It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. 11 Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”—Mark 1:9-11
I stopped reading this morning at verse 11. Meditating on and looking at the cross-references for this verse brought much comfort to my heart. The Word of God is amazing and the best commentary on it, is the word itself. Mark here, uses it wisely, to confirm Jesus as God’s Servant. Some verses from the OT that came to mind here:
Moses is speaking...
"The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers-it is to him you shall listen- (Deuteronomy 18:15, ESV).
And another...
7 "I will declare the decree:
The LORD has said to Me,
You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.'"
10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.—Psalm 2:7-12
Corollary verses I found for Psalm 2:7
5 For to which of the angels did He ever say:
"You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You"?
And again:
"I will be to Him a Father,
And He shall be to Me a Son"?
6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says:
"Let all the angels of God worship Him."—Hebrews 1:5-6
33 God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm:
'You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.'
34 And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus:
I will give you the sure mercies of David.'
35 Therefore He also says in another Psalm:
You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.'
36 "For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; 37 but He whom God raised up saw no corruption. —Acts 13:33-36
Also because Mark reveals Jesus as God’s Servant, one of the Servant Songs from Isaiah came to mind.
1 "Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
4 He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands shall wait for His law."
5 Thus says God the LORD,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,
Who gives breath to the people on it,
And spirit to those who walk on it:
6 "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand;
I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the Gentiles,
7 To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the prison,
Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
8 I am the LORD, that is My name;
And My glory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved images.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
And new things I declare;
Before they spring forth I tell you of them."—Isaiah 42:1-9
How did all of this speak and bring God’s comfort to my heart this morning?
- Fulfilled prophecy - Predicting the future with absolute pinpoint accuracy says that the Bible is a supernatural book. I have always love these quotes from Chuck Missler. (speaking of the Bible)
“It is sixty-six books written by forty authors, written between 1446 B.C. & 90 A.D. But, now we discover that it is an integrated message system from outside our time and space domain.”—Chuck Missler
There are no other religious books on planet earth that have the audacity to hang their track record on their ability to predict the future. Only the Bible is 20/20, on target, and always has been. You can prove the Bible is true by what it says and what has happened.” —Chuck Missler
- What the Father says in verse 11 unbelievably applies to me as a believer in Jesus! Read with me 2 Corinthians 5:21:
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Not because of me....who I am or anything I have done or have not done...but because of Christ my Father in heaven is well pleased with ME! I can rejoice...because I am in Christ. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus...Heaven awaits.
- He saw the Spirit descending upon him like a dove. - Amazingly, this same Spirit who descended upon Jesus like a dove lives in me, works in me and testifies in me that I am His child. He promises that He will complete the good work He began in me at the time of my salvation.
Beloved, Go your way rejoicing...
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. The LORD is their strength, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed. Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance; shepherd them also, and bear them up forever.—Psalm 28:7-9
