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‘Jesus came from Nazareth, of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.’
Mar_1:9-11
I. Christ’s baptism.—The Baptist had well spoken of the incomparable greatness of his successor, but little did he imagine how that greatness would at first display itself. The Blessed Master was content to be the lowliest of all. This is true nobleness—never to think of self-superiority. But why should our Lord ask for baptism? That He might lend the sanction of His authority to John’s ministry? No. ‘I have need,’ said the Baptist, ‘to be baptized of Thee’; and in our Lord’s reply we find the secret of this act of His. ‘Suffer it to be so now,’ said He, ‘for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness’—every duty.
II. And its results.—Can we question that such an act was a crisis in the life of our Lord? Holy and pure before sinking under the waters, He must yet have risen from them with the light of a higher glory in His countenance. His past life was closed; a new era had opened. Hitherto the humble villager, veiled from the world, He was henceforth the Messiah openly working amongst men. Past years had been buried in the waters of Jordan. He rose from them the Christ of God.
(a) Fresh revelations gained. ‘The heavens were opened.’ ‘Straightway,’ writes the historian. It followed as a matter of course. Given this sublime consecration, there follows sublime manifestation of heaven. The nearness of the spirit-land was revealed. Earthly scenes were flooded with radiant light and beauty. There was new disclosure of truth; especially there was the enlargement of vision. The glory to be gained by self-sacrifice was more clearly beheld. Vast expanses of glorious possibility burst upon the view.
(b) New gift imparted. ‘The Spirit like a dove descended upon Him.’ He Who had been begotten of the Holy Ghost now obtains a fresh communication. The baptism of water is instantly followed by the baptism of the Spirit. As water cleanses the body, promotes its health, prolongs its life, so the grace of God’s Spirit purifies the soul; gives it true life and health. The intellect, the emotions, the will, the active powers are all now possessed and energised by Him. There was some phenomenon visible to the human eye, yet the similitude must be taken as pertaining to the descending motion, rather than the object. The Divine Spirit is incapable of representation by any living creature. This was an accommodation for the instruction and comfort of the Baptist. Henceforth he could point Him out as the Son of God and the Paschal Lamb.
(c) New witness enjoyed. ‘There came a voice from heaven saying, Thou art My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.’ This act of self-dedication to the redeeming work obtained the instant recognition of God. This consecration was Godlike, was the outcome of the filial nature. Jesus had said, ‘Lo! I come … to do Thy will, O God.’ And the response was prompt: ‘Thou art My beloved Son.’ From a past eternity the Son had been the object of immeasurable love; now the Father feels the thrill of a new delight; now the Son becomes the recipient of new grace. ‘Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life for the sheep.’
The miraculous element in this incident offers no difficulty to childlike faith. ‘He Who formed the eye, can He not see?’ He Who fashioned in man the organ of speech, is He incapable of articulate utterance? If honest-minded men are staggered here, they need to enlarge their conception of God. Omnipotence is the key to miracle.
Illustrations
(1) ‘The life of Jesus Christ comprised all the extremes of circumstance. He was hooted at as a felon; He was acclaimed as a King. His first resting-place was the asses’ manger, yet a choir of angels descended to chant His natal song. “There was no room for Him in the inn,” yet His birth shook the throne of Herod. All the accessories of majesty and of meanness clustered round His path. His chosen companions were fishermen and tax-gatherers, yet Moses and Elias left their celestial seats to converse with Him. He raised others from their graves, and then slept in a borrowed tomb Himself. He was with the wild beasts in the desert, yet angels came down and made it Paradise. He received baptism, as if He had been a sinner; but lo! the heavens open, and the Eternal God stooped to applaud the deed. “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.’
(2) ‘Jesus had been waiting for the fit moment for leaving His thirty years’ obscurity in Nazareth, and presenting Himself before the herald who had been unconsciously proclaiming Him. Though cousins, the Baptist and the Son of Mary had never seen each other.… But the Baptist must have been daily expecting Him to put in His claims. His appearance, wholly different from that of those who had thronged to his ministry, at once arrested the prophet’s eye.… The light, as of other worlds, shining from the depths of those calm eyes; the radiance of a soul free from all stain of sin, transfiguring the pale face—full, at once, of highest beauty, tenderest love, and deepest sadness, was hereafter, even when dimly seen by the light of midnight torches and lanterns, to make the accusers shrink backwards and fall, overcome, to the ground.… The soul has an instinctive recognition of goodness, and feels its awfulness. Spiritual greatness wears a kingly crown which compels instant reverence.… John, for the first and last time drew back.’
(3) ‘Christ’s baptism is the example of a perfect consecration and of its effect. Not always, by any means, does the guidance come so immediately as it did in Christ’s case. Not always does the power for work come down so soon. But come they do. The Father’s voice speaks: the Holy Spirit is poured forth; the consecration is accepted; the life work shown. What does it all point to in our own case? The personal consecration of ourselves for His work, how He will, when He will; only this consecration must be a real and a present thing. It is not enough for us to have been offered at baptism or at confirmation. Such times are only types and patterns of what ought to be done now. After all, some years have probably gone by since the latest of these. The question is, What is our present state? For pardon is free, but consecration ought to be its result; and such consecration as this will be accepted, and the Father’s call for work will come, at the time He will, and of the character He will. It is not for us to dictate to God how we shall serve Him, or when we shall enter on the work He gives. Our duty is to consecrate ourselves to Him, leaving to Him the how of our life, leaving to Him the choice of when He shall definitely bid us take up the special work He has for us to do. Let us consecrate ourselves, and eventually the heavens shall be opened, the Spirit poured out, the Father’s voice recognised.’