Lesson 3255

(Lesson 3255)(12-01-20) Mark 1:9-11

    “And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in 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.”

   Although the author of Mark’s account of the water baptism of Jesus, by John the Baptist, differs slightly from the account of the same events in Matthew, the difference is so minor as to have no affect on the original intent of either lesson. 

    Jesus, the human man, by His own account was a Jew and bound by the laws of the Jews. Jesus, the Son and Spirit of God, was bound by His Father's law only. It is very important to keep that in mind as we proceed through these lessons.

    As a Jew, in order to be sin free within the boundaries of the law, and therefore qualified to be a perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world, Jesus was required to commit Himself to the commanded ritual of physical water cleansing, or as written, or as incorrectly written, baptized.  

    God the Father, upon seeing that Jesus, the human man, had completed the requirements of the law to perfection, immediately recognized Jesus, both in the Spirit and in the flesh, as His beloved Son.

    We must remember, Jesus WAS NOT baptized in water to become the Son of God, He already was the Son of God. He was baptized in water in order to demonstrate that, as a human man, He was obedient to the law and therefore worthy to be the perfect sacrifice and savior of all those who would come to believe in Him.

    For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast”. (Ephesians 2:8-9)~