What Jesus' Baptism Says About Repentance and Forgiveness

From the sermon preached on September 27, 2026

There is a kind of regret that rides along to the grain elevator and back: the harsh word you cannot unsay, the drink after the good stretch, the thing from years ago that nobody else in town knows about. Jesus' baptism in Mark 1 shows that repentance and forgiveness belong together, because forgiveness starts with repentance, a change of mind that becomes a change of direction. And at the Jordan River, the God waiting on the other side of that turn does not sound like a judge reading charges; He sounds like a Father saying you are His.

Most people around here would tell you they are fine. They clock in, fill the bleachers on Friday night, and carry the hard thing quietly because there is nobody to hand it to.

The Gospel of Mark opens with a word that means good news: not a clean scan from the doctor, but news centered on Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is able to forgive, heal, and restore what you cannot fix. Here is what Jesus' baptism reveals, what it means to let God be king, and what trusting Him looks like.

John the Baptist, a prophet in camel's hair who lived on locusts and wild honey, preached in the Judean wilderness. Crowds came from Jerusalem and the countryside to be baptized in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. Mark says John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4).

Repentance is not feeling bad for a weekend; it is a change of mind that results in a change of action. It never earns God's forgiveness, but repentance and forgiveness always travel together with real faith.

Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River came next, when Jesus walked down from Nazareth of Galilee into the same water. When He came up out of the water, the heavens tore open, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, and a voice said, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."

Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River is where Father, Son, and Spirit first appear together in Mark, and the Father's first act is to speak love out loud. If your own dad was kind, that voice may sound familiar; if he was harsh or gone, this is what a father was always supposed to sound like.

A pastor at Trinity Church, baptized years before, was offered the chance to be baptized again in the Jordan River on a trip to the Holy Land. He prayed overnight and went in, because he was wrestling and needed to hear again that he was God's child. Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River carries that word for you too: the Father's love is spoken first, not earned later.

Tonight, write down one thing you have been calling fine, and read it next to the Father's words at the river.

Start with our beliefs page if you want to know what baptism means and why Trinity Church practices it; read more here.

Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, jailed John the Baptist for confronting him about taking Herodias, his brother's wife. Then Jesus walked into Galilee and said, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15).

Search: kingdom of God meaning, and the plain answer is that God's kingdom is wherever God is king. The phrase shows up more than 50 times in the Gospels and over 75 times in the New Testament. The kingdom of God meaning for your life comes down to one question: who is on the throne when push comes to shove?

When the bottle or the old resentment is right there on a Tuesday night, somebody is calling the shots, and it is not always Him. Repentance means you stop defending the pet sin and start hating it, because you finally see what it costs.

Matthew 3 records John saying Jesus would come with a winnowing fork to gather the wheat and burn the chaff; anyone who has watched a combine throw chaff out the back knows that picture. Jesus burns up the junk settled in a heart; that is the kingdom of God meaning at its most personal.

Today, name the habit or grudge that calls the shots in your week, and say it to God in plain words.

You do not have to figure this out alone; if a habit or a hurt has more hold on you than you want to admit, reach out here to meet our Support Groups.

Jesus did not stop at repent; He said believe, a word that means to put your trust in something and lean your full weight on it. Repentance and forgiveness open the door, and trust walks through it.

In 1859, tightrope walker Charles Blondin crossed a cable strung more than a quarter mile over the gorge below Niagara Falls, on stilts, blindfolded, and once while cooking an omelet. When he asked the crowd whether he could push a person across in a wheelbarrow, they cheered yes; when he asked who would climb in, nobody moved. Later, his manager, Harry Colcord, climbed onto Blondin's back and rode across safely.

Trusting Jesus with everything is the difference between the cheering crowd and the man on Blondin's back. Jesus lived without sin and rose from the grave, showing His power over sin and death. He is not offering to carry you over a waterfall; He is offering to carry your soul to heaven.

Trusting Jesus with everything reaches your family, your paycheck, and your livelihood when the price per bushel drops. It includes obedience too; the same pastor was first baptized in the Philippines, after a pastor there asked why he was telling people about Jesus without being baptized himself. Whether it happens in the Jordan or in a cattle tank in Illinois or Indiana, trusting Jesus with everything means you stop admiring Him from the crowd and let Him carry the weight.

Today, pick one thing you have kept back (a marriage, a diagnosis, a kid who stopped calling) and pray: I trust You with this.

Mark 1:1-15 moves fast, but around Jesus' baptism it shows four figures who point toward repentance and forgiveness in Mark 1:15.

1. The Messenger
What Happens: John the Baptist fulfills Isaiah 40, a voice in the wilderness preparing the way.
What It Means for You: Repentance gets a heart ready for Jesus.

2. The Son
What Happens: Jesus, without sin, is baptized to fulfill all righteousness.
What It Means for You: He steps into the water with the people He came to save.

3. The Spirit
What Happens: The Spirit descends, then drives Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days.
What It Means for You: A dry season after a high point is not proof God has left.

4. The Father
What Happens: The Father calls Jesus beloved and well pleasing.
What It Means for You: God's approval rests on whose you are, not how you perform.

Mark is one of four Gospels, and each shows a different side of Jesus without contradicting the others:

• Matthew wrote mainly for a Jewish audience, presenting Jesus as the promised Messiah.
• Mark wrote early, likely for Roman Christians, showing Jesus as a servant and man of action.
• Luke wrote for non-Jewish readers, showing Jesus as Savior for all people, including the poor and outcasts.
• John wrote later for the wider church, focusing on Jesus as the Word made flesh.

Regret can stay quiet for years, showing up at two in the morning or in the truck on the drive home, until carrying it alone feels normal. Trinity Church gathers across Iroquois County and over the line into Indiana, with campuses in Ashkum, Goodland, and Watseka, and people come from Gilman and Milford, from Clifton and Cissna Park, and from the farms around Danforth. Wherever you are coming from, you can walk in exactly as you are and hear good news that is not a performance.

Forgiveness starts with repentance: a change of mind about what you have been holding onto, followed by a change of direction toward Jesus. He died for you and rose again in power, so repentance and forgiveness lead somewhere real: eternal life. He is not asking whether you believe He can get across the falls; He is asking whether you will get in.

Come find a seat at the Ashkum, Goodland, or Watseka campus of Trinity Church, where there is no dress code and no expectation that you have it together; plan your visit here.

 If you would rather start smaller, the connection card lets you send a prayer request or say you want to be baptized, and we will walk you through it; connect here.
Nobody here has it all together either.