LESSON 25 – THE BAPTISM OF JESUS
THE BAPTISM OF JESUS
Mark 1:9-15:
Mark 1:9-15 Describes Jesus’s baptism, his immediate temptation in the wilderness, and the start of his public ministry. This indicates that there were two things necessary for the preparation of his ministry; he needed to be baptized, and he needed to be tempted.
It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:9-12 NAB)
Jesus’s baptism is recorded in all four gospels. Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee to John at the Jordan River to be baptized by him. John knew that Jesus was sinless, so he wouldn’t need cleansing from sin, and he tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet, you are coming to me?” (Matthew 3:13-14 NAB)
John, knowing that this was the one who was to come, the one he had been revealing, and Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15)
Jesus did not have to be baptized. He was baptized in keeping with his mission to do the will of the father and to identify and associate himself with us. He took our place, and it began with his baptism, not the cross. He didn’t have to die on a cross in our place, but he did both things. The sinless took the place of a sinner, was baptized with a baptism of repentance and confession of sins to express his solidarity with fallen man.
Immediately after Jesus was baptized in verse 10-11, On coming out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.”
It is monumental that the moment Jesus begins to take our place, Jesus receives the gift of the Holy Spirit from the Father.
What could be more glorious than to have God the Father commend and affirm you publicly? Perhaps the greatest gift we have as individuals is the gift of receiving the Holy Spirit. It is by this power that man can overcome the power of sin and guilt and live the life God intends us to live. Notice that the Holy Spirit descends upon Him like a dove. The Holy Spirit is associated with the dove, a gentle, non-threatening bird that does not resist or fight back. The dove of course is associated with the word love, which is the greatest force in the world today, and it is the perfect symbol of the new life Jesus came to teach. Next Mark brings us to the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.
At once the spirit drove him out into the wilderness., and he remained in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him. (Mark 1:12-13 RSV)
Forty days is often a number that reveals a time of testing or judgment. This is Jesus’s time for testing. There in the desert Jesus was tempted by the devil, pressured and assaulted in every way possible, body, soul and spirit. Matthew and Luke go into detail as to the three specific temptations Jesus suffered, and we covered those in the Gospel of Matthew.
I’m sure you realize that God puts us through tests all the time. We lose our job, run into money problems, suffer the death of a loved one. Why does he test us? To toughen us up, to strengthen us against the woes we face, but he gives us the Holy Spirit, and when that is in us, we have the power to overcome all obstacles and enjoy our life as we await the life of eternity with our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Although Jesus was assaulted by Satan in the wilderness without human help, he was not alone. Matthew and Luke make no note of this, but Jesus was at peace with the bears, lions and other wild beasts and had authority over them. They in effect were his companions and they comforted him.
And the angels ministered to him. The sense in Mark, or the intended meaning, is that the angels ministered to Him at the end of this time of tremendous temptation, and it also shows that the angels are his servants, and he had authority over both the wild animals and the angels.
After John the Baptist’s arrest, his role as the forerunner concludes, and Jesus begins his own ministry in Galilee picking up the prophetic torch from John to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God.
After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel. (Mark 1:15 NAB).
Jesus came with the good news that God is now available to break the helpless deadlock into which man has fallen, that man, in his natural condition is helpless and hopeless without God’s aid. He came to announce that the King is at hand, the One who can put a life in order, to master and bring harmony into it, and provide power that will produce a character no one else can match. That is the Kingdom of God, available to everyone who wants it and willing to acknowledge that you can’t get along without it, and the place to gain it is the place of repentance. Some people think repentance is feeling sorry for your sins, but the word repent is not a feeling word, but it is an action word. Repentance is a call for a change in heart, and action and commitment of one’s entire being to the belief in the gospel. It speaks of a change of direction in your attitude and life. We cannot come to God’s Kingdom unless we leave the self-life and trust God, taking him at his word, and living a relationship on dependence of him.
There are many people who intellectually believe the Gospel, but do not rest in it. To rest in the gospel means to trust in God’s finished work through Jesus Christ for salvation, security and peace. It’s a spiritual state of finding rest for the soul by relying on God’s sufficiency, rather than one’s owns efforts, to overcome anxieties and burdens. This is the preview of the eternal rest to come, achieved by prayer, worship, and spiritual stillness.
We receive God’s blessings and forgiveness every time we ask him.
Until next time may peace, love and joy be with you always.