The baptism of Jesus holds profound significance for every Christian. This sermon draws from Mark 1:9–11 as its primary text and incorporates insights from Luke’s account of our Lord’s baptism by John the Baptist. These verses present several essential features of the Christian life—such as true repentance and forgiveness, the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the full love of God for his Son and for all his redeemed children.
The centerpiece of this passage is, of course, John baptizing Jesus. But what is the meaning of Jesus’ baptism?
Jesus was baptized with water and anointed by the Holy Spirit to serve as the world’s Messiah. Through his baptism, he was publicly inaugurated for his world-transforming ministry as the Christ of God. In that sacred moment, God the Father openly declared his approval of his beloved Son, appointing him as the Savior of his people.
Read the full sermon transcript below!
We return this morning to the second sermon in our new series on the Gospel of Mark. When you looked at your order of worship and saw that the sermon text is Mark 1:9-11 while the Scripture reading is Luke 3:7-17, 21-22, you might have thought that was a typo, but not so. We have noted that Mark’s gospel is known for brevity, thus addressing the baptism of Jesus in merely three verses. In this morning’s sermon, as in some others to come, we will be working from another passage. Luke supplies a lot of details that Mark does not, so we will be working from Luke’s account.
Last Lord’s Day, we learned that John the Baptist was sent by the Lord as a prophet to announce the near coming of the long-awaited Messiah—Jesus. John was preaching and baptizing people who repented of their sin. This morning’s subject centers on the baptism of Jesus.
So, let us begin by learning some things about the nature of John’s ministry. When John went out to preach, what did he say? You can see that beginning in v. 7: Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” 8 Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.”
Imagine a pastor stepping up to the pulpit on Sunday morning to a full house and saying something like that: “You bunch of low-down, no-good snakes! What do you think you’re doing here?” I wonder how well that would go over in our day? But that is pretty much what John said.
So, who were these people that John didn’t seem to like very much? And what was his problem with them? Verse 8 provides context for understanding what John was confronting. The Jewish religious leaders insisted that a person’s Jewishness was enough for him to secure favor with God. That if a person could prove by his genealogy that he was a biological descendant of Abraham and had the covenant sign of circumcision administered to him, it was enough.
Some people make similar mistakes today. They believe that because they come from a Christian family or have had some form of religious experience, they are OK. But their manner of living is evidence that they are not converted Christians.
What did John the Baptist have to say to folks like these in his day? In essence, “You brood of vipers! You claim to be God’s own children, but the manner in which you live your life testifies against you. Your manner of living contrasts with your testimony. You had better flee the coming wrath and judgment of God!”
John’s message in the power of the Holy Spirit struck the hearts of his audience. They sensed a keen awareness of their true sinful condition, and they concluded that they had better do something about it to escape God’s judgment. They began asking John, “What should we do?”
They knew that the way they were living was not right. They knew that God did not approve of the sinful things they were doing. They knew something needed to be done about it. They just weren’t quite sure what should be done.
We need to remember that a prophet from God had not stood and preached in Israel for four hundred years until John appeared. The religious leaders had gained great power and prestige and had filled the minds of the people with false doctrines. Many who gathered to hear John were people who (as we might say today) had lived in the shadow of the steeple all their lives. But they had never been taught the truth. They needed and wanted to know what to do about their present moral and spiritual crisis.
There are multitudes today in the same predicament as John’s ancient audience. Multitudes think they are alright with the Lord because they have believed the gospel. But the tragic truth is that what they have heard and are trusting in is not the gospel.
They have heard that Jesus exists to make them feel better about life. That Jesus is a cosmic psychotherapist to help them work through their problems. That God loves them and has a great plan for their lives. But they have never heard the gospel: that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, that they are sinners, and that they had better repent and trust completely in the blood and righteousness of Christ to cover their sin, or they are going to spend eternity in hell!
Too many preachers today are afraid to say that! They are afraid of offending people, so they just don’t tell them. But if someone does not tell people that very message, they will die without Jesus Christ—without ever repenting of their sin and trusting in Jesus. They might be in church and think themselves quite religious, yet die every bit as lost as Judas!
John did not mince words. He spoke the truth, and his message was always the same in essence: “Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand!” What does John tell them in v. 8? The same message: “Bear fruits worthy of repentance…”
Without repentance, there is no salvation. Period. Jesus said (Luke 13:3): “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Jesus emphasized that repentance is essential to avoid eternal judgment.
John teaches us very clearly what repentance really means. True repentance means more than merely feeling sorry about what we have done, although it always includes sincere regret for our sin. It means turning away from sin and living in obedience to God. It means change—a change of mind and heart that leads to a change of direction. A new direction in a life devoted to God and demonstrated by the way we live. In John’s terms, actual repentance is proven by the fruit we bear.
Notice that as the various groups of people stood before John with their hearts smitten by sorrow and concern over their sinful lifestyles, John applied appropriate healing remedies to each situation.
Some people there were guilty of selfishness, looking out for number one while their neighbors were in need. Greed. What did John say they needed to do? (v. 11): He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”
Some of the tax collectors came to be baptized. They wanted to know how their lives needed to change for God. Tax collectors were notorious for collecting more taxes from people than required, then keeping the excess for themselves. Embezzlers. Thieves. What did John say they needed to do? See v. 13: “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.”
Soldiers had weapons and power. They could intimidate people, blackmailing and coercing them into paying for protection. Extortioners. John told them in v. 14, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”
The pattern is the same in each of these cases. In whatever way you are sinning, stop it! And replace that wickedness with doing good. The good in one’s life is the visible fruit of his invisible penitent heart. If the fruit of goodness and righteousness is not present in one’s life, repentance has not occurred.
Jesus himself said it: “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.” (Matthew 7:16-17, 20)
Romans 3:23: There is none righteous, no not one. God calls every one of us to repent of our own personal sins—daily. What if John the Baptist were here today and you, feeling convicted of your sin after he preached, were to do as those people of ancient Israel, and say to John the preacher, “What shall I do then? I know I need to change. I want to love and serve God and divorce myself from the sin in my life. What must I do to bear fruits of repentance?”
John pointed out in the case of each one of them the sin they needed to forsake and the alternate good they needed to do. Each one of us can ask the same question regardless of what our troubling sin might be. Let the Holy Spirit fill in the blank when you ask yourself: “What sin do I need to be rid of in my life? What do I need to change?”
The solution is the same for each of us—you, me, and all. What is your spiritual struggle? Whatever it is, you need to turn away from it. But there is one necessary ingredient without which there can be no true conversion—no true change—no forgiveness of sin—and no salvation: Faith! Faith in Jesus Christ. Do you believe in Jesus Christ alone for salvation? Do you believe that his death on the cross to pay the penalty of your sin is the one and only way for the guilt of your sin to be taken away…cancelled…removed forever…and for you to be reconciled with God?
All the outward motions of change one can ever muster are all in vain without God’s grace producing faith in your heart to believe in Jesus Christ unto salvation: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us (Titus 3:5). For where sin abounded, grace abounded much more (Romans 5:20).
John was sent by God to prepare the hearts of the people to repent and believe and to prepare the way for Jesus, who was about to be inaugurated to his Messianic ministry as Redeemer and King.
The question for each of us is: Have you prepared the way for him in your life? Is there room for Jesus in your heart? There have always been some people who, when confronted with the gospel message, say that someday they will get things right; someday they will come to the Lord.
No doubt, some were making that feeble excuse in John’s day, too. But, folks, the time is never right for stubborn rebellion against God. Is there ever a right time to disregard the Almighty God? Certainly not!
John declared the same. He warned the people that judgment was near upon them, even as they listened, and he urged them not to wait (v. 9): “Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
There is no better time to be reconciled with God in Jesus Christ than right now! “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation,” says the Lord.
John’s message was serious indeed, but by no means hopeless. John’s message is filled with hope; it’s all about hope. John came to tell people how to be rid of the guilt of sin. He spoke of a sure hope full of mercy and grace. Repentance from sin and faith unto salvation are inextricably bound with spiritual life, now and forever—spiritual life that comes from God through the Savior Jesus Christ by the Lord and Giver of life, the Holy Spirit.
God’s grace in the Savior was about to appear, and John’s message was soon confirmed. It happened one day while John was out baptizing penitent believers. Notice vv. 21-22: When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
We need to be careful when we approach this passage of Scripture pertaining to our Lord’s baptism. Two questions naturally arise, but if we are not careful, we can become so engrossed in the questions that we miss the real emphasis of the event, and we don’t want to miss that climax.
The first question has to do with the mode of baptism. In what way did John baptize Jesus? Was it by immersion under the water? Was it by pouring or sprinkling water on him? Honestly, none of the accounts of our Lord’s baptism explicitly state how it was done. But by turning to the original languages of Hebrew and Greek, and by comparing Scripture with Scripture, we believe Scripture indicates that John baptized by sprinkling or pouring water upon the professing repentant. That is all we’re going to say at this time. If you would like to sit down and do a Bible study on the issue, we will gladly accommodate you.
The second frequent question about Jesus’ baptism is, we believe, much more important: Why was Jesus baptized? John was baptizing people as a sign of repentance from sin. Jesus had no sin; he was the sinless Son of God. Why did he need to be baptized?
John himself asked that question. Matthew 3:14 says, And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” Even John could not fathom why Jesus, the one who himself baptizes with the Holy Spirit, felt compelled to be baptized.
This question has been answered in many ways, over many years, by many theologians. William Henidriksen offers a good, succinct discussion that avoids much speculation, and we commend his summary to you.
In short, he proposes that here you see a picture of Christ in the act of publicly assuming the task he was sent from heaven by the Father to perform. Jesus came to take upon himself the “sin of the world” and to take it away—to wash it away by his own blood. Jesus’ baptism showed publicly the approval of God the Father upon the Messianic ministry of Jesus, his beloved son, with whom he was well pleased to be the redeemer of his people.
At the baptism of Jesus, we see all three persons of the Holy Trinity simultaneously working. God the Son is baptized and prays; God the Holy Spirit descends upon him; and God the Father voices from heaven his love and approval.
As Jesus prayed following the application of the water of baptism, the Bible says that “heaven was opened.” These words are frequently used in Scripture as a figurative way of saying that God revealed himself to people in the world.
Notice that both the Spirit of God and the Word of God were revealed there. The Word of God and the Holy Spirit work together. When you read Scripture, God reveals himself to you—heaven opens. The person, work, and nature of God, and his holy will for his people, have been revealed by himself in his own holy Word, given by the Holy Spirit. And if you are a Christian in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, then the Word of God is for you.
What about the dove? The Holy Spirit is invisible to human eyes. Spirit is immaterial; you can’t see it. The Holy Spirit came symbolically in the form of something human eyes could see—a dove. The dove descending from the sky onto Jesus was a visible sign of an invisible work of the Holy Spirit, similar to water baptism, which is a visible sign of the same.
The Holy Spirit’s descent upon Jesus, visibly symbolized by the dove, meant, among other things, that the Spirit of God was upon and with Jesus in all his work on the earth. It was publicly declared at Jesus’ baptism and publicly demonstrated in his ministry that he is the Christ the Son of the Living God. Jesus’ baptism was his inauguration as God’s chosen Messiah. Acts 10:36, 38 speaks thus: “The word which God sent…preaching peace through Jesus Christ…[that] began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”
The words which God the Father voiced from heaven at that miraculously splendid event are so very significant: “You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased.” What can we learn from this?
First, we see the love of the Father for the Son. God loves with perfect love. Humans are capable of love only because God is love, and we are made in his image and partake of some of his attributes, including the ability to love.
We have never—never in our human lives—loved anything or anyone with complete, perfect love; we are incapable of it. But we are loved with such a love if we are God’s born-again children. God loves his unique Son—his only begotten Son—begotten and loved eternally, without beginning and without end. Jesus is the Son of God’s love. Jesus is our representative before God, and we are adopted into God’s family, so that the perfect love God has for his Son, he has for you too if you are a Christian.
Next, God voiced from heaven his approval of his Son. God the Father was pleased by Jesus’ perfect obedience and sinless perfection in obeying all of God’s law flawlessly. God was pleased openly to place his seal of approval—the Holy Spirit—on the ministry that Jesus came to the world to accomplish.
That means, among other things, that when Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, gave his human life on the cross to pay for your sin, that God was well-pleased to accept his Son’s sacrifice in your place as your representative. God’s raising Jesus again from the dead proves it.
God is, therefore, well-pleased with you, too. God was well-pleased to open for you a passageway to heaven, following behind his beloved and well-pleasing Son who ascended there before us, and will return again to receive us unto himself, that where he is there we may be also.
Consider Phillip Ryken’s comment in conclusion: “The good news of the gospel is that if you believe in Jesus Christ for your salvation, then God is just as pleased with you. The Father’s words of [love] and approval are for his Son and for everyone who has faith in his Son. Jesus came to bring us into the Father’s love. If we had to stand before God the Father on our own merit, we would never gain his approval, and we would never deserve his affection. But we do not stand before him on our own merit. As soon as we trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation, we stand before the Father on the merit of his Son. Now God the Father looks on us with the same affection and approval that he has for Jesus Christ, his worthy Son.”
Benediction: Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. Amen (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).