We have officially begun our academic year teaching out of the Gospel of Mark. Last Sunday Alvin laid out a bit of an overview and some background to better get a grasp of this book. It is of course the 2nd of the four Gospels that we find in the Bible. It is often the least read of the four as well. But we are jumping in and I can’t wait.
This Sunday I have the privilege of focusing on Mark 1:1-11, and I ask you to read and reflect on this passage before you come Sunday morning. The big question that are always going to work at is… “Who is He?” You might think you have a quick and simple answer to this question, and I think God does give us simplicity. But when we peer beyond the simplicity and look deeply into plan of God, it just seems to have no end. Even though God has made Himself known to us, there is no end to the grander understanding of who He is, why He came, and how desperately we all need Him. This Sunday as I try to unpack this portion of Scripture for us, this is where it takes us as we read the story of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. The song that often pops into my head when I think of baptism is from the comedy movie “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” and the scene where the runaway convicts come to a river where they are baptizing people. The song is “Let’s go down to the river to pray…” Now this is a silly movie and it is a horrible example of what baptism really is all about. (But I do like the movie!)
I was baptized by my own dad who was my pastor when I was just a kid. I really was young, a grade school child. Of course, growing up in a Christian home and a Pastor’s home, being baptized was pretty natural and normal for me. It did not seem that unusual or out of step culturally with others around me. It would have been very easy for me to get baptized, go through the ritual, then move on with my life in any way I wanted. But even though I was very young and certainly could not quote many of the strong doctrinal truths that I might quote today, I will tell you that I had come to a good understanding of the fact that being baptized was somehow immersing myself into a new trust and new relationship with the God of the universe through Christ. Now, this was for my own baptism back in the 1960’s. But as I have been pouring over this passage of Jesus’ baptism as He marks the beginning of His public ministry, a whole new layer of deeper understanding and depth has emerged for me. I am being profoundly impacted in this passage why I am a baptized follower of Jesus Christ. I can’t wait until Sunday to talk through this together. Come prepared by reading it ahead. Come prepared to contemplate over this with others. Come prepared to be challenged by what we find all while we are discovering “Who Jesus Is.”
See you Sunday
