Everyone wants to know that they are going a good job. We can of course use various matrices to measure the value of our efforts (sales reports, quota sheets, report cards), but none are as satisfying as when we get that validation from others. It feels good when people recognize your contributions and accomplishments. It is encouraging to have your efforts and labors acknowledged and appreciated by others. Every man, woman, and child appreciates an, “atta boy!”.
Atta boys are given in various ways. Sometimes an atta boy comes in the form of a fat commission, end of the year bonus, promotion, or pay raise. Other times an atta boy comes in the form of a standing ovation, pat on the back, firm handshake, or a subtle nod. Occasionally an atta boy comes in the form of a generous gift, thoughtful card, or kind gesture. Finally, there is the classic verbal atta boy, “good job”, “well done”, or “nice work”.
An atta boy is powerful. An atta boy can change a person’s entire mood for an entire day. After a person receives an atta boy there tends to be a bit more giddy-up in their go, a twinkle in their eye, and a little sugar on their lips. That change in mood is often noticed and felt by everyone the atta boy recipient comes into contact with. Those people in turn will affect the people they come into contact with and on and on the butterfly effect of the atta boy spreads throughout the community.
There was once an atta boy so powerful that it spread from community to community, shore to shore, continent to continent, the atta boy was so powerful that it even spread through time, it reached into the past, it permeated the present, and filled the future. Today I want to talk to you about that atta boy.
Saint Mark recorded the atta boy in Mark 1:11, but in order to give you a little context and background lets first take a look at verse 9. There we read, “9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” I should probably tell you a little about “that time” Mark is writing about, especially since the remnants of Christmas still decorate our chancel. A considerable amount of time has passed since we last gathered for worship. For us it has been but seven days, for Jesus it has been 30 years. We know very little about those 30 years. Eight days after the little Lord Jesus was laid in a manger, we know He was brought to the temple to be circumcised. We know that as a toddler Jesus lived in Egypt for two years. We know that when He was twelve years old, He amazed the teachers in the temple with His understanding of scripture. Beyond that we know… nothing, at least nothing specific. The prophet Isaiah foretold, and the apostle Peter verified that in the course of those 30 years Jesus “committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”[1]
Jesus has spent the last 30 years of His life living as the sinner’s perfect substitute, now it was time for Him to offer Himself as the sinner’s sacrifice. So, when Jesus learned that the Messiah’s forerunner was “baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”[2] Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” That’s the “time” Mark is writing about.
In verse 10 Mark writes, “10 As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.” The barrier that hides the heavenly beings from our sight could not contain the eager excitement of the angels when the sinner’s substitute was born and so it comes as no surprise to us that it does not contain the pure pride of the Father when the sinner’s sacrifice stands on the bank of the Jordan river.
It is through this tear in the heavens that a celestial sound is heard. It is a voice. The voice of the heavenly Father. A voice that says, “Atta boy!” In verse 11 saint Mark writes, “11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Though this atta boy is heard by John the Baptist and those who were standing along the bank of the Jordan river, the atta boy is addressed to Jesus.
The heavenly Father said to Jesus, “You are my Son”. The Father is not here informing Jesus that He is the Son of God. Jesus knew who He was. When I tell one of my boys, they are my son it is not because their heritage has been called into question. When a father says, “you are my son” there is something far more important being communicated. When a father says, “you are my son” he is in a sense taking ownership of his child, not in a way to control or limit them, rather, he promising to protect his child from anything and anyone who might seeks to do them harm. When a father says, “you are my son” he is accepting responsibility for his child; he is promising to provide his child with all that they need for body and for life; he is saying, “all that I have all that I own I freely give to you for you are my son”. When a father says, “you are my son” he is associating himself with that child; he is promising that his good name and reputation will proceed that child and he is recognizing and accepting that the words and action of that child are his legacy. All this is what the heavenly Father said to Jesus when He said, “You are my Son”.
As Jesus presents Himself to be the sinner’s sacrifice this atta boy must have felt good. But I don’t have to tell you that. You know how this atta boy feels. Though you were conceived in sin, though you are the sons and daughters of a fallen family whose history is full of murderous lies, obscene indulgences, and blasphemous pride, though your transgressions placed you in opposition to the family of God, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee to present Himself as your sacrifice. He came to the Jordan to be baptized by John so that you could become His brothers and sisters; so that you could become the sons and daughters of the heavenly Father, so that from the pages of scripture the heavenly Father could say to you, “you are my sons, you are my daughters”.
On the banks of the Jordan river the heavenly Father assured Jesus that He was one “whom I love”. This term of affection is often thought of as the “God love” because it does not have the back and forth that brotherly love or romantic love have. This love is an action that comes from itself with no thought as to how it will benefit the self; It is a selfless and sacrificial love. I often think of this as the most noble expression of love. When a father says, “I love you” it is not because he wants or needs anything from the child; when a father says, “I love you” he is not asking the child to prove themselves worthy of his affection. Rather, when a father says, “I love you” he is offering to lift the child up, when a father says, “I love you” he is giving his affection whether the child wants it or not. This is what the Heavenly Father was saying to Jesus when He identified Him as one “whom I love”.
As Jesus presents Himself to be the sinner’s sacrifice this atta boy must have been encouraging, especially in the days and years to come. As quickly as they were torn open the heavens would close. Jesus would be led out into the desert where for forty days and forty nights he would be tested by the devil. He would then leave the desert to be detested by the very people he came to save. Then, after three years of verbal abuse, Jesus would be beaten bloody and nailed to a tree. It must have been encouraging for Jesus to hear that all of this happened to him, not because He was being punished for something He did or did not do, this was not a test by which Jesus was to prove Himself to His Father. These things did not happen to Jesus because the Father did not love His Son. These things happened to Jesus because the Son isn’t the only one the Father loves.
The Father also loves you. The Father did not sacrifice some expendable thing; He did not sacrifice something that held little value; He did not sacrifice something He cared nothing for. The Father sacrificed something that was near and dear to His heart; He sacrificed something that He loved; He sacrificed His one and only Son. The Father made this sacrifice because you are one whom He loves.
On the banks of the Jordan river the heavenly Father tells Jesus “with you I am well pleased.” It is understandable why the Father would speak such an atta boy to Jesus. As I have already stated, Jesus was the perfect child. He fulfilled every righteous requirement of the law, He kept the commands, and resisted all temptation.
Obviously, Jesus made the heavenly father happy. Do you? Do you make the heavenly Father happy? In Psalm 139:4 we are told “before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.” Do the words that leap from your tongue make your heavenly Father happy? In Jeremiah 23:24 we read, “Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD?” Your heavenly Father sees everything that you do. Do you think He is happy with what he sees?
There is absolutely no reason for the heavenly Father to be pleased with you… and yet He is. You see the heavenly Father wasn’t just pleased with Jesus because Jesus was the perfect child. The heavenly Father was pleased with Jesus because Jesus was not called or compelled to the Jordan river. Rather, Jesus came to the Jordan river willingly, of His own free will, and from His own desire to be the sinner’s sacrifice. The heavenly Father was pleased with Jesus because Jesus was standing in the middle of the Jordan river surrounded by sinners. He was standing among them as one of them. He who had no sin allowed Himself to become sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God; so that the heavenly Father might say to you and to me, “with you I am well pleased”.
Considering how much they are appreciated, how easy they are to give, and what a powerful effect they can have, I really should be more generous with my atta boys. My wife is hard working and devoted, my children are kind and respectful. My musicians and vocalists are talented and gifted. My council is thoughtful and dedicated. My congregation is generous and supportive. I could give out atta boys all day long. I’m going to work on that. Thankfully our heavenly Father is not as stingy with His atta boys as I am with mine. Thankfully, when the heavenly Father saw His Son standing in the middle of the Jordan river as the sinner’s sacrifice, He told Him, and through Him He tells us, “atta boy”! Amen.
[1] Isaiah 53:9 & 1 Peter 2:20
[2] Mark 1:4