Basic
Bible Doctrine - The Baptism of Jesus and the Meaning of the Dove (Mark 1:10)
In
Mark 1:9-11 we read that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan
River. During this event, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus "like a
dove" (Mark 1:10). Do you ever wonder why the Mark and the other gospel
writers chose a dove to describe the coming of the Spirit upon Jesus? Let's
take a look at the meaning of the dove at the baptism of Jesus.
The
most common answer to this question is that the dove is a symbol of peace.
Jesus is called the Prince of Peace in Isaiah 9:6. And on the night of his
betrayal, Jesus told his disciples, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I
give you" (John 14:27).
But
I'm not so sure that is the best explanation of the meaning of this.
Let's
go back to first century Israel and ask, "What would a Jewish person think
about when he saw a dove?"
Peace?
No. How about pain the pain of a bloody animal sacrifice.
When
the Jews brought an animal sacrifice to the temple to atone for their sins, the
Old Testament law provided three options: a bull (for the rich), a lamb (for
the middle class), and a dove (for the poor).
There
were many poor people in ancient Israel, so it is likely that many or even most
people would bring a dove to the priest as the sacrifice for sin.
So on
the day he was baptized, God the Father was saying to God the Son, "You
are about to begin your ministry, and you will spend the next three years preaching
the gospel, teaching the Word, healing people by the thousands and performing
miracles never before seen on this planet. But the main reason you are here,
Jesus, is because you are going to die on the cross as a bloody sacrifice just
like a dove to pay the penalty for sins that guilty sinners deserve to
pay."
Is
this not the heart of biblical Christianity and one of the foundations of Bible
doctrines?
When
John the Baptist saw Jesus, he proclaimed for all to hear, "Look, the Lamb
of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Jesus is not only
the Lamb of God, he is also the Dove of God, and because of his death, God
causes our sins to fly away like a dove if we but repent and trust in Jesus as
Savior, Lord and Treasure.
How
far away? "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our
sins from us" (Psalm 103:12).
May
we celebrate the joy of forgiveness today as we reflect on Jesus as our Dove,
the one who sacrificed himself so that we could receive pardon for sins and
thereby experience intimate fellowship with God through the death of his Son in
Jesus name.
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