MIDWEEK LENT 1 – Feb. 25, 2021 – Mark 1:9-15
“JESUS: A WILLING SON”
Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Gospel Lesson just read, from Mark 1. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- It is somewhat difficult to see Jesus as a “son.” Yet this is the aspect of our own being and relating that God has chosen to help us see the love of the Three Persons of the Triune God, the only True and Living God. Many of us have “sons,” or perhaps “daughters.” This helps us to understand the Father’s love for Jesus, and the love Jesus has for the Father. And we might add, God’s great love for us, His beloved children.
- This is seen in our text for this evening, the account of Jesus’ baptism, in what the Father says of Him. And what is said of Jesus, the love the Father has for Him, is also applicable to each of us, for as the Scripture assures us: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” [Gal. 3:27] So also we are beloved children of God, who have become His precious possession. [Is. 62:3; Deut. 14:2]
- An aspect of this mutual love between the Father and Jesus, His beloved Son, is that they are always on the same page, always agreed. So what the Father sends His Son to do the Son is eager to do, eager to be pleasing to the Father. This also is the relationship of love that our heavenly Father desires to have with us, and as we dwell in His love He begins to bring it about.
- So tonight we look at “JESUS: A WILLING SON,” and see the wondrous love that our Father has for us, and that Jesus, our dear Brother, has for us!
I. Jesus Was Declared To Be The Precious Son Of God By The Father
Text: “You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.”
Heb. 1:7,8 “Of the angels God says, ‘He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.’ But of the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.”
Romans 1:4 “Jesus was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Statement: God Himself declares Jesus His Divine Son, and praises Him, especially for His work of redemption. Think of it, that our redemption is what pleases God! Our sins are all forgiven. Jesus’ blood has made us as white as snow. He has clothed us with garments of salvation, with His own righteousness. We are now also beloved sons of God, through faith in Jesus.
Application: This, God bids us to consider as well, so that our own will might be shaped and formed to His good and gracious will for us! He wants the reality, that we are truly His sons and daughters, to sink in deeply, so that we identify ourselves first and foremost as members of His family. In this way we take the characteristics of God and of His family as of chief importance to us, indeed, as formative of our whole life. After all, our lives in this world are but a pathway to our true home, the heavenly home of God our Father! Yes:
II. Jesus Was Well Pleasing To The Father, For He Was Ready To Do The Difficult Work Of Our Salvation
A. He Was Ready To Face The Temptations Of The Devil
Text: “The Spirit immediately drove Him out into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan.”
B. He Was Ready And Willing To Suffer And Die For Our Sin And Guilt, On The Cross
John 3:17 “God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world, through Him, might be saved.”
1 John 4:9,10 “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the blood atonement for our sins.”
Matt. 26:39 “And He went a little further and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Heb. 5:7-9 “Jesus, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong cryings and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared, though being a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And being perfected, He became the Author of eternal salvation to all those who obey Him.”
Gal. 1:4 “He gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world according to the will of God and our Father.”
1Tim. 2:6 “He gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”
Tit. 2:14 “He gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify to Himself a special people, zealous for good works.”
Statement: No wonder Jesus is the precious, beloved Son of God! How precious and beloved He must also be to us, we who know and believe what He has done for us in love! He conquered the devil for us, in our place, on our behalf. He conquered death for us, in our place, on our behalf. He conquered our sins for us, in our place, on our behalf. “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin.” [1 Jn. 1:7]
Application: Consider well that this is the heart of why Jesus, the Son of God, is pleasing to our heavenly Father! It is for you that He was sent into this world in human flesh. It is our salvation that concerned the Father, and His beloved Son. You also are His beloved sons and daughters, in spite of our great sin and the weaknesses of our sinful flesh!
As we continue living in this great love that God has for us, we more and more become “willing” children of God, willing also to give of ourselves, to in fact, give ourselves to God, living to Him and His purposes. And in time, if required, we too may have to engage in some of the difficult tasks of God’s kingdom in this world. Thankfully, the things that we cannot possibly do for ourselves, Jesus has already done for us, redeeming us from sin, death, and hell.
Conclusion: So let us see Jesus, this most beloved Son of God, our dear Savior. He reveals our true Father to us, His great love. And let us rejoice that already He has blessed us to be children of God. And it gets better and better as we get closer to our heavenly home! Thanks and praise be to God forever, Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.