Baptism is a term that has a variety of meanings or applications when found in scripture. For instance, in vs 4 a version of the word baptism is attached to John’s name, John the Baptizer. Then Mark says John came preaching a baptism of repentance. And in vs 5, they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River. So that’s three different connotations of the word in those two verses.
Then John adds another application of the word in vs 8 "I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” So clearly, though the primary use of the word indicates being dipped under water, there are other times when baptism is applied to something else. Perhaps to be baptized in the Holy Spirit means to be immersed in the Holy Spirit.
But baptism in water itself is obviously symbolic of something else. It is a physical symbol or ceremony that indicates purification or regeneration. Water can only clean the outside of a man, so it symbolizes the washing of regeneration that happens in the heart, or soul of man.
But I don’t think that completely describes all the uses of the word baptism. For instance, consider what Paul said in 1Cor. 10:1-2 “For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” That usage indicates more of an association or identification. The children of Israel were identified as the people of God through the baptism which in a sense was performed by Moses in the Red Sea, and the cloud which led them in the wilderness.
There are many other possible applications of the word baptism, but just one more that I want to draw your attention to, which was used by Jesus Christ. He said in Luke 12:50 "But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!” In that statement we can determine from the context that Jesus is speaking of His suffering and death on the cross. So baptism can mean an undertaking of a particular painful activity or role.
Now I have undoubtedly done more to muddle the waters more that I have probably clarified anything so far this morning. But I think that if we open our minds to understand that baptism can mean much more than simply being dipped or sprinkled by water, it will help us to better understand why Jesus was baptized, which is the main subject that we are reading about today in this passage.
Notice John said in vs 8 that he was baptizing in water, but Jesus would baptize in the Holy Spirit. But before that occurs, Jesus came to be baptized by John in water. Look at vs 9, “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.”
At the time when John the Baptist was baptizing in the wilderness in Judea, and people were coming out to him to be baptized in the Jordan River, Jesus also came to John to be baptized. Last Sunday we talked about John quite a bit. He was the one who came before to announce Christ, and to prepare the hearts of the people for the Lord Jesus. He preached a baptism of repentance. Before they could be born again by the Spirit, they must repent and be forgiven of their sins. And thus baptism symbolized that they recognized they were sinners, and they being dipped into the river, symbolically dying to the old sin nature, that they might rise up and walk in a new nature, that which was born of the Spirit.
That’s what being dipped under the water symbolizes, a washing away of sin, but also a dying to sin, and being raised to new life.
The difficulty that arises though is why does Jesus come to be baptized by John? He is not a sinner. He had no sin to repent of or to confess. If you remember from the account of Matthew, he says that John tried to prevent Him from being baptized, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" But Jesus answering said to him, "Permit [it] at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he permitted Him.”
Now Jesus’ answer to John doesn’t really explain all the questions I have regarding why He was baptized. But I think we can figure it out based on all the ways that we’ve seen the term used. First of all, although Jesus Himself did not have sin, yet He took upon Himself our sin. And so in that sense in being baptized, He symbolically showed that He would bear our sins upon Himself. Isaiah 53:6 says, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”
Secondly, the act of being dipped under the water and raised up again symbolized His death and resurrection. He died as the payment for our sins, and was raised to give us new life. Thirdly, and this is not necessarily in order, He was baptized to identify with sinners. He was our representative, our Savior, our Lord.
Another reason for His baptism was so that He might identify with and fulfill John’s ministry. He was the One announced as coming by John, and by His appearing to be baptized, the ministry of John was completed, and Jesus’ ministry was begun. So through baptism Jesus sanctioned John’s message, and fulfilled John’s message, and succeeded John’s ministry.
And I would add a side note to that, John’s ministry lasted only about another 6 months and then he was arrested and put in prison. And while in prison, he was beheaded. That’s a pretty amazing thing to think about, that John was born for one purpose, and his ministry lasted only about one year and then the Lord took him, but he was killed by the means of a petty, evil woman’s grudge and a weak King’s drunken response. What that tells me is that our understanding of God’s purposes and the way He works is pretty limited. His ways are not our ways. From our perspective, I think we often ascribe God’s blessing or purposes to be fulfilled by what we deem to be proper and fitting. And yet we see many examples in scripture of God working in mysterious ways that are inscrutable for us.
But to get back to our text, another reason for Jesus being baptized was so that the testimony of God the Father and the Holy Spirit might confirm Jesus’ ministry by public witness. When you are baptized, it is a public profession of faith, being witnessed by the pastor and the church, and often testified to by the pastor. In a sense the same thing was being done at Jesus’s baptism, but on a much grander scale.
Mark says in vs 10, “Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and a voice came out of the heavens: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”
Many Bible scholars have made much out of the fact that the trinity is revealed in this passage. The word trinity is not found in scripture, but this is a very vivid account of it’s existence. You do not have the Father identified per se, but it’s evident from His statement that it is the Father saying, “You are My beloved Son, in you I am well pleased.” There is also the Spirit descending like a dove. The Spirit is not a dove, but took on the form of a dove. And then of course, the third member of the trinity is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. All three are equal in divinity and in nature, and are One God, and yet in three persons with different roles.
Notice also the mode of Christ’s baptism. I don’t think that the method of baptism is one to break fellowship over necessarily, whether it is done by dipping under the water or by sprinkling with water. But I would point out that it definitely seems that Jesus was in the water, because Mark says “coming up out of the water.” I don’t see how you could use that phrase if Jesus was sprinkled. The argument may be that baptism is symbolic, so there is no need to be dipped, only that there be some water. But I would suggest that the symbolism of being dipped under water suggests death, being buried with Him in the likeness of His death, and not just ceremonially cleansed by sprinkling water.
I think it’s also imperative that baptism is a cognizant act that is done by people who desire to identify with Christ, and join the fellowship of believers by association, and symbolically portray a heart of repentance. And that must be done by someone who is able to comprehend what they are doing. So there is no indication in scripture that you should baptize a baby, who has no capacity for understanding what he is doing or what is going on. Nor is there any indication that the physical act of baptism is the means of acquiring righteousness. But only by faith is one’s sins forgiven and righteousness imputed.
Mark says as Jesus comes up out of the water, He saw the heavens opened. We are not sure what that looked like. But notice it doesn’t say heaven opened, but the heavens. The heavens is a reference to the atmosphere, the sky, the clouds. So I would suggest that the clouds parted and the sun appeared in it’s full, blazing glory and shone upon the Lord Jesus as He came out of the water.
Next you see the Spirit descending like a dove on Him. I have already said that Mark is not saying the Spirit is a dove. The Spirit cannot be seen. If someone tells you that they have seen the Holy Spirit then I would urge you to take that with a grain of salt. Or tell them to take two aspirin and call me in the morning. Because you can’t see a spirit. But in order that He might be seen, He took the form of a dove, or better, He looked like a dove. All three members of the trinity are to be witnessed, and so you hear the Father, see the Spirit like a dove, and see Jesus the Son of God in human flesh.
But I suppose that we all want to ask the question, why is the Spirit like a dove? What symbolism does the dove imply? Well, most commentators see some correlation of a dove and the idea of peace, or gentle, as being correlated to the Spirit descending like a dove. I suppose that may have some merit, but I’m not convinced that is the symbolism that is implied. I can’t help but see another parallel, at another baptism of water, if you will. And that is the flood that came upon the whole world and only Noah and his family escaped on the ark. When the rain finally stopped, you will remember that Noah sent out a raven first, and he didn’t return. Then a few days later he sent out a dove. And at the first attempt the dove returned. Then he sent it out again and it returned with an olive leaf in it’s beak. Noah knew then that the waters had abated and new life had begun again.
Now so far as I know, I’m the only one crazy enough to find a correlation with the dove in the flood with the descending Spirit in the form of a dove at Jesus’ baptism. But since the Bible doesn’t tell us, it’s all conjecture anyway, I think my interpretation is as valid as any. I think the waters of the flood was the cause of death for the sins of mankind, and the dove symbolized new life. The wrath of God was satisfied, and He brought forth new life and a new beginning. To me, that ties in nicely with the symbolism of baptism.
So I don’t think that the dove is a perpetual symbol of the Holy Spirit, but God used it at that time, first so that the Spirit descending upon Jesus might be witnessed, and secondly, so that the baptism might be of water and of the Spirit. But I confess that it is a mystery that we might never fully understand until we get to heaven.
I also want to consider the statement of the Father. It seems that the people in attendance heard the voice of God.That’s a pretty amazing thing in and of itself. I think of the Israelites who heard God speak from Mt. Sinai and they were so afraid they wanted nothing to do with it. They told Moses, you speak to God and then you can tell us. But we can’t hear God and live.
There was another time that God spoke from heaven, and it was at the transfiguration. In that case God said ““This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” He said it as a rebuke to Peter, who wanted to build three tabernacles to Moses, Elijah and Jesus. God made it clear that Jesus was the Son of God, Moses and Elijah were merely His prophets.
In this statement at His baptism, God the Father speaks to Jesus in the presence of all. God doesn’t speak to John the Baptist, He speaks to Jesus saying, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”
Now though the Father speaks to Jesus, yet He must be speaking for the benefit of those who heard Him. I’m sure that God the Father and God the Son were in constant communication and this was not the first time God spoke to Him. But in a sense, He spoke to Him to publicly coronate Jesus as the King of Heaven. God the Father proclaims that this is His Son, fully God and yet fully man. And only in that dual nature is He able to make atonement for the sins of the world.
In John’s gospel, we are told that at a later time John saw Jesus coming and he said, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” For that metaphor to be true, the sacrificial lamb must be spotless and without blemish in order to be accepted as a sacrifice to the Lord. So in this statement by the Father at Jesus’ baptism, the Father indicates that Jesus fulfilled the requirement of being the spotless Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. The Father says, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” Jesus perfectly fulfilled all the requirements of righteousness, and holiness. He was without any sin, and thus perfectly qualified as both God and man, sinless and perfect, able to undergo His baptism for the remission of the sins of the world.
Immediately after His baptism, Jesus must be tempted to fulfill all righteousness. Once again, we cannot comprehend all that was involved in the temptation of Christ or how it was even possible. But we know that it was part of the plan of God. And Jesus submitted Himself to the Father’s will. Mark speaks of this temptation in a very simple, sparse way.
Vs 12, “Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness 40 days, being tempted by Satan. He was among the wild beasts, and the angels were rendering service to Him.”
Do not make too much of the wording there which says the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. In another gospel, it says Jesus was led by the Spirit. All that simply means is that Jesus submitted to the will of God. It doesn’t mean that Jesus was forced to do something that He didn’t want to do. But as Jesus will say later, “I and the Father are One.” He did all that the Father wanted Him to do.
But you could say also say that it indicates He was empowered by the Spirit. Certainly He was deity that was equal in stature to the Father and the Spirit. But in HIs human nature, He was able to be strengthened and empowered but the Spirit, just as we are commanded to walk in the Spirit.
And the Spirit led Him to go into what we must assume was an even more desolate place in the wilderness. There was no one there to comfort Him, no one to encourage Him. But the Spirit was with Him. And Mark says that the angels ministered to Him. We know from another gospel writer that the angels specifically ministered to Him after He had fasted for 40 days and been tempted by the devil. But that doesn’t mean that they did not render service to Him during that 40 days, perhaps by watching over Him and guarding Him from the wild animals while He slept. We know that there were lions in those regions and other predatory animals that would have perhaps attacked a man out there alone and defenseless. Yet the angels rendered service to Him.
Mark says that He was among the wild beasts, and some fanciful writers have imagined that means the animals worshipped Him. I don’t think that at all. Animals are not creatures of reason or rationale and they would have acted according to their nature. So the fear of being attacked or killed by wild animals might have been one part of the temptation of Christ. But the angels rendered service to Him. He trusted in God to take care of Him, in much the same way that David proclaimed God’s protection for him in many of his psalms when he was in the desert tending sheep.
Another part of that temptation was to be in the wilderness for 40 days, without a bed, without shelter, and without food or water. In the Bible, fasting is predominately attached to prayer. It was also used in conjunction with repentance. I think we have already dispensed with the idea that Jesus needed to repent of any sin. But He did need to be in constant communication with HIs Father. And so by denying the needs of the physical, He was better able to focus on the spiritual.
I have fasted a few times in my life for a very limited time. I think the longest was 3 days, and most of my fasts were 24 hours or so. But I can assure you that fasting for 40 days is enough to kill a normal person. One must be very strong spiritually in order to survive that. Physically you would be as close to death as possible, if you survived it.
So because of His isolation, because of His deprivation, Jesus experienced the greatest temptations that Satan could imagine when He was at His lowest point physically. Hebrews 4:15 says, “He was tempted in all points, like as we are, yet without sin.”
Mark doesn’t tell us the details of the temptation as some of the other gospel writers do. He simply says that Jesus was tempted. The question that arises is how is God tempted to sin, when He has no sin, and no sin nature? Some Bible scholars say that Jesus did not have the capacity to sin. James 1:15 says God cannot be tempted by evil. But how to understand that is beyond our comprehension. I think it just means God will not sin, because He cannot abide evil. It is against His nature. But how temptation can affect Him we cannot know, because we cannot ascertain the mind of God.
The point is, that both in Hebrews as well as in the gospels, it says that Jesus was tempted by Satan. He suffered the same way (in all points) like we do, yet without sin. Satan is the adversary. He is the ruler of this world. He is the Prince of Darkness. And he comes out to fight the King of Heaven in a spiritual battle. Perhaps Jesus was only tempted in some way in His human nature. I don’t know. But we know that in all the temptations, Jesus was victorious.
It’s interesting though to consider the timing of it all. As Jesus is coronated by baptism and the Spirit descending upon Him and the statement of the Father proclaiming His deity and His righteousness, the next step in His ministry is to be driven to a place of desolation, of loneliness, of suffering, of deprivation of essential things like food and water and shelter, and then be tempted by the devil. And all of that taking a precious 40 days out of the beginning of a 3 year ministry.
It should be instructive to us, as we are born again, and given new life, beginning a new ministry, that trials and tribulations sometimes beset us immediately. The honey moon period of our salvation is often quite brief. But when we come through these trials and temptations, without succumbing to them, we find that our faith is stronger, the power of the Spirit is ever more present in our lives, and we have a more effective ministry as a result of a time of proving our faith.
I hope that you have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, that He was the Lamb of God that took away our sins, and through faith in Him have received the righteousness of God, that gives us new life. You must be born again, having died with Christ to the old man, and raised to walk in newness of life.
As Peter preached on the day of Pentecost; "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself."
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