Read: Mark 1:9-20 NLT – The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus – Bible Gateway
‘“The time promised by God has come at last!’ he announced. ‘The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!’” Mark 1:15 NLT
The first week of our study in the book of Mark we were introduced to John the Baptist whose mission was to introduce us to the Messiah, Jesus, the Son of God. He encouraged those in his day to clear the road and ‘prepare the way for the LORD’s coming!’ This week we begin to follow Jesus as He began His ministry in 27 A.D. when he was 30 years old. “One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River.” (Mk.1:9 nlt)
The question is automatically asked, ‘Why did Jesus get baptized?’ It was His deliberate act of identification with us. Jesus identified with us in all ways as human, except for sin. He was sinless. Therefore, Jesus will bear our sins on the cross at Calvary. The triune God is on displayed in Jesus’ baptism proving His deity. The Father speaks from heaven, the Son is baptized, and the Holy Spirit appears as a dove anointing Jesus for His ministry. (Mk. 1:10-11) The symbol of a dove represents gentleness and purity, which describes Jesus, our meek and mild savior.
Very often when we have a high moment, a mountaintop experience, we’re brought down to reality. The sin of this world and the luring of Satan and his demons drags us down and tempts us. After Jesus had His high moment at His baptism, the Bible says the Spirit compelled (drove) Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. This was a divine action and necessary for us as Jesus suffered the same temptations we face every day. He knows what we go through and can help us in our time of temptation. “For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Heb.2:18 esv)
Jesus’ ministry now begins after defeating Satan by not succumbing to any of the temptations he offered up. This was Jesus’ first step in overthrowing Satan. Jesus then went into Galilee, the northern most region in Palestine, and started preaching God’s Good News, the Good News of salvation. Jesus announced, “The time promised by God has come at last! The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” (Mk.1:15 nlt) Dr. John MacArthur notes, ‘It was time for decisive action on God’s part. An era of God dealing with men had come.’ (1) And Dr. Charles Ryrie comments, ‘The rule of Messiah on earth, promised in the OT and earnestly longed for by the Jewish people, was near, for the Messiah has now come.’ (2) John the Baptist preached a message of repentance, now Jesus adds to it by believing the Good News. The Messiah is here, and He will save you from your sins.
Jesus now calls His first disciples along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, a body of water 700 ft below sea level, 14 miles long and 6 miles wide. It was fed by the waters of the upper Jordan River. Jesus saw Simon and his brother Andrew working at their craft for they were fishermen. Andrew had been a follower of John the Baptist. It is possible that Simon had been also, and they both went back to work fishing after John’s arrest. Jesus calls them to follow Him and be the first Evangelists, fishers of men. They immediately drop what they were doing, making the commitment to follow Jesus.
Further up the shoreline, Jesus and His first two recruits run into fellow fishermen James and John. Fishing was a main source of income for people in the Galilean region. James and John followed suit when Jesus called them to follow Him, leaving their father and co-workers in the boat.
Take note Jesus didn’t look for those to be His disciples from the religious elites, or those with references from well-respected Rabbis, and He didn’t recruit from intellectual scholars of the first century, but He chose ordinary people who fished for a living to carry out the greatest message the world has ever known. With these four and others who will come in time, including you and me, the gospel message will go forth, right up to our current day, for the promised time has come.
- MacArther, John. The MacArthur Study Bible. Nashville: Word Publishing, 1997. Pg. 1458
- Ryrie, Charles. The Ryrie Study Bible. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2012. Pg. 1226
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