Sunday Devo - May 25, 2025

Mark 1:9 “it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.”
 
When we consider the undeserved favor God has shown to all believers by bringing us out of the world and adopting us into His forever family, we can't help but be a bit humbled by His grace. 
Only Mark mentions Jesus coming from Nazareth in this part of the narrative. It is significant because Mark’s presentation of Jesus is that of a suffering Servant of the LORD as reflected in a key verse found in Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”. The fact that Jesus was from Nazareth reflects His humility because it was a small insignificant village 70 miles north of Jerusalem and did not have a good reputation. In the gospels we see Jesus referred to as ‘Jesus of Nazareth’. 
Christ’s humility is also demonstrated in Him coming to be baptized. John’s baptism symbolized repentance, something which the sinless Lamb of God did not need to do. Jesus simply says to John “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Here Jesus humbles Himself as a man and identifies with us. He is so good.

-Bob