20231210 Christmas in the Gospels: Mark - the Birth of Jesus the Suffering Servant
Christmas 2024 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Call to Worship - Psalm 37
1 Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward doers of unrighteousness. 2 For they will wither quickly like the grass And fade like the green herb. 3 Trust in Yahweh and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in Yahweh; And He will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to Yahweh, Trust in Him, and He will do it. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday.
22 For those blessed by Him will inherit the land, But those cursed by Him will be cut off. 23 The footsteps of a man are established by Yahweh, And He delights in his way.
The Athanasian Creed
Now this is the true faith:
That we believe and confess
that our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son,
is both God and human, equally.
He is God from the essence of the Father,
begotten before time;
and he is human from the essence of his mother,
born in time;
completely God, completely human,
with a rational soul and human flesh;
equal to the Father as regards divinity,
less than the Father as regards humanity.
Although he is God and human,
yet Christ is not two, but one.
He is one, however,
not by his divinity being turned into flesh,
but by God's taking humanity to himself.
He is one,
certainly not by the blending of his essence,
but by the unity of his person.
For just as one human is both rational soul and flesh,
so too the one Christ is both God and human.
He suffered for our salvation;
he descended to hell;
he arose from the dead;
he ascended to heaven;
he is seated at the Father's right hand;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
At his coming all people will arise bodily
and give an accounting of their own deeds.
Those who have done good will enter eternal life,
and those who have done evil will enter eternal fire.
This is the catholic* faith:
one cannot be saved without believing it firmly and faithfully.*that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places
Scripture Reading - Mark 6:1-3
1 And Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to this man, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? 3 “Is this man not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they were taking offense at Him.
The Gospel of Mark: the Birth of Jesus the Suffering Servant
Introduction:
Matthew - Jesus is the Promised King
Mark - Jesus is the Predicted suffering servant
Luke - Jesus is the Prophetic Son of Man
John - Jesus is the Perfect Son of God
Israel expected the Messiah to be a conquering hero who would liberate the Jews from their Roman servitude. Instead, Christ came as a suffering servant to liberate all mankind from slavery to sin.
The structure of Mark’s Gospel provides the key to the author’s purpose. The first half of the Gospel concerns the identity of Jesus as the mighty Messiah and Son of God (Mark 1:1–8:30)
The second half concerns the mission of Jesus (Mark 8:31–16:8).
The Messiah is not here to conquer the Roman legions but to suffer and die as an atoning sacrifice for sins. Mark writes to show that Jesus’ crucifixion does not negate his claim to be the Messiah, but rather affirms it! His faithfulness to this mission becomes the model for all discipleship. Following Jesus means denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following him (Mark 8:34).
(1) Who is Jesus according to Mark?
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God
(2) How does Mark want us to see Jesus?
41 times he uses the word “immediately” Jesus has a mission, Jesus has purpose.
Mark 1:10 - he comes up out of the water, he goes into the desert, he calls the disciples, he enters the synagogue, he heals the sick
Immediately demons respond to him, people are healed
Judas immediately comes and kisses Jesus, the rooster crows immediately after Peter denies Jesus
Mark portrays the sovereign, purposeful, intentional ministry of Jesus
But what is that purpose? To conquer, to rule?
(3) Mark wants us to see Jesus as the suffering servant
31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
31 For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise again three days later.”
34 “And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”
45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
13 Behold, My Servant will prosper; He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. 14 Just as many were appalled at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men.
3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our peace fell upon Him, And by His wounds we are healed.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities.
Is the birth of Jesus mentioned?
3 “Is this man not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they were taking offense at Him.
Just a carpenter
No genealogy - kings have a genealogy - servants have no lineage
Jesus the servant, the one who suffered, the one who is our substitute, the one who is our savior
Benediction
Now the Savior who died, who lives and who reigns, grant you joy in labor, peace in troubles, hope in despair, and faithfulness in temptation. Amen.