Preparing the way by Preaching

Gospel of Mark  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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John prepares the way for Jesus, fulfills the prophesy of old.

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In the beginning

In the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the ministry of John the Baptist
When you think of the work of John the Baptist what do you think of?
The ministry of John the Baptist was foretold by Isaiah and by Malachi.
The ministry, while short lived, fulfilled it’s purpose and was successful
Each of the Gospels refers to the work of John the Baptist. Mark says it is the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so let’s look at it. (Mk1:1-8)
Mark 1:1–2 NASB95
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way;
Mark 1:3–4 NASB95
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight.’ ” 4 John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Mark 1:5–6 NASB95
5 And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. 6 John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey.
Mk1:7
Mark 1:7–8 NASB95
7 And he was preaching, and saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. 8 “I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
A series of questions you will get very accustomed to me asking after we read scripture when in a bible class.
What did you see, what did you notice, what sticks out to you?

The preaching of John the Baptist

The purpose, the message, the success and the promises
The purpose
To fulfill prophesy (of Isaiah and Malachi)
To prepare the way (Mal3:1)
Malachi 3:1 NASB95
1 “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.
Also to fulfill the Elijah to come (Mal4:5-6; Mt17:10-13)
Malachi 4:5–6 NASB95
5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. 6 “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”
Israel had just come through a very dry spell, the Word of the Lord had stopped for some 300 years. No prophets, but it did not mean God stopped working, just stopped talking for a period. There were things that needed to be done before the coming of the Messiah, one of those things was the Elijah to come and that is John the Baptist as Jesus Himself says.
Matthew 17:10–11 NASB95
10 And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things;
Matthew 17:12–13 NASB95
12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.
So the one to come, the Elijah to come was to come to prepare the way
Isa40:3
Isaiah 40:3 NASB95
3 A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
(and add about the Pax Romana)
n Pax Romana)
So, John’s purpose was to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
The Message
The where, the why, the success (Mk1-4; Mt3:1 6; Jn1:28, 3:23; 2Cor7:10-11; Heb9:15; Mk16:15-16, Act2:38, 22:16; Mk1:5; Lk22:39-43)
He came baptizing where (v.4)?
He was baptizing in the wilderness (v.4) and it was the wilderness of Judea (Mt3:1)
Why did he baptize (v.4)?
Who was responding (v.5)?
What were they doing (v.5)?
Some details, it was in the wilderness of Judea, (Mt3:1)
Matthew 3:1 NASB95
1 Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,
In the Jordan river (Mt3:6)
Matthew 3:6 NASB95
6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
Matthew 3:6 NASB95
6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
In Bethany on east side of Jordan
John 1:28 NASB95
28 These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
later on in Aenon near Salim, where there was much water
John 3:23 NASB95
23 John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized—
It was for the repentance of sins (v.4)
Question: What does repentance mean?
This change of mind brings about Godly sorrow and a change of direction
2 Corinthians 7:10–11 NASB95
10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. 11 For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
2 Corinthians 7:10–11 NASB95
10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. 11 For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
2Cor7:10-11
Hebrews 9:15 NASB95
15 For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
This is the same that the apostles taught after the ascension, after Pentecost
Remission of sins (
Act
Mark 16:15–16 NASB95
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
Or
Acts 2:38 NASB95
38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
And
Acts 22:16 NASB95
16 ‘Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’
John’s message called for repentance and baptism for the remission (forgiveness) of sins.
His Success
He was in the wilderness, but all Judea, Jerusalem were going out to him (v.5)
All were being baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins (v.5)
John was successful at preaching the Good News, forgiveness of your sins
His Lifestyle
You sure would not find John on the cover of GQ or any other main stream magazine
What was his clothing (v.6)?
Diet of loc
How about his diet (v.6)?
He did come with Spirit and power of Elijah (2Kin1:8; Lk1:17)
2 Kings 1:8 NASB95
8 They answered him, “He was a hairy man with a leather girdle bound about his loins.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”
Luke 1:17 NASB95
17 “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
According to Erdman’s Bible Encyclopedia
“John’s lifestyle reflected the seriousness and sternness of his message”
His Promise (Mk1:7-8; Act1:4-5, 2:1-4; Tit3:4-6; 1Cor12:13)
What was the promise of (v.7)?
How about the proclamation (v.8)?
THe one comin
He promised One who is mightier that he is not worthy to loose sandal strap
He would baptize with Holy Spirit. Even here John is increasing Jesus and decreasing himself. He knows his task and takes it seriously.
Jesus would baptize with Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, John still taught and baptized for the remission (forgiveness) of sins.
Acts 1:4–5 NASB95
4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Promised before ascension
Acts 2:1–2 NASB95
1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Acts 2:3–4 NASB95
3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
Fulfilled on Pentecost
Titus 3:4–5 NASB95
4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
Titus 3:6 NASB95
6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
Described in Titus
1 Corinthians 12:13 NASB95
13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Placement emphasized by Paul in Corinthians
The preaching of John was well received by those in Jerusalem and Judea . Those who received and believed were well prepared for the coming of the Lord.
I wonder if John were preaching today would be receive?

Would we receive John’s preaching today?

While only we can speculate, let’s contemplate these things.
People if they wanted to hear the message had to travel to the wilderness (v.4-5)
He was not dressed in fine clothes, but camel hair and thought of as having a demon (v.1; Mt11:18)
Matthew 11:18 NASB95
18 “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’
He was bold, outspoken regardless of people (Mt3:7)
Matthew 3:7 NASB95
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Now consider these things:
Are we willing to travel to make services, to study God’s Word?
Are we willing to accept people who are not dressed in fine clothes?
We need to remember God’s perspective (1Sam16:7; Jam2:1-4)
1 Samuel 16:7 NASB95
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
James speaks of being impartial and the importance of it
James 2:1–2 NASB95
1 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. 2 For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes,
James 2:3–4 NASB95
3 and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?
Can we get upset when you hear something preached that addresses and issue you maybe facing that makes you uncomfortable? (Mt23:13-15)
Look at Jesus harsh words:
Matthew 23:13–14 NASB95
13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
Matthew 23:15 NASB95
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
May we be willing to heed the message of John even today. for it
prepared the way of the Lord
It emphasized repentance and baptism
John’s message, John’s lifestyle and preaching are still needed today for we know what Jesus had to say (Lk6:46)
Luke 6:46 NASB95
46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
We need to be willing to do what Jesus says, counting the cost, for when we do then we will bear fruit of repentance!
(Pray)
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