Jesus Came

Mark 1:4-13

Sermon by Pastor Dennis Gleason -- January 8, 2006

In his book One Crowded Hour, Tim Bowden describes an incident in Borneo in 1964. Nepalese fighters known as Gurkhas were asked if they would be willing to jump from airplanes into combat against the Indonesians. The Gurkhas didn't clearly understand what was involved, but they bravely said they would do it, asking only that the plane fly slowly over a swampy area and no higher than 100 feet. When they were told that the parachutes would not have time to open at that height, the Gurkhas replied, "Oh, you didn't mention parachutes before!"  .

How is that for dedication and commitment? And then…

At a meeting of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Bobby Richardson, former New York Yankee second baseman, offered a prayer that is a classic in brevity and poignancy: "Dear God, Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen."

As we begin our journey through the Gospel of Mark we find that Jesus one day came from Nazareth in Galilee…to be baptized by John in the River Jordan.

To fully understand where Jesus came from we must understand that Galilee was contemptuously called “Galilee of the Gentiles” by the Jews in and around Jerusalem.

And as our story develops find Mark referring to him as Jesus up to the time of Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi. He is not referred to as the Christ before that time. Once Peter tells Jesus that he is the Christ, the Messiah, the title “Christ is used only five times by Jesus himself. (9:41; 12:35; 13:21;14:61 and 15:32).

He is called the Son of God twice before Caesarea Philippi. On each occasion it is by a demon who has recognized him. This title does not appear again until the High Priest’s challenge to him with the words: “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” To which Jesus replies “I am.” And only once more when the Centurian at his crucifixion says: “Truly this man was the Son of God.”

And so this Jesus comes from Nazareth. And when he comes he comes for three things:

1.      He comes for baptism

2.      He comes for anointing

3.      He comes for temptation

Remember, he has been in Nazareth for most of his life. He has lived there as one of the people – undistinguishable from all the other people living there. He had one of the common names of his time: Jesus – Jesus is the Greek for Joshua. Think of how common Jesus is among Hispanic people in our area. So it was in all of Israel in the time of Jesus.

There was no halo around his head to identify him as someone special. I am quite sure that there was nothing strange about him either. He was a “good boy” in the family of Joseph and Mary. He was just one of the crowd…a carpenter, the son of a carpenter learning to use the tools of a carpenter. He mastered them and was a maker of yokes, plows and houses…an ordinary working man.

When he went to the synagogue on recurring Sabbaths, he faced ordinary human experiences and responsibilities in fellowship with God. His fellowship was different from that of the others around him, but it was the fellowship which is the right of all men. He worshipped with the others and listened as the Word of God was read and expounded.

It was from all of this that Jesus came.

And he came at a time when Judea was being stirred by a religious awakening begun by the preaching of John the Baptist. The hearts of people were moved as they had not been moved for a long time, as they heard the prophet call them to repentance. He was fearless in his call for a return to holiness and faithfulness to the Law given to Moses.

And Jesus came; turning his back on Nazareth as the day of the Gospel dawned.

And Jesus came to be baptized by John.

What was the ministry of John the Baptist? He came preaching “repentance unto the remission of sins.” He was not preaching repentance for remission of sins. Be sure you get the difference clearly in mind. There could be no remission of sins apart from the ministry of Jesus. John was calling people to repentance…had a ministry that produced repentance so that people would be prepared for the coming of one who would through his life and death produce remission of sins. John was preparing the way for Jesus.

John does not know who is coming. He does know that one is coming for he says: “There comes after me, He that is mightier than I…”  “I baptize you with water…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit…” There is coming a strength, a power of renewing and regeneration of life through which remission of sins will come and will result in new life.

John the Baptist’s ministry was to prepare people’s hearts for remission of sins and to declare to those who heard him that one was coming who would accomplish all that was necessary for sins to be removed from all who would believe in him.

Jesus came to be baptized. And John baptized him.

Think about that for a moment. This is absolutely amazing when you think about it. Jesus was the sinless one. He had nothing to repent from and he comes to John for this baptism unto repentance and confession of sin.

Jesus comes to John and is coming to be baptized. What is John’s response? According to Matthew and Luke, John’s response to Jesus as he looks into his eyes is this: “I have need to be baptized by you and you come to me?” John, a man of clear moral perception, does not know that his cousin, Jesus is the Messiah. But when he looks in to those eyes he essentially says “No, this is a baptism of repentance. I am baptizing men who are repenting of sin. I need you to baptize me. This is not for you. You of all people don’t need this.”

Now, the question for us is this: Why did Jesus come to be baptized?

Why was he baptized as a repenting soul?

Why was he baptized with a baptism of confession of sins?

In that hour he repented.

In that hour he confessed sins.

But the confession and the repentance were not for himself. They were for us. He identified himself with us in consciousness of sin, repentance for it and confession of it.

He takes upon himself the burden of human sin. He counts it as his own. Ultimately, “he was made sin” for us.

He came for baptism to identify himself with us…with sinners. Because of his compassion and love for us it would be possible for sinners to be righteous once he bore our sin and endured our sorrows. He did it so that he could bear the sins of many.

He came for anointing.

Immediately…as he comes up out of the waters of baptism…Heaven responds. The Holy Spirit is seen descending upon him in the form of a dove. The Holy Spirit empowers him for all that was to come, empowered him to serve. The suffering servant now has what he needs to do that for us.

God’s pronouncement  is this: This is my son in whom I am well pleased.

His coming to baptism was his dedication to the mission God had given him.

The coming of the Holy Spirit is God’s act of consecration of the one He has sent on the mission to free us from sin and death.

This is the only place in the Bible where the Holy Spirit is viewed as taking the particular form of a dove.

What do you suppose that it signifies?  It could be peace and hope. That is a universal symbolism that survives today…peace represented by a dove.

It also suggests sacrifice at the lowest level…lowest level as to the capacity of a worshiper. Remember, the poorest of the poor who could bring nothing else as a sacrifice to God, were permitted to bring a dove as their offering for sin.

And the Father’s ratification of the one he has sent is this:  “You are the son of me, the Beloved. In you I am well pleased.” That is God’s stamp of approval on his son and his act of dedication to the  mission by which he will soon fulfill all righteousness in men through and beyond repentance by giving to those who believe in him…remission of their sins, regeneration and life that is renewed…forever.

Jesus sets his face toward his mission. He receives the power needed to finish, to complete the mission and the Father recognizes the fact that his son is capable of completing the mission.

Jesus comes to Temptation.

Our text tells us “and straightway the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness. Both Matthew and Luke writing about the same thing tell us that Jesus went out into the wilderness under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But Mark’s choice of the word “drove” literally means that the Spirit “cast him forth”. It is the same word Mark will use when Jesus was casting out demons.

The picture we have here is one of Jesus of Nazareth hastening, of hurrying out into the wilderness. There is no thought of a casual, leisurely journey here. It is a picture of one driven irresistibly forth.

We have seen the resolve of his soul revealed in his baptism.

We have seen him obtain the resources he needs with the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

He now hastens to meet his foe and real temptation. He is being driven out to face the forces of evil that have for centuries blasted and spoiled humanity. Mark makes it clear that the temptation is going to go on for 40 days and 40 nights. He is tempted along every avenue along which evil can tempt people.

Does this sound familiar:  he was tempted by his hunger to wonder whether God cares.

            During this past week people gathered in a church to pray for the safety of their loved           ones trapped in the coal mine. And when the tragic news came that they were all dead      except one, people there cursed God and asked: “What has God ever done for us?”        Tempted to believe that God does not care Jesus was and so are we.

He was tempted in the presence of the work the Father had opened up before him as to how far he might venture outside God’s direction and how far he might proceed on his own iniative.

            How often do we make plans and then ask God to bless them, instead of asking God to       direct us in the planning and to bless us in His plan for us?

He was tempted as to whether the Kingdoms of this world might not be gained apart from the method symbolized by his baptism…death on the cross and then resurrection.

            How often are we tempted to avoid dying to our self and to seek to gain what we want in      ways that God has never blessed? Satan says you don’t have to die to self. You can have         all the world can offer with out it. You can have it all your way…as if all of this was        about us and not about Jesus.

For 40 days and night he was tempted to doubt the Father’s love.

For 40 days and nights he was tempted to traffic with the faith he had in the Father’s plan.

For 40 days and nights he was tempted to question the hope bringing in the Kingdom of God to bless all men.

It was real temptation.

Unless he felt the lure of the suggestions Satan made to him, there could have been no real temptation. And it was constant for 40 days and nights.

How did it all end?

Mark tells us that “He was with the wild animals and the angels ministered to him.” What Mark is telling us is that there is revealed here a close association and unity with the wild animals. He was with them but they were not wild to him. To other men they would have been wild, but not to Him. In his Kingdom, the lion shall lie down with the lamb and a little child shall lead them. He is master of creation…perfect in spite of the temptations and the angels ran errands for Him.

So it was that Jesus came from Nazareth where for 30 or so years he had lived in subjection to his parents and to normal human conditions.

He came to men and found them sinning and he joined them in repented with them and was baptized with them.

He came to God and was anointed by the Holy Spirit with power and was ratified by the Father as capable of completing his mission of salvation.

He came to Satan, entered into conflict with him and mastered him.

And God the Father said, “You are the son of me, my beloved; in you I am well pleased.”

--Dennis Gleason