Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 3 Study # 1
November 13, 2018
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis:   The baptism of Jesus by John is Mark's first, and primary, "nail" upon which his entire record hangs.

Introduction:   Up to this point in our studies, we have been considering Mark's presentation of John the Baptizer as the historical fulfillment of ancient prophecies (Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1). We have argued that his reason for this is to present "The Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ", with the word "beginning" meaning something like "the most important implication" of that Gospel.

According to 1 John 2:16, mankind is faced with three towering monsters which inhibit man's experience of what Peter calls "joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8). Of these three, one is more basic than the other two. This "more basic" one is what the Authorized Version translates "the pride of life", but which ought to be translated "the arrogance that arises out of abilities that are applauded by men". What this boils down to is a kind of "chain" reaction.

First, there is the fact that God resists the proud (read, the arrogant). If this monster is effective, men will become arrogant against God and will, thus, be resisted by Him so that their end is total disaster. Then, there is the second fact that the arrogance of men has to have some sort of "foundation", and that "foundation" is identified as a kind of "widespread approval by men" so that those foolish men who use the approval by men to validate their "pride" end up in total disaster. Then, there is the third fact that men who seek, and use, the approval by men as their "root" of attitude and behavior are, as Jesus said, incapable of "faith" (John 5:44) and, thus, incapable of "pleasing God" (Hebrews 11:6). Those who are incapable of pleasing God end up in total disaster. Therefore, I am arguing that the lust for the good opinions of other human beings is the primary "towering monster" called "the arrogance that arises out of abilities that are applauded by men".

I believe that it was this particular "monster" that fundamentally afflicted Mark and was defeated when Mark came to grips with "the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ". That, in turn, became his motivation for the writing of this record.

Now, with that summary introduction, we turn our attention this evening to Mark's meticulous efforts to "build a case" for seeing Jesus as The Solution to The Primary Monster. We have already seen how he has given us a "reason to believe" that John the Baptizer was the historical fulfillment of the ancient prophecies of Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1. Now we are going to follow his words into the next most critical issue: a "reason to believe" that Jesus of Nazareth of Galilee was/is the historical fulfillment of the current prophecy of John regarding "The Coming of the Mighty One".

• I. First, By Name, "Jesus" is The Defeater of the Monster.
  • A. The primary "monster" is the prohibitive obstacle to the only thing that pleases God: faith.
    • 1. As such, this "monster" is the root of all manner of sins.
    • 2. Thus, because "sins" force a barrier between men and God, it is this monster that must be destroyed if "joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8) is to be the experience of man.
  • B. By Name, "Jesus" is the One Who "delivers His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21) and, thus, has to have defeated the obstructionist monster.
• II. Second, By Association With Nazareth in Galilee, Jesus is Identified as The Qualified One to Defeat the Monster.
  • A. Nazareth.
    • 1. As a village, it is completely under the radar of the entire Old Testament records.
    • 2. As a village in Galilee, the name is directly associated with the Old Testament prophecies of "The Branch".
      • a. The direct association arises out of the tri-radical root NZR which is the root of both Nazareth and The Branch.
      • b. The prophecies of "The Branch" focus on Isaiah 11. where "The Branch" is going to usher in a utopian unity between God and His people.
        • 1) It should be recognized without objection that any such utopian unity must begin with a valid and impregnable solution to the root(s) of all of the "obstructionist monsters" that sponsor all of the sins/barriers by which men are separated from that unity.
        • 2) Thus, Jesus' identification with NZR is a direct identification with "The Branch" Whose name was assigned to Him: Jesus.
    • 3. As a village of Galilee, the name is directly associated with the "problem" of having no reputation in the hearts and minds of men.
      • a. John 1:45-46 records for us the disdain that was apparently widespread in the minds of men regarding Nazareth.
      • b. John 7:41 and 7:52 record the fact that this disdain was also applied to "Galilee".
      • c. This, therefore, indicates that Mark's choice of words includes the underlying theme of men withholding their "glory" from a target of their disdain.
  • B. Galilee.
    • 1. We have already noted the integration of the thesis of "men withholding their glory" into both the references to Nazareth and Galilee.
    • 2. However, Mark's reference to Galilee at this point may have a larger significance.
      • a. There is a literary device called an "Inclusio" in which an author begins and ends with the same word or point of reference.
      • b. It is possible that the reference to Galilee in our current text is more than simply putting a geographical boundary upon Nazareth.
      • c. It is interesting that the very last paragraph that we can be sure Mark wrote in his presentation insists that the disciples return to their place of origin to "cap" the revelation of the "Slayer of the Monster".
      • d. This may well be an indication that Mark intends us to see everything between Galilee in 1:9 and 16:7 under one main/major thesis.
  • C. Thus, both Nazareth and Galilee point directly at the "problem": man's lust for the good opinion of others.
• III. Third, By Mark Doubling Down on His "Basis for Faith" Apologetic.
  • A. He took pains to identify John the Baptizer as the fulfillment of divine prophecy so that his readers could accept John's message(s).
  • B. He then, immediately, identifies Jesus as the fulfillment of the divine prophecy uttered by John so that his readers could move from "faith in John as a prophet" to "faith in Jesus as The Mighty One".
• IV. Fourth, Jesus the Giant Killer Is Baptized by John in the Jordan.
  • A. The Jordan is significant for reasons already developed in an earlier study as the "Obstructive Boundary" of the Kingdom which, especially at flood stage, keeps the people of God out of their inheritance.
    • 1. The issue here is that "the Jordan dried up" as an obstruction to the inheritance as soon as the priests, in faith, stepped into the water.
    • 2. Likewise, anyone who entered the Jordan on the basis of faith in the offer of forgiveness rooted in repentance alone, had all of the obstructions of his "sins" removed and unity with God was given.
  • B. Jesus' baptism was not indicative of any "sins" on His part; it was indicative of His whole-being embrace of the doctrine John was preaching.

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This is article #028.
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