Mark 1:9-11 9And in those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. 10And immediately when he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens being ripped open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Mark shifts his focus from John the Baptist to Jesus of Nazareth. The story of Jesus’ baptism serves to establish the identity and authority of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. Jesus moves out from his hometown of Nazareth where he grew up. Luke 3:23 says Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his ministry. Mark is brief and descriptive in his narrative and focuses on the key points of the story. It was likely several days’ journey to go from Nazareth down into the Jordan valley to locate John and be baptized there by him. It was now time for Jesus to begin his earthly ministry among people, and he begins by identifying with sinful humanity. Mark does not elaborate on any details about or reasons for Jesus’ baptism, like the other Gospel writers, but simply that Jesus was baptized. He did not need to repent, like all the others who came out to John. He became one with sinful humanity at the beginning of his ministry, demonstrating the course for us to take in our journey to eternal life.
Mark uses the word immediately 41 times in his Gospel which serves to move the story along quickly. Our attention is kept moving as the events of Jesus’ life and ministry come before us. The language in verse 10 is vivid with the heavens being ripped apart (schizomenous). This participle has a passive voice assuming that God is the actor who removed the separation between heaven and earth. The same verb is used in 15:38 in reference to the temple veil that was torn when Jesus died, again, removing the separation from the Holy God and sinful humanity. What was long been sealed is now opened and available to all. This was the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 64:1. Another vivid image is the descent of the Holy Spirit like a dove. The implied symbolism with the dove is unknown. A dove was often used as a symbol for Israel. The dove also represented God’s Spirit hovering over the waters in Genesis 1:2. It was a common bird, but to have it descend in this way was not natural and showed that God was doing something new.
The voice from heaven obviously refers to God’s voice and confirms the identity of Jesus that began this Gospel in 1:1. The voice echoes Old Testament texts like Psalm 2:7; Isaiah 42:1; and Genesis 22:2. In Mark’s account, there is no reference to others hearing the voice like in Matthew and Luke, but that was not Mark’s intent. The reader already knows the identity of Jesus. Jesus is the unique Son of God confirmed in three ways: the heavens, the dove, and the voice. None of these could be explained naturally. By giving this story, Mark presents the reader with a choice right at the beginning. Will we accept the identity of this Jesus who came from the small village of Nazareth? Will we believe who he is and what he did?
For older posts, click here.