The Son of God

The Son of God

Mark 1:1-15

Main Idea: ​​​​God’s plan of salvation culminates in the coming of Christ, inviting us to repentance and faith.

I. The Forerunner (1:2-8)

Mark begins his gospel account with the figure of John the Baptist, who is the fulfillment of a number of promises made in the OT:

  • John is the “messenger” promised in Mal. 3:1 who will prepare the way of the Lord. This messenger in Malachi is one who will come like Elijah (Mal. 4:5-6) who will turn hearts back to the Lord in repentance

  • Isaiah 40:3 is a word of comfort from God to his people in Babylonian exile, hearing a voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord himself, who is coming to his people 

At the time of John’s coming, there had been 400 years of silence from God to his people. Israel was fractured, divided, and under harsh Roman occupation. John’s message and baptism all revolve around one issue: repentance. The only way to “clear a path” and to “make straight” the way of our own hearts for the coming of God is to take up the posture of humble repentance. 

“The word translated “prepare” means to clear out, like spring-cleaning… Glory and clutter don’t go together. So Isaiah [and John the Baptist] are saying, “The King is coming with blessing in his hands for you. So, empty your hands. Clear away the obstacles to his glory entering your world.” God is not calling us to pedal faster; he is calling us to open up. He is calling us to repentance.”
~ Ray Ortlund

II. The Son (1:9-13)

Mark tells us three things about Jesus as the Son of God:

1. The Son is Divine

Three “signs” occur at the baptism of Jesus to confirm his divine identity: 

  • The heavens are “torn” open (cf. Isa. 64:1; Rev. 19:11), signifying a divine, heavenly intervention into earthly affairs

  • The spirit “descended on him like a dove,” echoing Genesis 1:2

  • The voice of the Father from heaven declares Jesus is his “Beloved Son” (cf. Ps. 2:7), coming with the full pleasure and authority of God.

Just as creation itself was the product and accomplishment of the Triune God (Gen. 1:1-2, Col. 1:16), so too is the new creation and redemption in Christ. 

2. The Son will Suffer

The Spirit immediately “drove” Jesus out into the wilderness (desert) to face temptation, following the same pattern as Adam and the same story as Israel. The “wilderness” is the place of testing, training, and emptiness, but it is also the place where God meets his people.

The wilderness is not a detour or an accidental stop on the way; Jesus is entering into the story of God’s people and succeeding where Adam and Israel failed. Jesus will win the cosmic conflict through suffering and hardship, not in spite of it.

3. The Son Identifies with His People

In both his baptism and his temptation, Jesus is profoundly identifying with sinners and sufferers.

“Mockery of every sort was added to their [Christian’s] deaths. Covered with the skins of wild beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.”
~ Tacitus (Roman Historian, 64AD)

Hebrews 4:15–16: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

III. The King (1:14-15)

Jesus begins announcing the good news that the “time is fulfilled” and the “kingdom of God is at hand.” The rest of Mark’s Gospel will tell us that the Kingdom of God is an upside-down Kingdom to the world, and Jesus the King is an unlikely King. He comes not to ascend a throne but to be enthroned on a cross. 

Since the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand, Jesus invites us to the “twin responses” of the gospel: repentance and faith. Repentance and faith are both the entrance to the “way” of Jesus, and the road we must continually walk with him day by day as disciples. 

“This is how true Christians live; they repent as bitterly for sin as if they knew they should be condemned for it; but they rejoice as much in Christ as if sin were nothing at all. Oh, how blessed it is to know where these two lines meet, the stripping of repentance, and the clothing of faith! The repentance that ejects sin as an evil tenant, and the faith which admits Christ to be the sole master of the heart; the repentance which purges the soul from dead works, and the faith that fills the soul with living works; the repentance which pulls down, and the faith which builds up… the repentance which ordains a time to weep, and the faith that gives a time to dance—these two things together make up the work of grace within.”
~ Charles Spurgeon

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