The Inauguration of the Son – Mark 1:9-11

Passing from Mark’s brief description of the ministry of John the Baptist, Christ’s forerunner, he then gives a snapshot of the baptism of Christ with its attendant supernatural events. This marked the Divine commencement of Christ’s public ministry.

Christ’s baptism marked the dividing line between His private and His public life (Hiebert).

Christ was approx. 30 years of age at the commencement of His public ministry (Luke 3:23)

We will note Christ’s inauguration to public ministry under 3 headings:

The Example of the Son (Vs. 9)

The Purpose of His Baptism (Matt. 3:14-15)

1. To obey as perfect man – “for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness…” (Matt. 3:15)
2. To identify with sinful man – John’s baptism was the baptism of repentance. Christ never sinned but He willingly identified with the sinners He came to save.
3. To prophecy of his coming sufferings – See Mark 10:38 & Luke 12:50 where Christ refers to His coming sufferings on the cross as “his baptism”
4. Challenge: Have you followed the example of Christ in believer’s baptism?

The Praying at His Baptism (Luke 3:21)

1. Christ was praying as He was baptized. We are not told exactly what He prayed but it seems likely that as perfect man, He was praying for empowerment upon His ministry because as soon as He was baptized, the heavens are opened and the Holy Spirit descends.
2. Challenge: We would do well to seek heaven’s anointing prior to any service for the Lord

The Process of His Baptism (Vs. 9-10)

1. The mode is clearly immersion by the language employed:
   1. “was baptized”
   2. “And straightway coming up out of the water”
   3. The word baptize comes from the root word ‘bapto’ which means to dye. You do not dye a garment by sprinkling it!

The Empowerment of the Son (Vs. 10)

Christ’s baptism was accompanied by two supernatural signs. The first was the visible descent of the Holy Spirit upon Him. The second was the audible declaration of the Father concerning Him. Note: This is was a Trinitarian scene

The Emblem of the Spirit (Vs. 10a)

1. The dove is one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit in Scripture along with others like oil (Acts 10:38); wind (John 3:8; Acts 2:2); fire (Acts 2:3) and water (John 7:7-39).
2. “like a dove” = not “as a dove”. The Holy Spirit was visibly manifest some way “in a bodily shape like a dove” (Luke 3:22)
3. Similar picture to Gen. 1:2 where the Spirit of God “moved (brooded, fluttered) upon the face of the waters”
4. The dove noted for its qualities of gentleness and purity.
5. The dove was principally the bird of sacrifice in Scripture (Lev. 1:14). Christ “through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God.” (Heb. 9:14)

The Enduement of the Spirit (Vs. 10b)

1. The explanation of enduement (definition)
   1. The English word ‘endue’ means to be endowed with something.
   2. Word appears in Luke 24:49. Same Greek word translated as follows:
      1. “put on” – e.g. Eph. 6:11“Put on the whole armour of God…”
      2. “clothed with” – e.g. Mark 1:6 “John was clothed with camel’s hair…” or Rev. 1:13 “…clothed with a garment down to the foot…”
      3. Enduement therefore refers to being clothed with the Spirit’s power for service. Note words “upon him” (Vs. 10)
2. The extent of Christ’s enduement
   1. Christ was the only One who knew the Holy Spirit’s filling and anointing “without measure”
   2. John 3:34 “For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.”
   3. Luke 4:1 “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan…”
   4. Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”
   5. This was Heaven’s Anointing of the Son of God for His three- fold office of Prophet, Priest and King, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1 (See also Luke 4:18)
3. The essentiality of enduement
   1. We can never have the Spirit’s power to the degree as the Sinless, Perfect, Son of God but we DO need the enduement of power for effective witness!
   2. Luke 24:49 “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”
   3. Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
   4. NBC Doctrinal Statement on the Holy Spirit (note text in bold)We believe that the Holy Spirit is God and hence to be loved, worshipped, and obeyed. He is the agent who, through the Word of God regenerates men. He indwells the bodies of believers teaching, comforting, chastening, imparting gifts and producing the fruits of the Spirit. We believe in the enduement of power for the purpose of winning the lost to Jesus Christ. (Acts 1:8; John 14:6; Eph. 4:30)

The Endorsement of the Son (Vs. 11)

Note two truths conveyed in the Father’s declaration concerning the Son:

The Father’s Affection for the Son (Vs. 11a)

1. “a voice from heaven” = Both the visible and audible sign came from heaven. The Father’s voice would again be heard at the transfiguration (9:7) and during Passion week (John 12:28)
2. “thou art” = an abiding reality. This was not a newly established relationship but one that existed from eternity past and will continue into eternity future.
3. “beloved” = the highest word for love in the Greek language. The Father loves the Son above all others. “Oh perfect love, all human thoughts transcending…”
4. ‘Son’ = he did not become a son in time but rather is the eternal Son, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father; He is the Son by nature. “He proceeds from God the Father in a birth which never took place because it always was.” (Wuest) Jesus is both God and with God (John 1:1).

The Father’s Approval of the Son (Vs. 11b)

1. “well pleased” = word means delight, pleasure and satisfaction. The Father was perfectly satisfied with the Son. The Son of God perfectly and fully satisfied all of the righteous demands of God.
2. Note: The only way to become an object of the Father’s love and favor is to be in a right relationship to the Son (in Christ)! “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:11)

Sermon 3 of 59 in Mark Series

Sermon Audio Id: 1110181338562