The Messiah Begins His Ministry

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 100
• Hymn — All People That on Earth Do Dwell (Old Hundredth)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — Belgic Confession, Article 1
• Scripture Reading — Luke 10:1-12
• Hymn — Jesus Saves
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering Prayer
• Hymn — Holy, Holy, Holy
• Sermon
• Hymn — I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord
• Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26

Sermon Title: The Messiah Begins His Ministry

Scripture: Mark 1:1-11

I. The Baptism Reveals Who Jesus Is

• A. Mark opens by declaring Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God — meaning God himself come to accomplish his final saving act, not merely a demigod or supernatural figure.

• B. Mark reinterprets Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3, applying them to Jesus: the messenger prepares the way before Yahweh, and Jesus is that Yahweh come in flesh.

• C. The opening of the heavens fulfills Jewish expectation drawn from texts like Isaiah 64:1 — that when God returned, three signs would accompany him.

  1. The heavens would be torn open
  2. The Spirit would descend
  3. The voice of God would be heard again after 400 years of silence

• D. Mark uses the Greek verb schizō (to rip or tear) for the opening of the heavens — a cataclysmic, forceful entry of God into history — deliberately echoing the tearing of the temple veil at the end of the gospel (Mark 15:38).

  1. At the baptism, the heavens are torn open so God may come down
  2. At the cross, the veil is torn open so we may enter in

• E. The voice from heaven in Mark 1:11 alludes to three Old Testament texts that together define Jesus' identity and mission.

  1. Psalm 2:7 — Jesus is the promised Davidic Son, the Messiah who will rule the nations
  2. Isaiah 42:1 — Jesus is the Servant in whom God delights, whose conquest brings justice and reconciliation to the Gentiles, not military domination
  3. Genesis 22:2 — Jesus is the beloved Son whom the Father has provided as the offering, fulfilling what Abraham foreshadowed on Mount Moriah

II. The Baptism Anoints Jesus for Ministry

• A. In the Old Testament, prophets, priests, and kings were anointed with oil before beginning their office — a sign that the Holy Spirit was coming upon them to empower and authorize their work (cf. 1 Samuel 16:13).

• B. Jesus' anointing surpasses all others: rather than oil representing the Spirit, the Holy Spirit himself descends bodily upon him — the greatest anointing of any of God's servants.

• C. The dove form of the Spirit carries deep biblical resonance.

  1. Genesis 1:2 — the Spirit hovered over the formless waters at creation, caring for what he was bringing to life
  2. Genesis 8 — a dove over the waters signals a new creation after judgment
  3. At the baptism, the dove over the water announces that in Jesus, God is inaugurating the final new creation

• D. Jesus waited 30 years before beginning ministry, a reminder that God's people must wait on his timing rather than rushing ahead; yet when his moment came, a brief ministry of roughly three years accomplished the greatest work in history.

III. The Baptism Reveals Jesus' Identification with His People

• A. Two striking oddities mark the baptism account.

  1. John had announced one coming with a greater baptism, yet that greater one submits to John's baptism of repentance
  2. The greater one comes from Nazareth — an insignificant town from which no one expected greatness (John 1:46)

• B. Mark draws a deliberate parallel between the many and the one: the crowds of Judea and Jerusalem came and were baptized (Mark 1:5); then Jesus came and was baptized (Mark 1:9) — the one representing and identifying with the many.

• C. The order of events is theologically significant: Jesus is baptized first, and only then do the heavens open and the Father speak — showing that he willingly and voluntarily chose to identify with sinners before receiving heavenly confirmation.

• D. The practical significance for believers flows from this identification.

  1. His anointing with the Spirit becomes our anointing — the Spirit dwells in us to empower us against temptation and sin
  2. His identity as the beloved Son becomes ours — through union with him, believers are adopted as beloved children in whom the Father delights (Zephaniah 3:17)
  3. In trials, grief, chronic illness, or despair — as in Psalm 40 — the torn heavens and the proclaimed word assure us: You are my beloved children, and I delight in you