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Baptism Into a Fallen Humanity
Mark 1:9-11
As we study the prologue to the Mark’s Gospel, he continues to introduce the person and mission of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In these verses today we see a presentation of His redemptive work pictured for us in His baptism. As we begin the question comes prominently to our thoughts, why is Jesus coming to be baptized for repentance and forgiveness of sins? This was sharply John’s own quetion recorded in the Gospel of Matthew: “But John tried to deter him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Mat.3:14). In sharp contrast to all the people who came out into the wilderness to hear John and receive his baptism of repentance, the very idea the Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God would also ask for this same blessing is far outside our understanding of what Jesus needs. It has been asked, Did Jesus need to be baptized? Was Jesus a sinner up until the moment he was baptized? And the more troubling idea: was Jesus’ understanding of his life and mission progressive? That is, did Jesus become aware that he was the Messiah during this moment of baptism, as modern media asserts? In all these questions lies a view that Jesus was something before his baptism and became something after. Today we will see that all these questions are outside the meaning of the inspired truth Mark is presenting.
