Significant Moments

Introduction

What are some events in your life that have bore great significance?

Obvious ones- birth of children or grandchildren, marriage, deaths, careers, education, trips, coming to Jesus in faith.

There are some that are less of life milestone moments, but still bear great weight. Retreats, discoveries in God’s Word, a conversation.

Mark is going to quickly highlight 3 significant events that sort of fast forward us to Jesus’ ministry on this earth that begins the work of the Messiah.

These moments, though quickly covered, bear significance to us even today as much as they did in inaugurating Jesus’ ministry and kingdom coming.

Baptism of Jesus

In verse 7 John proclaimed that One more powerful than him is coming who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. Now that One has come!

Jesus is baptized by John. But why? If baptism is a picture of the good news of Jesus taking effect in the life of a person who comes to faith in Jesus…why does Jesus need to be baptized?

He sets an example for all believers.

Jesus will eventually command in the Great Commission to baptize all who believe in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So, Jesus sets this example for his followers.

Jesus will literally be the One who dies and rises again. This baptism sets the stage for His ultimate purpose for coming to the world in flesh.

This inaugrates His earthly ministry.

Notice that the Holy Spirit comes down like a dove to rest on Him. This how Jesus will do all He does on this earth- in the power of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that empowered Jesus to do what He did and live in the Father’s will is the same Spirit granted to us in salvation.

Philippians 2:5–8 “5 Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. 7 Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross.”

Jesus reveals He is doing the will of the Father.

The Father speaks that He is pleased with Jesus. Jesus came to do the will of the Father, that will?

John 3:16 “16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Application

Jesus baptism points to the salvation He has come to bring for all. It also reveals that just as Jesus surrendered to the Father’s will to the point of death, we too are called to fulfill the Father’s will.

It pleases the Father when we fulfill what He has called us to in living surrendered lives to holiness, proclaim the good news of Jesus, and abide deeply with Him.

The Temptation of Jesus

Immediately following this significant event of glory; Jesus is driven to the wilderness and tempted by Satan. Mark doesn’t spend time in the details of the moment, but from the other gospels that speak of this we learn the significance of the moment.

In all the way Jesus was tempted correlate to the ways we too are tempted.

Jesus is tempted to abuse His divinity to provide for Himself. For us that would be simply to abuse what the Lord has provided for our glory instead of His.

Jesus is tempted to abuse the will of God by doing a miracle in saving Himself. For us that would be to claim something of that is not the will of God is the will of God.

Jesus is tempted to build a kingdom apart from the Father if He would worship Satan. Our temptation is to build a life apart from God that brings no glory to Him.

This temptation reveals that where we have failed, Jesus has succeeded in our place!

Satan attempted to fracture the relationship the Son has with the Father and to disrupt the will of God.

Hebrews 2:18 “18 For since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.”

Hebrews 4:14–15 “14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.”

Application

The temptation of Jesus is significant as Hebrews teaches us. Jesus knows what temptation feels like, the pull of it, the weight of it. Yet, He overcame!! He overcame where we can not!

In our temptations, the Lord will minister to us when we surrender to Him in the midst of them. It was the Father who sent angels to serve Jesus.

Trust the Lord, surrender your mind, heart, and spirit to Him when the trials and temptations come.

Ministry Begins

Jesus starts His public ministry. It starts after his cousin and friend is arrested. Ministry is never without struggle and adversity.

But, it is the message of Jesus that is key here. Before Jesus’ ministry starts with any kind of healing or work; it started with the message of the gospel.

Jesus says the time if fulfilled…

What time? The time of the Messiah, the time of salvation for all that was promised from the beginning in Genesis and all throughout the OT. Salvation is here and the fullness of salvation is on the way in Jesus.

The kingdom of God is near…

Jesus is the King of the Kingdom. Jesus brings with His ministry that kingdom of God on earth. At the end of all things, Jesus will establish His kingdom in full.

But note, Jesus is the Kingdom of God manifested in His presence and ministry. Thus, God wrapped in flesh has come near to sinful humanity to establish His rule and reign in their hearts.

Application

The Lord will come to near to us- in our brokenneness, in our hurt, in our pain, in our sin. He is not afraid of it. He is not sickened by it. He wants to transform it into something glorious.

Repent and believe the good news…

No longer was salvation about keeping rules and sacrificing animals. It would all be taken care of in the person and work of Jesus. The response of those who experience this?

Repent- turn your life from a life apart from God in sin and turn to His salvation and new life.

Believe- Believe in faith that what Jesus accomplished on the cross and over the grave is ours to have in faith.

Conclusion

For us we see in these 3 significant moments of Jesus’ life are a call to…

Obey- Jesus obeyed the Father’s will in baptism. We are called to obey Him in faith through Jesus.

Trust- Temptation and trial often work to derail us from trusting in the Lord. Yet, Jesus’ temptation moment reveals we must trust that the Lord will attend to us in those moments and more so that Jesus overcame temptation and can lead us to do the same.

Proclaim- If we have been impacted by this good news in belief and faith. If we have salvation in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we have a responsibility to proclaim this news to the world.

Serving is good and can lead to proclamation, but it is in the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus that salvation comes.