The Gospel of Mark: God in the Flesh

The four Gospels in the New Testament obviously resemble each other in many ways. But each gospel also has its point of departure from the others. Matthew, for instance, begins his story with an account of the ancestry, conception, birth, and naming of Jesus. Luke begins with a narrative of the conception and birth of John the Baptist. John, in his gospel, takes us into the distant past of eternity, and reminds us that the Word was with God before the beginning of the world, and that the Word was indeed God Himself.

Mark, on the other hand, plunges right into the heart of the story. He opens very simply, the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mark covers in one-third of a chapter — fifteen verses — what Matthew takes four and one-half chapters and 81 verses to explain. Luke is even more wordy, taking four and one-half chapters and 182 verses to cover the same material.

Mark begins his Gospel revealing Jesus as the King of a new kingdom. In that day when a King arrived on the scene, he was always preceded by herald. This is how Mark begins his gospel. Even here, Mark is brief ... naming John, but never telling us anything about this herald preaching in the wilderness. If Mark is writing his Gospel for a Roman audience, this opening scene would have struck a chord. Caesars didn’t go anywhere without fanfare. That a herald is heralding sends a message — someone important is right behind.

In the passage before us, I want you to see three key elements as God presents his only begotten son to the world. The three keywords awards you to remember all are: fulfillment, announcement, and endorsement.

I. GOD FULFILLED THE WORDS OF HIS PROPHETS vv. 1-3

“THE beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; 2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Mark 1:1–3, KJV)

1. the Gospel of Mark opens with an old and powerful dream: the promise that God would act again in history to save the Jewish people

a. it contains two terms that were guaranteed to rekindle this ancient hope: good news and Christ

b. but the beginning of the Gospel does not began with the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

c. the “good news” begins with the prophets of God, and their proclamation of a Messiah

2. the God of the universe does not play cosmic hide and seek with us

a. he wants to be known, and he wants us to hear him

b. and so he has spoken to us, and he has spoken very clearly

A. GOD HAS SPOKEN IN UNIQUE WAYS AT DIFFERENT TIMES

“GOD, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,” (Hebrews 1:1, KJV)

1. God is not some heavenly hermit seeking to remain aloof and isolated from the crowd

a. He activity seeks our recognition and our worship and so He reveals Himself to us

b. the sweeping affirmation of Hebrews 1:1 is that God has spoken to us at sundry times and in divers manners

2. the phrase at sundry times literally means in many portions

a. God did not reveal all things about Himself or the full details about His redemptive plan all at once

1) He gave it out in portions –

a) sometimes in small bits such at Genesis 3:14-15

b) sometimes in large doses such as Isaiah 53

2) you might say it was revelation on the installment plan

b. theologians call this progressive revelation

1) bit by bit, attribute by attribute, statute by statute, prophecy by prophecy, supernatural act by supernatural act God revealed His character and His redemptive plan to the Jewish people

4. not only has God spoken at sundry times, He spoke in divers manners

a. that means that God spoke in many different ways

1) God spoke through audible voice

2) God spoke through dreams and visions

3) God spoke through angels

4) God spoke through natural wonders and through supernatural displays of power

5. in spite of the time involved, and the diversity of authors, and the various kinds of literature, the Bible’s message is remarkable consistent

a. it progressively takes us from God’s initial promise of a redeemer in Genesis, chapter three, to the fulfilment of that promise in the Gospels

6. God has spoken in unique ways and at different times

B. HE SPOKE PRIMARILY THROUGH HIS PROPHETS

1. every other major world religion is man’s attempt to discover God

a. weather it’s Buddha sitting under a tree waiting for enlightenment or the modern Wiccan looking for god in a tree or rock, by himself man is incapable of identifying, comprehending, or understanding God

2. the Bible, on the other hand, is the story of God bursting into man’s world, and showing, and telling man what He is like

a. ultimately, God promises to send His people a Deliverer, a Messiah who will establish His kingdom and redeem His people

b. He revealed this through the word of the Old Testament writers

1) Mark quotes two Old Testament Prophets for us – Malachi and Isaiah

“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, Even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: Behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:1, KJV)

“The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3, KJV 1900)

3. here is a clear reference to a herald that will precede a King

a. that herald’s name is John and his ministry was prophesied 700 years before it actually took place

b. at his conception an angel confirms to Zacharias — John’s father — that his son would play a key role in the redemption of God’s people

“And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord To prepare his ways; 77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God; Whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, 79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace. 80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.” (Luke 1:76–80, KJV)

1) and, according to Luke 1:17, he would come in the power of Elijah

2) in fact, Mal. 4:5 prophesies that the prophet Elijah would return and prepare the hearts of the people to receive the Messiah

3) in Matt. 17:10-13, Jesus — referring to John the Baptist — tells his disciples that Elijah has returned and Israel did not recognize him

c. vs. 4 makes the logical connection between the prophesies of Malachi and Isaiah and the Baptist’s ministry

1) it reads, And so John came ...

2) I will send my messenger ahead of you ... and so John came

3) he will prepare your way ... and so John came

4) a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord ... and so John came

5) make straight paths for him ... and so John came

c. Mark tells us that his message was the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ

4. God Fulfilled the Words of His Prophets

II. GOD ANNOUNCED HIS ACTION THROUGH THE HERALD IN THE WILDERNESS

“John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; 7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. 8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.” (Mark 1:4–8, KJV)

1. just within the last 10 years, archeologists think they have located the area where John most likely baptized

a. in John 1:26-28 were told that John the Baptists’ ministry was in Bethany beyond the Jordan

b. I give you that tid-bit of information to tell you that even today it is still a wilderness

1) even though the Jordan River flows through it, it is a parched and dreary place rimmed by barren desert mountains

2) it is a stark place

2. yet the people of Jerusalem and Judea left their cities, towns, and villages and trekked through this howling wilderness to listen to a man preach

a. many would have walked twenty or thirty miles to hear John

b. we have to ask, “What was John preaching that brought people from throughout Judea to listen to a rugged young preacher?”

3. John’s preaching and the response it drew shook the foundation of the nation

a. it was about a nation getting right with God on the eve of Messiah’s coming!

A. A RUGGED MAN WITH A RADICAL MESSAGE

1. John called the people of his day to express their faith by practicing true repentance instead of participating in empty ritual

a. the Book of Hebrews teaches us that the ritual sacrifices of the Jewish religious system were merely a shadow of good things to

“For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:1–4, ESV)

b. they needed — and so do we — a superior sacrifice than the rituals of the Old Covenant provided

3. under the Old Covenant, the priests were busy all day long, from dawn to sunset, slaughtering and sacrificing animals

ILLUS. It is estimated that at each Passover as many as three hundred thousand lambs would be slain within a week. The slaughter would be so massive that blood would run out of the Temple ground through specially prepared channels into the Brook Kidron, which turned to blood.

4. but no matter how many sacrifices were made, or how often, they were ineffective

a. they failed in three ways

1) they could not bring access to God

2) they could not remove sin

3) they were only external — they did nothing to change the heart of the worshiper

5. all the ceremonies and sacrifices, though offered continually, year after year, could never make perfect those who draw near

a. they could never save, never bring access to God

6. John’s message is radical — what people really need to do is repent, confess, and have faith

a. that faith needs to be in the one who is mightier than I ... he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit

b. his preaching sparks the greatest revival the nation of Israel had experienced since Ezra read the Book of the Law to the people of Israel after it had been found in the ruins of the Temple

c. people from all over Israel were going out to see and hear this strange man

1) even in that day, a man living in the desert, clothed in a camel-hair tunic, surviving on grasshoppers and honey is outside the norm

2) and his message was outside the norm — it was a prophet word that Israel had not heard in 400 years and it was electrifying

B. A RUGGED MAN WITH A EXPECTANT HOPE

vv. 7-8 “There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost."

1. John’s message is: “Repent from your sin and confess it before the Lord. Show your true repentance by being baptized. Then, expectantly await the Messiah who’s arrival is immanent.”

2. for thousands of years, the people of Israel have been awaiting The Anointed One

a. in Jewish thought, this Messiah would be the king of the Jews, a political-military leader who would defeat their enemies and usher in a golden era of peace and prosperity for Israel and the Jewish people

b. now, here comes John preaching that the arrival of one mightier than him

1) the day of God’s new covenant had arrived

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,” (Jeremiah 31:31, ESV)

2. everything about the Old Covenant — it’s laws and its rituals — were a pale shadow of the good things to come — this “New Covenant” that Jeremiah refers to

a. the law and the religious ritual of animal sacrifices — made year after year — actually symbolized what Jesus would do once for all

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” (Hebrews 9:11–12, ESV)

ILLUS.

My hope is built on nothing less,

then Jesus’ blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

but wholly lean on Jesus’ name;

On Christ, the solid rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

3. Jesus Christ, is our one and only hope

a. in him would be complete forgiveness since he is the Lamb of God who takes away sin

b. through him would come the baptism of the Holy Spirit

c. He is the Lord and deserves our loyalty

4. God Announced His Action Through the Herald in the Wilderness

III. GOD’S ENDORSED JESUS AS THE PROMISED LORD

“At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 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. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”” (Mark 1:9–11, NIV84)

1. vs. 9 is very simple and straightforward — John introduces Jesus the same way he introduces John the Baptist — Jesus simply appears without fanfare, genealogy or credentials

2. who is this Jesus?

a. ah, the 1st clue to that has already been given to us in vs. 1 — Jesus Christ, the Son of God

b. the 2nd clue is found in vv. 9-10 — the Spirit descends and a voice proclaims

1) John’s prophecy is fulfilled ... and then some

c. for Mark, there is a clear connection between Jesus and the prophecies of Isaiah

1) in the description of Jesus’ baptism Mark uses an expression that appears in only one other place in the Bible

2) the verb to tear open also occurs in Isaiah 64:1, where the prophet calls upon God to rend the heavens and come down and rebuild a desolated kingdom

“Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!” (Isaiah 64:1, NIV84)

3) Isaiah 64 is an anguished plea for God to forgive the sins of the people of Judah, secure its prosperity and establish justice in the world

3. in this connection between Jesus and Isaiah’s prophecy, Jesus’ baptism is symbolic of him accepting the redemptive ministry the Father has sent him to accomplish

a. it answers the question of why Jesus was baptized

1) Jesus is the God who has come down, and before the world ends the mountains will tremble before him

b. in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, we are told that even John the Baptist questioned Jesus about this insisting that it ought to be the other way around

1) the theological debate has raged ever since the Gospels were written

4. the question is this: “Since Jesus was sinless, and the water of baptism symbolized The necessity of the removal of filth, that is of sin, how then was it possible for the Sinless One to submit to baptism?”

5. I think the simplest answer is the best answer

a. Jesus did have sin — namely ours

“All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way; And the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6, KJV)

b. according to John 1:29, the very next day after our Lord’s baptism, John sees Him approaching and exclaimed to his audience, “Look, the Lamb of God who is taking away the sin of the world”

c. I believe that our Lord’s demand to be baptized by John signified his solemn resolution to accomplish the Father’s redemptive work by taking upon himself the guilt of those for whom he was going to die

6. the result is that God the Father endorses His Son and the ministry He is about to embark on

a. in this passage, the glory of the Trinity is here revealed

1) at the very moment when the Son, having been baptized, starts to step up out of the water, heaven suddenly opens wide and the Spirit descends on him

2) the Father, as it were deeply impressed with the willingness of his Son to shoulder so heavy a burden — making atonement for the sins of all the elect — proclaims, “Thou art my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

b. the word Thou in this passage means Thou and no one else

1) Jesus was and is the unique Son of God

7. God’s Endorsement of Jesus Shows He Is the Promised Lord

IV. LESSONS FROM MARK 1:1-11

A. WE MUST PREPARE THE WAY FOR OTHERS TO KNOW JESUS

ILLUS. Since 2012 Paul D. Irving has served as the U.S. House of Representative’s Sergeant of Arms. Among other duties, the Sergeant of Arms is the man who announces the President to a joint session of Congress to deliver the State of the Union Address. Just before the Prsident enters the chambers of the U.S. House of Representatives, Paul Irving will make the announcement, “Mr. Speaker; the President of the United States.” With that announcement, the President will enter the chamber and proceed to the speaker’s podium.

1. Paul Irving is a herald

2. John the Baptist was a herald

a. in the era of the New Testament, a herald was an official formally charged with making royal proclamations and bearing messages to another state

1) with a select group of servants, the herald would make sure that the roadway the king would use was as smooth and uncluttered as possible

2) holes would be filled, rocks and debris would be removed, and unsightly litter would be burned or hidden

3) as the group traveled along and worked, the herald would proclaim the king’s coming to everyone he encountered.

4) his twofold duty was to prepare and to proclaim

b. that is what John’s ministry did for God’s great King — our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ

3. like John, you and I must be modern heralds

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9, ESV)

a. our task is the same — to prepare and to proclaim

4. how do we prepare the way for Jesus?

a. we pray for the lost

b. we live exemplary lives before the lost

c. we minister to the lost

d. when Mark quotes Isaiah and Malachi, he says that we are to do three thing

1) make straight paths

2) fill every ravine

3) level mountains and hill

4) smooth out the rough places

e. engineers know what this is all about – they call it road-building!

1) you and I are to build roads to the lost

5. after we have paved the way, we speak to the lost about Christ

B. WE MUST PROCLAIM JESUS AS THE SAVIOR WHO TAKES AWAY SIN

1. John the Baptist’s message was pretty clear . . .

a. repent . . . confess . . . believe

b. we must be clear about what the gospel message is

1) it is Jesus who saves!

ILLUS.

Come, ye sinner, poor and needy

Weak and wounded, sick and sore;

Jesus ready stands to save you,

Full of pity, love, and pow’r.

I will arise and go to Jesus,

He will embrace me in His arms;

In the arms of my dear Savior,

O there are ten thousand charms.

2. the herald must never become the focus

a. in Luke’s Gospel we find the crowds wondering if John the Baptist might himself be the long-awaited Messiah

Luke 3:15 "And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;" KJV

b. John makes it clear that he is not and that they are to look to another whose very latches on his sandals, he is not worthy to loosen

c. everything we do as a congregation must point to Jesus

C. WORSHIP JESUS AS GOD’S ONE TRUE ETERNAL SON

1. that’s such a no-brainer for us

a. of course we worship Jesus

b. of course we believe that He is God’s one, true and eternal son

2. but there are many – even those who proclaim Him as Savior – who do not understand our Lord’s nature

3. the early church had to deal with many heresies – most dealing with the nature of Jesus

a. most of the early Church Councils were called in order to deal with these heresies

b. many of the old heresies are still around preaching lies under new banners

4. the testimony of the Scriptures and God’s own voice leaves us no choice as to what we must believe

a. Jesus is God incarnate

b. He is the second member of the trinity and God’s one and only, eternal Son

c. to Him we owe our allegiance and our worship

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