Jesus Begins His Ministry

Mark 1:9-22

GOLDEN TEXT: “Repent ye, and believe the Gospel.”—Mark 1:15

JESUS had come to earth on a mission of far-reaching consequence—the redemption from death and reconciliation to God of a sinful and condemned race. Such an undertaking required carefulness in preparation that every detail might be performed exactly as outlined by the Heavenly Father, the divine Author of the plan. The Master’s zeal in learning the Father’s will as well as in doing it, is manifest in today’s lesson.

When the time came for Jesus to enter upon His ministry, the Prophet John was busily engaged carrying on a reform work in Israel, and baptizing repentant Israelites in the River Jordan. Jesus was not a sinner. He had not transgressed the divine law, hence did not need to repent, nor was it appropriate that He be baptized for the remission of sins, as was the case with those being baptized by John. Nevertheless, He recognized the appropriateness of being immersed by a prophet of God, especially one who was doing a baptizing work.

John the Baptist was a forerunner of Jesus, and it was especially appropriate that Jesus should come to him to be baptized, for it gave hint the opportunity to introduce the Messiah to those who had taken a stand for righteousness under the influence of his preaching. John was probably in touch with more Israelites in a heart condition to receive the Messiah than anyone else in all Judea, so it meant a great deal for him to be so well acquainted with Jesus and so fully convinced of His true identity, that he could announce, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”—John 1:29

John, of course, did not understand why Jesus thought it necessary to be baptized; but Jesus knew, and that was enough. Jesus explained that it behooved Him to fulfill all righteousness, but even this probably didn’t make it plain to John. Now we can see that by His immersion Jesus was picturing the burial of His will into the Father’s will, illustrating the meaning of His prayer to God, “Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me), to do Thy will, O God.”—Psalm 40:7; Hebrews 10:7

After the Master had taken this definite step of consecration to His God, and came up out of the water, “He saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him.” The opening of the heavens indicates the impartation of spiritual vision, or discernment of the deep things of God, which, apparently, the Master had not previously fully or clearly understood. Now, having received of the Holy Spirit without measure, He could see that which was written on the outside of the scroll which was held in the hand of Him who sat upon the heavenly throne.—Rev. 5:1

What a marvelous impression this vision made upon the Master. It was so overwhelming that He was impelled to go into the wilderness, where; away from the crowd, He could carefully determine the significance of all its details in order that His ministry might be in keeping with the divine appointments. The account says that He was led of the Spirit into the wilderness (Matt. 4:1), but it is obvious that the manner of the Spirit’s leading was in revealing to the Master such an entrancing outline of the divine plan that the urge to understand it better could hardly be resisted.

Those who are blessed with a vision of divine truth almost at once become the targets of Satan’s attacks. The adversary seeks ever to hinder the outworking of the divine plan by diverting the energies of God’s servants. This was true with Jesus, and it has been true with the followers of Jesus since. It was the Master’s knowledge of the truth, and His loyalty to His Father’s will, that was a safeguard to Him from these attacks. He raised His shield of faith by quoting from the Word, “It is written.” Jesus had covenanted to do that which had been written in the “volume of the book,” and Satan was powerless to break down His determination to fulfill that covenant.

Jesus was consumed by His zeal in doing the work the Father had given Him to do, but He did not engage in the work until He made sure exactly what the Father wanted done. The lesson states that it was after John was put in prison that Jesus went into Galilee and there preached the Kingdom of God. Evidently He discerned in the imprisonment of John that which indicated that the time had come for this particular activity. “The time is fulfilled,” He said. God has a “due time” for every item of His plan, and Jesus, understanding this, and properly discerning the times and seasons, was guided thereby.

Not long after the Master became active in preaching the Kingdom message in word and deed, He invited others to co-operate with Him. In calling, or inviting those whose vocation had been the fishing business, He appropriately explained that He would make them “fishers of men.” Jesus was the greatest of all fishers of men. Ere His work is done, He will have enlightened every man that cometh into the world, and given all an opportunity to believe on Him and live.

With Christ, in a small way, it is our privilege to be fishers of men now; but in a larger, more comprehensive manner by and by, when “the Spirit and the bride [will] say, Come … and take of the water of life freely.”—Revelation 22:17

QUESTIONS:

Why did Jesus consider it necessary to be baptized by John?

How was Jesus fortified against the temptations of Satan?

What does it mean to be fishers of men?

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