10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.
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In seeking an answer to this question, we should be aware of a question that precedes this: was this visible coming of the Holy Spirit a sign for Christ, or was it intended for John and the Jews who were present? This also suggests the possibility that the visible descent of the Spirit was a sign primarily for Christ, augmented by a voice from heaven as a sign for the bystanders. In any case, the descending Spirit did serve as a sign for John the Baptist (see John 1:32–33).
Interpretation 1: As a sign of new life
Summary: The form of a dove reminds us of the dove that returned to Noah in the ark with an olive branch in its beak when the earth began to dry up again after the flood. It served as the symbol of new life after the deliverance from God’s wrath (see Genesis 8:11).
Arguments against this view:
1. After the flood, it was not the dove but rather the fresh olive leaf that was the sign of new life on earth. Yet the authors of the gospels make no mention of an olive leaf.
2. The dove does not return to Jesus like it returned to the ark, but here it descends from heaven on Jesus.
3. The voice from heaven does not speak about new life on earth, but of a heavenly servant.
Arguments in favour of this view:
1. While the fresh olive leaf, and not the dove, was a sign of new life, the dove was nevertheless the one that brought the sign. Thus, the Spirit came to designate Jesus as the one who brings new life for sinners.
2. The focus in Genesis 8 is not on the dove’s return to the ark, but on what it came to bring.
3. The heavenly voice designates Jesus as the heavenly-appointed Mediator of new life from the dead.
4. This sign is significant at this time, immediately after Jesus’ baptism and that of many of the people baptized earlier. This baptism symbolized a drowning as the punishment for sin, and at the same time it symbolized the possibility of surviving this flood: to turn in repentance to God. God’s Spirit comes down to designate the Author of that new and converted life with God.
Interpretation 2: As a sacrificial animal
Summary: The dove refers to the dove as a sacrificial animal. The dove was the only bird that was given a place in the sacrificial service of the old covenant. The Spirit drives Christ toward the saving sacrifice for God’s people.
Arguments in favour of this view:
1. The dove is indeed mentioned as a sacrificial animal in Leviticus 1:14–17; Leviticus 5:7 and Leviticus 5:11; Leviticus 12:6, Leviticus 12:8; Leviticus 14:22, Leviticus 14:30.
2. The sacrifice of a dove was still happening in Jesus’ days on earth (see Luke 2:24; Matthew 21:12).
Arguments against this view:
1. In most cases, two turtledoves needed to be sacrificed. Shouldn’t the Spirit then have come down from heaven in the form of two doves?
2. When the Holy Scripture speaks of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, he is nowhere compared to a sacrificial dove, but instead to the sacrificial lamb (Isaiah 53:7; 1 Corinthians 5:7, 1 Peter 1:19, Revelation 5:6, Revelation 5:8, Revelation 5:12).
Interpretation 3: As a reminder of Jonah
Summary: The dove immediately reminded the Jews in those days of the prophet Jonah. His Hebrew name means dove.
Just as Jonah was called to deliver God’s message, so the Holy Spirit also made Jesus into a messenger of God. Jonah only became a good messenger after he rose again from the watery grave. Likewise, Jesus only became the good Messenger after he rose from the symbolic grave of his immersion into the water.
Arguments in favour of this view:
Later on, Jesus also compares himself to the prophet Jonah (see Matthew 12:38–41). His miraculous return from the tomb after three days, like Jonah’s miraculous return from his watery grave, will serve as the sign that he is the servant sent by God.
Arguments against this view:
Jonah was called by God to deliver a message of judgment. Jesus Christ said of himself, “The Son of Man came not to destroy people's lives but to save them” (KJV Luke 9:56).
If this had been the intent of this celestial sign, it would have applied more to John the Baptist.
Interpretation 4: As a messenger from heaven
Summary: Throughout the centuries the dove has been used to convey messages. That is why we speak of homing pigeons. In this way the Spirit, as a descending dove, can be seen as the messenger of the Father’s love for his Son, as a visible emphasis added to the audible words from heaven after Christ’s baptism.
To this can be added that Jesus himself also became the messenger of God’s words on earth.
Arguments in favour of this view:
The Spirit rested on Jesus. This may be compared to a homing pigeon staying with its owner. Thus, the prophecy about the servant of the LORD was fulfilled (Isaiah 42:1 and Isaiah 61:1). Immediately after Isaiah 61:1 the task of the servant of the LORD is indicated, that is, that he would bring good news.
Arguments against this view:
1. The references to Isaiah 42:1 and Isaiah 61:1 are in fact valid as far as the resting of the Spirit on Christ is concerned. But it does not give the decisive explanation that the Spirit took the form of a dove for this purpose. Because:
2. A homing pigeon is a specific kind of pigeon. It is by no means true that all doves or pigeons can find their way back to their owner without fail. The Bible often speaks of turtledoves.
Interpretation 5: As a symbol of peace
Summary: A dove represents the image of meekness, sincerity, and quietness, and therefore serves as the symbol of peace. Descending in the form of a dove therefore means that Jesus Christ, guided by this Spirit of meekness, is about to realize this peace.
Arguments in favour of this view:
1. In the Song of Solomon the lovely bride is compared to a dove (Song of Solomon 2:14 and Song of Solomon 5:2).
2. In Matthew 10:16 Christ calls his apostles to be innocent as doves.
Christ probably chose the dove in contrast to birds of prey, which attack other animals, including other birds. Doves will never do that. And when they are attacked, they do not adopt a threatening posture, but they will withdraw. In the same way Christ’s disciples are to act toward people who treat them with hostility, i.e., when they are threatened like sheep among wolves.
It is with that Spirit that God first comes to fill himself now.
3. For centuries the dove has been the symbol of peace worldwide.
Arguments against this view:
1. A reference to the metaphor for the bride in the Song of Solomon raises questions such as: was God’s Spirit like the bride who came flying toward Christ as the bridegroom? Or is Christ himself as lovely as the bride in the Song of Solomon now that the Spirit of God comes to guide him?
2. In Matthew 10:16, Christ indeed calls a dove innocent or harmless. The meaning of this characterization is not immediately clear because a dove is not just a gentle, quiet, and peaceful bird. Cock pigeons have imposing and intimidating behaviour toward females and chase away contenders. The question therefore arises as to why God shows this sign to John and the bystanders at this moment, right after Christ’s baptism. Is it because he is now going to start his public appearance to Israel?
3. It is an anachronism to regard the dove as a symbol of peace in this account. The dove did not become a worldwide symbol of peace until much later. It is true, however, that the origin of this symbol lies in biblical history: a dove made it clear to Noah and his family that God’s wrath had been appeased and the earth would once again become inhabitable for man. See also Interpretation 6 below.
Interpretation 6: As a sign of the Spirit's descending
Summary: The focus is not on what species of bird it was, but on the Spirit’s descent. Just like a bird descends from high in the sky to a chosen target, so the Spirit of God comes to descend on the Son of God to guide him in his ministry. The dove will have been chosen as a species of bird because the Spirit did not come down from the sky in a threatening way, like a bird of prey, but instead he came down as a calm and peaceful dove.
Arguments in favour of this view:
1. A comparison of God’s Spirit to a hovering bird can already be found in the first sentences of the Bible (see Genesis 1:2).
2. The image of a dove, flying quickly toward a goal, is also used in Psalm 55:6, Isaiah 60:8, and Hosea 11:11. This is how God’s Spirit alights on the anointed servant of the Lord.
Arguments against this view:
1. The comparison with Genesis 1:2 is flawed, because there God’s Spirit continues to hover over the turbulent waters before God started to give shape to his creation, while in the Gospels the Spirit deliberately descends on Christ and rests on him (and not just above him).
2. That form of a dove has left such an impression that all four Gospel authors mention it. Therefore, the focus seems to be on this, and not on the descent of the Spirit. If the focus of the symbolism would have been on the actual descent, all kinds of other birds could have served as examples.
3. In Psalm 55 and Hosea 11 the metaphor points to a dove that flies away in fear, while in Isaiah 60 the return from exile is compared to doves that fly back to their home base, which can hardly be applied to the coming of God’s Spirit to Christ.
16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;