Mark 1:9-12
Why was Jesus baptized if he was without sin? Wasn’t Jesus sinless? Didn’t he claim to be God? Doesn’t the fact that he was baptized at the hands of man who preached a baptism for the forgiveness of sin prove a guilty conscience in Jesus? These kinds of questions are frequently on the lips of skeptics, but they only highlight a common misunderstanding of why Jesus was baptized.
Since water baptism is the symbolic act of washing away and burying of sin, Jesus’ baptism symbolized the sins he would wash away and bury with himself. Placing himself in the hands of a sinful man to be baptized was akin to the baptism he underwent on the cross after placing himself in the hands of Jew and Gentile sinners. The raising of Jesus from the water, heaven’s opening, the Spirit descending and the Father’s voice from heaven symbolized his coming resurrection, ascension and glorification to come after he ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father.
In the modern terms, Jesus’ baptism was his mission statement. It was a powerful and vivid display of what he promised to do and what his Father would do in response to his obedience. The time had come to reveal the Gospel through his life, death, resurrection, ascension and glorification beginning first with this beautiful illustration of his entire Gospel here in his baptism.
And the symbolism continues with Jesus’ trip into the desert. In the desert, Jesus was prepared for his ministry. Being led by the Spirit, the Spirit set Jesus apart from the people for a considerable time of prayer and fasting to sanctify him for his mission. But consider the symbolism too. There were 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and his ascension into heaven. These were 40 days of preparation as well. John prepared the way for Jesus. Jesus prepared the way for the Spirit. And so in a sense, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness (here on earth) before he returned to heaven and heard those wonderful words as he was taking his seat at the right hand of the Father: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
You must log in to post a comment.