The Day of Decision

Mark 1:9-11


To any thinking person the baptism of Jesus presents a problem. John's baptism was a baptism of repentance, meant for those who were sorry for their sin and who wished to express their determination to have done with them. What had such a baptism to do with Jesus? Was He not the sinless One, and was not such a baptism unnecessary and quite irrelevant as far as He was concerned? For Jesus the baptism was four things.


1. It was the moment of decision. For thirty years He had stayed in Nazareth. Faithfully He had done His day's work and discharged His duties to His home. For a long time He must have been conscious that the time for Him to go out had to come. He must have waited for a sign. The emergence of John was that sign. This, He saw, was the moment He had to launch out upon His God-given task.


2. It was the moment of identification. It is true that Jesus did not need to repent from sin, but here was a movement of the people back to God, and with that Godward movement He was determined to identify Himself. It is possible to possess ease and comfort and wealth and still to identify with a movement to bring better things to the downtrodden and the poor and the ill-housed and the overworked and the underpaid. The really great identification is when people identify with a movement, not for their own sake, but for the sake of others.


3. It was the moment of approval. No one lightly leaves home and sets out on an unknown way. He or she must be very sure that the decision is right. Jesus had decided on His course of action, and now He was looking for the seal of approval of God.


4. It was the moment of equipment. At that time the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. There is a certain symbolism here. The Spirit descended as a dove might descend. The dove is a symbol of gentleness. He will conquer, but the conquest will be the conquest of love.


~William Barclay~