The Coronation of the King

This morning, we continue in our study of the Gospel of Mark by considering a distinct turning point in the life and ministry of Jesus. When you read through the Gospels, you’ll notice that each Gospel writer decides to focus on certain details and leave others out. So, Matthew and Luke give us genealogies of Jesus, but Mark and John don’t. Luke, alone among the Gospels, gives us the story of Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem, while Matthew tells us of the visit from the wisemen. Even though there are varying details that each writer chooses to include, there are certain events – turning points, if you will – that all of them find important. One such turning point is found in our text today – the baptism of Jesus. Because this story is included in all four Gospels, we have to ask, why is it that important? You might say that his baptism is important because it signified the beginning of his ministry, and that would be true. But, there is much more going on than just that. To see the importance of this event, let’s read Mark 1:9-11. From this text I want you to see two points today: the Coronation of the King and the Confirmation of the King.

First, from verse 9, see the coronation of the king. Last week, we studied the baptism of John and how this new practice symbolized the washing away of sin and the new covenant that God would bring through the Messiah. John’s baptism was a call to repentance. It was a call to wait and watch for the king. In verses 7 and 8, John tells us that his ministry is a placeholder. He is only there to prepare us for the coming Messiah, but the Messiah will be far greater than he is. The Messiah won’t just baptize with water, but with the Holy Spirit. So, you can imagine John’s surprise when, one day, as he is preaching and baptizing, Jesus comes down to the river and asks for baptism. In Matt. 3:13 we get an expanded story of Jesus’ baptism, and there we are told that John initially refuses to baptize Jesus. He tells Jesus, “I’m unworthy to baptize you… you should be baptizing me.” To that, Jesus answered, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” All of this begs some important questions. For one, we might wonder, why does Jesus need to be baptized? If John’s baptism is a sign of repentance, then it seems to imply that Jesus is repentant. Yet, we know that Jesus was sinless. So, why does he pursue baptism? Beyond that, in his statement from Matthew, he says that it is necessary to fulfill all righteousness. What exactly does he mean?

First of all, let’s consider why Jesus was baptized, which will help us in answering the second question of fulfilling righteousness. I explained last week that Baptism was a sign of a new covenant. Everyone who would receive the Messiah and the new covenant he would bring received baptism as a sign of repentance and faith. It didn’t matter if you were a descendant of Abraham. It didn’t matter if you understood the Law and were circumcised and had kept kosher all your life. If you were to be grafted into the new covenant, it would be through repentance, faith, and baptism. Fundamental to the ministry of Jesus is the fact that he is fully human, born under the law, as Galatians 4:4 says. And, as a human, he must be perfectly obedient to the will of God to be blameless and fulfill God’s purposes. So, if the sign of the new covenant is baptism, and Jesus, as a man, is to be a member of that new covenant, then he must receive baptism just like every other man or woman.

That helps us in answering the second question: what does he mean when he says that baptism fulfills all righteousness? It’s important to ask that question because some will point to that statement to say that baptism is a saving work. There are some churches that will argue that you are not saved until you receive baptism, because baptism is necessary for salvation. But, that is not what Jesus means in saying it fulfills righteousness. Rather, what he means is that his obedience to baptism was necessary to fulfill the purposes of God for his ministry. God had a purpose, that John would establish baptism as a sign of the new covenant, and that Jesus and his disciples would continue that sign in the church. So, for Jesus to be the righteous, pure Lamb of God, it was necessary for him to receive baptism.

Next, see the Confirmation of the King in verses 10-11. When Jesus is baptized, an amazing thing happens that, again, is recorded in all four Gospels. At his baptism, the heavens are torn open and a dove descends on him while a voice calls out, “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.” In this statement, God confirms the identity of Jesus. There are two moments in Jesus’s ministry where such a profound revelation of his identity are seen – one here and the other on the Mount of Transfiguration in Mark 9. In both cases, much the same thing happens and much the same things are said about Jesus. When it says here that the heavens were torn open, it means that there is this sudden, supernatural glimpse into the spiritual realm. Jesus, John the Baptist, and all those gathered round see into the throne room of heaven. This isn’t just a coincidental, natural occurrence in which a dove happens to land on Jesus’s shoulder. The experience was not natural, and everyone who saw it knew it. 

Jesus’s identity is also confirmed in the presence of the Father and the Spirit. The Spirit descends like a dove, and the voice of the Father calls from heaven. To the Jews who heard and saw this amazing event, it should have brought to mind the prophecy of Isaiah 42, which is the first time we hear of the Servant of God in the book of Isaiah. There it says, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him…” In this moment, the Father and Spirit declared to the World that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah and Son of God.

Lastly, Jesus’s identity is confirmed by what the Father says of him. The voice from heaven declares, “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” It is certainly the case that the Father tells us that Jesus is his son, but there are two adjectives here that hold just as much importance to Jesus’ identity, and by connection with him, our identity too. First, the Father says that Jesus is his beloved Son. The Greek word for “beloved” is agapetos. You might notice in that word the Greek word for unconditional love – agape. Jesus is the Son of God who is favored, who is dear, who is unconditionally loved by his Father. From all eternity past, the Father has loved the Son. For all of eternity into the future, the Father will love the Son. The love of the Father for the Son is good news for us today, brothers and sisters. There is an important principle of Scripture that I’ve mentioned before – as it is with Christ, so it is with us. In other words, if you have trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then what is true of Jesus is true of you as well. This is the case, not because we are worthy or because we deserve the love of God, but because of what Christ has done and because God includes us in Christ when we trust in him. So, in Rom. 1:7, Paul begins his letter by saying, “To those who are in Rome, beloved by God, called to be saints through Jesus Christ.” Paul says, “I’m writing to those saints in Rome who are agapetos in Christ.” Paul also writes, in Eph. 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” In Christ, we have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. In Christ, we are chosen, adopted, redeemed and forgiven. Because Jesus is beloved, we are beloved, too.

The Father also says that he is “well pleased” with his son. What delights God? What pleases him? There are three things we find in the NT that please God in the way that is meant here. The first is his Son. In Col. 1:19 it says, “For in [Jesus] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” From all eternity past, the Father has delighted in the Son, because the Son is a reflection of the character and nature of God. Second, God delights in confounding the wise. In 1 Cor. 1:21 it says, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” God delights in confusing the wise and saving the foolish through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Finally, God delights in giving us the kingdom. In Luke 12:32, Jesus tells his disciples, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” God does not delight in riches, in power, in celebrity, in wisdom. He delights in giving the kingdom to the weak, the poor, the downtrodden, the lost.

Oh, see the beauty of the Gospel in this today, my friend. As it is with Jesus, so it is with you, if you will but trust in him. God’s love for you is not based on your worthiness or success, but on Jesus’s place as the beloved of God. And, if that is true, then there is no amount of failure or sin that can change his mind about you. If you are in Christ, you are beloved of God.