Baptism of the Lord 2006
Dr. Paul G. Humphrey
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Mark 1:4-11
1:4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of
repentance for the remission of sins.
1:5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of
Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan,
confessing their sins.
1:6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin
about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
1:7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me,
the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and
unloose.
1:8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you
with the Holy Ghost.
1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth
of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
1:10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens
opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
1:11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased.
On January 2, 2006, TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va., there was an explosion in the Sago Mine in West Virginia. Initial reports claimed that one man had been found dead, and that 12 men were trapped. A false report came to family members who had gathered in a local church saying that the twelve men were found alive, when in reality, only one had been found alive, the rest had died. We later found that the men who died in this accident had been alive for many hours before they died, and that they had written notes to their family members. In some of the first note released to the public, in addition to expressing love for family, one of the miners had written “not so bad, just going to sleep” and “see you on the other side.”
I was amazed to see such a selfless note. The man was saying, “don’t worry about me, dying is not so bad, I am not suffering.” He was also expressing his faith that Jesus has made a way for his loved ones to see him on the other side. If you knew that you only had a short time to live, what would you write in a note? I hope that each and every one of you would be able to say, “See you soon.” The truth of the matter is that we each have a limited time left on this earth. When do we start dieing? As soon as we are born we start dieing. Sin separated us from God and eternal life with him. But Jesus has made a way, and this is what we express in baptism. Let us look at our Scripture passages a bit closer this morning.
I. In the wilderness of life we stand in need of repentance and redemption.
Our Scripture passage today opens with “John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4).
I have heard theologians propose that prophets would live in the wilderness to avoid contact with the corruption of civilization, and the temptations that go with it. Yet, in the book of Mark, the wilderness is set forth as a place of testing and temptation. It was thought that evil spirits lurked in midst of the wilderness. And, right after these verses, right after Jesus’ baptism we see him going where to be tempted? We see Jesus himself going into the wilderness to be tempted.
In the Old Testament people who were ritually unclean, a person that had touched a dead animal had to stay outside of the camp, far from the Ark of the Covenant. There is a picture of God’s presence associated with the Ark, in the Holy of Holies, then there was an inner court, and an outer court, and then the camp. And if you were ritually unclean it took time plus washing to allow your entrance back into the camp. Jesus himself even used a similar illustration in parables saying, “they shall be cast into outer darkness.”
It may very well have been that John had spent a period of time in the desert as part of a declaration and testing for his ministry much like the Essenes practiced. We know for sure that the wilderness was a place of testing for Jesus. Whatever the case, he came preaching repentance.
Can you command someone to repent? Sure you can, but a person can only repent as a result of their own heart. Repentance is not something that we decide to have. It is God given. Repentance is regret and turning. Sometimes you see criminals who regret getting caught.
W.M. Taylor said, “True repentance hates the sin, and not merely the penalty; and it hates the sin most of all because it has discovered and felt God’s love.” (SermonCentral)
1:5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of
Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan,
confessing their sins.
As the Spirit of God moved, many came to repent and be baptized. Others just wanted to be a part of the crowd.
Others had no real desire other than simply doing what everyone else was doing, being a part of the crowd.
In another Gospel we find that the Sadducees and Pharisees showed up. John sent them away, calling them vipers, telling them that they should bring forth fruit worthy of repentance. In other words, John knew it was just a game for them.
What if John had gone ahead and baptized those he called vipers? Would the act of baptism have brought forth salvation apart from true faith, or true repentance? No.
Is baptism a ticket to heaven? No, I could baptize a cat and it would do nothing for its demeanor.
John the Baptist had people coming to him just to go through the motions, and be a part of the crowd
That is a fearful thought as churches become more centered on entertainment. Yet, some may come to be entertained, and yet leave having received and believed the word of God unto salvation.
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1:6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin
about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
Why do you think it is important that we are told what John the Baptist wore? When the people saw John, they would have seen the uniform of a prophet, one like Elijah to be exact. Many believed that Elijah would be the forerunner of the Messiah. Many heeded the word of this prophet, because they could see that they were in need of forgiveness.
II. In the wilderness of life we stand in need of being cleansed.
1:7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me,
the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and
unloose.
1:8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you
with the Holy Ghost.
John is saying, that what he is doing does not compare to what the Mighty One has come to do. In essence, John is preparing their hearts for the work that Jesus will do.
John came preaching repentance, and here comes Jesus identifying himself with John’s baptism of repentance and adding to it, by showing the means by which forgiveness will come.
The act of baptism does not replace that which it designates.
If baptism alone would save, then we would be running people down and baptizing them against their will.
Baptism represents the work that Christ has done on our behalf, and that work is received through faith. It does not stop at wiping the slate clean.
III. In the wilderness of life, we stand in need of being filled with the Spirit.
Mark 1:8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you
with the Holy Ghost.
Forgiveness of sins was not the fullness of the Old Testament promise. The fullness of the promise is not just cleansing, but newness. Let us look at the Old Testament promise a moment. Here is one example of it in Ezekiel.
Ezekiel
36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean:
from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within
you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I
will give you an heart of flesh.
36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my
statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Some people repent of their sins and accept Christ as their Lord and Savior and then are baptized and are born again.
Some are baptized as infants and when they get to an age of accountability repent of their sins and accept Christ as their Lord and savior and are born again.
Yet, in the wilderness of life, some just go through the motions without ever truly believing that Jesus has died for their sins, never being born again.
I was baptized at age 12. I accepted Christ and made a profession of faith before the church. My wife was baptized as an infant. Yet, she too had to go before the church at an age of accountability professing her faith, and repenting of her sins as she confirmed her baptism. Some groups accuse others of putting the cart before the horse. What is important to me is that both cart and horse get across the finish line. What I want to know is that a person is born again.
Billy Graham preached that if you are a Methodist and were baptized as an infant, then you need to repent of your sins and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and be born again. He preached that if you have never been baptized, then you need to repent of your sins, accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and be born again and baptized. Either way, we must be born again.
Just as repentance comes from the hand of God, so does cleansing, and so does the Spirit and the new life that he brings.
IV. The fullness of the Old Testament promise is fulfilled in Jesus.
1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth
of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
1:10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens
opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
1:11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased.
In this verse we see the Father, Son and Holy Spirit mentioned together.
What did Jesus have to repent of?
I would say to you that Jesus associated himself with this baptism as a commitment to fulfill it.
Those who repent of their sins, and have faith in Jesus can know the fullness of the Old Testament promise. Jesus’ baptism is a statement of what he is about to do.
Our baptism is a statement about what Jesus has done.
Baptism operates by faith. It is an outward and physical sign of an inward and spiritual grace.
In other words, the physical act points to something else. Through Jesus work, not only is the slate wiped clean, but we are also made new creatures in Christ.
An author named Bret Harte wrote a story about the Wild West, called “The Luck of Roaring Camp.” Roaring Camp was the meanest, toughest Mining Town in all the West. There were more murders and thefts than any other place around. Roaring Camp was inhabited entirely by men … except for one woman who made her living in the only way she knew how. Her name was Cherokee Sal.
Eventually, Cherokee Sal became pregnant and gave birth to baby. She died in childbirth, and no one knew who the father might be. The men put the baby girl in a box with some old rags under her. Somehow that just didn’t seem right, so one of the men rode 80 miles to buy a Rosewood Cradle. When they put the rags and the baby in the beautiful new cradle, the rags just didn’t look right. So another man rode to Sacramento and purchased some silk and lacy blankets. They men lined the Rosewood Cradle with silk and tucked the new blanket around the little baby girl. But then someone noticed that the floor under the cradle looked dirty.
The next thing you knew, a few of those big, tough men got down on their hands and knees and scrubbed the floor until it was spotless. Of course, then the walls and the ceiling … and the dirty windows looked awful. So they washed down the walls and the ceiling, and they even hung some clean white curtains on the windows.
Things were beginning to look a lot better. But they soon realized they had to give up their carousing and fighting. After all, the baby needed a lot of sleep, and babies can’t sleep during a brawl. Besides all that, the baby didn’t like angry voices or frowning faces. So the men started smiling and talking in pleasant, cheerful tones. And, since babies shouldn’t be left alone, they set the cradle by the entrance of the Mine and one of the men stayed next to her while the others worked.
Then somebody noticed how ugly the mine entrance was. So they planted some flowers and made a small garden near the cradle. And as they worked, the men looked for shiny little stones that they could show to the baby and watch her gurgle and coo. But when they held the stones down near her, they saw that their hands looked black and dirty. And they didn’t want to scare the little baby with their scraggly hair and wild beards. Pretty soon the general store sold out of soap and shaving gear. (SermonCentral)
This baby that we celebrated on Christmas was the savior, who washed away our sins, and who also brings change and newness of life to all who will believe in him. Upon his baptism, know for sure that his eyes were already fixed upon the cross of Calvary. His baptism was a statement of what he was about to do to enable our salvation and the new birth that comes with it.
