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baptized with the Holy Spirit

Mark 1:8
"I indeed have baptized you with water: but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost."

We are studying Jesus's Baptism from the verses of Mark's Gospel. John the Baptizer is the voice calling out in the wilderness, making way for the Messiah. He is telling everyone who will listen that the Savior is about to arrive. John offers them the chance to repent of their sins and turn their hearts and minds towards GOD!

This event is taking place in the countryside on the banks of the Jordan River. This is the same place that Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land from wandering the wilderness for forty years. John the Baptizer was Jesus's cousin. He lived the life of a Nazarite and was unusual to his contemporaries. And, he talked about his cousin in a way people don't normally talk about their family. 

John, the Baptizer, is exceedingly humble and honest with the crowd gathered before him. In today's verse he continued to reveal Jesus's character. These are very early verses in the Gospel of Mark, and they foreshadow the great promises Christ makes. We can repent, have our sins forgiven and be baptized with the Holy Ghost. We are purified by His grace, and refreshed by His mercy.
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