Well Pleased

Mark 1:9-11

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Devotion

In these words of Mark we see the entry point of Jesus' public ministry.  Like the opening kick-off of a football game, the baptism of Jesus is the play that gets everything started.  And yet, while nothing seems to have actually happened on the part of Jesus, the Father declares that in Jesus He is "well pleased."  Could the pleasure of the Father somehow be misplaced?

As we pass through Lent our eyes come into sharper focus on the end of Jesus' ministry.  Although Mark doesn’t provide any details we can see that the preparation before the baptism has been sufficient training to carry Jesus through each and every step of His ministry, including that final, very painful one on the cross, where He cries out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"  At this point is the Father still pleased with Jesus?  Mark is silent, but I believe the answer would be a resounding "Yes!"

The Nicene Creed reminds us that Jesus came to earth "for us and for our salvation,"  There is nothing about His life and ministry that does not contribute to that final outcome, salvation for all who will place their trust in Him alone.  The Father is pleased in the preparation of the Son, and He is pleased as the Son lives a life that accomplishes exactly what was intended, the removal of our sin so that we could know real peace with God and receive the certain promise of eternal life with Jesus, our Savior and our Lord. 

The Father is pleased at the baptism, and He must also be pleased at the crucifixion, for there could be no other way to reconcile sinners with a holy God but for Jesus to carry our sin away, clothing us in His righteousness.

Prayer

Lord God Almighty, Thank you for the pleasure of the Father at the baptism of the Son, and for the faithfulness of the Son as He traveled to the cross.  Clothed in the righteousness of Jesus, and filled with the Holy Spirit, shape our lives each day, so that they too would be pleasing to God. Amen.

Bio

Rev. Brad Kautz lives with his wife, Robin, their youngest daughter and two foster children, in Dulce, NM, on the reservation of the Jicarilla Apache Nation and where he serves as pastor of the Jicarilla Apache Reformed Church.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.