Identity

So, as I was talking about in my previous post, I have been taking notes on the gospel of Mark. From what I gather, if I remember right, the gospel of Mark is about personal identity. Namely, the identity of Jesus.

In Mark, I think Jesus so identified with people that, although he was declared the holy Son of God (Mark 1: 11), still went through getting baptized like everyone else was (Mark 1:9).

Getting baptized in water, by immersion in the River Jordan, was for people who were giving up their sins and wrong deeds. Yet Jesus did nothing wrong. We believe he was sinless without a doubt. He did not need to get baptized. But Jesus did things like everyone else, but not all things.

I wrote in my notes:

‘The water baptism of John was symbolic of undergoing a turning away of one’s sins, it was a public declaration of one’s commitment to a new life. How could Jesus partake in something that identified him with sin? Baptism was symbolic of being cleansed from one’s sins. Surely, this was not for the Son of God.

‘I think the baptism of Jesus was symbolic of Jesus identifying with us while still being the Son of God. Without this identification, Jesus would not be fulfilling his call–to undergo a life in identification with humans as he came to serve us and not to be served.’

Jesus was called the ‘Son of Man’. He was born for people, to serve them with all his heart. Jesus’ identity was very much that of a human being. He so identified with people that all he did was very much wrapped up in others, to save some.

Jesus embraces us with all his heart. His water baptism in the Jordan River was symbolic of him being there with us, that as one goes down in the waters, to leave their sins behind, Jesus is there with us, and as one rises out of waters, Jesus is rising with us and that he has the power with him to help us overcome our wrong deeds and sins.