DAY Four of 21 "Son of God"

DAY Four of 21 "Son of God"

Mark 1:10-11

10As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove.

11And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

Mark 1:1-11

1This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began

2just as the prophet Isaiah had written:

“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

and he will prepare your way.

3He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the LORD's coming!

Clear the road for him!’”

4This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.

5All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.

6His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.

7John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I'm not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals.

8I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”

9One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River.

10As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove.

11And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

SORTING IT OUT In today’s passage, the Bible says that John—often called “John the Baptist”—was teaching around Judea, exhorting people to turn from their sins and be baptized. So why did Jesus, who was without sin, ask John to baptize Him too?

Many theologians believe that Jesus’ baptism was a symbol of His taking on our sins, a precursor to the redemptive work He would later do on the cross. Jesus, the Savior of the world, humbled himself and became human in order to redeem humanity, shouldering our sin so that we might be made righteous: “Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God” (II Corinthians 5:21).

And what did God say when Jesus was baptized? He acknowledged Jesus as His own Son and then said, “I am pleased with you.” The work Jesus was going to do would be hard. They both knew it. And God, His Father, was pleased with Him for doing that work.

YOUR TURN What do you believe about baptism?

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