Mark 1:4-11 (NASB) 4John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. 6John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey. 7And he was preaching, and saying, "After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. 8"I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." 9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; 11and a voice came out of the heavens: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."
You are my beloved Son. Here the key is beloved. The term has to do with Jesus’ own awareness of God as His father, with His sense of mission to communicate love to others, and with His desire to bring others into the enjoyment of that relationship that was so real to Him.
And His baptism confirms His conviction and His mission. To know that we are beloved is to sense God’s care and commitment to us. Beloved is sensing in our soul the truth of God’s commitment to us. Is that a reality to you? Does that awareness daily influence your life?
Do you know people who have been well loved by their parents, by others, and yet do not sense themselves beloved? And do you know people who were not well loved by their parents, who suffered painful rejection and yet at some point in their life they heard the message from God, “You are my beloved”?
Beloved is a gift we receive from God. And the gift makes a difference in our lives. If we know ourselves to be beloved, can we still be angry, irritable, and resentful? Can we be frustrated or discouraged? Could we casually drift away from God’s love and God’s will? Yes, we certainly can, but not forever. Knowing that we are beloved is a powerful force that rightens us and motivates us to live in the life God wants us to have.
Many of us have been baptized in water. Have we been baptized in the truth Jesus came to give, that we are beloved? That is the point Mark makes. Have we gotten the point?
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope January 12, 1997
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
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