Lent 1: Gospel, Mark 1:9-15                                     

Mark 1:9-15

“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan” (Mark 1:9). The gospel from the first Sunday in Lent this year shows us Jesus out for a walk. It’s not just a leisurely walk. It has a determined end. More than one, actually. Water. Wilderness. And an extended trek beyond that. But the text tells us that the first “stop” was the Jordan. And it is a stop for preparation. Israel, the nation, had had extended go-arounds with and in water. Here, the true Israel in the Person of Jesus has one more. Down into the darkness of water, which to the Jewish mind was often a place of death and chaos, goes the Savior. He does not need the traditional washing to cleanse His own sins, but He is preparing Himself. He is giving Himself already to those who will hear His after-baptism message: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (v.15).

We often speak of Jesus “giving Himself into death” for us. Do we see His baptism that way? My contention is that we should. Absolutely. It’s His no-nonsense identification with us. It’s His preparation for a forty-day tangle with His archenemy (nowhere near His equal) and it’s lesson time for all who would be His disciples.

We’re just stepping into our season of following Jesus into the wilderness. Let’s ask him together to really use this “tangle” time. Jesus, would You lead us in ways that will truly squeeze the world out of us. Lead us in thinking and praying and reading and being silent so our flesh loses its grip on the beating of our hearts. We are so given to what we want most of the time. Help us to say as you would, “Not my will Father, but Yours.” As we look back at our water moment and see ourselves now in the wilderness, help us rely as You did on the “it is written” confidence of Your heart. Change our wills. Change our won’ts. 

Water to Wilderness and beyond … with You.