Untitled Sermon (16)

The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus

Mark 1:9-13

Welcome (Recap)

Good evening! Welcome to Redeemer. If we haven’t met, my name is Connor Coskery and I have the privilege of leading our student ministry. Tonight we are going to continue our study through the gospel according to Mark, so if you have your bible go ahead and turn to Mark, chapter 1. We are going to focus our time on verses 9- 13.

Last week, Joel introduced us to Mark. We learned that Mark was a missionary with Paul and Barnabas, but most notably he was a close friend of the apostle Peter. In Peter’s first letter, Peter describes Mark as his “son”. Mark was a beloved helper and scribe for Peter, which is why most scholars believe that Mark’s account of Jesus’ life is written from the perspective of the apostle Peter.

Last week we looked at the first 8 verses and tonight we are going to look at verses 9 through 13. The first 15 verses serve as “the preface” of Mark’s account of Jesus’ life. In literature, the point of a preface is meant to draw readers in by presenting the purpose of the story about to unfold.

Mark uses these first verses to tell us some really important information about who Jesus is. He is giving us essential information before he moves on to tell us about Jesus’ public ministry, which he gets to really fast.

For those of us who like context, Mark can be challenging. Particularly in the beginning, Mark writes at a fast clip. He doesn’t bog down in ancillary details. He’s straight forward and to the point.

The temptation, at least for me, is to run to the other gospel accounts and cross reference to clear up the parts that get confusing. Tonight, I’m going to try my best not to do that. I’m going to let Mark be Mark, because I really believe that Mark has written his account in this way to give us a picture of who Jesus is. That is what he wants his readers to get!

So, let’s let Mark be Mark and jump in. Last week Joel set the the scene…

We meet John the Baptist, who is described as the long-awaited messenger prophesied by Isaiah and Malachi. This messenger was going to be sent to prepare the way of the LORD.

John the Baptist is in the wilderness, the location the prophets predicted God’s deliverance would begin.

In the wilderness we learn that revival was in full swing. Mark says, “John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”

Repentance, here, is best understood in the general sense. Repentance, very simply, means to “turn around!” So we see mass numbers of Jews responding to John’s call by acknowledging their stiff-necked disobedience and turning around, returning to God.

John, however, makes clear that he is just the messenger. He isn’t the savior. Someone else much greater is coming, who will not merely baptize with water but will bestow the Spirit. And who could be so identified with he Spirit that he has control to command the Spirit? The long anticipated Messiah must be God, himself, in the flesh.

This is the setting of our passage tonight. Read with me Mark 1, verses 9 through 13.

Read Mark 1:9-13

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

Pastoral Prayer

Introduction

With the scene set, the mood of this moment in is charged with anticipation. We have “the messenger” in “the wilderness” “baptizing in the Jordan River”.

The beginning of Mark is helpful reminder us that the Bible isn’t written and placed in neat and tidy compartments. The Bible is first and foremost a grand story about what God has done and what He promises to do now and into the future. A major portion of Mark’s audience was Gentiles, who didn't grow up hearing the Old Testament stories. So part of their discipleship would have been reading all the scriptures as pointing to Jesus.

Mark is communicating, from the very beginning, that if we want to understand who Jesus is, we are going to need our whole bible. Specifically in these first few verses, Mark wants his readers to remember the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah was an important prophet to God’s people. He prophesied during a time of great upheaval in Israel’s history. As rival nations were conquering surrounding territories, Isaiah prophesied about God’s deliverance. Isaiah offers a sweeping vision where God is very active in saving, redeeming, and restoring his people.

Isaiah prophesied that God himself would rescue his people, that a messenger would come: “…[to] make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken (Isa 40:3-5).”

It’s actually Isaiah who first coins the phrase “good news or gospel.” God’s people had been waiting for this good news of God’s glory, deliverance, and redemption, to arrive (Isa 61:1).

Soon after meeting John the Baptist we are introduced to Jesus of Nazareth and in five short verses Mark brings the sweeping promises of the past into the present. Verses 9 through 13 show us that the waiting is finally over. The promised Rescuer has arrived.

These verses describe two important moments for Jesus, just before he begins his public ministry — Jesus’ baptism and his temptation in the wilderness. During our time tonight, I’d like walk through these verses slowly.

What you are going to see is that Jesus isn’t what the Israelites expected when they imagined the Messiah. They were tempted just like we are to create their own personal messiah in their own image. Jesus might not be the Savior they expected, but what he shows is that He is the Savior that we need.

Jesus Baptism

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

In the midst of this revival we meet Jesus who has come from Nazareth. If you don’t know much about Nazareth, you aren’t alone, neither did most people at that time. The town of Nazareth was a backwoods settlement in Galilee. The town of Nazareth receives no mention in non-Christian sources from the Roman Period, meaning it was likely a town only known by the locals.

For as dramatic of a moment this is, Mark tells us very matter-of-fact that In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

It’s easy to read this familiar verse and miss the scandal of it. You aren’t wrong if reading these verses give you pause and ask:

Wait a minute —Why? John is giving a baptism of repentance. Jesus was not a sinner, and he did not need to repent! What is Jesus doing in that water?

The answer is Jesus is identifying with the need of the people that he has come to save.

Imagine this moment. In the midst of such a revival, droves of people were coming from all over to be dipped by John in the Jordan river to be cleansed both literally of their filth and symbolically of their sins. Every type of person is likely represented — rich, poor, afflicted, destitute. This water was probably filthy as all the dirt and muck and impurities were literally washed from their bodies.

And Jesus says, “I want in that water.” Jesus enters the water to take on the filth of his people. Before he even begins his public ministry he is preparing them for the salvation He will bring. It won’t look like great political conquest, but instead like a beautiful exchange where, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21).”

When you place your faith in Jesus, this exchange takes place immediately. Your sins are washed from you and placed on Jesus. You are no longer defined by your mistakes. You are relived of the pressure to get your act together. You are washed and made clean.

The way we do baptism here at Redeemer allows us to visualize the drama that takes place. We walk into the baptismal pool and vow to follow Jesus with all our hearts, souls, and strength. There isn’t something mystical or magical with the water. And the promise isn’t contingent on our obedience but we are secure in the Fathers arms because the perfect obedience of the Son. In baptism, going under the water means dying with Jesus, and coming out of the water means rising with Him to newness of life.

The ritual aspect of it can feel intimidating, but when I am preparing those for baptism I do my best to remind them that this is a moment of great celebration. Both for those being baptized and those watching, we remember the incredible exchange of the gospel - our sin is drowned in those waters and we are clothed in righteousness.

So, Jesus is baptized in order to fully identify with the people he came to save. But Jesus’ baptism was not an ordinary baptism. Look at verses 10 and 11.

10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Mark describes the heaven’s being “torn open.” This is a very unusual and rare word that Mark uses for two reasons. First, it connects back to Isaiah’s prophecy that God would come to save his people: “…Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down.” He’s declaring again that He is here!

Second, this phrase “torn open” foreshadows what’s going to happen in the future. The next time Mark uses this word is when Jesus is on the cross and the temple curtain is “torn” in two. The curtain had been a symbol of humanity separation from God. So, first the heavens are torn and God comes to us. Then later the curtain is torn so that we can go to God.

Next, the holy spirit descends upon Jesus like a dove and the voice of God the Father calls out “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

In one striking sentence we see the drama of the Trinity on display. The Holy Spirit “flutters” like a dove, evoking the image of the Spirit hovering over the waters at Creation. The voice of the Father. And the Son, who is the Word.

Mark is showing us that just as the original creation of the world was a project of the triune God, so the redemption of the world, the rescue and renewal of all things that is beginning now with the arrival of King Jesus, is also a project of the triune God.

When Jesus comes up out of the water he is enveloped in the Father’s love and delight and clothed with power by the Spirit.

Jesus has come to identify with his people entirely and save them completely. But this salvation project isn’t a solo mission. It was set and decided by the Father, Son, and Spirit before the foundations of the world. And here, in the Jordan River with all parties present, the mission is beginning! The long-promised savior has arrived.

Is this the type of Messiah the Jewish people were expecting?

Yes and no. The Israelites were waiting for a royal king, descended from the line of King David. but who would bring political and military domination. But the expectation is that this king would:

violently cast out the foreign nations occupying Jerusalem judge all the nations of the earth and cause these nations to “serve him under his yoke” reign over Israel in wisdom and righteousness, which involves removing all foreigners from the land and purging the land of unrighteous Israelites in order to eliminate all oppression and gather to himself a holy people.

At Jesus’s baptism Mark is already correcting their misunderstanding. Yes, Jesus is descended from the line of David but Jesus did not come to establish his rule through military power. Instead, he is God incarnate born of a teenage virgin from an obscure village in Galilee. He has come to rewrite His people’s story and give his life as an atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world.

Jesus is the beloved Son sent from the Father and filled with the Holy Spirit. This was good news for the Jewish people, then, and it is good news for you today. Why? Two reasons.

Jesus is a savior that can really save. A powerful political or military leader might bring peace for a moment, but the peace that we long for deep in our bones can only come from a Savior who destroys our greatest enemy. From that very first sin, in the Gardner, brokenness has been our story and try as we might, we cannot make it right. But God promised to crush the adversary and make all things new.We need one who obeys fully in place of our disobedience. We need someone to wash us clean from our filth. We need forgiveness in place of our guilt. We need the security of adoption. And all of these promises are accomplished in Jesus, the Messiah who came to represent his people!

Which brings me to the second piece of good news. When you place your faith in Jesus, a new creation happens, and you are enveloped into Christ, meaning Christ’s imperishable, undefiled, and unfading inheritance becomes yours (2 Cor 5:17; 1 Peter 1:4). It also means that God looks at you and he says to you what he said to Jesus on the day he was baptized. He looks at you, not as you are in yourself, but as you are in Jesus. God looks at you and says, “You are my dear child, and I am delighted with you.”

Do you believe that God looks at you like this? Because he really does! When we believe this it has the power to transform the way we live — as we will see in our next section. But it’s hard. We need to find ways to remind ourselves and bring these words to life.

One thing that we do in Youth Group at the end of each of our large group gatherings is called a Gospel Identity Catechism. It’s a simple way to remind our hearts that we are defined by Christ and not the world. It goes like this:

Who does the Spirit say that you are? Washed and made clean Who does the Son say that you are? Righteous and forgiven Who does Father say that you are? Adopted child of God Christian, who are you? I am a sinner saved by grace.

It is the delight of the Father that prepares the way for Jesus to enter the wilderness. Look with me at verse 12…

II. Jesus’ Temptation in the Wilderness

12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

Following his baptism the Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness, and he was there for forty days, being tempted by Satan.

Taken together, Jesus’ baptism and being thrust into the wilderness, takes us back to the very beginning of the Bible. Like he has done from the beginning of his gospel account, Mark wants to broaden our vision and take us on a sweeping journey across the Bible to show us who Jesus is.

In the beginning [of the Bible] we see the Spirit hovering over the chaos of the unformed waters, God the Father speaking creation into existence, humanity created and launched into the world. Very soon after all of this, Satan enters the scene to tempt Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

In the Garden, God told Adam, “Don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or you will die.” God was saying, trust me, and Satan tempted Adam and Eve by casting doubt on God’s good word. Adam and Eve failed the test and plunged the human race into a cycle of sin and brokenness.

Perfect harmony is replaced with brokenness. Still, the very first sin is met with a promise of future rescue (Gen 3:15). In the face of failing and disobedience God will not let his people go. He will go on the covenant himself to his people and repeatedly saves them from peril. They are his people and He is their God (Exodus 6:7)

When the Spirit drives Jesus into the wilderness it echos to Israel’s wandering in the wilderness. The combination of “wilderness” and “forty” can’t help but point us to the pivotal moment in Israel’s history where God commands Israel, his “first born son” to take the promised land. Instead, they disobeyed and the consequence of their disobedience meant they wandered in the wilderness for forty years.

There is an uncanny connection between the waters of baptism and the Exodus. You could say that in the Exodus event, Israel experienced its own baptism when it passed through the waters of the Red Sea and then was tested in the wilderness.

Jesus is acting out the great drama of Israel’s exodus from Egypt, Israel’s journey through the wilderness to the promised land.. But where Israel was a disobedient son, Jesus — God’s beloved Son — will triumph!

He triumphs because he is equipped with the powerful, life-altering words of love from the Father. I think that’s what the angels are doing here… they are ministering to Jesus by reassuring him that his beloved Father is with him, watching over him, loving him, acting through him, and pouring out his spirit all the time in and through him.

Jesus knows that every person will face temptation and so he goes there in our place. The author of Hebrews later comments that Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

This means that while on earth Jesus experienced the full power of temptation but did not break. The Father’s delight and acceptance enabled him to endure the threats and terrors of temptation.

And he did all of it in our place, for us, so we can confidently draw near to his throne of grace, and receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb 4:16).

If you want to love God and follow him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength…If you want strength to persevere in the face of temptation… If you want peace in the midst of the battle that is raging in your life… then you must start with receiving the unchanging reality that: God. Loves. You.

The rest of Mark’s gospel will take us on this unfolding journey, showing us the great love God has for his people.

Jesus is not the messiah they were expecting but he is exactly what they — what we — need.

Meditation Question:

While the band comes up, take a moment and reflect on the truth that God delights in you as a dear child. Perhaps take recite to yourself, inserting your own name, “_____ you are my dear, dear child; I am delighted in you.” Our souls long for these words.