Who’s on First?

Abbott and Costello, two comedians, had the routine Who’s on First. Lou Costello wanted to be a baseball player, and Bud Abbott wanted him to understand baseball’s complexity, especially the players’ names. (A baseball game has four stations the players must successfully pass through; the first three are called first base, second base, and third base.)

Abbott: Strange as it may seem, they give ball players nowadays very peculiar names.

Costello: Funny names?

Abbott: Nicknames, nicknames. Now, on the St. Louis team, we have Who’s on first, What’s on second, I don’t know is on third –

Costello: That’s what I want to find out. I want you to tell me the names of the fellows on the St. Louis team.

Abbott: I’m telling you. Who’s on first, What’s on second, I don’t know is on third –

Costello: You know the fellows’ names?

Abbott: Yes.

The routine continues, leading to Costello’s frustration (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTcRRaXV-fg).

Sometimes, the pronouns in the NT can cause similar confusion.

While John was baptizing people on the Jordan River for their repentance of sins, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee to receive his baptism (Mark 1:9). He entered the water, and John baptized him.

“As he came out of the water, he saw the heavens open and the spirit descending as a dove upon him. And a voice came from heaven: You are my beloved son. In you, I am well-pleased.” (Mark 1:10–11).

The plain reading of the text tells us that Jesus saw the heavens open and the spirit descending on him. Further, Jesus heard God address him with the second singular – “you . . . in you.” Luke has a similar story with the second singular – “you.”

But the story gets complicated when we compare Mark and Luke’s versions with Matthew’s.

“After being baptized, Jesus came out of the water. Behold, the heavens opened, and he saw the spirit of God descending as a dove coming upon him. And behold, a voice from the heavens said: This is my beloved son; in him I am well-pleased.” (Matt 3:16–17)

Matthew’s presentation with the third person – “this . . . him” – implies that God was talking to someone else, preferably John, pointing to Jesus as his beloved son. If so, did John see the heavens open and the spirit coming as a dove or only Jesus? Or, did only Jesus see the heavens open and sees the spirit, whereas only John heard God refer to Jesus as his beloved?

The answer lies in Jeremiah, where God called Israel his beloved, the same word used to address Jesus at his baptism.

“Is not Israel my beloved son, child in whom I delight? Although I speak against him, I remember him with great remembrance. I hasten to help him, showing mercy to him, says the Lord.” (Jer 38:20).

All along, the Israelites knew they were God’s beloved. But at his baptism, God told Jesus that he was his beloved now, the new Israel. Mark and Luke preserve these wordings because they wanted their non-Hebrew audiences to know that God addressed Jesus and called him – you – as his beloved. In him, they must trust. On the other hand, Matthew wanted his Jewish audience to know that they were no longer God’s beloved. Instead, Jesus – he – was God’s beloved, and they needed to trust him, just like other nations.

God no longer has a beloved people group or nation. Instead, he has a beloved son – Jesus. That’s why we all pay homage to his beloved son or, in David’s words, “Kiss the son” (Ps 2:12).