City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 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.”

Luke 3:21–22 (ESV)

Reflection

I’ve read verse 21 hundreds of times and always skimmed over the phrase “the heavens were opened.” This time I got stuck on it. That’s the way Bible study works. The Holy Spirit nudges you along until you get to what He wants you to see. Then you can’t look away. 

“The heavens were opened.” How could I have missed that before? That’s not a common occurrence like a sunrise in the morning, rain in the spring, or traffic in Houston. I determined to figure out what it meant so I could tell you, not knowing if there would be any practical application other than the satisfaction of curiosity.

What I found was other mentions of the heavens opening, described sometimes in those words, sometimes in others: Ezekiel 1:1 (Ezekiel’s vision); Luke 3:21 (Jesus’ baptism); John 1:51 (Jesus’ promise to Nathaniel); Luke 9:29-31, 35 (Jesus’ transfiguration); Acts 7:55-58 (Stephen’s martyrdom); Acts 9:3-7; 22:9  (Paul’s conversion); Acts 10:11 (Peter’s vision in Joppa); Revelation 4:1; 19:11 (John’s revelation).

In each of these instances there was a temporary opening of an aperture between natural and spiritual realms to allow those in the natural see and hear the goings on in the spiritual. It was the curtain being pulled back so Dorothy could see the great Oz, pulling the levers and speaking but speaking of things we only see rarely and then through a glass darkly (I Corinthians 13:12). When the heavens opened, though, people saw clearly. 

When the heavens opened John the Baptist saw clearly Jesus was the Son of God (John 1:32-34), Peter, James, and John saw the same (Luke 9:35); Stephen submitted to martyrdom (Acts 7:55-58); the Lord showed Peter the gospel was for the gentiles (Act 10:11-16, 34-35) and John things that were and things to come (Rev. 4, 19); and in the greatest of ironies, Paul became blind to see it was Jesus he was persecuting (Acts 9:3-7).

Application

God’s default is to work from behind the curtain, pulling the lever of human hearts and speaking through the microphone of human voices to accomplish His purposes in the earth. He is the True Great Oz.  But sometimes He pulls the curtain back, speaks to us directly, and shows us the way home.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for breaking into the natural so that we can glimpse the spiritual. Amen.