Edmund Heddle looks at the deep symbolism behind the Spirit's descent on Jesus 'like a dove'...
We cannot answer the question 'What is a prophet?' adequately until we turn our attention to Jesus, the Prophet, and discover the secret of his prophetic ministry. Moses foretold the coming of a prophet like himself and yet greater (Deut 18: 15-19). The early church believed that Jesus was that prophet (Acts 3:22-23, 7:37). Jesus referred to himself as a prophet (Matt 13:57, Luke 3:33) and his contemporaries certainly regarded him such (Matt 21:11, Luke 7:16 and John 4:19).
Jesus and the Spirit
It is highly significant that Jesus' prophetic ministry did not commence until after the Spirit had descended on him, immediately following his baptism by John in the Jordan River. Jesus was the Son of God and the Word from all eternity, yet as man he had to receive and rely upon the Spirit of God to carry out his ministry as a prophet. If this was true of Jesus, how much more must it be true for us!
Jesus' prophetic ministry did not start until after the Spirit had descended on him. If this was true of Jesus, how much more must it be for us!"
Who saw the Dove?
What is the special significance in our being told that the Spirit descended on Jesus 'like a dove'? Some have been content to see this as a reference to the innocence and harmlessness of the Spirit, along the lines of Jesus' words in Matthew 10:16, "Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves". But there is a much deeper meaning in this phrase 'like a dove', if we let the biblical references fill out its meaning.
Who saw the dove? According to Matthew and Mark the dove was seen by Jesus (Matt 3:16-17, Mark 1:10-11). Luke mentions the descent of the dove but does not say who actually saw it. John's gospel however indicates that the dove was also seen by John the Baptist, and that this was the pre-arranged sign by which he would recognise the Messiah (John 1:31-34). It is to be noted that none of the gospels indicate that the dove was seen by the crowds standing by.
A Real Dove?
We need also to note that the gospels do not say that it was a dove, but that it was 'like a dove'. As on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit revealed himself like rushing mighty wind and like tongues of fire, so here it does not say that an actual dove flew down and alighted on the newly baptised Jesus. It was real to Jesus and his forerunner John, and deeply significant to these two, both of whom had minds that were soaked in the stories and teaching of the Old Testament.
The Spirit's descent 'like a dove' would have been deeply significant to both Jesus and John the Baptist."
The Brooding Dove
We have only to turn to the second verse of the Bible to read: "The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Some translators prefer 'brooding' to 'hovering', but both words describe the activity of a bird. The Talmudic comment on this verse reads: "The Spirit of God who moved on the face of the waters like a dove." Those who are familiar with Milton's Paradise Lost will recall the lines "...and with mighty wings outspread, dovelike sat'st brooding on the dark abyss".2
The descent of the dove on our Lord marks him out and qualifies him to be the one to bring mankind out of the chaos of a fallen world and into the "new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells" (2 Pet 3:13). The dove is symbolic of the mighty creative power of God, which rested in fulness on Jesus. Yet at the same time it reveals the quietness of such power; expressed beautifully by Dr Alexander McLaren in the words: "The Spirit of God was brooding over chaos and quickening life, as a bird in its nest by the warmth of its own soft breast."1
Dove with Olive Branch
The second Bible reference to the dove occurs in the story of Noah's flood (Gen 8:6-12). Because of the spread of man's violence and the unheeded preaching of Noah, God's judgement fell on all except those who took the God-provided way of escape (Gen 6:11-13; 2 Pet 2:5). After the floodwaters had receded and the Ark had come to rest on Mt. Ararat, Moses sent out two birds. The raven, a bird of prey, flew off and stayed away, doubtless feeding on what had died. The dove returned to the Ark as the earth was still covered with water.
Seven days later the dove was again sent out and this time returned with a freshly plucked olive leaf. The dove bearing the olive branch was messenger of hope to the prisoners in the ark, telling them that judgement was past. The raven, in contrast, was too intent on gorging itself that it brought no message.
The dove's descent marks Jesus out as the One to bring order out of the world's chaos, hope out of despair, life out of death."
Augustine put it like this: "As the dove did at that time bring tidings of the abating of the water so doth it now of the abating of the wrath of God upon the preaching of the Gospel." The dove that comes to us with a leaf plucked from the tree of life is symbolic of the redemptive power of our Saviour and of the good news that through him we have escaped judgement and have been reborn into his new creation.
Poor Man's Sacrifice
In the Old Testament system of sacrifices, the only bird that was allowed to be offered was the dove. The rich were required to bring a bull or a lamb, but the poor man (as in the case of Jesus' parents) could bring a pair of doves (Lev 1:14-17, Luke 2:24). We know that doves were acceptable offerings from the stories of Jesus cleansing the temple and his overturning the benches of those selling doves (John 2:14-16, Matt 21:12-13).
St. Cyprian sums up his understanding of the doves' acceptability as a sacrifice in the following words: "A dove, a gentle joyous creature, with no bitterness of gall, no fierceness of bite and no violence of rending claws".3 The Spirit who came on Jesus was the Spirit of sacrifice, the Spirit that led him eventually to offer himself without blemish to God (Heb 9:14). The voice from heaven that accompanied the descent of the dove declared that Jesus after living thirty years in Galilee was totally acceptable to God.
Jesus' submission to baptism by John in the Jordan and the descent of the dove upon him are the negative and positive aspects of his Spirit of entire self offering; of his oneness and identification with the sinful race he came to save and of his complete consecration to achieve their eternal salvation cost what it might.
In the Old Testament, the dove was the only bird acceptable as a sacrifice. The Spirit who came on Jesus was the Spirit of self-sacrifice, leading him to offer himself on our behalf- an offering with which God was 'well pleased'."
Spring and Lovers
The Song of Songs tells us that the dove is the herald of spring and is associated with lovers:
Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. See! the winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land...My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely (Song of Solomon 2:10-12, 14).
The Hebrew word for dove comes from the word yayin, which contains the ideas of effervescence and intoxication and refers to the warmth of doves' love-making. There is a 'twoness' about doves. The poor man's offering was a pair of doves. Doves live in pairs and lay a clutch of two eggs, "nurturing their young together; when they fly abroad hanging in their flight side by side; leading their life in mutual intercourse; giving in concord the kiss of peace with their bills; in every way fulfilling their unanimity" (to quote from St. Cyprian again4).
The coming down of the dove on Jesus symbolises our Lord as the lover of our souls, desiring to become one with his bride- the Church."
Their twoness becomes oneness, or as St Paul says to the Ephesians (5:31-32), "the two shall become one". Paul says he is referring to Christ and his bride, the church. The coming down of the dove on our Lord reveals him to be the lover of our souls who cannot be content until we respond to his eternal love-making.
The Dove Prophet
As well as the direct references to the dove in Scripture we have examined, there is a very instructive one, which is not immediately apparent. The Hebrew word for dove is 'Yonah' or 'Jonah': the name of a prophet who tried to escape from the responsibility of declaring God's message to the city of Nineveh. When Jonah was sent he disobeyed but the One on whom the dove came acted in absolute obedience, when his Father told him to leave heaven and travel to our earth with the message of God's pardoning love.
Jesus is the true and perfect Jonah, the final dove-prophet."
Sinful Jonah, when sent by God, disobeyed and found himself jettisoned into a storm of judgement. Yet in the incredible mercy of God he was saved by being swallowed up and vomited out! Sinless Jesus was completely obedient to God's instructions and yet found himself overwhelmed by the storms of judgement and death. But he rose again! Furthermore, the only sign he would give his generation was the sign of Jonah (Matt 16:4). Jesus is the true Jonah, the final dove-prophet, the missioner of God. It was when John saw the dove descend on him that he recognised his cousin to be nothing less than the Son of God, the Lamb of God and the Baptiser in the Holy Spirit (John 1:29-34).
Dove-Prophets Today
Those who are prophets today must be careful to make sure that the Spirit that is inspiring their speaking is truly the Dove.
A possible reaction to man's rebellion and violence and to its inevitable consequence of divine judgement and punishment, is that we become harsh in our attitudes, judgmental in our speech and separatist in our relationships. But we are not to manifest the spirit of the raven, but the Spirit of the Dove.
Those prophesying today must not manifest the harsh spirit of the raven, but the endlessly loving Spirit of the Dove."
Dove-prophets are to be endlessly loving, always seeking unity and togetherness. They must sacrifice their own plans and preferences for the greater joy of announcing forgiveness to those who would otherwise perish. They are to be ever hopeful; convinced that the last word is with the God who will yet have heaven and earth as he intends.
Commenting on the descent of the dove, Dr. Alexander McLaren said of Jesus: "Since he was a man, he needed the Divine Spirit. Since he was sinless, he was capable of receiving it in perfect and unbroken continuity."5 If he needed the Dove, so much more do we- and the thrilling truth is that our need has been met. Every Christian prophet today may by faith receive the Spirit in fullness; the Spirit that is 'like a dove'.
References
2 Vol. 1.
3 Treatise 1, section 9.
4 See previous note.
5 See note 1.
First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 1, No 4, 1985.
