Beyond the Words: Mark 1
Notes
Transcript
Intro
How many of you enjoy putting puzzles together?
We don’t do it a lot, but our family loves puzzles
Especially at Christmas, we’ll put a big puzzle out.
We’ve got white house puzzles
Christmas scene puzzles
Puzzles with pictures of me and LA’s family [awkward family photo puzzle picture]
But have ever tried to put together a puzzle and seen this?[image of puzzle missing pieces]
I hate it when this happens
You go to put the puzzle together and the key pieces are missing.
It feels pointless
You want to give up
Because without those pieces, the whole thing doesn’t make sense!
One of the things I’ve realized over the years is that this is how many people feel about the Bible.
They look at the Bible, and the whole thing feels like a puzzle to them
They might see how a few pieces connect
They might understand this section here, or that section over there
But in the end, it feels like a confusing jumble with so many pieces missing
But starting this week, I want to help change that for you.
This week, we’re kicking off a series called “Beyond the Words” where we are going to look beyond the words of scripture at the history, context, and other details going on behind the scenes that make the scriptures come alive and make so much more sense.
Each week, we are going to be working our way through the gospel of Mark, looking at passages that have confused Christians for centuries, and revealing what Mark’s gospel really tells us about who Jesus is and what that really means.
I’m going to break down for you the key pieces of each scripture so that when you go back to read that scripture again for yourself, you understand it in a whole new way and see the Bible through an entirely new set of eyes
I’m so excited about this!
So, without delay, let’s jump right into chapter 1 of Mark’s gospel.
Good News
Marks very first words are “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ” (Mark 1:1)
Now, there is so much Mark is telling us in just these first few words.
But let’s begin by taking a look at that word: “Gospel”
Now, the word gospel comes from the Anglo-Saxon word godspell, which means a good story [godspell = good story]
And is based on the ancient greek word euangelion which means “good news” [euangelion = good news]
In other words, a gospel is a story telling the “good news” about Jesus
But here’s something important to understand: Christian’s didn’t invent this word euangelion; they adopted it.
You see, whenever a Roman emperor would conquer an area, he’d send out euangelion, good news about how everyone’s life was going to be better because HE was their emperor
Well, Christians did the same thing with the story of Jesus
They wanted to let the whole world know that their lives would be changed forever because of what Jesus had done
but with Mark, there’s something more going on with this word
Not long after Mark begins his gospel, he references two passages of scripture:
And even though he tells us they’re both from Isaiah, they actually come from Isaiah and another prophet
The first passage he references Malachi 3:1, which says, “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.”
And THEN he quotes Isaiah 40:3, which says, “A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
These verses are meant to show us that this isn’t good news that suddenly happened
This is good news that people have been waiting for
For centuries, the Israelite people have been oppressed by one nation after another
For hundreds of years, they’ve begged God to send them a savior
Prophets have promised that this Messiah would come and described what he would be like
And Mark is saying, “you don’t have to wait any longer - he’s here!”
But the great irony of this is that Mark is saying, “you all are used to this word euangelion, this promise of Good News, that the emperor will save you...
...Well I’m giving you a different kind of good news, a promise of someone who will save you FROM the emperor
And let me tell you who he is!
And that’s exactly what Mark does next
But when we see this Messiah’s name, we’re going to begin to realize that here, too, there is even MORE going on beyond the words than we realize.
Jesus Wasn’t His Name
You see, it might surprise you to hear this, but Jesus wasn’t actually Jesus’ first name
And while we’re at it, Christ wasn’t his last name.
Here’s what’s really going on Beyond the Words
In the opening lines to Mark’s gospel, which we read a moment ago, Mark refers to Jesus as iesous christos = Jesus Christ, which we translate Jesus Christ
but The name iēsous (Jesus) is actually the Greek version of the Hebrew word yeshua or yehoshua
This is actually the word for the Hebrew name Joshua, which was an incredibly common Jewish name in the first century community in which Jesus lived [Jesus = yeshua = Joshua]
Most people would have referred to him as Yeshua bin Yosef
Yeshua, son of Joseph
And even though this name was common, it was a name that had significant meaning!
Yeshua means God helps, God saves, God delivers [yeshua = God saves]
In the book of Joshua, we see that Joshua is the man who leads the Israelite people into the promised land and defeats their enemies along the way
He is the man who succeeds Moses
And this is what Mark is pronouncing about Jesus: He is succeeding Moses and will lead God’s people ot God’s promises
So, at the very outset, we are learning several important things about this man that Mark is introducing:
That his very name promises deliverance
That he is the new Moses, the new deliverer of God’s people.
But there’s more…
Because the next thing Mark calls Jesus is “Christ”
Christ
Now, like we said, Jesus’ last name wasn’t Christ
But I could definitely see how that would be confusing for people
I mean, Mark begins his gospel, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,”
To western eyes, this makes it look like Christ is his surname
We figure there’s Jesus’ Christ, Mary Christ, Randy Christ, Tammy Christ
It’s the whole CHRIST family
But CHRIST... is actually his title
The Greek word used here is the word christos which is a translation of the Hebrew word mashiach, meaning “anointed one,” [Christos (Gk) = mashiach (Hb) = anointed one, Messiah], or which we often translate as Messiah
In other words, in yet another way, Mark is making sure that from the very beginning, we know that Jesus is the savior we’ve been waiting for
In just a few words, he’s setting the tone for this whole story he’s about to tell!
Mark wants you to know that whoever you are, whatever you’re going through as you read these words, whatever troubles you find yourself in, you’re about to hear some really good news
And I know for many of you, that’s why you’re here
You need some good news
Christmas was a tough season
People you love are hurting
You’re feeling lost
Finances are pinched right now!
But Good News is what the gospel is all about.
And that’s what Mark wants you to know as we keep reading.
John’s Funny Clothes
Now, after Mark’s introduction, he goes right into telling us about a man named John who lives in the wilderness and is baptizing people in the Jordan River
And one of the odd things that we immediately notice about John is that, to us, he seems kinda weird
You can kinda understand why, in the Chosen, they refer to him as “Creepy John”
He eats locusts and honey
He dresses in camel hair
But again, there’s meaning here
There’s almost always MEANING to what Mark tells us
You see, the mention of camel hair and leather belt would have reminded a Jewish listener of the prophet Elijah, who also was said to have worn hair and a leather belt [“[Elijah] had a garment of hair and had a leather belt around his waist.” (2 Kings 1:8)]
And this would have reminded them of another passage, again from Malachi, that says, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6).
In other words, Mark is letting us know from the outset that John is the prophesied return of Elijah
Which means that John is here to pave the way for the messiah
And guess who that Messiah is going to be? Yeshua Bin Yoseph
And what is that Messiah going to do?
Well, Mark hints at it with the phrase in the wilderness, an allusion to the book of Hosea, and a chapter all about God renewing the covenant with Israel [“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. (Hosea 2:14]
You see, the relationship between God and the Israelite people has been fractured...for a long time
Maybe that resonates with some of you
You feel like your relationship with God has been hurting, maybe for a long time!
But what Mark wants us to know is that God has set out to make things right; and Jesus is the one who will accomplish that
Piece by piece things are coming together
We’ve learned that the savior we’ve waited for is coming, that he’s here to save and deliver us, and now we’re learning part of what that’s going to look like
Mark is telling us that even though we might feel separated from God, even though that relationship might feel broken, this is a story about how Jesus will make that relationship whole again
And not just on an individual level, it’s not JUST about me and Jesus;
it’s about all of us and Jesus
It’s about God restoring all of creation and desiring to bring every person on earth back into relationship with God
And that’s a hallmark of this gospel, and really the gospel in general
Things don’t happen the way we expect them
While these prophecies might appear to be promising that only Israel will be restored to relationship with God
Or that God is only going to save Israel from its oppressors
Everything is bigger than that
Things aren’t what they seem
And that’s definitely true when we get to Mark’s description of Jesus
Jesus from Where?
As soon as Jesus comes on the scene, anyone familiar with Judaism or Israel would have known something was up with this Messiah Mark has been hyping
The first thing we learn about Jesus is that he’s from Nazareth
Now, to people today, especially if you’ve been a Christian for long, that word word sounds familiar
But at the time, this is like Mark saying, “Pungo”
There’s nothing wrong with pungo
But for most people, they hear that name and think it’s some sort of spring loaded stick you stand on and bounce around!
Nobody would get excited if you said, “Jesus from Pungo”
They’d be like, is that a band? [headbanger voice]
And that’s how people felt about Nazareth
It was a community of anywhere between 100 and 400 people
It was poor
It’s never once mentioned in the OT scriptures
And it is definitely NOT where anyone expected the Messiah to come from
But there’s more to this word Nazareth than meets the eye
The word Nazareth comes from the Hebrew word netzer, which means branch [netzer = branch]
Which is also connected to a very significant passage of scripture PROMISING the Messiah
In Isaiah, it says, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a BRANCH will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—” (Isaiah 11:1-2)
Once again, Mark is including all of these details for a purpose
Yes, this is where Jesus is from
But Mark wants us to see beyond the words to the meaning
Nazareth testifies to who God is and who Jesus will be
The Messiah has come
But he’s not coming as a soldier or an emperor
He’s not coming from the most significant town with the most money
He’s coming from the middle of nowhere, a place no one would expect
He’s coming in humility, he’s coming as a servant
And he’s coming not just to reach the people who are expecting him, those who think they deserve his salvation
But this unassuming man from this undeserving town is coming to save those who feel as if they could never deserve his salvation
And that’s still the case today!
Some of you need to hear that right now
You don’t think you’re worthy of salvation
And I want you to know that Jesus came for you!
This is good news!
In fact, I want to do something right now that I think will be really interesting for this series as we continue
I want to take a quick survey
Along with your message notes, we inserted a small card [online = link button]
And on this box you’ll see two questions about describe your relationship with Jesus
The first one is about Jesus’ love, and your options are… [include on Connection Card]
I know that Jesus loves me and I feel his love.
I know that Jesus loves me and I don’t feel his love.
I’m not sure if Jesus loves me.
I don’t believe that Jesus loves me.
The next is about your beliefs about Jesus… [include on Connection Card]
I believe Jesus is the Messiah and he is my Lord and Savior
I believe Jesus is the Messiah, but I’m not sure if he’s my Lord and Savior
I believe Jesus is the Messiah, and I know he isn’t my Lord and Savior
I don’t believe Jesus is the Messiah.
So, take a second to fill that out.
And I’m curious how God might alter your answers as we go throughout this gospel.
But let’s keep going, because even what Mark has left to share might impact you before this message is over!
A New King
Now, as we progress through this chapter, things begin to happen very quickly
And this is a hallmark of Mark’s gospel
One word that you’ll see Mark use over and over again is the Greek word euthys, which is translated immediately [euthys = immediately]
He uses it 12 times, just in this chapter
What we see is that he’s driving us forward towards the climax of the story, Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection, at which point this word all but disappears
But at this point, early on, he’s using this word to build excitement, to set the tone of the story
And in these few verses between verses 9 and 15, Mark is solidifying his groundwork of establishing for us who Jesus is
The story of Jesus’ baptism, his temptations in the wilderness, and the words about the beginnings of his ministry in Galillee are all driving us towards a few words that will explain everything
In verse 15, Jesus says “The time is fulfilled and the KINGDOM of God has come near. Repent and believe in the gospel!” (Mark 1:15)
Now that word translated Kingdom is the Greek word, basileia = kingdom [bah-see-lay-uh], which also means a leader’s rule or reign
What Jesus is saying is that God is here, and God is here to rule the earth
Jesus is establishing God’s kingdom here on earth, and he’s the new king
And so with those words repent and believe he’s telling everyone that they have a choice to make
Is Caesar going to be their king? Or is Jesus going to be their king?
Right out in front, he’s letting us know that this isn’t just some story about a Jewish rabbi
This isn’t some eccentric teacher
The messiah has come
And that messiah is a king - a new kind of king
And despite being from the middle of nowhere, he’s worthy not just of our interest, but our worship
But here’s the really interesting thing: at this point, we’re the only ones who know this
Because as we head into the next few sections, we realize that while people admire Jesus, no one really understands who Jesus is
And Jesus wants it that way
These men he calls to be his disciples leave everything for him
But that’s not necessarily because they think there is something significant about him
Nothing in the passage leads us to believe that they know he’s the Messiah or believe him to be God’s Son
In fact, one thing you’ll notice in Mark is that the disciples are quite dumb when it comes to understanding who Jesus is - even Peter
Which is really interesting because, tradition tells us that Peter is the one telling these stories to Mark to record
So Peter would have had to have been the one to tell Mark this detail
I just imagine him saying something like, “Mark, man. We had NO idea!
And as you’ll see in the next few chapters...they don’t!
Jesus actually gets really frustrated at them because over and over, they don’t understand who he is or what he’s doing
Which, I think, is such good news for you and me.
If you’ve ever felt like you don’t understand the Bible
If it’s ever felt like a puzzle to you
If you have ever felt unworthy to be a leader or to serve because you just didn’t know enough or understand enough, here’s some good new: You’d fit right in with Jesus’ disciples!
Because that’s exactly who we find following Jesus at the beginning of Mark’s gospel:
A bunch of men who other rabbis ignored
Men who didn’t truly understand who Jesus was
Men who had questions
Men who messed up...a lot!
And yet, these men ended up being part of God’s plan to change the world.
And the same is true for you!
You might feel unworthy
You might not feel smart enough
You might feel like others are more deserving
But God has chosen you to be a disciple of Jesus
The King of Kings has called you to follow him
You don’t have to have it all figured out now
The disciples few as they followed Jesus
And that’s what I’m inviting you to do throughout this series: grow as we walk together
Conclusion
So, I want to conclude today by giving you so me next steps that will help you to start this journey off right
Watch Chosen Season 2, Episode 1 and pay attention to how the disciples act. What do they get right? What do they do wrong?
Read Mark 1
Find 3 people to discuss Mark 1 with (could be your Small Group, or just some friends).
Some of you have known Jesus your entire lives
Others of you feel like you know hardly anything.
But what I want you to know is that your savior is here
Hopefully by now you can tell that this story isn’t just going to be about some great teacher who loved people a lot
This is something bigger
God came to earth
And because of that, your life, my life, our world can never be the same again
Yesterday was New Year’s
This may be the start of a year that changes your life forever.
And I’m glad we’re on this journey together.
Let’s pray...