Pleased

A remarkable thing, among many remarkable things, happened during the ministry of Jesus. God spoke in an audible voice from heaven. The apostle Peter mentions being an eyewitness to one of the occasions:
"...we...were eyewitnesses of His (Jesus') majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved ("agapetos/agapao"-well beloved, esteemed, dear, favorite, worthy of love, well pleased) Son, in whom I am well pleased." And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain."        2 Pet. 1:16-18
Peter was referring to the miraculous event on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mt. 17:1-6). Jesus told the disciples to tell no one of the vision until He, the Son of Man, is risen from the dead. This was not the first time, however, that the Father spoke these words. The first time, was when Jesus was baptized, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove (Mt. 3:16-17, Lk. 3:22). On another occasion, Jesus, again warning the others not to tell anyone, quoted the prophet Isaiah (42:1):
"Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased (also "delighted")!..."
If God spoke so men could hear audibly, He must have been saying something extremely important. We think the importance in the Father's audible words from heaven lies in His declaration that Jesus is His Son. That is important. However, we may overlook the significance of the statement "in whom I am well pleased" probably because as it is translated into English, we think we know the fullness of its meaning. There are several different words in both the Greek and the Hebrew that are used in the scriptures that are translated into the English "pleased/delighted". However, the Greek and Hebrew that refer to this specific use of "pleased" are awesome and revealing. The specific Greek and Hebrew words used in these verses, ("ratsah", "chaphets", eudokeo"), can be summed up this way: "to move, bend down, to curve, be favorable, favorably inclined, to satisfy, to pay off, receive graciously anyone bringing gifts, to be graciously accepted as a sacrifice".
The picture here in these Hebrew and Greek words is of the LORD moved to the point of bending down with favor in order to receive graciously an accepted sacrifice, because it is a sacrifice that satisfies and pays off the debt. These specific words, rather than "yatab" and "ayin", which are also used for the word "pleased" in other scriptures, are used in the context of a sacrifice. We can see it used strongly in that manner below.
Isaiah uses "chaphets" in Isa. 53:10-11, as he prophetically describes the sacrifice of the Servant of God for the iniquities of others: "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My Righteous Servant shall justify many for He shall bear their iniquities."
Why would it "please" the LORD to see His Servant harmed in such a way? Because many would be justified as a result. Because the deadly debt of sin would be paid off for many.
Those present and hearing the LORD's voice from heaven, and His use of the word "pleased" in regard to Jesus, would know immediately that the LORD was connecting Him, His beloved Son, to a pleasing sacrifice. This precise language used by God, especially in combination with the declaration from John the Baptist regarding Jesus' identity as the Lamb of God, would absolutely leave no doubt. The LORD could not have revealed in a stronger way, the sacrificial purpose of Jesus, His Son.
Paul uses the equivalent word, also associated with sacrifice, as it is translated into the Greek:
"But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them (the Jewish saints in Jerusalem) in material things."   Rom. 15:25-27
Does this mean that we please the LORD only when making physical offerings out of our substance, or our giving? Not only then. The sacrifice that was also pleasing to the LORD was the sacrifice of the person of His Son.
"...the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God...it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe."   1 Cor. 1:18-21
Beyond the giving of our material things that we happily bring to the LORD, there is an additional, greater, more personal sacrifice:
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."   Rom. 12:1-2
Most of us will never be called upon to offer ourselves physically as Christ did, but the sacrifice of self is pleasing to God. At this time, the prevailing spirit of the world is to be a "lover of self" ( 2 Tim. 3:2). There are many who submit to that spirit. Paul says we should not be conformed to this worldly mindset, but we have to have our minds transformed into the thinking that will cause us to become a "living sacrifice", acceptable to God. To be a sacrificer of self - those individuals, those "sons", are rare indeed, and more precious than gold, silver, diamonds, and rubies in God's eyes. Those who live a life of spiritual sacrifice of self, subjecting their thoughts, will, emotions, desires and actions to the will of God, cause the Most High to bend down with favor, not just for the benefit of one, but for the benefit of many, as Isaiah revealed. This is why God is so pleased by it, and why Paul beseeches us to do it. The benefit to many is so great, that it is beyond the ability to measure. Preaching bears fruit unto salvation for the hearers, but living as a sacrifice impacts the whole world with the favor of God (Jn. 3:16-17). This is what makes it "the good, and acceptable and perfect will of God". This is not accomplished with religious works and rituals. We must present ourselves to God for this process. It also requires our diligence and determination to be transformed from what we are now. Paul said that there must be a renewal of the mind. This is done through the creative work of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, while all the world, our natural minds, and our flesh work against it.
David also connected the personal sacrifice that makes the physical offerings truly pleasing to the LORD in Psalm 51, when he uses "chaphets" to say:
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart- These, O God, You will not despise. Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar."   v. 17-19
Isaiah, again prophesying the word of the LORD, and in agreement with David's words above, says that religious activities, like fasting, are worthless without the accompanying sacrifice of self, which is "pleasing" to God (Isaiah 58).
God bent so low in favor and pleasure at the sight of His Son who sacrificed Himself even before the cross (Rev. 13:8, 17:8, 1 Pet. 1:19-20), that the people could hear His voice.

Our Father is well pleased when we present ourselves as living sacrifices.