Transitioning To Jesus (1)

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We understand that while Mark's stated purpose that we have looked at in verse number one of this chapter,

his stated purpose for writing this gospel is to proclaim that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah and the Son of God.

We are not actually introduced to this Jesus and to who this man actually is until we get to verse nine.

It's the first time in the narrative that we actually are introduced to who he is.

Mark's focus up to this point, as we studied in depth last week,

has been on the voice in the wilderness that would prepare the way for the coming king.

And that voice was none other than John the Baptist or John the Baptizer,

whose ministry had the distinct features of preaching and of baptism.

And we studied last week how unique his preaching and his baptism actually was.

It wasn't that there were no other people in Israel who were involved in these kinds of things.

There were others who were preaching in some form or fashion.

There were various ceremonial washings that people went through.

But nothing was quite like what John was doing, nor was it happening where John was doing it.

And we're told in verse five that people from all over Judea,

people from all over Jerusalem,

had flocked to the wilderness by the Jordan River,

specifically to hear the preaching of John,

and to involve themselves with this baptism.

It was a radical ministry.

It was a radical message.

And it was a radical method that John was going through to get the message across.

And it was radical because John was calling Jews to see themselves as Gentiles.

The baptism that he was doing, as we talked about last week,

was a baptism that was most closely associated with Gentile proselytes coming into Judaism.

Jews didn't go through this baptism.

They didn't go through this kind of ceremonial cleansing.

What John was getting them to do in his preaching

was recognize that they, in and of themselves,

needed this same cleansing of heart.

This was a baptism of repentance.

So it was a radical message.

They were to view themselves in terms of the way that they would view Gentiles,

and the Gentiles standing with God.

They were outsiders.

They were unclean in that sense.

So John called for these people to repent of their sinful ways,

and to turn their hearts to the Lord.

And this was the way in which John prepared the hearts of the people

to receive the coming Messiah and King.

Now, it was in the days of John's wilderness ministry that we find Jesus' first public appearance

in terms of formal ministry.

Remember, John wasn't meant to be on the scene and have a ministry that lasted indefinitely.

That wasn't his purpose.

His time of ministry was actually very short,

though it was of an immense impact and of an immense importance.

But like any herald,

John's role, his calling, his duty,

was to prepare the way and then get out of the way.

And so there's not much more time spent on John the Baptist in the Scriptures.

John's gospel goes a little bit further into who John was and what he was doing,

but really there's no reason to talk about him further.

He had fulfilled his calling.

For probably about six months before Jesus shows up on the side of the riverbank,

John was preaching in the wilderness.

For six months, he had this elevated ministry in Judea,

and then maybe for another six months or so after the fact.

He had a very short ministry, but it was for a very specific purpose.

He was the herald of the king.

But the king was now there,

so there was no need for the herald.

So John is beginning to transition off the scene

as Jesus is transitioning on the scene.

And Mark uses verses 9 through 15

in order to record this transition.

And so we see then in verse number 9

that Jesus came from Nazareth.

Would you look at it with me one more time?

And it came to pass in those days

that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee.

Now, when we get into this part,

I want you to think for a minute

and imagine if you were one of the people

that had come from Jerusalem

or from one of the other parts of Judea

to hear John preach this message.

And what was it that he was preaching?

You show up on the side of the riverbank.

You're curious as to what this is all about.

And John is proclaiming,

repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

And then he's saying,

there comes one after me who is mightier than me.

I'm not even worthy to wash his feet, John says.

And you get this anticipation in your mind,

this thought of,

wow, John is pretty well regarded.

He's saying that there's someone else coming just after him

that is gonna be of such greater magnitude

and of such greater importance than even John.

And so you're anticipating on the riverbank that day

this amazing person to show up.

And then what you see come to the scene

is this man named Jesus of Nazareth.

John tells us that on the day that he shows up,

John the Baptist looks and says,

behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Now I want you to imagine,

we have the distinct opportunity

of already knowing lots of the scripture.

Like most of us understand this story.

We have already talked about how this is really about Jesus

and this is who Jesus is.

None of the people on the side of the riverbank knew that.

They didn't know who Jesus was.

Their entire understanding of the Messiah

was nothing like what Jesus was going to be.

His ministry, at least in this particular advent,

was not gonna be anything like they expected for it to be.

And yet, what we have Mark emphasizing here

is not only that Jesus came to be baptized,

but he emphasizes where he came from,

which I think is significant and an encouragement.

Nazareth was Jesus' hometown.

It was an insignificant place.

It was a place that nobody even knew about.

So when John writes about this,

or excuse me, when Mark writes about this

to his Roman audience,

he has to even explain a general geographical location

of where Nazareth actually is.

He says it's Nazareth in Galilee,

or in Galilee of the Gentiles,

as it was often referred to.

That was to give them an approximate understanding

of where Nazareth actually was.

This is also a nod to the Old Testament prophecy

that foretold that the Messiah

would come from this region.

Now, most people didn't think about that.

They didn't look for the Messiah to come from here.

A fixation on the birthplace of the Messiah

being in Bethlehem is probably what gave rise

to the ignorance in regards

to Isaiah's prophecy in chapter nine.

Now, you know that chapter well.

Every Christmas, we quote one of the verses in it.

Isaiah chapter nine,

behold, a child is born.

The government shall be upon his shoulders.

We understand that prophecy.

In verse number one in relation to that prophecy,

here's what Isaiah says.

In earlier times, God treated the land of Zebulun

and the land of Naphtali with contempt.

But later on, he shall make it glorious.

By the way of the sea, that is the Sea of Galilee,

on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

But most people had missed this.

They were looking for this Messiah

to probably be more affiliated with a place like Jerusalem.

They certainly would have been aware

of David's hometown of Bethlehem

and how the Messiah would need to be

of the lineage of David.

But not many people were thinking

that this Messiah was gonna come from Galilee,

but especially Nazareth.

I mean, where is Nazareth?

We don't know anything about it.

It's not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture.

The fact that Jesus' birth took place in Bethlehem

fulfilled Micah's prophecy.

But the fact that he grew up in Nazareth

fulfilled Isaiah's, just giving more proof

that Jesus is indeed this Messiah

that the prophets had foretold long before.

Now, Galilee was sometimes referred to

as Galilee of the Gentiles.

And the reason it's referred to that

is because it had a history in Judea

for having Gentile citizenship.

And there's lots of history you could go into there

that we won't do this morning.

But basically, most Jews,

especially the closer you got to Jerusalem,

looked out on the area of Galilee,

and they looked down upon it.

They despised the people from there.

They considered them unclean.

They considered them a lower system of people.

They considered them Gentile people,

and they wanted nothing to do with them.

One such person, or one such indication,

is evident even in Jesus' calling of his own disciples.

When he called Nathanael, here's what he said.

John chapter one,

Philip found Nathanael and said to him,

we have found him of whom Moses in the law

and the prophets wrote,

Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

And Nathanael said,

can any good thing come out of Nazareth?

To which Philip responded,

you're just gonna have to come and see.

In other words, I'm with you,

and it doesn't sound right to me, Nathanael,

but you gotta see this guy.

You gotta listen to what he's saying.

You gotta see what's going on with this man.

What's the importance of this?

The importance is,

Jesus was nothing of what people expected him to be.

He was nothing of what we would want him to be, even.

This great king, this savior,

this person that John is saying is so much greater,

he's from Nazareth?

And then we see the humility of Christ.

The humility of Jesus is quite astounding.

And we see it not only in the fact that,

and it's enough even in this fact,

but not only in the fact that God condescended

to become a man,

that he set aside the glories and the benefits of heaven

in order to come and be a man,

but he did that in the most inferior

and contemptible manner imaginable.

This is not a Cinderella story.

Jesus' life is not a Cinderella story.

That's not what this is.

It's not that God looked down

and he saw this young man named Jesus of Nazareth

who was like most stories would tell in our day.

He was just destitute,

and he was robbed of everything that he needed,

but he was of such great character and integrity.

He was a diamond in the rough, so to speak.

And God looked and showed pity and compassion on him

and brought him up from the depths of his despair

and used him in such a fantastic way.

That is not what's happening in this passage.

Jesus is literally God who has condescended

to become a man in order to save sinners

from sin and death and hell.

He is literally God that has come to do that.

And as he has done that,

he did it in the most inferior way.

He's the king, John says,

that is coming to save his people.

And one might expect a king to be born in a palace.

They might expect them to be raised

in the grandeur of a city like Jerusalem.

But Jesus was born in a stable.

And he was raised among the poorest of people

in the poorest of towns.

That's where the king came from.

Now Isaiah foretold in Isaiah 53,

that he would be despised and rejected of men.

And then he goes on to say in chapter 53

that he would be one from whom men would hide their face.

He's not even talking about his crucifixion yet

in Isaiah 53.

This is the beginning.

He's saying people will look on the Messiah,

they will look on the Son of God,

and they will despise him.

He will not be attractive.

What's gonna happen with this Messiah?

You're not gonna look at him and think,

wow, he just exudes power and authority.

That's not what he's gonna be like.

He's gonna be despised and rejected of men.

He was gonna be somebody that when you looked on him,

you'd hide your face from him.

You don't want anything to do with him, Isaiah says.

That was the way in which he was gonna come.

And the simple statement of his geographical upbringing

is what gives rise to this.

It contributes to this prophecy

that this is who he would be.

Now again, think with me about these people

that would have heard John preaching.

He left the riches of heaven

in order to be among the poorest on earth.

That's what Philippians 2 tells us.

He left the glorious praises of angels

in order to be despised and rejected by mankind.

You understand the significance of that?

When you study the Old Testament

and you see these encounters

that individuals have with angels,

they were so glorious and magnificent in appearance

and in the way that they carried out their ministry

that most people when confronted by an angel in the Bible

either passed out

or they immediately got down and tried to worship them.

How many times do we read

that someone would try to worship an angel

and the angel would lift them up and say,

no, you don't need to worship me.

I'm just a messenger.

But the sheer presence of them,

the glory of what they look like

and how they ministered was so magnificent

that this was the response that men have.

Now, Jesus was in heaven from eternity past

and around the clock he was receiving praises

over and over and over

from the very beings

that when they're presented to man on earth

either pass out or fall down and worship themselves.

And he leaves that,

willingly,

he leaves that

in order to come to the earth

to have some man that he created spit in his face,

to hate him,

to have the people that was supposed to be teaching about him

plot a way for him to be murdered.

He was despised.

He was rejected.

He left so much in order to go through that.

He left the perfect, glorified state of heaven

in order that he might take on the weakness

and frailty of human life in a fallen world.

Why?

Why?

Why?

Some may say,

what a waste.

Why did he do that?

It was love.

Love is the reason.

Love for his own.

Love for you.

Love for me.

John 3 tells us plainly.

You know the verse.

For God so loved the world.

His love was so great

that he himself,

he sent his only begotten son

that whoever would believe in him

would never perish

but will have everlasting life.

Why did Jesus do all of that?

Love.

Love.

There's a hymn that was instrumental

during the second great awakening in America

written in the early 1800s

called What Wondrous Love Is This?

I don't know if you know it.

But it speaks of this love.

It goes like this.

What wondrous love is this,

O my soul,

O my soul.

What wondrous love is this,

O my soul.

What wondrous love is this

that calls the Lord of bliss

to bear the dreadful curse

for my soul,

for my soul.

To bear the dreadful curse

for my soul.

And then the next verse goes like this.

When I was sinking down,

sinking down,

sinking down.

When I was sinking down,

sinking down.

When I was sinking down

beneath God's righteous frown,

Christ laid aside his crown

for my soul,

for my soul.

Christ laid aside his crown

for my soul.

Why?

Love.

An amazing love.

Now think about those people

on the side of the river that day.

Jesus shows up.

They're here in this incredible,

and they're excited.

There's this anticipation building.

And then John says,

behold the Lamb of God.

And everybody turns around,

they look at Jesus,

and they say,

this is it?

This is it, John?

This is the one that's supposed

to be mightier than you?

This is the one that's supposed

to take away the sin of the world?

How in the world is he gonna do that?

He's from Nazareth.

To some people,

he may not seem like much.

But when you know him,

when you know him,

he's the most beautiful thing.

When you know him,

he's the most glorious thing.

It didn't matter that he was despised

and rejected of those men.

When you know him,

you will love him.

Why?

Because he loves you.

We love him,

John wrote,

because he first loved us.

And how was that love demonstrated?

When I was sinking down

beneath God's dreadful frown,

Christ laid aside his crown

for my soul,

for my soul.

What wondrous love is this?

You say,

you get all that

just out of that one phrase,

Jesus came from Nazareth?

Yeah, it's unbelievable.

We're probably not gonna make it

all the way through

this sermon today.

This is what Mark's doing

in these verses.

He's transitioning

from John to Jesus.

This is the introduction

he gives of Jesus.

And then he covers

this transition

in three phases.

Jesus' baptism,

Jesus' temptation,

and then Jesus' ministry

and message.

We're only gonna make it

through the baptism today.

But let's look at it.

Verse number nine.

It came to pass

in those days

that Jesus came

from Nazareth of Galilee

!

And was baptized

of John in the Jordan.

And straightway coming up

out of the water,

he saw the heavens opened

and the spirit like a dove

descending upon him.

And there came a voice

from heaven saying,

Thou art my beloved son,

in whom I am well pleased.

And he was baptized

in John,

or of John,

in the Jordan.

Like Jews from all of Judea

and Jerusalem,

Jesus came to one of

John's riverside meetings.

And he expressed this desire

and intention

to be baptized.

Now let's be honest,

this is a little strange.

In fact,

this is an act of Jesus

that has baffled

the minds of Christians

for hundreds of years.

But it's not an obscure passage

in the scripture.

It's not one

that keeps us guessing.

In fact,

all four gospel writers

emphasize this event

as being significant

to the beginning

of Jesus' ministry.

The question has to do with,

why would Jesus need

or want to be baptized

to begin with?

John's baptism

was about repentance

from sin.

Does that mean

that Jesus

had some kind of sin

in his life

of which he needed

to repent?

Some people have suggested that.

But that cannot be the case.

The Bible clearly teaches

that he has never sinned.

He never did a sinful act.

Though presented

with every opportunity

to sin,

he never succumbed

to temptation.

He is God

and therefore it's impossible

for him to sin.

So it couldn't be that.

It couldn't be a sin

that he needs to repent of.

Some have suggested

that Jesus was just a man

and that at this moment

of his baptism

he was somehow infused

with the divine essence

and divine qualities

that God wanted to give him

to accomplish this purpose.

But that couldn't be it either.

John 1 tells us

that in the beginning

was the Word.

And the Word was with God

and the Word was God.

He's always existed

and he's always existed

in a perfect state.

So it can't be that he needed

to be cleansed of sin

or repent of sin.

It can't be that this was

just an act of divine infusion

of the Spirit

in some kind of weird way

that took a normal man

and made him a God-like figure.

That's not what's happening here.

Even John the Baptist

was troubled by this request.

He didn't want to do it.

In fact,

in Matthew chapter 3

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

in Matthew's account

it says this,

then Jesus arrived

from Galilee

at the Jordan

coming to John

to be baptized by him.

But John tried

to prevent him.

He tried to prevent him.

That word prevent

is in the imperfect tense

which from what I understand

means that it was

a continuous thing.

It was something that John

this was a conversation.

It wasn't a

Jesus comes to John

and says,

hey, I want you to baptize me.

And John says,

you know,

I don't know about that.

And Jesus says,

no, I want you to do it.

And then, okay, I'll do it.

It wasn't like that.

There was this exchange

happening

where John

was so troubled

by this request

of Jesus

to be baptized

knowing that his baptism

represented repentance.

That he refused to do it

over and over.

He kept saying,

no, I can't do this.

I can't do this.

This is going to diminish

who you are.

This is going to diminish

what I've been preaching.

I can't do this

for you.

He says,

John tried to prevent him

saying,

I have need

to be baptized by you.

And do you come to me?

John says.

Now, John had

an incredibly high view

of Jesus.

And he had

an incredibly humble spirit.

I don't know

that most of us

would respond that way.

We're out on the riverbank.

Jesus of Nazareth

shows up.

And we have

this understanding

that he's going to be

the one that delivers us

from Rome.

That's probably what

most of them

were thinking

at this point.

And Jesus walks up to you

and he says,

hey, I want you

to baptize me.

Can I tell you what?

I'd be tempted

to think at that moment.

Yeah.

You want me to do it?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I'd love to do it.

Hey, everybody gather around.

I'm going to baptize Jesus.

He asked me to baptize him.

That's how most of us

would respond, isn't it?

Not John.

He had such a high view

of God to me.

Such a high view

of Jesus.

Such a humble spirit

that Jesus comes

and says,

John,

I need to do this.

And he says,

I can't do it.

I can't do it.

I'm not even worthy

to wash your feet

and you want me

to baptize you?

No.

I need to be baptized

by you,

John says.

But then Jesus says,

Matthew 3,

Jesus answering said to him,

permitted at this time,

for in this way

it is fitting

for us

to fulfill

all righteousness.

And then he permitted him,

it says.

In other words,

Jesus says,

John,

for us to obey

the will of the Father,

us,

not just me,

but you too,

for us to do

what God the Father

wants us to do right now,

we're gonna have to do this.

We're gonna have to fulfill

all righteousness

and we need to do it.

And of course,

John submits

and goes through

with the baptism.

So if Jesus

had committed no sin

of which he needed

to repent,

why then

did he get baptized?

Why do the gospel authors

place such a significance

on it?

Let me give you

three explanations,

really just three words

if you're keeping the notes

there in your scripture journals.

The first word is this,

confirmation.

Confirmation.

We see that in verse nine.

It came to pass

in those days

that Jesus came

from Nazareth of Galilee

and was baptized

of John.

He didn't go to just

anybody to be baptized.

He went specifically

to John

and there's a significance

in that.

His participation

in John's baptism

was a public confirmation

of who John was

and what he was doing.

It makes sense

that John's claim

of being the voice

in the wilderness

would be validated then

by the very one

to whom he was

or of whom

he was preaching about.

For Jesus

to go through

this process

meant that he was

confirming

John's identity

and he was affirming

John's message.

It put his public stamp

of approval

on the message

that every individual

was in need

of a savior

regardless of their background,

regardless of their status,

regardless of their affiliations.

It didn't matter

that they were Jews.

It didn't matter

that they were

of the physical seat

of Abraham.

None of that mattered.

This puts Jesus'

stamp of approval

on the fact

that every single person

is in need

of redemption

and salvation

and forgiveness.

When standing before God

we are all unclean.

It puts his stamp

of approval

on that message.

Of course,

by confirming

the ministry of John

Jesus confirmed

his own identity

as the Messiah

because it was Jesus

that John

was preaching about.

So the very fact

of Jesus' participation

said to the people,

you need a savior

and I am that savior.

Listen to John

and now listen to me.

So confirmation.

Secondly,

identification.

Identification.

Though perfectly sinless,

in his baptism

Jesus identified

with the sinners

that he had come to save.

MacArthur helps us here.

He wrote,

in the first act

of his ministry,

the one who had no sin

publicly identified himself

with those

who had no righteousness.

The sinless lamb

submitted to a baptism

designed for sinners.

A foreshadowing

of the fact

that he would soon

submit himself

to a death

deserved

by sinners.

There's a shadow

in this act

that points

to what Christian baptism

would eventually come

to look back on.

So as Jesus

goes down into the water

and he goes

and baptizes,

it becomes symbolic

of that moment

of what we now

in baptism

look back on

and that is his death

and his resurrection.

People from all over

Judea and Jerusalem

came to demonstrate

a repentant heart.

Jesus came

to identify with them

by pointing to

the cleansing

that he would provide.

This cleansing

was just symbolic

of what he was

going to do

for mankind.

Of course,

this was a mystery

to them.

Nobody on the bank

of the river

understood that.

It wouldn't be

until after

the crucifixion

and resurrection

that anybody could.

It was veiled

in this moment

but we had the distinct

privilege

of looking back

and saying

this is what this meant.

He was identifying

with me.

He was identifying

with what he had

come to do

for me.

King Hughes says

he associated himself

with us sinners

and placed himself

among the guilty

not for his own

salvation

but for ours.

Not for his guilt

but for our guilt.

Not because he feared

the wrath to come

but to save us

from it.

His baptism

meant the cross.

Why did Jesus

get baptized?

It's not because

he had sin.

It's because he wanted

to confirm

the message

in the ministry

of John

and then he wanted

to identify

with sinners

pointing us

to the cross

and then thirdly

and most dramatically

we see

revelation.

Revelation.

We see this

in verses 10 and 11.

Straightway coming up

out of the water

he saw the heavens

opened

and the spirit

like a dove

descending upon him

and there came

a voice from heaven

saying thou art

my beloved son

in whom I am well

pleased

was during this

act of baptism

that the very first

explicit revelation

of Jesus

being the Messiah

and Son of God

was made.

As Jesus came up

out of the water

in this instance

he and John

and presumably

others that would

have been gathered

at the river that day

for this meeting

witnessed and experienced

something spectacular

unbelievable

we might say.

Jesus comes up

out of the water

and immediately

the heavens

are torn open

is the word

that's actually used

there torn

they are opened up

and the Holy Spirit

descends

in a visible way

it's not that

he was a dove

that's not what

that is meaning

it's meaning

that he was gentle

like a dove

would be

it symbolized

kind of like

a dove

would have responded

and they witnessed

visibly the Holy Spirit

descending from

these heavens

that have just

been torn open

and resting

upon this man

that had just

been baptized

and then

it gets even better

a voice thunders

from this heaven

that has just

been torn open

and what does

the voice say?

It says

this is my beloved son

in fact it speaks

directly to Jesus

and says

you are my beloved son

in you

I am well pleased

what a magnificent

revelation this is

this is unbelievable

Jesus comes up

out of the water

and all of this happens

it's really amazing

this wasn't just

the declaration

of Jesus

as a Messiah

this was a declaration

that Jesus

was the very

son of God

and amazingly

we see the representation

of each person

of the Trinity

all in one place

all at one time

maybe for the first time

truly in the Bible

as far as

we understand it

in this way

now think about it

Jesus the son

the son of God

the second person

of the Trinity

is in the water

he's visible

then God the Holy Spirit

is descending

the same place

and then God the Father

is not seen

but he's heard

he's heard as he's speaking

remember last week

we talked about

he's a God who speaks

and he speaks

and all one time

we see all three parts

of course we don't

understand this

we don't understand

how this works

a lot of people

try to deny it

but how can you deny

what the scripture says

in one place

God the Son

God the Spirit

God the Father

all there together

in one essence

this is who they are

it's who he is

this was a monumental

and undeniable moment

on which John the Baptist

based his testimony

and witness of Jesus

we're almost done

listen in John chapter 1

John 1 · chapter mention

John testified saying

I have seen the Spirit

descending as a dove

out of heaven

and he remained on him

and John says

I did not recognize him

that is John

and Jesus

though related

John spent his life

in the wilderness

his parents were very old

when they had him

they probably died

when he was very young

and he spent his life

in the wilderness

there might have been times

that John and Jesus

at family gatherings

particularly around the feast

in Jerusalem

might have seen each other

and known each other

as children

we don't know for sure

but it's possible

that that happened

but in adulthood

it's been very long

since John had seen

Jesus himself

and so at first

when Jesus comes

he doesn't recognize him

he doesn't recognize him

like any of us

would recognize somebody

that we haven't seen

for 20, 25 years

at this point

somebody that we knew

as a kid

we may not recognize

them now

that's what John's saying

he said

I did not recognize him

but

he who sent me

to baptize in water

that is God the Father

God said to me

he upon whom you see

the Spirit

descending

and remaining upon him

this is the one

who baptizes

in the Holy Spirit

and John says

I myself have seen

and have testified

that this is

the Son of God

now what are these

gospel authors doing?

they're providing

eyewitness accounts

of who Jesus is

and what he has done

so that we may believe him

and they're giving

John's account

of saying

listen

as John went around

after that day

saying look

I saw it

I saw it

I saw the heavens open

I saw the Spirit

descend

I saw it

I was told

this is what was

going to happen

and then one day

Jesus showed up

and that's exactly

what happened

I saw it with

my own eyes

John says

he is the Son of God

Dennis Prager

is a popular

conservative

talk show host

he's also an

Orthodox Jew

and from time to time

he'll do a

kind of a Q&A

sort of thing

called

ask a Jew

ask a Gentile

and from time to time

he'll have somebody

like John MacArthur

or Alistair Begg

or somebody like that

on his program

and I was listening

to one of them

last year

around Easter

that he had done

with Alistair Begg

and Dennis Prager

made this statement

he said

the Jews problem

with Jesus

is not his

messianic claim

he said the Jews

have all kinds

of messiahs

we're grateful

for them

and Jesus probably

fits that description

well

I like Jesus

I like what he did

he certainly

attempted to turn

people back to

Sinai

is what he would

always make

as his point of reference

he said the Jews

have no problem

with Jesus'

messianic claim

they have a problem

with this divinity claim

that God

would somehow

be

in

three persons

is

beyond their

ability to believe

he along

with many others

believed that

Jesus

was a type

of messiah

whose teaching

was powerfully

compelling

but they're

unprepared to

accept him

for who he really

is

and that is

the son of God

but the gospel

writers

insist

that the events

surrounding

the baptism

of Jesus

make this

divinity claim

of Jesus

irrefutable

why did Mark

bother to mention

the baptism

of Jesus

how could he not

how could he not

his purpose

is to prove

to us

that Jesus

is the Christ

the son of God

how could he

ignore

such a monumental

moment

of revelation

perhaps you're

prepared to

accept Jesus

as an incredible

teacher

with an incredibly

powerful impact

on the world

but are you

prepared to

accept him

as the son

of God

you say

Jared I don't

know about this

this

this seems

kind of out

there

I don't

disagree

when I read

things today

fictional things

and when I

see stories

demonstrated on

TV and on

movies and I

see something

maybe along

these lines

happen I

never automatically

look at it and

think wow that

must have really

happened

but this is not

just a story

this is not a

historical novel

this is not

meant to just

get us excited

about something

and draw some

applications that

might help us

in our life

that's not what

this is

this is an

eyewitness

account

of a real

man named

Jesus of

Nazareth

that was

baptized by a

real man

named John

the baptizer

a name given

to him by

people that

didn't follow

him

this is the

real account

that people

saw and

witnessed

and because

the word of

God tells it

it's true

are you

prepared to

accept it as

truth even

though you may

look at it and

think wow this

is this is

unique can

you believe it

yeah you can

because it's

true it's

true why is

this so

significant

Jesus tells us

in John

John 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10

Jesus said

I am the

door

he's given an

illustration about

sheep and

shepherds and

sheep pens

and he says I

am the door

if anyone enters

through me

he will be

saved

and will go in

and find rest

find pasture

the thief comes

only to steal

and to kill

and to destroy

but I came

that they may

have life

and that they

may have it

more abundantly

Jesus'

claim

is that he

was the only

way to this

life

and what

helps us

understand the

authority of that

claim

because there was

a man named

John the Baptist

that said I saw

it

I saw it

I heard it

with my own

ears

he said you

are my

son

in whom

I am well

pleased

and if that's

who Jesus

is

we cannot

ignore his

message

and his

message is

I am the

door

if you want

life

you have to

go through

me

and if you

will come

through me

you will find

rest for your

soul

he says you

will find

pasture

but you have

to go

through me

and when

Jesus says

that

he doesn't

say it

arrogantly

there's no

pride in that

he's not

looking at

people

and saying

demanding

that his

authority

over them

like a

gentile

leader

would have

lorded

authority

no he's

saying it

with compassion

and with

mercy

understanding

that if

they don't

go through

him

they will

not get

life

and it's

that love

in his

heart

and that

mercy

and that

compassion

in his

heart

that he

says I'm

the door

listen

I'm the

door

if you

don't go

through me

you won't

have life

but if you

come through

me

you will

find rest

you will

find pasture

you will

find rest

for your

soul

the thief

comes to

steal and

to destroy

but I have

come that

you may

have abundant

life

Jesus says

and because

of the witness

of John

and because

of the

experience

around Jesus

his baptism

we cannot

ignore that

message

and that's

the message

for you

today

are you

prepared

to believe

it

are you

prepared

to believe

that Jesus

truly is

the son

of God

that he

is God

in the

flesh

if you're

not prepared

to accept

that and to

believe that

you will

not have

life

you cannot

have life

you cannot

look at him

indifferently

you cannot

see him

as just

a wonderful

man that

had an

incredible

impact

and you

shouldn't

wait much

longer to

make that

decision

the Bible

says

behold

today

is the

day

of

salvation

I want

to

implore

you

to

believe

the

gospel

there

was an

urgency

to Jesus

his message

and to

John's

why

because

of the

reality

of who

he

was

if

that's

who

Jesus

is

we

have

to

listen

to

what

he

said

and

if

we're

going

to

listen

to

what

he

said

we

have

to

believe

and

if

we

don't

we

don't

have

life

thank

you

for

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to

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