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READ: Mark 1:9
CHALLENGE: Take Steps of Obedience.
Vv9 – At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
- STEP INTO OBEDIENCE
Why do WE get baptized? It’s because Jesus asked us to. He said to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey his commandments, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God, you asked me to, so I will. Let’s not lose sight of the obedience aspect because it’s important and opens doors to other great things.
Simple positive steps in the right direction can lead to great things and I know there are some that I need to take. And then we can stand back and see what God will do through that obedience. It might not be the same kind of amazing that this story is, but amazing nonetheless.
As you read other passages you realize how determined Jesus is to be baptized. Mark says that He came from Nazareth in Galilee, all the way down to the Jordan River in Judea. They estimate that Jesus walked 70-85 miles in order to be baptized by John. That would be like walking 15-30 miles past Cleveland from here. And when you travel that far you’re determined to accomplish the mission. You’re not coming there to think about it, you’re committed!
I went to buy a used truck and when you make a trip that is three hours long, you’re there to buy it! Right? Jesus made a long trip for one purpose, get baptized by John. It was an intentional, deliberate walk to see John and follow God.
I love how we have a leader who did all the things that he asks us to do. He asks us to follow Him into the waters of baptism. He asks us to serve and He served. He asks us to carry the cross and He carried it first. I love people who don’t ask you do anything that they wouldn’t do themselves.
Let’s talk some BAPTISM BASICS
- Baptism is by Immersion
The word “baptize” means to immerse. Baptism is a transliteration of the Greek word “baptizo”. The reason they didn’t translate the word was because many Christians baptized by sprinkling so those wanting to sell their Bible translations to all Christians did not want to offend that group. They just punted and transliterated the word. So, when I was in a Presbyterian seminary, which believed in baptizing infants, I called John the Baptist, John the Immerser every chance I got! Just to bust their chops a bit. He was clearly immersing people.
The word, “baptize” was used of dying clothing and that clearly means to submerge. You can’t dye cloth without putting it into the liquid. So, when you baptize, you’re going into the water. And as you think about it, John was baptizing people in a river where there was plenty of water, so that fits.
For we Christians, baptism symbolizes that you’re dead to sins but alive to God and immersion pictures that beautifully. When you come up out of the water, shows a new life which is the message of Christianity. Being spiritually buried with Christ and risen with Him is no small deal. Baptism reminds us of the deep connection each individual believer has to Jesus. It’s good to remind ourselves of that from time to time.
- Baptism is for Believers
Jesus, with his mind and heart engaged, personally made that decision to be baptized and followed God’s will into the waters. We believe in believer’s baptism. We wait until someone is old enough to recognize their need for salvation and place their faith Jesus. Then we baptize them once they trust in Him for forgiveness and eternal life. I know that some Christians baptize children because they believe that baptism replaces circumcision. That’s not what the Bible teaches.
Some denominations say that baptism is necessary to remove original sin. If baptism is that effective, what was the point of Jesus dying? The Bible teaches that even animal sacrifice could not permanently remove sin so water certainly cannot either.
The pattern of the early church is that people with the ability to make a decision to believe in Jesus were baptized. And that’s the pattern that we follow.
(trans) this brings us to the next point …
- Baptism Does Not Save a Soul
Acts 2:38 – Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Some look at salvation as necessary to be saved. We must interpret verses like this in light of the entire Bible and over and over again, the only thing we’re told to do is to believe. As long as we believe, we have salvation. The criminal on the cross never had a chance to be immersed and he was in paradise.
We know that Jesus didn’t get baptized because he needed to be saved. He IS the SAVIOR! Jesus had never sinned so there was no need to repent or to “wash away sins”. Also, the apostle Paul told the Corinthians that he was glad that he didn’t baptize any of them. If baptism was part of salvation, that would be a silly comment for an evangelist to make. Obviously, baptism is not necessary for salvation.
Believe and you’ll be saved. Remember that classic hymn. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Never think there is anything you have to do to earn your way to heaven.
- Baptism is a Commitment
Matthew 3:13-15 – Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
When Jesus got baptized, John didn’t want to baptize Him. He said, I need to get baptized by you. John realized that Jesus was perfect and that he was imperfect. He was doing a phenomenal ministry but John still wasn’t perfect; no one is. Can you imagine Jesus asking you to baptize him and you know who he is. No way – absolutely not!
John tried to deter him, but Jesus insisted! Why was he baptized? It wasn’t to repent. It wasn’t for forgiveness because He had no sin. Why then? Let’s allow Jesus to answer the question. It’s proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.
This is what God wants me to do. I see this as Jesus committing himself to doing what God willed. He was committed to following God’s plan for His life. When a person is baptized, they are committing themselves to following God.
Jesus also set the example and went through the same steps that we all go through and that makes it all the better. Are we committed to following God’s will?
What is it that God might be calling us to do? What step of obedience to you need to take?
- BLESSINGS FLOW OUT OF OBEDIENCE (vv10-11)
Vv10-11 – Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
Just as Jesus is coming out of the water, we have this beautiful revelation from God. A voice from heaven identifies Jesus as His Son in whom He is well pleased. But what comes first? Before those words we have the simple steps of doing God’s will.
Is this a pattern worth reiterating? Following? Yes! Obedience precedes blessing. When we take steps in the right direction, God can affirm and bless our lives. How important is that to you? To me it’s extremely vital.
- Blessings – He Saw Heaven Being Torn Open
He saw the heavens torn open. The words means to “tear” or “divide”. And interestingly enough, the same word is used of the tearing of the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the holy of holies in the temple, the moment Jesus died.
But to tear something into two – I don’t tear a lot of things open. What do I tear open? Cereal bags, potato chip bags, peanut m&m bags.
But in this case, heaven, or the sky is torn open. And whatever veil existed between us and our view of heaven has opened and there is now a portal. But who took their hands and opened that space between heaven and earth? It’s God! God reaching out to His son.
And where is it torn? Mars? The milkway? The sky? The horizon? Straight above? I don’t know but there’s a hole and blessings are pouring down.
Stephen saw into heaven in Acts 7:55-56 – But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
It makes me feel like heaven is much closer than we realize! There’s only a veil! Here’s it’s open and they see things that they had not seen before and that’s beautiful! And in such picturesque language heaven is open and blessings are poured out. Jesus obeys and God blesses. We obey and God blesses.
This reminds me of when God says in Malachi that He will throw open the flood gates of heaven. Malachi 3:10 – Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
What is blessed? It’s obedience. And that leads to heaven being opened and blessing raining down in our lives. For instance, you obey by giving and God blesses.
I’m interested to ponder what might open to us with small steps of obedience.
- Blessings – He Saw the Spirit Descending
The Spirit descends upon him looking like a dove. This is why you see the imagery of the dove in certain churches. It came down in physical form and it settled on him. It wasn’t an eagle descending or a falcon or a dragon or a lion. It was a simple dove. It’s so amazing. What do you think of when you think of a dove? I think of gentleness and peace. Sometimes what I’m not.
The Spirit will also empower the ministry of Jesus Christ. All of this happens after obedience. It’s difficult to imagine the Holy Spirit working in our lives if we are disobedient. In fact, we’re told not to grieve the Holy Spirit with anger and fighting and all of that.
The Holy Spirit should be the marker of true ministry. The love of the Spirit. The encouragement of the Spirit. The leading of the Spirit. The conviction of the Holy Spirit. The joy of the Holy Spirit.
What do you count on the Holy Spirit for? For me – guidance. The words to say. Ideas. Wisdom. Strength. Filling as in ability. Power for ministry. For Him to open eyes and guide people. I know that I don’t want to feel like I have to do the work of the Holy Spirit. I want to be dependent on God.
We need the Spirit, that’s for sure.
- The Voice of Affirmation
V11 – And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
These words are here so that we understand that God underscored that Jesus was THE ONE in an extraordinary way. This should have left no doubt for everyone who was there that day. They heard the divine voice speak claiming that Jesus was His son. Sometimes people want multiple sources of identification and this is clearly a legitimate source of identification for God.
Can you imagine a booming voice coming from the sky above, saying, YOU are my son – I love you – you make me happy!
Time and place, I reckon. But there is a time and place to say the words and this day was time and place to reaffirm Jesus as His son. I don’t think you can say it enough. We need to affirm our family and friends and let them know that we care.
But let’s note this, even in life, it’s easy to affirm good behavior and impossible to affirm bad behavior. Jesus is doing the right thing. If you want to be affirmed and encouraged, then do what’s right. Anything else won’t work.
My family growing up was free flowing with the words. I did appreciate it as it was certainly good to know. The love of family can truly boost you in this world. It can help keep you afloat in the most difficult of times. We need that and we’re obviously built around that as a society. It’s good to have family and good to have friends. We support each other!
There are times we want all of these blessings, but are we willing to do what it takes? You look at marriage and you want the blessing of intimacy. You want peace. You want togetherness and happiness and that’s great. What steps are you taking to insure it? None of us are perfect, right? However, if I was spiraling downward, I’d be doing whatever it takes to come out of it.
I like hearing when a person has taken incredible steps to turn their life around. They put it on the line and do whatever it takes to make it right. And life. Relationships. It’s all made of small things. Little steps in the right direction add up and especially when they become new patterns.
When it comes to our walk with God, I want to think about small but momentous steps. Praying together. What power? What blessing might we unleash if we were to choose that path?
Sometimes that very first step is being consistent in church. It’s consistent in your walk with God.