The Gospel of Mark
And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. Mark 1:10 (ESV)
After Mark introduces John the Baptist, he tells of John baptizing Jesus in verses 9-11, continuing to give credence to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. The Triune God is present: Jesus as the Son of God; the Holy Spirit descending on him; and God the Father speaking to Jesus, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” God the Father, himself, is proclaiming Jesus is his Son – that he was pleased with his Son, knowing that Jesus was beginning his work of redemption, which he would finish on the cross.
When Jesus comes up out of the water, Mark tells us that the heavens were torn open. If you open something, like a door or jar, you can close it. If you rip something, it cannot be undone. (A similar picture was used in Isaiah 64:1, where Isaiah is writing a Prayer for Mercy and asks God to “rend the heavens and come down”.) God had come. Jesus’ work would transform the world. He was going to make things right between God and man, giving us salvation and a direct connection to God. This is shown near the end of Mark when Jesus had completed his work by dying on the cross and “the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom” (Mark 15:38). This was the huge, extremely heavy and thick curtain separating the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place. It was torn from top to bottom. It did not need to be closed again. It was no longer needed. The Old Testament offerings pointing to Christ had served their purpose. Because of Jesus, we have direct access to our Father in Heaven, who now says to us, “This is my beloved son (daughter), with him (her) I am well pleased.”
Bless-ed are the sons of God,
They are bo’t with Christ’s own blood;
They are ransomed from the grave,
Life eternal they shall have;
With them numbered may we be
Here and in eternity!
The Lutheran Hymnal 391:1