This is My Son

"And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'" - Matthew 3:17

In Jewish culture in the first century, when a boy turned thirteen they had what's called the "bar-mitzvah" which basically meant that the boy was becoming a man and the raising of the boy transferred at that point because up until the age of 13 the boy was being raised mostly by his mother. But when he turned 13, there was a transfer where the boy went to work with his father and he began to learn the family trade. In Jesus' case, he went to work with Joseph and started learning the family trade of carpentry. 

But there was another transfer that took place when the boy reached the age of 30. At the age of 30, the father would take his son out to the public market and stand him up on a platform and he would declare to those around saying, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased." Essentially the father was saying, "Now you can deal with him in business separately from me. He is his own man, he represents our family - he is my authorized representative." 

This was the cultural understanding. So, at Jesus' baptism, when He was 30 years old, God the Father uttered those loving words to His Son. The heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and rested. I would imagine Jesus shed some tender tears of joy after hearing His Father say those loving words. At that point Jesus began "His Father's work".

What is so amazing to me is that God gives us of this same Spirit. Through relationship with Jesus we are also the Father's sons & daughters, in whom He is well pleased, so we can also represent the family as His authorized representatives. He set us on a platform and shouted in the public square!
Before Jesus physically left He told us that we would actually do "greater works" than He did. Can you believe that? 

What a calling. What responsibility. What hope! The Father sees you and is well pleased. 

Go get 'em tiger.