Saturday, February 28

Mark 1: 9-15

Mark's aim is to give us a picture of Jesus.  Mark loved to tell about the life of Jesus and he knew the divine side and the human picture of Jesus.

For many of us, the baptism of Jesus is a problem.  He was sinless and baptism meant repentance.

For Jesus it meant more:

1. a moment of decision to launch out on his task God had given him.
2. identifying himself with the God ward movement, maybe not for himself, being sinless, but for others.
3. a moment of approval- Jesus needed a sign of approval from God.
4. no more doom and gloom, but good news of love.

We also wonder why Jesus was sent to the wilderness.  Where is our wilderness?  Where are our temptations?  When is our testing time?  Temptations are not meant to make us fall but to make us strong.

The dominant words as given to us in Mark are good news.   Until Jesus, people searched to find God and to know Him.  God asked us to repent and we must decide if we are in love with life before we knew God.   Believe that God is love.   Believe that what sounds too good to be true is and can be really true.