Jesus' Baptism Tells The Story

Introduction

The Gospel according to Mark seems to desire to introduce his writing by telling us that He who was predicted to come has now come.  His coming is not the beginning of His life, but of His ministry. Jesus Christ, the Son of God is now ready to emerge from OBSCURITY that He might publicly accomplish SALVATION.

Christ has come to offer his hearers a place in His eternal kingdom of salvation, the place of forgiveness and redemption, if they would repent of their sin and believe in Him as Lord and Savior.

The announcement of this text says, “the time is fulfilled.” The word “time” does not refer to the clock time or calendar time but speaks of the fixed point in history for an event to occur; this is God’s sovereign timetable. The hour, for which the world had long been waiting, it was the most significant moment in earth’s history. The Savior had arrived to pay in full the penalty for sin and provide salvation for all who would repent and believe the gospel.

The Gospel writer, Mark, brings before us, One to see and hear in 3 different scenes as a man with a common name, from a common town, to participate in a common experience. On this special weekend we acknowledge the first century confession, “Jesus Christ is Lord.”

We affirm that which was announced by John the Baptist, affirmed by God the Father, and acknowledged by Satan. All known worlds are represented in this passage. We have God the Father speaking from Heaven, the upward world. We have Satan, the god of this world and the underworld. We have John this Baptist of the present world.

NOTE:

I. JESUS’ IDENTIFICATION WITH SINNERS  9-11

Seen in the water baptism.

This is a PICTURE of WHY HE CAME.

Baptism for Jesus was 2 fold:

1. To Identify with us-Human Identification

2. His Heavenly Consecration- A beginning of His earthly ministry.

A. Identification

Jesus had no sin of which to repent. Yet Isaiah 53:12 “He was numbered with the transgressors.” He had come to bear our sins; Isaiah 53:6 “The Lord hath laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all.”

Songwriter J. William Chapman,

One Day

“One day when Heaven was filled with His praises,

One day when sin was as black as could be,

Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin,

Dwelt among men, my Example is He!

Refrain:

Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;

Buried, He carried my sins far away;

Rising, He justified freely forever;

One day He’s coming—O glorious day!

One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain,

One day they nailed Him to die on the tree;

Suffering anguish, despised and rejected:

Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He!

One day they left Him alone in the garden,

One day He rested, from suffering free;

Angels came down o’er His tomb to keep vigil;

Hope of the hopeless, my Savior is He!

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer,

One day the stone rolled away from the door;

Then He arose, over death He had conquered;

Now is ascended, my Lord evermore!

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming,

One day the skies with His glories will shine;

Wonderful day, my beloved ones bringing;

Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine!”

B. Consecration

The TRINITY is represented at His Baptism. God the Son came up out of the water. God the Holy Spirit descended out of the sky. God the Father spoke from heaven. Jesus was consecrating Himself. He went into the water, picturing His death. He went under the water, picturing His burial; He came up out of the water, picturing His resurrection. All of heaven was there saying, “There He is, the Son of God.”

At Jesus’ baptism, he was saying and answering ahead of time what He was going to do.

II. JESUS’ TEMPTATION AS OUR SAVIOR 12-13

WHO HE IS

Jesus quickly moves from Heaven’s Testimony to Hell’s Test. Jesus goes to the wilderness, a place of aloneness. This is the place a person’s character is really tested. Devil whispers, “Go on and yield, no one will ever know.” In the wilderness, it is as though the whole universe was there to see if Jesus would stand the test. There is the roll call to the underworld, the upper-world and the present world.

The Adversary – Underworld

The Animals – Present World

The Angels – Upper World

Here we see the PRINCIPLE of

Philippians 2:8-10: “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,”

God allowed His Son to be tested for the sole purpose that through His victory Jesus might demonstrate His absolute power and authority over the devil’s devices.

His temptation served as a way to authenticate the Son. Jesus endured the most alluring assaults the devil could devise. Jesus would never be able to establish His kingdom if He were unable to overthrow the usurper. Jesus in temptation displays His Humiliation of His incarnation. In His humility, He stayed faithful to His Father’s will and purpose.

Hebrews 4:15: “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

He was tempted in the:

1. FLESH – turn stone to bread.

2. FAME – takes dominion over all the nations.

3. FAITH – Jump from the Temple.

Satan attempted to get Jesus to abandon His humiliation, to exercise His divine right apart from the Spirit’s empowerment and outside of the Father’s will. To do so would have under-minded God’s saving purposes.

III. JESUS’ PROCLAMATION (PREACHING) FOR SALVATION 14-15

WHAT HE SAID

“Preaching the gospel” of the Kingdom of God.

Many prophets and preachers have had a message, but only Jesus had a message and was the message.

The Kingdom of God has to do with His rule in the lives of His people.

His desire is for each of us to be part of His kingdom.

A. It’s Nearness 15a

“The kingdom of God is at hand” – is within your reach.

Romans 10:8-9: “But what does it say? "’The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

“time” – favorable, opportune, or significant time.

B. Our Need 15b

“Repent” – means to turn to the opposite way. Having turned from their sin and unbelief, sinners must believe the gospel.

Acts 20-21 “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Repent of your sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The whole world has been given an invitation to enter the kingdom of God from the King Himself.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4: “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

John 3:16:  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”