The Baptism of Jesus
1:9-11
Jesus came to the place John was baptizing. Mark’s telling of the story is brief: “Jesus came down from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan”. (9) He tells nothing of the conversation between John and Jesus as Matthew does. (Matthew 3:14-15)
Instead, Mark focused on what happened after Jesus’ baptism. There are three things. They all signify the inauguration of the kingdom of God. The kingdom will not be fully realized until the end of this age, but is inaugurated by Jesus, as he will declare in verse 15.
These three things also testify that Jesus is the “mightier one” that John said was coming (7) and the Messiah\Christ prophesied in the Old Testament.
The three things are:
- the heavens are opened above him
- the Holy Spirit descended onto him
- the heavenly voice spoke to him.
First, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were torn open. The veil between heaven and earth was torn away for a moment. The word for “torn” here is the same word used in Mark 15:38 when the veil before the Holiest Place in the temple is torn in two from top to bottom. The word is “schisma”.
The opening of the veil between heaven and earth signifies a revelation or appearance of God. For example, Isaiah 64:1 expresses longing for God to rend the heavens and come down and make his presence known. Some non-canonical books, also mention this as a sign of the coming of the Messiah.
The second sign is the descent of the Spirit.
The descent of the Spirit is meaningful. Jews in the time of Jesus believed the Holy Spirit ceased speaking to Israel with the end of the Old Testament prophets. Since the Spirit did not speak, there were no prophets. To the Jewish audience reading Mark, this would be a sign that Jesus would speak God’s word.
Additionally, the descent of the Spirit indicates that Jesus is the servant prophesied in Isaiah 42. Isaiah records the Lord saying: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him…”
The English versions state that the Spirit came down “on” him. That may not completely capture what happened. One commentator says a better translation would be that the Spirit descended “into” him. The Apostle John records John the Baptist as saying “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. (John 1:32) So, the Spirit remained with Jesus during his earthly life.
Third, the Father spoke to Jesus from heaven. He declared that Jesus is his Son. Jesus is the Son of God. He is deity, fully God as well as fully man. He is the one God referred to in Psalm 2:7: I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you.”
The Father was also pleased with the Son, showing that he was obedient to the will of the Father. His perfect obedience and righteousness was necessary so that it could be imputed to us who are in Christ. (Romans 3:21-22)
The baptism of Jesus is a Trinitarian event. Jesus, the Son, is baptized. The Holy Spirit descends upon him. The Father spoke and testified to Jesus’ identity as his Son and to his being pleased with him. And we see something else of the relationship between the members of the Godhead: love. The Father called the Son his beloved. The Father loves the Son.
The Father and the Son cannot be the same person, as Modalism teaches. Otherwise, the whole event of the Father speaking to the Son from heaven could not happen.
The baptism of Jesus is also important because it inaugurates his public ministry. We see this when the disciples sought one to replace Judas in the group of twelve. One of the requirements was that the man had to have been with Jesus from his baptism through his ascension. (Acts 1:21-22)
The Temptation of Jesus
1:12
As soon as Jesus is anointed with the Holy Spirit (Mark again uses the word “immediately”), the Spirit drove him, or cast him out, into the wilderness. He compelled Jesus to go into a desolate place filled with wild beasts. Before going public with his ministry, he had to go through this crucible of testing.
As the First Adam was tested by Satan, so was the Second Adam, Jesus. The contrast, though, is remarkable. Adam was in a beautiful garden while Jesus was tested in the desert. All of Adam’s needs were met. He had all of the trees of the garden, save one, from which he could eat. Jesus fasted. Adam was surrounded by animals that were under his dominion. Jesus was with the wild animals.
Jesus was physically weakened during the test. But the point of the test was the same. The issue is, will you believe God’s word?
Satan denied the truth of God’s statement that Adam would die if he ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 3:4)
Satan tempted Jesus by citing God’s word, but out of context. Matthew’s gospel shows us this by quoting the dialogue between Satan and Jesus. There may have been more tests than the three recorded. The text reads like Satan tempted Jesus continually over the 40 day period. (13)
As we know, Adam failed the test. But Jesus passed the test and relied on the truth of God’s word.
The Jewish readers of this gospel might have also thought of another test. As Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days, Israel was in the wilderness for 40 years. Israel faced many tests which required them to believe God’s word to provide for them and protect them.
They generally failed those tests, including their refusal to actually go into the promised land of Canaan because they were afraid of the tall people there. In contrast, Jesus trusted God, believed God, and passed the test.
So, Jesus, as God’s Son, aided by the Spirit, is tasked with bringing in the kingdom of God, which includes the defeat of Satan, God’s adversary. The word “satan” literally means “adversary”. 1 John 3:8 says: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”
The Beginning of Ministry
1:14-15
Jesus had now been commissioned and given the Holy Spirit. So, he began his public ministry. Mark gave us a time stamp. This occurred after John the Baptist had been arrested and put in prison by Herod.
Jesus began his ministry in Galilee, where he was from. He preached the Gospel. His message is summarized by Mark in three statements:
- the time is fulfilled;
- the kingdom of God is at hand; and
- people must repent and believe in the gospel to enter that kingdom.
Since the Jews were expecting and waiting for their Messiah, Jesus tells them that the time is fulfilled. It is time for the Messiah to arrive and usher in the kingdom of God. And, Jesus is that Messiah.
That being true, the kingdom of God was at hand. It is inaugurated by Jesus as he conquers Satan’s demons and brings people into the kingdom through faith in the message of the gospel.
So, what is the gospel? Paul summed it up for those who come to faith after the death of Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 says it is that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day.
It appears that during Jesus’s life, the requirement was that they believe he is the Messiah and Son of God. We will later study that Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ and Son of God was approved and the basis for the building of the church. (Mark 8:27; Matthew 16:13-20)
Jesus also said that repentance is required. We must repent of our sins and turn to Christ in faith to be saved. Zacchaeus in Luke 19 is a great example of repentance. He was chief tax collector in Jericho and rich. He probably collected more than was due, since he mentions it in his confession. After meeting Jesus and hearing the gospel, Zacchaeus vowed to give half of his possessions to the poor and make four fold restitution to anyone he cheated.
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