Identified With Sinners
Mark 1:9-15
Message #2
Mark moves so fast in his Gospel that the way the NLT divides our section of Scripture today, there are three major events in just seven verses. We could easily devote an entire message to each one of these three major events, but then, we wouldn’t be moving at the “speed of Mark.”
Today we see Jesus begin his ministry by being identified with the sinners that he came to save (that’s us). Today, in just seven verses, we see Jesus being identified with sinners in his Baptism, in his Temptation, and in his Proclamation of the Good News. We start today with the very first act of the ministry of Jesus as Jesus identified with sinners in his Baptism.
Mark 1:9 (NLT)
9 One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River.
(We are confident [by the way] that where we get baptized in the Jordan is the same place where John was baptizing). And so, Jesus came from Nazareth (in the North) to where John was baptizing (in the South) across from Jericho.
But why did Jesus come to John to be baptized? Remember last week John was baptizing the people for repentance to prepare them to meet the Lord. But now, the Lord, himself, came to John to be baptized. Have you ever wondered why? It’s a good question, and Matthew says John the Baptist asked the same question.
Matthew 3:13–15 (NLT)
13 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.
14 But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”
15 But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him.
Most of the translations say here in verse 15, “let it be done, for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
But Jesus was perfectly righteous. He had no sin. He had no need to repent. So, the NLT writes this in a way that causes us to ask, “What is it that God requires that baptism is part of fulfilling?”
Follow me here, because this is really important. Baptism is a sign of identification. When we are baptized, it is a sign of identification with Jesus Christ. So, who is Jesus being “identified with” in his baptism?
Here’s the bombshell. Jesus, in his baptism, is being identified with us! Jesus needed no “baptism of repentance,” and he was perfectly righteous. And so, in the NLT, when Jesus says, for we must carry out all that God requires (Matthew 3:15), maybe they chose those words to help us see that God was requiring something here, and it was something very, very significant.
It was Jesus being identified with the sinners who were coming to be baptized for repentance. NOT because he needed repentance, but because through his identification with us, Jesus was going to pay the full penalty for our sins, in our place.
He was baptized to be identified with us (guilty sinners) so that he could pay for our sins in our place – on the cross. That is very, very heavy.
And if we will accept how heavy it is that the sinless Son of God was willing to be identified with guilty sinners like us, then maybe it will give a deeper meaning to how heaven responded to the Baptism of Jesus.
Mark 1:10-11 (NLT)
10 As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove.
11 And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”
Verse 10 says Jesus saw the heavens splitting apart. The ESV says, “being torn open.” These are dramatic, heaven shaking words. The Father and the Holy Spirit know from an eternal perspective just how incredibly heavy this moment is. The sinless, eternal Son of God is being identified with the guilty sinners on earth.
And heaven responds like this. First, the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus to be with him, and in him and upon him in a unique and most powerful way for his three and a half years of earthly ministry. And then the Father speaks from heaven, and he audibly communicates his love and his joy for what the Son has willingly done in order to save all who will come to him.
There is much more we could say about the Baptism of Jesus. But for me, when I look at this section, with Mark, you have to look at it a little bit and say, okay, why did the Holy Spirit have Mark put these three events together? I have to say it is to be focused on Jesus being identified with sinners as he begins his ministry.
It’s just like you and I. If you really want a skid row ministry, then get your tent and move to skid row. Do you want to get down there and minister with those people? Then take one shoe off, get a tent with a hole in it, and go down there and live on skid row for a month or two. Then you’ll be able to minister to the people in skid row. It’s the same thing in foreign countries. Any smart missions’ organizations say you just go live there for a year, and then we’ll talk about you starting a ministry. It’s the same thing, but on an eternal (to the millionth degree) with Christ.
And so, we’ll move on to the Temptation. Notice as Mark jumps into the Temptation of Jesus, he first addresses the empowering of the Holy Spirit that had just occurred at the Baptism.
Mark 1:12-13 (NLT)
12 (Then, after the Baptism) The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness,
13 where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him.
Wow, seriously, Mark, that’s all you’re going to give us? Like I’ve said, Mark strings together short, powerful snapshots to get his point across. And the point I see in these verses today is that as Jesus began his ministry, the first three things he did were all for him to be identified with sinners, like us. We’ve already seen in the Baptism, Jesus is willing to be identified with sinners, even though he had no sin. And now, in the Temptation, we see Jesus being identified with sinners by experiencing the same temptations we do.
To understand some of what Jesus is accomplishing in the Temptation, listen to Hebrews 4:15.
Hebrews 4:15 (NLT)
15 (speaking of Jesus) This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.
In the Bible, a priest is a mediator between Man and God. He understands the struggles of Man, and he understands the holiness of God and our Great High Priest (Jesus) understands the temptations we face – because he faced all the same testings we do YET WITHOUT SIN.
How can the Bible say Jesus faced all of the same testings we face? Because temptation comes in only three broad categories. There are three places in the Bible, where the three broad categories of temptation are listed.
(Write these down). The first one is in Genesis 3:6, where Satan uses these same three categories of temptation to trigger the Fall of Man into sin. The second one is here in the Temptation of Jesus which we see clearly in Luke 4:1-13. And the third one is in 1 John 2:16, where the Bible lists these three broad categories of sin most clearly.
1 John 2:16 (ESV)
16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh (1) and the desires of the eyes (2) and pride of life (3) - is not from the Father but is from the world.
These are the three, all-encompassing broad categories of temptation that we all face.
(1) the Desires of the flesh – our physical desires and cravings
(2) the Desires of the eyes – what we SEE that draws us to sin
(3) Pride of life – “self-absorbed conceit of our own superiority.”
And every one of the temptations that Jesus faced fit squarely in one of these categories.
So, first, heaven had opened up on Jesus in the Baptism as Jesus was identified with sinners in his baptism. Now, hell is about to open up on Jesus in the Temptation as Jesus experiences all the testing we will ever experience to the tenth degree.
First, Jesus fasted forty days. Forty days of fasting puts you in an almost immovable, weakened state. Jesus was as weak physically and mentally as a person can be without dying. He was alone and desolate and at his weakest, and then Satan came to do his worst. Jesus had become a man, so Satan would try to take him down with the same categories of temptation that he took the first man down with – what the flesh craves, what the eyes see, what the pride thinks. Look at Luke 4:3.
Luke 4:3 (ESV)
3 The devil said to him, “If (if indeed) you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
This is the desire of the flesh. For Jesus, this isn’t “flesh” as in a “sin nature.” He didn’t have a sin nature, but he did have a very real physical body and was “near the point of death” starving.
Then Luke 4:5 says Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And then we read in Luke 4:6-7,
Luke 4:6–7 (NLT)
6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please.
7 I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
This is the desire of the eyes. This was a chance for Jesus to get the crown without the cross. Jesus would have the glory and authority of all the kingdoms on earth without having to go to the cross. And then, in Luke 4:9-11,
Luke 4:9–11 (NLT)
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off!
10 For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.
11 And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
First of all, notice the devil is quoting Scripture. So, remember, not everyone who quotes Scripture is from God.
This is the pride of life. Pride of life meaning: “being certain of your own superiority,” which is really the root of all sin.
But, through every temptation (even though he was near death from fasting), Jesus responded to the devil – on our behalf – in the same way we should respond. Jesus responded with the Word of God and held fast to his faith in God.
And he had to do it – partially for Jesus to be fully identified with us! Listen carefully to Hebrews 5:8-9 (write this in your margin),
Hebrews 5:8–9 (NLT)
8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.
9 In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.
Through his suffering that began with the Temptation, Jesus was qualified to be our perfect High Priest by identifying with our weaknesses and our temptations so that he could be our power to overcome temptation, and so that he could be the source of our eternal salvation! What an incredible sacrifice on his part.
Finally… after being identified with us in the Baptism, and after being identified with us in the Temptation, finally, Jesus is identified with us in his Message – and this is the real Good News.
Mark 1:14-15 (NLT)
14 Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News.
15 “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!”
Listen to me very closely, please. After Jesus became identified with us in our world, Jesus now proclaims the Good News that we can be identified with him in his world.
The time promised by God has come at last! [Jesus] announced. The Kingdom of God is near! Meaning it is near you, in the Person of Jesus Christ! And then Jesus proclaims the only way to enter. “Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” so that you can be identified with him in his Kingdom!
Jesus came to this earth to be identified with you – a sinner – because that is the only way that Jesus could be the perfect High Priest and the source of our eternal salvation.
And now that Jesus has done that, you have the opportunity to be identified with him in his Kingdom – meaning the Kingdom of God.
The time promised by God has come at last!
The Kingdom of God is near YOU!
Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!
So that you could be identified with Jesus Christ for abundant life now and eternal life in heaven.
Today we see Jesus begin his ministry by being identified with the sinners that he came to save (that’s us). Today, in just seven verses, we see Jesus being identified with sinners in his Baptism, in his Temptation, and in his Proclamation of the Good News. We start today with the very first act of the ministry of Jesus as Jesus identified with sinners in his Baptism.
Mark 1:9 (NLT)
9 One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River.
(We are confident [by the way] that where we get baptized in the Jordan is the same place where John was baptizing). And so, Jesus came from Nazareth (in the North) to where John was baptizing (in the South) across from Jericho.
But why did Jesus come to John to be baptized? Remember last week John was baptizing the people for repentance to prepare them to meet the Lord. But now, the Lord, himself, came to John to be baptized. Have you ever wondered why? It’s a good question, and Matthew says John the Baptist asked the same question.
Matthew 3:13–15 (NLT)
13 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.
14 But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”
15 But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him.
Most of the translations say here in verse 15, “let it be done, for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
But Jesus was perfectly righteous. He had no sin. He had no need to repent. So, the NLT writes this in a way that causes us to ask, “What is it that God requires that baptism is part of fulfilling?”
Follow me here, because this is really important. Baptism is a sign of identification. When we are baptized, it is a sign of identification with Jesus Christ. So, who is Jesus being “identified with” in his baptism?
Here’s the bombshell. Jesus, in his baptism, is being identified with us! Jesus needed no “baptism of repentance,” and he was perfectly righteous. And so, in the NLT, when Jesus says, for we must carry out all that God requires (Matthew 3:15), maybe they chose those words to help us see that God was requiring something here, and it was something very, very significant.
It was Jesus being identified with the sinners who were coming to be baptized for repentance. NOT because he needed repentance, but because through his identification with us, Jesus was going to pay the full penalty for our sins, in our place.
He was baptized to be identified with us (guilty sinners) so that he could pay for our sins in our place – on the cross. That is very, very heavy.
And if we will accept how heavy it is that the sinless Son of God was willing to be identified with guilty sinners like us, then maybe it will give a deeper meaning to how heaven responded to the Baptism of Jesus.
Mark 1:10-11 (NLT)
10 As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove.
11 And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”
Verse 10 says Jesus saw the heavens splitting apart. The ESV says, “being torn open.” These are dramatic, heaven shaking words. The Father and the Holy Spirit know from an eternal perspective just how incredibly heavy this moment is. The sinless, eternal Son of God is being identified with the guilty sinners on earth.
And heaven responds like this. First, the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus to be with him, and in him and upon him in a unique and most powerful way for his three and a half years of earthly ministry. And then the Father speaks from heaven, and he audibly communicates his love and his joy for what the Son has willingly done in order to save all who will come to him.
There is much more we could say about the Baptism of Jesus. But for me, when I look at this section, with Mark, you have to look at it a little bit and say, okay, why did the Holy Spirit have Mark put these three events together? I have to say it is to be focused on Jesus being identified with sinners as he begins his ministry.
It’s just like you and I. If you really want a skid row ministry, then get your tent and move to skid row. Do you want to get down there and minister with those people? Then take one shoe off, get a tent with a hole in it, and go down there and live on skid row for a month or two. Then you’ll be able to minister to the people in skid row. It’s the same thing in foreign countries. Any smart missions’ organizations say you just go live there for a year, and then we’ll talk about you starting a ministry. It’s the same thing, but on an eternal (to the millionth degree) with Christ.
And so, we’ll move on to the Temptation. Notice as Mark jumps into the Temptation of Jesus, he first addresses the empowering of the Holy Spirit that had just occurred at the Baptism.
Mark 1:12-13 (NLT)
12 (Then, after the Baptism) The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness,
13 where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him.
Wow, seriously, Mark, that’s all you’re going to give us? Like I’ve said, Mark strings together short, powerful snapshots to get his point across. And the point I see in these verses today is that as Jesus began his ministry, the first three things he did were all for him to be identified with sinners, like us. We’ve already seen in the Baptism, Jesus is willing to be identified with sinners, even though he had no sin. And now, in the Temptation, we see Jesus being identified with sinners by experiencing the same temptations we do.
To understand some of what Jesus is accomplishing in the Temptation, listen to Hebrews 4:15.
Hebrews 4:15 (NLT)
15 (speaking of Jesus) This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.
In the Bible, a priest is a mediator between Man and God. He understands the struggles of Man, and he understands the holiness of God and our Great High Priest (Jesus) understands the temptations we face – because he faced all the same testings we do YET WITHOUT SIN.
How can the Bible say Jesus faced all of the same testings we face? Because temptation comes in only three broad categories. There are three places in the Bible, where the three broad categories of temptation are listed.
(Write these down). The first one is in Genesis 3:6, where Satan uses these same three categories of temptation to trigger the Fall of Man into sin. The second one is here in the Temptation of Jesus which we see clearly in Luke 4:1-13. And the third one is in 1 John 2:16, where the Bible lists these three broad categories of sin most clearly.
1 John 2:16 (ESV)
16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh (1) and the desires of the eyes (2) and pride of life (3) - is not from the Father but is from the world.
These are the three, all-encompassing broad categories of temptation that we all face.
(1) the Desires of the flesh – our physical desires and cravings
(2) the Desires of the eyes – what we SEE that draws us to sin
(3) Pride of life – “self-absorbed conceit of our own superiority.”
And every one of the temptations that Jesus faced fit squarely in one of these categories.
So, first, heaven had opened up on Jesus in the Baptism as Jesus was identified with sinners in his baptism. Now, hell is about to open up on Jesus in the Temptation as Jesus experiences all the testing we will ever experience to the tenth degree.
First, Jesus fasted forty days. Forty days of fasting puts you in an almost immovable, weakened state. Jesus was as weak physically and mentally as a person can be without dying. He was alone and desolate and at his weakest, and then Satan came to do his worst. Jesus had become a man, so Satan would try to take him down with the same categories of temptation that he took the first man down with – what the flesh craves, what the eyes see, what the pride thinks. Look at Luke 4:3.
Luke 4:3 (ESV)
3 The devil said to him, “If (if indeed) you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
This is the desire of the flesh. For Jesus, this isn’t “flesh” as in a “sin nature.” He didn’t have a sin nature, but he did have a very real physical body and was “near the point of death” starving.
Then Luke 4:5 says Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And then we read in Luke 4:6-7,
Luke 4:6–7 (NLT)
6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please.
7 I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
This is the desire of the eyes. This was a chance for Jesus to get the crown without the cross. Jesus would have the glory and authority of all the kingdoms on earth without having to go to the cross. And then, in Luke 4:9-11,
Luke 4:9–11 (NLT)
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off!
10 For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.
11 And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
First of all, notice the devil is quoting Scripture. So, remember, not everyone who quotes Scripture is from God.
This is the pride of life. Pride of life meaning: “being certain of your own superiority,” which is really the root of all sin.
But, through every temptation (even though he was near death from fasting), Jesus responded to the devil – on our behalf – in the same way we should respond. Jesus responded with the Word of God and held fast to his faith in God.
And he had to do it – partially for Jesus to be fully identified with us! Listen carefully to Hebrews 5:8-9 (write this in your margin),
Hebrews 5:8–9 (NLT)
8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.
9 In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.
Through his suffering that began with the Temptation, Jesus was qualified to be our perfect High Priest by identifying with our weaknesses and our temptations so that he could be our power to overcome temptation, and so that he could be the source of our eternal salvation! What an incredible sacrifice on his part.
Finally… after being identified with us in the Baptism, and after being identified with us in the Temptation, finally, Jesus is identified with us in his Message – and this is the real Good News.
Mark 1:14-15 (NLT)
14 Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News.
15 “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!”
Listen to me very closely, please. After Jesus became identified with us in our world, Jesus now proclaims the Good News that we can be identified with him in his world.
The time promised by God has come at last! [Jesus] announced. The Kingdom of God is near! Meaning it is near you, in the Person of Jesus Christ! And then Jesus proclaims the only way to enter. “Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” so that you can be identified with him in his Kingdom!
Jesus came to this earth to be identified with you – a sinner – because that is the only way that Jesus could be the perfect High Priest and the source of our eternal salvation.
And now that Jesus has done that, you have the opportunity to be identified with him in his Kingdom – meaning the Kingdom of God.
The time promised by God has come at last!
The Kingdom of God is near YOU!
Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!
So that you could be identified with Jesus Christ for abundant life now and eternal life in heaven.