“ANOINTED"
Text: Mark 1: 9-15
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
10 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.
11 And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."
12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.
13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God,
15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."†
Mark: on his own terms
We’re walking through the gospel of Mark, who gives us a rightside-up Jesus in an upside-down world. As we do this, let’s remember that we need to let the gospels each speak for themselves, in their own voices and on their own terms. We may be familiar with all the gospels and know the parallel accounts in Matthew, Luke and John, but Mark tells his story differently; and we our best way to understand the whole Gospel is to be sure we hear each gospel writer in his own voice.
In today’s text, we cover three episodes in short descriptions: Jesus’ baptism, temptation in the wilderness, and beginning of his preaching. Let’s seek to hear Mark speak for himself and then consider some connection points to our lives. We’ll look at this in three parts: the calling, the training, and getting into the game.
1. THE CALLING AND THE REVERSE OF THE CURSE
The first part shows us the calling of Jesus—his baptism and ordination by God. Verse 9:
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
On the surface, this is very ordinary. Lots of people came from Galilee in the north country to hear John and be baptized. Nazareth was a little nowhere town. From the humblest of beginnings we’ll see the most enormous effect.
10 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.
Two movements: Jesus coming up out of the water and the Spirit/dove coming down from Heaven. We need to see this like a painting, for it is Mark’s first picture of reconciliation between humankind and God. Jesus, representing all of humanity comes out of the water, and at the same time, a dove comes down with the Holy Spirit of God. Two movements of God toward humanity in the Holy Spirit and redeemed humanity toward God. These two movements coming together is reconciliation, as in the story of the Prodigal Son where father and son move toward each other—one in repentance and the other in grace. We can also see Noah in Genesis 8: 8-11:
Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground. 9 But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him. 10 He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. 11 And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.
Just as Noah’s dove brings a message of the end of divine wrath for human sin, so in Jesus we see a new message: the reverse of the curse, the end of divine wrath for human sin.
The curse that has so long separated humanity from fellowship with God will be overcome in Jesus. The curse of sin and separation is coming to its end. This is made explicit in verse 11:
11 And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."
Jesus is the new Adam coming up out of the water, not in banishment for sin but in holiness and right relationship with the Father.
Theologian Karl Barth sums up the gospel by saying that Jesus Christ is God’s “yes” to humanity. Where is the shame of sin? Where the curse? It is nowhere. In Jesus, God blesses humankind and pronounces nothing but approval: “You are my beloved and I am pleased with you!”
Like verse 1 of Mark, this is the beginning of the good news—telling us that the narrative of shame that has plagued humanity is at its end. Israel’s whole history is a story of their best efforts yielding spiritual failure again and again. As hard as they tried, they couldn’t overcome sin in their own power. It’s no different for us—for shame is our whole story until the love of God rescues us from sin. God loves us as only God can love. He loves us in spite of our shame.
Today is Mothers’ Day and I was thinking of that odd, old phrase: “a face only a mother could love.” Now I don’t think there is a kind way to say that, but think of what is behind the saying. What kind of love is this, that loves tremendously when others do not? The mother who loves her son who is unfortunate-looking cares not for the thoughts of the rest of the world. Even if he is not virtuous, the mother’s love is constant. Think of all those old movies where a criminal’s mother pleads with the judge to show mercy because she knows in her heart what a good boy he really is—a mother’s love is constant and undiminished by shortcomings, afflictions. A mother’s love is quick to forgive, and this is a most marvelous kind of love. I’ll say that it’s godly, for it is truly God-like. It is love that is more powerful than all the shame and dislike this world can pour out. It’s this kind of love that becomes a care for all children.
You might say that humanity, in its fallen state, had a face only God could love. In Jesus, the curse is reversed. Sin’s power over us is at its end, and God says, “You are my beloved sons and daughters and I am delighted in you.”
In Jesus’ baptism, God’s own voice proclaims Jesus his Son. As Jesus is favored, so shall all be who are in Christ. You and I, who have been united with Christ in baptism, need to hear this. God is not at odds with us; he is delighted with us and his love is more powerful than sin. As if to prove this, Jesus is next driven into the wilderness.
II. THE TRAINING: JESUS MASTERS THE MASTERS
12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.
Jesus isn’t led out in Mark, he is forcibly driven out into the wilderness. As the first verses showed us Jesus’ calling, here we see his training and preparation for ministry.
Notice how Mark doesn’t tell us anything about the temptations, nor does it say he fasted, but he was 40 days out, just like Moses and Elijah before him. We see Moses trial in Exodus 24: 16-18:
16 The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. 18 Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
And we see Elijah in 1 Kings 19: 5-8
5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, "Arise and eat." 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, "Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you." 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.
Mark presents to us Jesus as the fulfillment or the perfecter of Moses and Elijah. He is not merely like Moses and Elijah, he is the better version of both. He is not only the law-giver that Moses was, but he will speak as the very author of the Law. He is not a prophet—a bearer of God’s Word—like Elijah, but he is himself God’s Word in the flesh.
Another part of Mark’s portrait is found in this curious phrase, “and he was with the wild animals,” which appears nowhere else. What are we to make of this? Remember that Mark wants us to see something. What do we see? We see Adam in Eden, in perfect harmony with the wild animals. We see Daniel in the lion’s den. And we hear Psalm 91: 9-13:
9 Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place-- the Most High, who is my refuge-- 10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. 12 On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
In this place of wilderness, Jesus is protected and attended. There is no fear because God who loves him is working out his purposes.
We may not have wilderness and wild animals threatening us, but our lives have trials and temptations that are hard-enough. We live in a human wilderness where people seek to shame us and work against that blessing of God’s favor toward us.
We can feel sorry for ourselves (I often have), and feel hurt and injured—even play the victim—for their are no wilder animals that human beings. They can bite, betray, backstab and belittle, adding to our feelings of shame and unworthiness. It can feel very much like being attacked by wild animals. What’s more, we can give an awful lot of headspace to those who would injure us. You might be like a person out in the wild, constantly worried over what the next attack might be.
Two things we do well to take from this:
- 1.Don’t give anyone free rent in your head.
- 2.Angels and the Spirit attend us in the wild.
When we feel like we’re out in the wilderness, we need to remember that we are driven out there not for our destruction but for our good. The Spirit drives us out to where we can learn Christlikeness.
The most dangerous prayer we can pray is to become more like Christ. Have you ever asked God to become a more loving person? A more trusting Christian? A more forgiving person? How do you think he answers those prayers? Do you think he just pours into us new courage and a feeling of forgivingness that we can automatically act out? I don’t think so. If you pray to become a more forgiving Christian, you can expect the Spirit to drive you into the wilderness—you will find something very big that you will have to forgive! Something you very much do not want to forgive—that is how we become more forgiving, more Christlike.
The wilderness is no longer a threat to us because Christ is always there, showing us the way to survive and grow in our faithfulness and trust of God. We should seek a place in our hearts where we can, like Jesus in the wild—like Daniel in the lion’s den—trust God and be at peace, even when we hear nothing but growls in the dark.
When we become truly mature Christians, we might even come to thank God for these things as opportunities to grow.
After the testing comes part three: getting into the game.
III. INTO THE GAME: REPENTING FOR GOOD NEWS
With this text, we see Jesus fully launched into his ministry. He has fully taken the baton of John’s ministry, completing and perfecting it. Verses 14 and 15:
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
While John’s message was repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, the proclamation of Jesus is it’s time to believe God’s good news. What was that good news? In short, that God’s favor has arrived. This is the consistent theme in Mark so far. God is for us, not against us. God wants to save us, not to judge or condemn us. God wants us to grow and flourish, not to live in shame and guilt. The gospel is an invitation to a new way of living. Jesus says repent and believe the good news.
The word repent is the same word as convert. It comes from the Greek word metanoia, which literally means think in a new way. Twenty years ago, Apple Computer hit the nail on the head, with their slogan Think Different. That is an excellent translation of the word metanoia.
Consider the whole picture: you have an apple with a bit out of it, signifying the narrative of shame and sin—the Fall of humanity in Eden. The image is filled by a rainbow, which, Biblically, indicates the promise of God. Just as God promised to Noah a relief from divine judgment for sin (of which the rainbow was the sign), so in Christ we have the promise of the redemption of sin, with the proclamation of the prophets and Jesus below: Think Different.
Think Different and believe the good news.
Believing the good news might require some repentance for us. We may have become perfectly content with living under the thumb of shame. We may feel perfectly justified in looking down our noses at certain people, or perfectly righteous while holding grudges. In all cases, we’re living the story of shame, not of God.
One final fact to consider: the name Satan means the Accuser, which we can translate to the Grand Shamer. If the good news is that God means us to know we are loved and favored, yet we live as though we are still under the curse of shame—and we seek to trade shame with one another instead of living beyond shame’s power—then whose Lordship is in greater evidence?
We need to pray those hard prayers and trust God’s good news of favor toward us:
•Lord, make me a great forgiver
•Lord, lead me to love like a good Mother
•God help me to trust You and not myself
•Lord, be with those who falsely accuse me
•Dear Jesus, teach me Your path of strength
•Holy Spirit, remind my heart of Your favor. †