Daily Lesson for Wednesday 3rd of July 2024
Read Mark 1:9-13. Who is present at the baptism of Jesus, and what happens?
John baptizes Jesus in the Jordan River. As Jesus comes up out of the water, He sees the heavens being torn open and the Holy Spirit descending on Him like a dove. He hears the voice of God from heaven, “ ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’ ” (Mark 1:11, ESV).
Image © Stefan pavel at Goodsalt.com
These events point to the importance of Jesus’ baptism. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are present, together affirming the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. The importance of this event will find its echo at the scene of the cross in Mark 15:1-47. Many of the same elements of the story will recur in that scene.
The Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness. The word “drove” is from the Greek word ekballō, the common word used in the Gospel of Mark for driving out demons. The Spirit’s presence here illustrates the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ life. The Lord is already starting the journey of His ministry, and He immediately confronts Satan. The sense of the struggle in the scene is displayed by the reference to 40 days of temptation, the presence of wild animals, and the angels ministering to Jesus.
An unusual characteristic of the opening scene of the Gospel of Mark is that Jesus is presented as a character with both divinity and humanity. On the side of divinity: He is the Christ, the Messiah (Mark 1:1), the Lord announced by a messenger (Mark 1:2-3), mightier than John (Mark 1:7), the beloved Son on whom the Spirit descends (Mark 1:10-11). But on the side of humanity, we see the following: He is baptized by John (not the other way around, Mark 1:9), He is driven by the Spirit (Mark 1:12), tempted by Satan (Mark 1:13), with wild animals (Mark 1:13), and ministered to by angels (Mark 1:13).
Why these contrasts? This points to the amazing reality of Christ, our Lord and Savior, our God, and yet also a human being, our brother and our example. How do we fully wrap our minds around this idea? We can’t. But we accept it on faith and marvel at what this truth reveals to us about God’s love for humanity.
What does it tell us about the amazing love of God that, though Jesus was God, He would take upon Himself our humanity in order to save us?
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