Mark 1: 9-15

[mindlight]

The passage reads:

9At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

12At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

14After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

1) Why was it necessary for Jesus to be baptised by John and to start his ministry with the message that John had delivered - Repent and believe the good News?

2)Is this passage a proof of the Trinity?

3) How come the Spirit SENT Jesus? Is the Spirit more senior than Jesus here?

4) What was the purpose of Jesus's testing in the wilderness, the parallels with Israels experience in the wilderness. Why was he attended and accompanied only by non humans there. Was the temptation to prove Jesus's worth or clarify his mission?

5) Why did John the Baptist have to be off the scene before Jesus began his mission? Why did he wait for the imprisonment that would lead to Johns death before beginning his mission?

 

[mindlight]

Ok not much interest first time through time to refocus the questions.

Here we have a passage that seems to be about testing our King and also revealing the path he had chosen for his mission and indeed the very nature of his Kingship.

He takes baptism even though he is without sin in the same way that he will come to take the judgment for our sins upon himself. He chooses a path of suffering.

He is affirmed by the Father Himself as he is baptised and then he is tested in the wilderness as noone hasever been tested before. Each of the tests reveals the path he has chosen to take to realise his mission.

Even in the desert the powers of heaven attend him.

In some ways Johns imprisonment are a forewarning of the path Jesus himself had chosen for himself. Yet even knowing that John has been imprisoned he begins his ministry.

 

[mindlight]

Jesus has an awareness of his life and purpose on this earth which is clear to him. I wonder if our purposes are also as clear. We look and we look for an answer to the question of why we are here but the answer comes with a price. If we are not willing to pay that price then we do not hear the answer cause we are not willing to pay the price that it entails. God may speak to us and if we responded there and then things would happen more quickly than they do. To hear Gods voice we simply need to be ready for whatever it entails.