We come to the baptism of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. The main question has been: Who is this? And here the Father answers. It says Jesus “saw the heavens being torn open.” The Spirit descends, and the Father announces his Son. The Trinity is on display, declaring Jesus’ sonship. But what does that do for us? What practical help is that? Well, the Spirit immediately sends Jesus into the wilderness where he is tempted by Satan. He gets a word from heaven, followed immediately by a word from hell. Some of you might describe that as your weekly experience. How does his baptism help Jesus in the face of his temptations? And how might it help us when we face similar highs and lows? Let’s talk about the hope of “Sonship” and what it means to remember our baptism (Mark 1:9-13).
