5 verses. This seems like a very short section today. And... quite frankly, it is. Just wait until we get into the minor prophets and the whole book is a blink of an eye. You will find that many things in the gospels are told numerous times because it is the same story written by 4 different men. That doesn't mean that you should just read one and move on. Each man had their own perspective and insight and thoughts about the same event. This story is also found in Matthew 3:13 to 4:11 and Luke 3:21 to 4:13. Personally, I like the Luke version better because it contains the genealogy of Jesus and the dialogue between Jesus and Satan when he was tempted. It gives you more of an understanding. But I'll stay here in Mark and know that we'll get to that section in Luke another day.
At the time, when John was baptizing people in the Jordan for purposes of preparing their hearts for Jesus, Jesus himself came to John to be baptized.
What a glorious picture this would've been to witness. Mind you, Jesus did not have his disciples yet, or any other followers. There might have been a group getting baptized all together that day. We don't know. It could've been just Jesus and John. But what a great thing for John to have witnessed.
When Jesus came out of the water, the clouds parted and the Holy Spirit descended on them.
In the Old Testament, when God wanted people to visibly see Him, the Holy Spirit came as a cloud of smoke (I.E. in Exodus 14) or as fire (I.E. in Exodus 3). So when the bible says that the Holy Spirit descended, picture either smoke or fire or both. But it also says descending on him "like a dove". So a dove on fire? A smoking dove? A dove flying through smoke and fire? I don't know. Doves are used all over the Bible for various symbolism. Noah used doves to see if/when it was safe to look for land when the rains had stopped during the flood and a dove holding an olive branch has come to symbolize peace because the bird finding the branch meant God's punishment was over. The cooing sound of a dove is what what described as the mournful sound of the Israelites during their various hard-times. Doves were used for sacrifice, maybe God's way of foreshadowing Jesus as a sacrifice. Doves have come to represent the Holy Spirit, whether it is descending upon someone, or the imagery of it being there.
So the Holy Spirit is descending on Jesus and a voice came from heaven (voice of an angel? I think it was the voice of God. Because of the dove and because if it was an angel, the angel usually is actually mentioned). The voice says, "You are my Son." God is declaring to the people that this is the Son of God. "whom I love." He is showing that He is a loving God. "with you I am well pleased." We know that Jesus didn't sin, but God is saying this because by being baptized, Jesus is ticking another box on his check-list as the Messiah.
The Spirit sent Him out into the desert (notice the "at once" there, signature of Mark). Jesus is following this dove into the desert. Jesus knew what to do, but I think the dove was there to show the people that this was God's will to lead Him there.
Jesus was in the desert 40 days. It isn't said in this version, but it was 40 days of fasting. No food. Little to no water. Jesus is God, He can do anything, but Jesus was also man and he was hungry. This fasting made Him tired and weak. So, naturally, Satan comes along to tempt him. We'll get into the temptations later.
He was surrounded by wild animals who could've eaten Him at any moment, but He wasn't killed because He is God. He probably talked to the animals. And angels were at His side. Know that when you are in your period of hardships, you don't have to be the Messiah for angels and the Holy Spirit to be at your side. Both come to comfort you and to give you strength to get to the end of your hardship.
I hope today didn't feel rushed. I'll be back tomorrow with the next section.
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