“Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down . . .” Isaiah 64:1.
And when he came out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.” Mark 1:10.
It has been a particularly tough Fall in the Valley. I have shepherded so many people facing death, cancer, depression, or the many other battles of living in a fallen world.
I am reminded over and over again, that I can’t solve my own problems, much less offer something to these people in my church who are hurting. Life can be a mess and we are helpless.
Which is to say, I am really savoring the season when we remember that since we have flesh and blood, Christ shared our humanity so that he might destroy him who holds the power of death (Hebrews 2:14-16).
Or consider how Mark puts it. To get his point, you need to notice the correspondence between Mark 1:10 and Isaiah 64:1. In one of the greatest intercessory prayers ever, Isaiah pleaded with God, “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down . . .”
In the introduction of the Gospel of Mark, when Jesus is baptized, Mark echoes this language in Mark 1:10, “And when he came out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.”
Mark points out that the arrival of Jesus we have the answer to Isaiah’s prayer 700 years previous. Christmas is when God split the heavens in half and the Lord, in the power of the Spirit, stepped through the hole in the sky.
See also this post on Mark’s “Christmas story.”
Praise God, Chris! These last two posts were wonderful!
Have you noticed the only other time Mark uses the Greek word for “tore”? I think there might be some significance there.
I did notice that and alluded to it in one of my sermons yesterday (regarding the curtain). I agree, I think there is great significance there.
Thanks Christina. I thought of you all during the Giants / Eagles game last night!
A “Giant” disaster!
Thanks for the quick yet deep reflection.