the human race cannot possibly live unless it is joined to the Lord by way of heaven and the world of spirits is that regarded in himself man is even lower than animals. Left to himself he would rush to ruin himself and everybody else, for he has no other desire than to destroy himself and everybody else. His order ought to be as one person loving another as he does himself, but at present everyone loves himself more than others and so hates everybody else. Dumb animals are quite different however, for theirs is an order which they do live according to; and so they live wholly according to the order that is theirs, whereas man lives altogether contrary to order. Consequently unless the Lord had taken pity on man and by means of angels joined him to Himself he could not possibly live for a single moment. Of this man has no knowledge.