Mark 1:9-11

The baptism of Jesus is one of the debates in the Church long long time ago. It presents a real problem. John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance, it was meant for those who were sorry of their sins. What was the baptism of Jesus has got to do with it? Jesus is free from sin, why did he allow himself to be baptized? As far as we are concern that baptism was unnecessary and irrelevant.

For Jesus his baptism had reasons:

1.     It was his decision. He stayed in Nazareth for 30 years. He did his work faithfully and discharged his duties at home as an ordinary son. He must have been aware that the time for him to go out had finally come. Probably he waited for a sign. He saw this moment.

In each and everyone’s life comes a moment of decision which maybe accepted or rejected. To accept them is to succeed; to reject them is to fail.

2.     Jesus had a moment of identification. Everyone believes that Jesus need not have to repent on anything especially from sin. A really great identification is when a man identifies himself with a movement, not for his own sake, but for the sake of other people.

3.     It was the moment of approval. Jesus must have been sure that he was right. He decided on his course of action, he looked for the seal of the approval from God.

4.     It was the hour of equipment. That time the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus. Certainly, there is a symbolism here. There was a dove, a symbol of gentleness. John’s message of the axe laid to the root of the tree, of the terrible sifting, of the consuming fire. It was a message of doom and end and not good news. But from the very start the image of the Spirit likened to a dove is a picture of gentleness. He will conquer, but the conquest will be the conquest of love.

fr everett corvera, corvera everett, everet corvera

Mark 1:5-8

Mark 1:5-8

It is truly clear that the ministry of John was effective for they flocked out to listen to him and to submit to his baptism. Why was it that John made an impact to all nations? It is for the following reasons:

1.     He was a man who lived with what he preached. It was not only through his words but the very life that he protests. There are three things that marked the reality of his protest against the contemporary life.

a.     The place where he stayed, the wilderness. It is said that between the center of Judaea and the Dead Sea lies one of the most dangerous and terrible deserts in the world. The desert is limestone. The rocks are blistering. John was a man from the desert and from its own solitudes and its desolations. He was a man who had given himself a chance to hear the voice of God.

b.     There were the clothes that John wore. They were from a garment woven from camel’s hair and leather belt about his waist.

c.      There was food he ate. John ate locusts and wild honey.

So John emerged and people listened to him. John was the message himself, and because of that people followed him and listened to what he preached.

2.     John’s message was effective because he told people what they knew in their hearts and minds and that in the depths of their souls they were longing for something.

a.     The Jews believed in the saying: “If Israel would only keep the law of God perfectly for one day the Kingdom of God would come.” When John preached about conversion and repentance he was confronting the hearts of everyone. His message was effective because he spoke to the conscience of every person.

b.     The people of Israel were well aware that for three hundred years the voice of a prophet had been silent. The people waited for someone to speak the voice of God, someone who would be a messenger. And that they heard that from John. They immediately recognized that he was the one. The people believed that John came from God and to hear him was to know he was the one.

3.     The message of John was very effective because he was a man of humility. He even gave a verdict to himself that he was not fit for the duty even of a slave. John asked nothing of himself but everything for the one he prepared the way for – it was for Christ.

4.     His message was effective because he pointed even someone beyond himself. He told the people that his baptism drenched them in water, but the one who was coming would drench them in the Holy Spirit. While water could cleanse a person’s body, the Holy Spirit cleanse not only the physical but the whole self and heart.

John’s motivation was clear. He was not to occupy the center stage, but to try to connect the people with the one who was greater and powerful than him. People listened and followed him because he pointed, not to himself, but to the one whom all people need.

fr everett corvera, corvera everett, everet corvera

Mark 1

Mark 1:1-4

New International Version (NIV)

Mark 1

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

 ¹ The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah,^[a] the Son of God,^{[b] 2} as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:    “I will send my messenger ahead of you,
   who will prepare your way”^[c]—
³ “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
   make straight paths for him.’”^[d]
 4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 

Mark starts the story of Jesus a long long way back. He didn't start with the birth of Jesus, not even begin with John the Baptist in the wilderness preaching about conversion; it begin with the freams of the prophets long ago; that is to say, it began long long ago in the mind of God.
The Stoics were strong believers in the ordered plan of God. "The things of God," said Marcus Aurelius, "are full of foresight. All things flow from heaven." There are things we may well learn here.
1. it has been said that "the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts," and so are the thoughts of God. God works his purposes out. History is not about a disconnected events; it is a process directed by the God who sees the end in the beginning.
2. we are within that process, and because of that we can either help or hinder it. Life would be very different if, instead of longing for some distant and at present unattainable goal, we did all that we could to bring that goal nearer.

fr everett corvera, corvera everett, everet corvera

Mark, the essential gospel...

It would not be unfair to call Mark the essential gospel.


Mark starts the story of Jesus a long way back. It did not begin with Jesus's birth; it did not even begin with John the Baptizer in the wilderness; it began with the dreams of the prophets long ago; that is to say, it began long, long ago in the mind of God.


The stories were strong believers in the ordered plan of God. "The things of God," said Marcus Aurelius, "are full of foresight. All things flow from heaven." There are things we may learn here.

i) it has been said that "the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts," and so are the thoughts of God. God is characteristically a God who is working his purposes out. History is not a random kaleidoscope of disconnected events; it is a process directed by the God who sees the end in the beginning.


ii) we are within that process, and because of that we can either help or hinder it. In one sense it is as great an honor to help in some great process as it is a privilege to see the ultimate goal. Life would be very different if, instead of yearning for some distant and at present unattainable goal, we did all that we could to bring that goal nearer.

"In youth, because I could not be a singer,
I did not even try to write a song;
I set no little trees along the roadside,
Because I knew their growth would take so long.


But now from wisdom that the years have brought me,
I know that it may be a blessed thing
To plant a tree for someone else to water,
Or make a song for someone else to sing."

Mark never forgot the divine side of Jesus...

The beginning of Mark's gospel is: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." 


To Mark, Jesus was not simply a man among men; he was God among men, ever moving them to a wondering amazement with his words and deeds.


There is no gospel who gives us such a human picture of Jesus. Sometimes its picture is so human that the later writers of Jesus alter a little because they are afraid to say what Mark have said. To Mark Jesus is simply "the carpenter." (6:3) Later Matthew alters that to "the carpenter's son" (Matthew 13:55) as if to call Jesus a village tradesman is too daring.

st. michael's parish, remuera, auckland, new zealand