Persevere and Serve as His Beloved

Introduction

Today, we are starting on a Lenten series. It is a time that we will reflect on the life and ministry of Jesus as we prepare our hearts for Good Friday and Easter. We will begin with a passage from the Gospel of Mark, at the beginning of Jesus’s ministry.

Context: Persecution

The Gospel of Mark was likely written in a context of persecution. Persecution started in Rome under the Roman emperor, Nero. Christian were blamed for a massive fire that burned down a huge portion of the city, a fire that some suspected to be started by Nero. With the public anger over the fire, Nero needed someone to blame and he chose the Christians. Under the persecution, Christians were killed by crucifixion, hunted down by wild animals in the Colosseum as entertainment, and even tied to stakes and burnt alive to light up Nero’s garden. Peter and Paul were also martyred during this time. Christians ran away, met secretly, and hid in caves and tombs. They never imagined that following Jesus meant persecution and hiding out in the wilderness.

Mark was said to be an assistant to Peter and most likely had Peter as his source for this gospel. It is likely that he wrote this gospel to encourage the persecuted church, perhaps especially when they hear of the arrest or martyrdom of Peter. It was meant to encourage them to be faithful disciples in the face of persecution.

Today’s passage described some of the events that happened in the beginning of Jesus’s ministry.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

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.

Jesus’s baptism was in identification with mankind as the Lamb of God

In verses 9-11, Jesus came to John to be baptized. This was the first scene when Jesus appeared in this gospel. He did not do anything except coming to be baptized. John did the baptizing, the Holy Spirit did the descending, and the Father gave his affirmation. Jesus was the passive recipient. He simply showed up. Let’s pause and think about the dynamic here. Jesus, being the Son of God, was not in control. He did not need baptism, but he submitted to the plan of identifying with mankind and marked the beginning of his ministry with baptism. Verse 4 stated clearly that John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus came, not as a sinner who came to seek forgiveness. He came, as the lamb of God, who was going to take on all the sins of the world. He came, trusting that the Spirit and the Father will show up. The baptism of Jesus was basis of Peter’s proclamation on Pentecost, that all who repent and received baptism would receive the promised Holy Spirit. The baptism was a sign given by God that man can signify their repentance. The giving of the Spirit was a sign of God’s response to human’s response to him. Jesus’s baptism was the first demonstration of this dynamic.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

All who repent and was baptized are welcomed into God’s family and He is well pleased.

Furthermore, God the Father broke his silence and proclaimed to Jesus that “You are my beloved son, with you I am well pleased.” While this proclamation signified the special status of Jesus, I believe that since Jesus was going through the baptism as the lamb of God identifying with mankind, this proclamation also is for all who would respond to God’s invitation by repentance and baptism. All who repent and was baptized were welcomed into God’s family and He is well pleased. We can be sure of this when we consider the writings of John and Paul as well. Brothers and sisters, God invited us into relationship with him. We can be part of His family if we repent of our sins and be baptized. If you haven’t been baptized, I want to invite you to be part of God’s family by your repentance and baptism. For all of us who are already in God’s family, I hope that we can all be encouraged by this reminder, that God is well please with us not because of anything we do for him, but because we trusted in him and responded to his invitation in humility. God is pleased in our trust and humility, not how much we can or cannot do for him. Remember, Mark’s readers most likely could not do much in terms of service. They could only hang on to their faith and confession in the face of persecution. With them too, God was well pleased.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.

Jesus was drove out, as beloved son

In verses 12 and 13, we see the story of the temptation of Jesus. The Holy Spirit was the one who brought him into the wilderness to be tempted. Observe the phrase here. “Drove him out”. It was a pretty violent image. It uses the same Greek word for casting out demons in verse 34. A softer way to say this would be that the Spirit compelled him to go into the wilderness. Jesus was forced to be tempted. This happened immediately after being affirmed of His Father’s love. And so he went, not as a victim but in submission to the Father who loved him.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

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.

Jesus understands temptations and trials, and God will send help

He was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted. When we read the other gospel accounts, it is easy to focus on the three exchanges between Jesus and the devil. Some of us may even try to scrutinize the text for keys to overcome temptations. In this gospel, Mark did not record any of the exchanges. In place of those, some other details come into focus. First thing comes sharply into the foreground is that Jesus was tempted by the devil for forty days. It was not a short time. It is possible that there were a lot more exchanges between Jesus and the devil in those forty days than the three that were recorded in the other gospels. The image conveyed by this simple sentence was that Jesus was continually tempted and tested by Satan for forty days. Jesus didn’t go camping in the wilderness, relax, had some good quiet time and then met the devil for three occasions for temptation. He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. The next sentence added some details that are not recorded in the other gospels, that he was with wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. Mark is the only gospel to record these details and I believe it was meant to bring comfort to his readers. Other gospel writers did not include these details because they were not relevant to their target audience. But for a church going through the kind of persecution I described earlier, these are very relevant. The church would have been praying for relief and help from God, but bewildered that their experience is that they had to face death and hiding out in the wilderness. They were tempted daily to give up. Through this text, they can be reminded that their savior understood their pain. He was tempted in the wilderness, and had to survive the wild animals. But as Jesus persevered, angels ministered to him. God did not remove the trial, but his servants ministered to Jesus in some way through the trial. In the same way, the church could know that while God may not remove the trial, He may send his servants to minister to them. Do note that the word translated as angels also means messengers. God may truly send angels to help or encourage us in times of need, but he may also send human messengers. I think the encouragement here is twofold. Firstly, trust that God understands and will send help in time of test and trial, and secondly, be prepared to be the angel to minister to others in their time of trial.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

God’s plan will continue to be fulfilled despite any opposition

In verses 14 to 15, we see Jesus proclaiming the gospel after John was arrested. This can also serve as a subtle reminder that the work of God will always continue even when some significant leaders were arrested. God is in control and he is moving forth his salvation plan despite any opposition. Amidst the undertone of persecution and trouble, Jesus came to the forefront, knowing that he was loved by the Father, having persevered through the trials, and proclaimed the gospel boldly.

Jesus said in verse 15 that the time is fulfilled. Looking back at today’s passage, we can find many words that indicates time or give a sense of time.

Verse 9, in those days Jesus came.

Verse 13, forty days

Verse 15, the time is fulfilled

Verses 10 and 12, immediately

These indicators of time highlights a couple of thoughts. While God is always working, His plans do take time to come to pass. But in His time it is time to act, things can happen quickly. Since the fall, God began to unveil his plans to restore mankind to full fellowship with Him. But it took a long time as seen throughout the Old Testament until this moment when Jesus came. With the coming of Jesus, the time is fulfilled. Now is the time of salvation. The reign of God that had been compromised by the fall of mankind can now be restored in all who repent.

Know that we are beloved, persevere under trial, and proclaim the gospel while waiting

For original readers of Mark as well as us, we are all waiting for the second coming of Christ. In the waiting, there were and continue to be all kinds of trials. Sometimes we wonder if God’s plan will ever be fulfilled. But God’s plan is already being fulfilled. And he will bring it to completion. And as we wait for the completion, let’s look to the example of Jesus, know that we are beloved of God, persevere under trial, and proclaim his gospel until we meet him face to face.