Mark 1:9  And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
10  And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
11  And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Jesus Christ humbled Himself to come to this earth as a man. Philippians 2 tells us that He made Himself of no reputation and took upon Him the form of a servant. Jesus did not come demanding to be served. He came to serve mankind. Being a servant to man, did not mean He was a doormat to be trampled on. He taught with authority. He rebuked the false teachers. He gave willingly of His time to help many needy people. He eventually laid down His life and shed His blood for wicked humanity.
He began His public ministry without any fanfare. There was no trumpeter or even a crowd of people cheering Him on as He began His public ministry. He just came to John the Baptist and requested to be baptized of him. John was baptizing many people at that time. Jesus did nothing out of the ordinary with His baptism. We are reminded again that baptism is not a means of salvation. It is a picture of what salvation is. Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith. His baptism was to fulfil all Scripture. He went to the cross for you and I. He was taken off that cross as a dead man and was buried. He rose again the third day, victorious over sin and death.
In verse 10 we are reminded again that Biblical baptism is by immersion. Jesus came up out of the water after He was baptized. He did not stand on the shore and have John pour a little water on His head. He went down into the water to where John was and John then put Him under the water, and raised Him back up out of the water. Jesus’ baptism was a demonstration of what He would do on the cross. He would lay down His life and He would die on that cross. He would rise again three days later, demonstrating His power over sin and death.
Some years back I was speaking with a preacher who thought he was a step ahead of some others. He would offer the people in his church baptism by immersion or by pouring. He left it up to the person to decide which they wanted. He was a failure in that he did not even know the purpose of baptism and had no interest in obeying God in what he was doing. I spoke to him about this and at one point he mocked the Scriptural teaching on baptism by suggesting that if immersion was the only way of baptism, then maybe we should hold the person under water for three days and three nights to literally depict the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The man was not fit to be a pastor, for sure. He has died and he knows better now.
When Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens opened and the Spirit like a dove descended upon Jesus. Notice there that the Spirit “like a dove” descended upon Him. The Holy Spirit is not a dove. Taking a dove now and releasing it into the sky is not a symbol of what happened to Jesus here. We are told that the imagery used at that time was needed to help John the Baptist to know that Jesus was the Messiah. Keep in mind that John baptized Jesus prior to His doing any miracles. Jesus had not been teaching yet either. God helped John to know for sure that he had indeed baptized the eternal Son of God.
In verse 11 God also assured John by speaking from heaven. God does not need an amplifier. His voice is loud and clear. He spoke and declared that Jesus is God’s beloved Son. Jesus and His Father have a unique relationship. God the Father further stated that He was well pleased with what had just taken place. Jesus had demonstrated His humility and He had also begun to show the people why He had come.
When we truly consider Jesus’ life on earth, it is shocking that we, those who profess to be saved, would argue with what God requires of us after we are saved. We would never fight against submitting to God if we truly understood what Jesus, the Son of God did while He was on earth. He laid down His life. He was not fighting and screaming. He willingly took all the verbal abuse and the physical abuse and then laid down His life and allowed wicked men to drive nails through His hands and His feet and then lift that cross into its place. He allowed people to mock Him while He was in agony on that cross. He finished all that was required of Him and then He died. He was not a failure. He was a complete success in all that He did.
Jesus came to lay down His life for the sheep. The people needed to be reminded of this many times. Jesus would mention His upcoming death often. The disciples needed to know about that as well. They did not fully grasp the truth of that until after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. What Jesus did was a one time event. It was something that was unheard of prior to that. Jesus spoke of His death, but no one had ever laid down His life as Jesus would do. However, when Jesus did go to the cross and then rose again three days later, the truths He had been teaching came back to the disciples and they understood what He had been teaching them.
Today, we also need to be reminded of why Jesus came. He did not come to show off. He did not try to entertain the people. There are many false teachers who want to prove they are somebody by using deception to make it look like they have some special connection with God and they can do miracles. People love to be entertained and they will flock to these deceivers and they will promote their lies. However, they have no time for the truth.
We can know the truth and we can be delivered from the lies and deception that are so common all around us. We can know the Lord Jesus Christ as the beloved Son of God. We can be blessed in knowing Him as our own personal Saviour and Lord. Be sure you know Him.
Pastor Bartel