Make Your Father Proud

Introduction:

story about making your father proud and disappointing him.

vv. 9-11) In the water

[9]

The what we would call the thirty years of silence of Jesus’ growth from child to man has now ended. Jesus is now ready to start his earthly ministry. He traveled about 60 miles from Nazareth to the Jordan near Jericho Those thirty years were incredibly important and shouldn’t be overlooked. This is because Jesus lived life, albeit free from sin. This was for our benefit!

Hebrews 4:14–16 NKJV

14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 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. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

As we read Jesus came all this way to be baptized by John, his cousin. Yet not exactly in the same way as others sought the baptism of John. Jesus didn’t come to be baptized because He was a sinner in need of being cleansed; He was sinless, as John himself understood:

Matthew 3:14 NKJV

14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”

What Jesus is doing is twofold here; Jesus is do the will of the Father and identifying with sinful men. Of course Jesus didn’t have to be baptized. Also He didn’t have to die on the cross for the sins of the world. He did both to identify with humanity that had fallen into sin…

This decision to be baptized was a decision to surrender. Jesus came from Nazareth to be baptized in the Jordan. Something we probably don’t think enough about is the fact is that Jesus had a home, family, occupation, friends, and the fond memories that accumulated through the years.

He left it all… Why? The call of God His Father to launch the mission to save the world, a mission that demanded the sacrifice of everything:

Sacrifice of all that He had in Nazareth.

Sacrifice of a long earthly life. Being killed in only 36 months.

Sacrifice of His godly righteousness. He would become the sin-bearer.

Family this baptism is not a flippant action Jesus did, but it is deeply important. Being baptized was a symbolic action picturing His eventual baptism into death at Calvary and His rising from the dead. This means from the very beginning of His public ministry, there was this vivid foreshadow of a cross and an empty tomb.

We need to understand that when we are baptized too, we are not just getting dunked under some water, but we are making that same proclamation that we are willing to submit to the authority and rule of God in our lives. Jesus lived in submission to the Father… we are to do the same.

Is God worthy of your total surrender? Making the decision to live completely for Jesus Christ needs to be pondered and mused over. But I can promise you a decision to follow Christ will not lead you to a life of discontentment and drifting aimlessly, you will not waste your life following Christ in complete surrender.

[10-11]

“Immediately” is used more than 40 times in this gospel. And it gives this gospel a sense of moving quickly to the ultimate end of Christ dying on the cross and resurrecting three days later.

[Trinitarian passage]

Here the Spirit and the Father both bear witness to the Son. As in the book of Genesis God created by His word and through the Spirit:

Genesis 1:2–3 NKJV

2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

So it is at the very beginning of God’s work of re-creation (salvation of mankind), that there would be the same operation of the whole Godhead. On the banks of the Jordan River, God speaks His Word again, and again the Spirit is over the waters.

[11]

“Voice from heaven:” when the voice of God the Father spoke from heaven, everyone there knew that Jesus wan’t just an ordinary person being baptized. That He was different. What God the Father spoke was a combination of two different passaged:

Psalm 2:7 NKJV

7 “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.

Isaiah 42:1 NKJV

1 “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.

Psalm 2:7 deals with the Messiah and Isaiah 42:1 dealing with the suffering Servant. This combination fuses two concepts in a perfect expression of the duel nature of the work of Jesus.

The Greek word ἀγαπητός (agapetos) [beloved has this nuance of being “only” when applied to a child, and that is particularly appropriate here.

This scene as it is played out before us displays humility and also great glory.

The humble:

Jesus: A very very common name, unremarkable name.

Nazareth: An unremarkable village.

Galilee: A unspiritual region, it could be considered the “not the Bible belt” of Israel at that time.

Baptized: identified with sinners

Jordan: Unremarkable river, worse than the dirty verde. “early rabbinic tradition explicitly disqualifies the River Jordan for purification.”

The glorious:

Heavens parting: Heaven was opened for this moment. In Greek this phrase is awesome, it has this idea that the sky was torn in two, being rent asunder.

Spirit descending: The Spirit of God was present, the third person of the Trinity. And this is more clearly scene in Luke:

Luke 3:22 NKJV

22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

A voice: It is rare in the Bible when we read that God speaks audibly from heaven, but this is one of those glorious occasions.

“You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”: Honestly family what could be more glorious than to have God the Father praise and affirm you publicly?

Up to this point in chapter one we have been given four witnesses testifying to the true identity of Jesus.

Mark 1:1 Jesus is the Son of God

Mark 1:2-3 Prophets said that Jesus is Lord

Mark 1:7-8 John the Baptist said Jesus was the “One after me who is mightier than I.”

Mark 1:10-11 God the Father said Jesus is the “Beloved Son.”

Application:

Family, what is truly neat about Christ is the level of intentionality of His earthly ministry. What I mean is that Christ sets the example for us of what we should be doing and things to avoid.

Christ is going to be obedient to the Father in all things. The call to go to Nazareth was obediently followed. He was obedient in baptism.

There is such a misconception pertaining to submission to the Father and His Word. That somehow by submission, you loose all freedom. We cannot be truly free if we cut ties to the creator of all things. It is in Him that we find our meaning, it is in Him that we can find satisfaction.

If Christ would be obedient unto death… so should we.

The people were baptized to wash away their filth, yet Jesus was baptized to cover Himself with their filth.

vv. 12-13) In the wilderness

[12] Spirit seen in two lights in this passage: gentle dove/ might Spirit of creation

The Spirit here in verse 12 is the third person of the Trinity, and I believe that should be seen here in two lights.

He is the gentle “dove” hovering over the waters of baptism, as Noah’s dove had hovered over the ark of salvation and the waters of judgement (Gen 8:8).

Also He is the mighty Spirit of Creation, hovering over the baptismal waters, out of which God will call his new creation, in terms of new-made men and women:

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

It is this Spirit of power who irresistibly impels Jesus into the wilderness, the place where so many of the OT prophets received their initial commission and revelation, for from human habitation.

For Mark’s audience this would be very meaningful, because they were in the midst of persecution. Their sequence also would have been confession that Jesus is their Lord and Savior, baptism (the outward proclamation of identifying with Christ), and then immediate testing.

[13] Loneliness

Jesus waged war on Satan’s turf with our souls on the line.

Jesus didn’t come to be served but to serve

Satan used temptation and opposition in an attempt to hinder God’s work in our live.

Some say the temptation is so quick that it is borderline intelligible. That isn’t true, and the meaning is really crystal clear, especially from the narrative which follows… While Israel, God’s child, had failed in the desert, Jesus, God’s Son, triumphed.

In the work

Jesus made His Father proud by what He did and by what He didn’t do.

Jesus’ obedience through baptism showed His power for salvation through the chaotic waters.

Jesus’ victory over temptation showed His ability to restore us to a perfect paradise.

Application:

To make your heavenly Father proud, what should you do?

To make your heavenly Father proud, what should you not do?

Communion:

Through Christ’s sacrifice the Father is proud.

Body:

Blood: