Mark 1:9-11: The Baptism of Jesus

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."

Originally I had planned to post this in January. However, since I am still fighting the thorn in my flesh of procrastination here, we are. Nevertheless, we shall continue with the gospel of Mark. Now, the gospel of Mark doesn't include the birth of Jesus or the exile that Mary and Joseph would embark on. Mark, as a gospel writer, is most known as the author that includes the most essential elements of the gospel that pertain to salvation. Not that any other account includes unnecessary parts of Jesus' ministry, instead it consists of the testimony of Christ being the sent one from God as prophesied in the Old Testament. Mark also testifies that the Son of God would and did forgive the sins of those who sinned against him by death on a cross. Although more can be said on Christ's work on the cross, Let us now look at the Baptism of Jesus.

From a town of nobody

Up until this point in my life, albeit short in the grand scheme of things, I have traveled a fair amount. I've visited places in the western hemisphere like southern British Columbia, a large portion of Alberta, I was briefly in Toronto for a layover on a flight that took myself and my family to Florida. Most people I have talked to have been to at least two of those places. Besides Florida and British Columbia, most people know where Stony Plain is, although somewhat of a dump (sorry Mom) it's the place where I was born and raised, and it's still home. Aside from the places I just mentioned, I have also been to quite a few places in the Eastern Hemisphere. I've traveled to quite a few cities in Germany, towns in Austria, Zurich, Switzerland, Rome and Venice Italy, then I've also been to Paris and Leone France.

A consistent theme in every place that I have been in Europe was the confusion I would find on the faces of some when I would tell them that I was from Stony Plain. I would then broaden the search engine and tell them I was from outside of Edmonton. Still entirely bamboozled by that, I then gave up and said I was from Canada; ironically enough, some hadn't heard of Canada either, but I digress.
Now, ultimately, I don't know of any famous person from Stony Plain. I could say that we have some cool paintings on some buildings. Still, the authenticity of that statement would be found slightly exaggerated. Now, looking at Jesus, we know that He was born in the town of Bethlehem of Nazareth. In John 1:46, we find that Nazareth was an insignificant town as well. The artwork on the buildings would have been seen as nothing by the artistic elite of Jerusalem, even more, could have been seen as the Jethroes of the nation (I'm making a reference to the son in the old-time show The Beverly Hillbillies, I would recommend you add that show to your binge list because it's a classic).
All the more so, Jesus is much more significant in the narrative of creation, He was before creation and created all things. He was seated with the Father in heaven and came down to earth to lie in the dirt that he created and be subject to people making the same remark as the one in John 1:46 "can anything good come from Nazareth?" The creator of the world humbled himself to be a citizen of a town of nobody and to subject Himself to the laws that He instituted even though He was the full image of the Law. 

Acknowledged by a nobody

Thinking about Christ coming into the world that He created, coming from a town of nobody, the insignificance expressed to Christ by the doubt of the Pharisees "can anything good come out of Nazareth?"(John 1:46) let us consider the person that came before him, John the Baptist. For us today, we recognize the significance of John the Baptist. We know because of the Bible, and perfect hindsight, that John had a significant purpose to play. His mission was to point Israel back to Yahweh (which we talked about in the previous installment of Gavin's Sporadic Bible Blog). Not one other person can say that they played a role in the baptism of the Son of God, witnessing God speaking and giving Christ the recognition for who He indeed was. The only "issue" (if we can call it that) was that John the Baptist would have been seen as this crazy hippy that took a Nazarite vow and yelled at the nation of Israel for their disobedience. Jesus Christ, the one whom all creation was created through, was recognized by none of His chosen nation, at this juncture, and he was also recognized only by the crazy guy John the Baptist (Minus Mary and Joseph, but they didn't know what parenting the "Son of God" meant in full).  

Recognized as somebody

Now, having read the passage, we know that the recognition didn't stop at John the Baptist. We find that Christ was recognized by His heavenly Father. Not only is this event one of the most significant in Christ's ministry, but this is an integral event to the Christian faith. Never before has there been anybody proclaimed as the Son of God. Nobody else in the world has ever claimed to be one with the Father nor entirely obedient to His will outside of their own. Not only is this a significant event, but the person of Christ is also one of the most heavily debated topics in the world today. Even today, we find the disbelief in the person of Christ and His ministry. In the passage, we find that Jesus was only recognized as a nobody from Nazareth, and was recognized by a nobody John the Baptist, but the one that recognized Christ for who He was, is and is to come, was the Son of God "with [He is] well pleased" (Mark 1:11b)

Now, consider this; will you be recognized as a child of God? When Christ returns, the firstborn of all creation, by whom all things were created, when the only one worthy of praise returns, when the judgment of the perfect lamb of God looks upon your life and who you serve, will He say "come to me, receive everlasting life and joy"? Or will Christ, the Lamb of God that offered you life to the full, look at your life and say "depart from me I never knew you"? St. Augustine said this "God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination" (Augustine of Hippo). So, don't wait, turn to Christ, and you will be forgiven, adopted, justified, sanctified, and glorified. Turn to Christ!