Baptism in the River

The Glory of Jesus in Mark PART II
Rev. John Lin
11 January 2015

Mark 1:1-13
1The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet"

"I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way"--
3"a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.'"

4And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  5The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him.  Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.  6John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  7And this was his message: "After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.  8I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

9At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  10Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.  11And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

12At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan.  He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

THE WORLD OF LOVE HE CREATED US FOR
--v.10-11; Spirit of the Lord as a dove was new
--Gen 1 comparison with Mark 1 - Spirit of God hovering, water, voice of the Lord; Jesus is called the word
--Baptism is a new creation
--Jesus is here to renew and renovate.
--Trinity--one God in three persons who are eternally interrelated.
--Mutuality of adoration and deep communal connection.
--Glorifying someone is to find someone so beautiful that every selfish motive somehow melts away; not using it for your own benefit.
--The Trinity - serving and bringing attention to one another
--World was created as an outpouring of this dynamic embrace.

HOW DO WE ENTER INTO THAT LOVE
--v.4; Everyone gets baptized for the forgiveness of sin.
--Washing and cleansing ceremonies were traditionally needed to stand in the presence of God.
--We're all trying to make ourselves clean or acceptable by the standards of our surroundings.
--Baptism is a call for both the clean and the unclean.
--Temptation came to Jesus after the baptism through Satan--just as it did for Adam
--Tree of Life for Adam vs the Cross of Death for Jesus
--If Adam obeyed, he would live.  If Jesus obeyed, he would die.
--Death of Jesus to draw us into unconditional love.

HOW WE GO OUT INTO THE WORLD AS A RESULT
--Realize that we don't deserve it, we desperately need it, and there's no other way to be clean.
--v.12-13 Jesus emerged unscathed.
--World is a wilderness
--Sometimes we experience God most fully when we are in the wilderness.
--We're sent into the wilderness, like Jesus, to bring light of the new creation into the world.
--There will be flourishing in places of decay!