Ash Wednesday – March 2/22
Mark 1:1-20
At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
This Lenten season we are going to journey through the book of Mark. It will take us all 47 days, (that’s 40 days plus the Sundays), beginning today and our final day will be Easter Sunday.
As we begin, we meet John, Jesus’ cousin. He is preparing his listeners for the coming of the Messiah. Part of what he is doing is baptizing them and calling for their repentance from their sins. On this particular day, he is continuing his preaching, when his cousin arrives at the river.
Mark tells us that as Jesus was coming out of the water, the heavens opened and as The Spirit descended a voice was heard. That voice, being God the Father, pronounced that Jesus was His Son, and that He loved him.
When children are learning to talk, we take time to introduce them to new things. To be certain that the learn the right names for those new things, so that they know how to recognize them and call them by the right word. A child who has never seen a bird, isn’t able to just call that winged creature a bird- they have to be taught.
The people of Israel had never seen a Messiah. They had ideas about what he would look like, and certainly were sure about what he would do. But this man who was related to John had come from a backwater community – Nazareth. Surely, there was nothing special about him!
Imagine their surprise when the very voice of God spoke and introduced His Son to the world. Other gospels used the phrase, “This is my Son”. He made Jesus’ identity very clear to us.
Just as a point of theology, this incident is the first place where the Trinity is referenced. “Just as Jesus [ the Son] was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit [the Holy Spirit] descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven [ the Father]: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
That same Son is the One we will follow to Jerusalem and the Cross over these next 7 weeks. If you’ve never met Him, this is a very good place to start. God himself tells us who we are meeting. His Son, the one who was promised by the Old Testament prophets. The One who was with God at Creation, and the One who makes it possible for us to have eternal life. He’s a personal, forever friend of mine, and wants to be a forever friend with you, too. This Lent let’s get to know Him better, together.
Joyfully Yours 