Can There Really Be Good News?
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Turn with me to Mark 1:1-15. Today and for the next few weeks we’ll be walking together through the Gospel according to Mark to see if there can really be any good news. Let’s read.
The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Let’s pray.
Traditionally, the Gospel according to Mark is actually Peter’s testimony. Mark listened and wrote it down as Peter told the story quickly through prison bars as he waited to be executed. What Mark does in these first few verses is absolutely amazing. Almost every single word echoes back to the Old Testament. But Mark don’t speak only to the Jewish people of his day. He also uses key words that would have caught the attention of the Roman people, too. Weaving these phrases and words throughout this introduction to the story of Jesus, Mark pinpoints all the ways that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament. All the main characters and the most important events from the OT are there. It’s like Mark gathers a great cloud of witnesses who say “Look!! This is the Messiah. The one you have been hoping for.”
Mark is talking to both the Roman and Jewish people, touching on their own ideals and hopes, even using political language to indicate that Jesus is King. The phrase “Son of God” was used by the Romans in reference to their Caesar, who they believed was a deity that should be worshipped. The word for “Good News” or “gospel” was a word used whenever a new Caesar came into power. Runners would go out from the capitol and spread the gospel of a new Caesar, a new king. So when Mark writes in verse 1 this is the Beginning he is immediately catching the attention of every Jewish person who knew their Bible that also starts with In the beginning in the book of Genesis. And when Mark wrote “of the good news”, the “gospel”, all his Roman listeners would have heard “a new king has come into power.” When he wrote “about Jesus the Messiah” – the Jewish people would have heard that “this is the one who has come to rescue you.”
You see the people of Israel, the Jews, were an occupied people. They were ruled by a cruel and powerful Roman Empire. The Jewish people longed for freedom from that rule. They believed the Messiah would come and conquer the Romans and set up a new kingdom. The Roman people looked down on the Jews. They considered them to be less than human, not worthy of an ounce of respect. Jews were worthless to them.
Can you imagine a more opposite group of people? Romans and Jews did not mix or get along. Do we experience anything like that today? In our country? Republicans and Democrats. Vax and anti-vax. Black Lives Matter or Back the Blue. How about in the church? Hymns or not? Charismatic or liturgical? Fully affirming or “orthodox”? We certainly, here in this country, do not have to endure the daily trauma of being occupied by our enemies. But we do experience division and hold diverse ideals and beliefs even about what is true and what is good.
Into those differences, Jesus speaks and declares good news. He spoke good news to the Romans and Jews, and he speaks good news to us here today and to our world. What is that good news? Jesus is the good news you are hoping for.
In the first few verses, we read quotations from the OT about John the Baptist. Mark mentions and quotes Isaiah, and he also quotes the prophet Malachi. We read John the Baptist, who is described like Elijah, calling people to turn their lives around. We see that Someone is coming who will do even more than John the Baptist can do… baptize in the Holy Spirit. The good news here is that God has not forgotten you. All those promises in the Old Testament that the Jewish people were holding tightly to, God was fulfilling through John the Baptist and that was proof that the Messiah, the Rescuer, was coming. Don’t lose hope. God has not forgotten you. God has not forgotten you.
Then Jesus shows up on the scene. The Father speaks, and the Spirit descends on Jesus. Jesus endures temptation for 40 days. The good news here is that Jesus knows you. He identifies with us in our humanity. Coming from Nazareth in Galilee is like coming from Homer in Cortland County. He was tempted, just like we are tempted. The fact that He was with the animals likens him to Adam, the first human. Jesus is fully human and fully God. He knows your struggles, your pain, your day to day reality. Jesus knows you.
The good news is God has not forgotten you. The good news is Jesus knows you. And the good news is Jesus is here.
When Jesus declared that the Kingdom of God has come near, He was declaring to the Jews that all the hopes and longings for a Messiah to rescue them from the tyranny of Rome were being fulfilled in Him. The promise from God that a Messiah would come had been kept. Jesus was the good news they were looking for. To the Romans, Jesus declared that He was now the one in charge. A new king had claimed authority over the kingdom. The good news was that this was not a far away king demanding tribute and taxes. The King is here. Jesus is here. Jesus is still here. He still reigns as king over every kingdom on earth. And he reigns over Cortland, over Living Word, over me, and over you. Jesus is here.
The Good News is God has not forgotten you. The Good News is Jesus knows you. The Good News is Jesus is here. Jesus was the good news that the Jews and the Romans were hoping for, and Jesus is the good news that you are hoping for too. We need good news these days. Every day this week when I read the news my heart aches. Afghanistan. Hurricanes. Flooding. COVID deaths. Overdoses. Can there really be any good news? Our world is crying out for hope. Sometimes I feel so small when I think about the brokenness in our world, in our neighborhood, even in my family. What can I do?
We know that Jesus is the good news we are hoping for, but what should we do about it? What do we do in response to this Good News? Jesus himself gives us the answer. Repent and believe the good news. The word repent means to literally turn around and walk to opposite direction. Jesus is calling us to repent of putting our hope in something other than him. He is the Good News. Repent of worshipping a false Caesar. Turn around and walk the opposite way from hoping in any political party or celebrity or any new fad. Believe it. Jesus is the good news you are hoping for.
If you have never put your hope in Jesus or believed He is the one to rescue you, then I invite you to take a step of faith and do it today. God has not forgotten you. Jesus knows you, and He is here. Please come talk to me or Pastor Jim, or anyone on the board after church. If you realize this morning that even though you are a Christian you have been putting your hope in something other than Jesus, this invitation is for you too. Repent and believe Jesus is the good news you are looking for.
As Charles comes to lead us in a closing song, I invite you to look to Jesus. Tell Him what is on your heart. Confess to him what you have been putting your hope in. Invite Him to be the Lord, the King in your life. As we sing we declare together that Jesus is the good news. He is worthy of our praise, for he is God.