240 Mark 1:9-13 The baptism and temptation of Jesus - a podcast by Dr David Petts - Pentecostal preacher, former AoG Bible College Principal

Talk 2   Mark 1:9-13  The baptism and temptation of Jesus

Welcome to Talk 2 in our new series on Mark’s Gospel. In our first talk we saw how Mark begins by establishing very clearly that Jesus is none other than God himself who came to make possible the forgiveness of our sins. To prepare for his coming the people were to confess their sins, repent and be baptised. But when Jesus came he would do more for them than baptism in water ever could. He would baptise them in the Holy Spirit.

 

From elsewhere in the New Testament, we saw that it was through the work of the Spirit that we are empowered to live new lives by being born again. We begin to show the fruit of the Spirit which Paul describes in Galatians 5. And when we are baptised in the Spirit we are told in Acts 1 we receive power to be effective witnesses for Christ.

 

I also pointed out that in New Testament times repentance, faith, water baptism and baptism in the Spirit would usually have all taken place on the same day, and although today we often think of each of them as distinct experiences, the early disciples may well have thought of them all as part of the same event. This probably accounts for those occasions in the New Testament when writers may appear to use expressions like repentance, baptism, or baptise in the Spirit to refer to the whole event of Christian initiation, not just to the distinct aspect that each of these terms represents. If all this seems a bit complicated, don’t worry. I’ll be saying more about this when we look at the baptism of Jesus and its close relationship with his baptism in the Spirit.

 

So today we’ll be considering:

·      The baptism of Jesus

·      His baptism in the Spirit

·      His temptation in the wilderness

 

We’ll begin by reading verses 9-13.

 

9. At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan. 10. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." 12. At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13. and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

 

Jesus’ baptism

Notice, first, how Jesus was baptised. As we said last time, in the Greek language in which the New Testament was originally written, the word baptise means immerse. This is confirmed by how Mark describes Jesus’ baptism. In verse 10 he refers to Jesus coming up out of the water. This implies that he had first gone down into the water. In fact, wherever the New Testament gives us a description of people being baptised, it’s clear that baptism was always by immersion. For example, in Acts 8:38-39 we read how Philip baptised the Ethiopian eunuch:

…Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptised him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.

 

So Jesus, like everybody else, was baptised by being immersed in water. But why was Jesus baptised? We saw last time that John was preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (v4) and that the people were baptised confessing their sins (v5). But Jesus had no sins to confess. He was God’s beloved Son with whom God was well-pleased (v11). He was the spotless Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). In fact, Matthew 3:14 tells us that, when Jesus came to John to be baptised, John protested, saying, I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?

 

So why was Jesus baptised? Jesus himself gives us the first part of the answer in Matthew 3:15, where he says. Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness. The purpose of Jesus’ life was to do the will of God, right down to the last detail. This is no more clearly seen than in the Garden of Gethsemane when, the night before he was to be crucified, Jesus prayed earnestly that, if it were possible, he might not suffer the agony of crucifixion, but, in total submission to the will of his Father, ended by saying, Yet not as I will, but as you will (Matthew 26:39). Everything he did was motivated by his desire to do God’s will (Hebrews 10:7). So for Jesus, being baptised was an essential part of doing God’s will. He said it was necessary to fulfil all righteousness.

 

For Jesus the ultimate fulfilment of all righteousness, of doing God’s will, was to die on the cross to save us from our sins. But how does this relate to his baptism? Perhaps the answer lies in the understanding that his baptism in water was a foreshadowing of the baptism of suffering he was to endure at Calvary (Matthew 20:22-23, Luke 12:50). At Calvary Jesus suffered the death of a common criminal. This made him look like a sinner. But more than that, when he died on the cross he was carrying our sin.

 

And at his baptism too, to those who were watching, he looked like a sinner. The sinless Lamb of God identified with sinners. Perhaps that’s one reason why the voice from Heaven was heard, saying, You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased. All the others who were being baptised were sinners, but God was making it clear that his Son was different.

 

Finally, before we leave the subject of Jesus’ baptism, it’s perhaps good to remind ourselves that his baptism is a compelling reason for us to be baptised. In John 12:26 Jesus told us that if we serve him we must follow him. And 1 Peter 2:21 tells us that Jesus has left us an example that we should follow in his steps. For more reasons why we should be baptised, please see You’d Better Believe It, pages 83-85.

 

His baptism in the Spirit

 

10. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.

 

I’m referring to this as Jesus’ baptism in the Spirit because of the words descending on him. Jesus himself identified the baptism in the Spirit as the Spirit coming on us (Acts 1:5, 8), and his promise was fulfilled in the experience of the disciples at Pentecost (Acts 1:17), the Samaritan converts (Acts 8:15-17), Cornelius and his household (Acts 10:44-46), the Ephesians (Acts 19:1-6), and countless millions of Christians ever since.

 

The purpose of this wonderful baptism in the Spirit was, and still is, the equipping of God’s servants with power for service, and even Jesus needed this empowering of the Spirit before beginning his miracle-working ministry. Of course, the miracle of the incarnation – how Jesus could be both fully God and fully man – is a mystery. But while he was here on earth as a man he was totally dependent on his relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He was a man under authority (Matthew 8:8-9) and the miracles he did were performed as a result of the anointing of the Spirit (Acts 10:38).

 

It’s noteworthy, too, that all three Persons of the Trinity are actively present in the passage we’re looking at. Jesus, God the Son, is coming up out of the waters of baptism. The Holy Spirit is descending upon him like a dove. And he hears the voice of God the Father speaking from Heaven. If Jesus needed this empowering of the Spirit, how much more do we?

 

So Jesus is baptised in water and in the Spirit on the same occasion. But what is the relationship between them? Notice, first, that in all four gospels being baptised in the Holy Spirit is distinguished from being baptised in water. John was baptising in water, but Jesus would baptise with the Holy Spirit.

 

The nature and purpose of baptism in the Spirit is not made clear here – as we have seen, Jesus himself does that in Acts 1:4-8 – but it is evident that Spirit-baptism is not only distinct from water-baptism but also vastly superior to it and more important than it. Jesus is greater than John, and the Spirit is greater than water! So water-baptism must never be confused with Spirit-baptism.

 

However, Jesus' baptism does indicate that there is a close relationship between them. The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus at or at least immediately after his baptism in water. And, as I mentioned last time, elsewhere in the New Testament the baptism in the Spirit usually occurred at about the same time as baptism in water.  It happened so close to it that we might reasonably say that it happened at baptism. Yet its timing was usually sufficiently distinct from baptism for us truthfully to say that it happened after baptism. That’s why, in my book, The Holy Spirit – an Introduction, I coined the phrase at-after. I suggested that Jesus received the Spirit 'at-after' baptism.  Consider the following literal translations:

 

Jesus, having been baptised, came up immediately from the water; and behold the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove (Matthew 3:16)

 

And Jesus was baptised in the River Jordan by John. And immediately, coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit coming down like a dove (Mark 1:9-10)

 

And it came to pass that, while all the people were being baptised, Jesus also having been baptised and continuing to pray, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended.... (Luke 3:21-22).

 

We notice that in Matthew Jesus has already been baptised, but he is hardly out of the water when the Spirit comes upon him. In Mark he is coming up out of the water. In Luke he has been baptised and is continuing to pray when the Spirit descends.  From this it is clear that Jesus' baptism in the Spirit occurred immediately after his baptism in water and yet was in a very real sense a definite part of it. So it would be wrong to teach that the Spirit is automatically received at baptism, for reception of the Spirit is distinct from baptism. Yet we must equally strongly resist the temptation to make a wide separation between them, for they are closely associated in the New Testament. We should expect people to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit at or shortly after water-baptism (unless, like Cornelius, they have already received beforehand). For the promise still holds true:

 

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

 

Jesus’ temptation

 

We now come to the temptation of Jesus in the desert. Mark records this extremely briefly:

12. At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13. and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

 

Matthew and Luke are far more detailed. All three synoptic gospels tell us that after his baptism Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert where he was tempted by the devil. But Matthew 4:1 clearly indicates that the temptation was the purpose of Jesus’ being led into the desert. He was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. At first sight this seems a rather surprising statement. The Lord Jesus himself taught us to pray that we should not be led into temptation and James 1:13 makes it clear that no-one is tempted by God. So why did the Spirit lead Jesus to be tempted?

 

Before attempting to answer this question we need to remember that although God tempts nobody he may nevertheless sometimes allow temptation in order that we might be tested. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God will not allow us to be tempted more than we can bear and that he will always provide a way of escape. In Jesus’ case God knew that he was able to fight off the devil’s temptations successfully. But what was God’s purpose in allowing his temptation? In my book, The Holy Spirit - an Introduction, I suggest five things:

 

 

So that Jesus might truly sympathise with us in our temptations

In Hebrews 4:15 we are told that Jesus is a high priest who can sympathise with our weaknesses because he was tempted in every way just as we are - yet was without sin.

 

So that he might succeed where Adam failed

In several passages Paul contrasts Jesus with Adam and refers to him as the last Adam (e.g. Romans 5:12ff, 1 Corinthians 15:21ff (esp. vv45ff). The temptations Christ resisted in the desert may be compared with the original temptation faced by Adam in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). Where Adam failed, as we all have at times failed to resist temptation, Jesus triumphed.

 

So that he might demonstrate his perfection

Hebrews 9:14 tells us that through the eternal Spirit Christ offered himself unblemished to God. Nothing but a perfect sacrifice could atone for sin. In overcoming the temptations to which all other human beings have succumbed Jesus demonstrated that he was a worthy sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.

 

So that we might learn from his example how to deal with temptation

Because Jesus has overcome temptation, he has shown us how it is possible for us to do so. In this connection notice the importance of:

 

a)     keeping full of the Spirit (Luke 4:1)

b)     being led by the Spirit (Luke 4:1). It is noteworthy that Luke says that Jesus was led by the Spirit in (not into) the desert. The suggestion is perhaps that the Spirit assisted Jesus during his temptations.

c)      correctly understanding and using the Spirit’s sword, the word of God. The Word of God is called the sword of the Spirit in Ephesians 6:17. Jesus used that sword against the enemy by quoting the Word in connection with each temptation (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10).

 

Notice, too, that Jesus was tempted to doubt what had happened when the Spirit came upon him after his baptism. God had said, You are my Son (Luke 3:22), but Satan came with the temptation, If you are the Son of God.... (Luke 4:3, 9). As Christians we are sometimes tempted to doubt the genuineness of what happened at our baptism in the Spirit. Like Jesus we must resist with the word of God. A helpful scripture in this connection is Luke 11:11ff. We sometimes need to remind the devil - and ourselves - that God does not give snakes or stones or scorpions to his children.

 

So that he might prove that he could be trusted not to abuse his miracle-working power

Two of the temptations suggested that Jesus should use his miracle-working power for the wrong reasons, i.e., to satisfy personal desires and to exhibit God’s power as a spectacle to the crowds. The right motivation for the working of miracles is love (1 Corinthians 13). Jesus had received the Spirit in order that his anointed ministry might begin (cf. Luke 3:22, 4:18ff).

Before embarking upon that ministry, it seems that his motivation for working miracles first had to be tested. We mustn’t be surprised if God tests us before entrusting us with more of his supernatural power.

 

But now it’s time to summarise what we’ve said so far.

In our first talk we saw that the coming of Jesus was good news. He was none other than God himself who came to make possible the forgiveness of our sins. We saw the importance of repentance, confession of sin, and water baptism. This was to prepare people for an even greater baptism, a baptism which came from Jesus himself, the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

 

We saw that it was through the work of the Spirit that we are empowered to live new lives by being born again. We begin to show the fruit of the Spirit which Paul describes in Galatians 5. And when we are baptised in the Spirit we are told in Acts 1 we receive power to be effective witnesses for Christ.

 

In this talk we have considered:

·      The baptism of Jesus

·      His baptism in the Spirit

·      His temptation in the wilderness

 

In the baptism of Jesus, we have seen his willingness to be identified with sinners, even though he was sinless, his determination to do what is right, and his desire always to do the will of God. And, if we have repented and believed the gospel, we learn from his example that, if we truly wish to be his disciples, we too should be baptised by total immersion.

 

But Jesus’ baptism in water also teaches us about the relationship between water baptism and the baptism in the Spirit. The baptism in the Spirit was the gateway to his miracle working ministry. For Jesus, this was received at/after his baptism in water. And this was just what the early disciples expected and, although this is rarely the case today, it is certainly what we should be teaching and believing for.

 

Finally, we considered why the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Perhaps the most important answer we gave was so that we might learn from his example how to deal with temptation. We saw the importance of keeping full of the Spirit, of being led by the Spirit, and of correctly understanding and using the Spirit’s sword, the word of God.

 

If Jesus so needed the help and power of the Holy Spirit in fulfilling God’s will for his life, how much more do we?

 

Next time: Jesus calls his first disciples – what lessons can we learn about winning others for Jesus?

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