He Came to Serve as God

The right start is important for a successful journey. This holds true whether you start your morning with a nutritional breakfast so you can have the mental capacity and energy for the rest of your day, or it can mean enrolling your child in the right school so they can become an outstanding learner and a productive, capable adult.

From the very first chapter of the Gospel of Mark, the disciple paints a portrait of Jesus that shapes the way we read and understand the rest of his gospel. In order to affirm Christ’s deity as the Son of God from the very beginning of His ministry, Mark begins with the fulfillment of prophecy and divine witness to the identity of Jesus Christ. Mark portrays the work of the One who has come to serve humankind as the work of God Himself.

Both Isaiah and Malachi prophesied the coming of John the Baptist, the one who would come before the Lord to make a way for His arrival (see Mal. 3:1; Isa. 40:3). John came from the wilderness. He baptized in order to “prepare the way” for the Lord to come to people and free their hearts from sin.

John baptized Jesus not because Jesus needed repentance, but so that He could stand in the place of “the many” in need of a ransom for sin (Mark 10:45). At that incredible moment, right at the very beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, Heaven responded with so much affirmation and excitement that the sky ripped open. The Holy Spirit alighted on Jesus, coming down like a dove, and the Father’s voice from Heaven audibly identified Jesus as His Son. This passage presents a beautiful picture of the Trinity, similar to the picture in Genesis 1 during Creation.

Pray with Us

Thank you for joining us on this month’s journey of Bible study and prayer with Today in the Word! Let’s ask the Lord to give us a teachable spirit and open our hearts to the lessons He wants us to learn from our study of the Gospel of Mark.

BY Dr. Eric C. Redmond

Dr. Eric C. Redmond serves as a professor of Bible at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and as associate pastor of adult ministries at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, Ill. He is married to Pam and they have five children. He is the author of Say It!  Celebrating Expository Preaching in the African American Tradition (Moody Publishers), Where Are All the Brothers? Straight Answers to Men's’ Questions about the Church (Crossway), a commentary on Jonah in the Christ-Centered Exposition Series (B&H Publishers), and a study guide on Ephesians in the Knowing the Bible series (Crossway).