Mark 1:10

Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.

From Background Notes [BN] for February 25^th/26^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Mark will later use the same verb to describe the tearing of the curtain in the Temple after Jesus' death on the cross (15:38), a word choice followed by Matthew (27:51).



The Old Testament applies "open heaven" language to visions and revelations from God (Ezekiel 1:1). In Isaiah 64:1 we find a prayer, in which the prophet cries out to Yahweh, "Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down…" Keeping these texts in mind, we might imagine that the Spirit's descent on Jesus at his baptism is the heaven-sent sign that God has indeed torn open the heavens and come down in the person of Jesus, His beloved Son. This is yet one more indication that the kingdom of heaven has drawn near.  [BN, 5]

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