Mark 1:1-13 (NRSV)
Read Mark 1:1-13 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 1The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Verse 2As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
Verse 9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Verse 10And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. Verse 11And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." Verse 12And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. Verse 13He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
Devotion
All of the wonders of God’s fountains in this week’s lessons come together in the baptism of Jesus, the “beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”: the generous invitation for “everyone who thirsts” to “come to the waters”; the answer to our desperate prayer to be saved from drowning in a chaotic sea; and the quiet assurance of waters that run comfortingly, continuously, still.
Jesus rises up from the still river waters with the power and confident words of the Spirit that he has the power to be the “Living Water of Salvation.”
Prayer
Living Water of Salvation, your fountain never ceases.You were at the beginning of creation; you are the beginning of the new creation. Be our power. Amen.