Mark 1:1-11
One of the most depressing ways to start a conversation is, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news.” Usually what follows is a let down. On the other hand, we perk up when someone comes to us and says, “Hey! I have good news!” Let me ask you this. Think for a moment, if you were walking down the street, and a friend ran up to you, and said, “I have good news for you!,” what would that good news be? What is it in your life right now that would be good news? Maybe it has to do with the health of you or a loved one. Maybe it would be about a job. Maybe it would be about a relationship. What good news are you hoping for?
We are going to be in Mark chapter 1 this morning, but I want to go back in time even before the events in chapter 1 took place. I want to take you back and highlight a few major moments in history that build anticipation towards what transpires at the beginning of Mark.
In Genesis 3, after sin enters the world, the consequences are being handed out, and here’s what God says to the Serpent in 3:15: “I will put enmity between you and the woman,and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Depending on what you believe about the timing of creation, this probably happened sometime between 6-10,000 years before the birth of Christ. Don’t get distracted by that statement, but follow along with me.
We jump to Genesis 49. Jacob is on his deathbed blessing his sons. He gets to Judah, and here’s what he says in verse 10: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” The promise of a king who will rule and command obedience of the peoples, or a more true translation, the nations. Bible timelines would place this event sometime around 1700 BC.
Numbers 24:17, Balaam is giving an oracle: “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel…” Sometime around 1400 BC.
Isaiah 42:1: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.” Sometime around 700 BC.
Other Old Testament books are full of prophecies about the Messiah including Zechariah, which was about 500 BC.
From the beginning, and all throughout Israel’s history, a King has been promised. For hundreds of years, Israel was in and out of captivity, being oppressed by foreign nations. The period of the prophets ends, and Israel enters 400 years of God being seemingly silent. The hope and anticipation, generation after generation after generation. And then, Mark 1. Verse 1 serves as kind of a preface to the whole book. This is what the whole thing is about!
Preface (1:1)
Read Mark 1:1
The beginning of the gospel, evangelio, good news. Good news has come, and His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The news that you have been waiting for, for thousands of years, has arrived. Jesus Christ. Christ. Not a last name, but a title given to the Anointed One. The One anointed by God the Father to do His work on Earth. And the book of Mark begins with a wild prophet who was sent to herald that good news.
Prophecy of Preparation (1:2-3)
Read Mark 1:2-3
A small Bible study side note here about the prophecy at the beginning. In all the early manuscripts of this gospel, in 97% of them, the Greek reads, “as it is written in the prophets.” They don’t mention Isaiah by name. This is important because there are actually 2 different prophets quoted here. Verse 2 comes from Malachi 3:1, and verse 3 comes from Isaiah 40:3. This has created great debate amongst biblical scholars, because it would appear that Mark was wrong in his quotation. But, here’s an early writing fact. When quoting multiple prophets at once, early writers would typically use the name of the most well known of the bunch, hence Isaiah being mentioned in a small number of manuscripts. Alright, shelf that in your brain for another day.
“Behold I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way. The voice of the one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”
John the baptizer was the messenger who was sent to prepare the way, to make the path straight for Jesus. Anyone here from up north? I went to college in Northeast Pennsylvania, where winter hits for what feels like 8 months of the year. As the cracks and holes in the roads fill with water, freeze and expand, the potholes become big enough to swallow your car. Fortunately, there is equipment to repair the roads.
Back in the day, roads weren’t paved and maintained like they are today, so when a king came to town, he would send a representative ahead to make sure the roads were ready for his entourage to travel. His team would remove rocks, fill in holes and clear debris, making the journey easier for his king. If we translate this to a metaphorical, spiritual act, then we see very quickly that John is the representative, the road is the hearts of the people, and Jesus is the coming King.
Message of Preparation (1:4-8)
Read Mark 1:4-8
We see John’s method is one of proclaiming a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” We need to be careful not to read this and think that John was preaching forgiveness BY baptism. John was baptizing those who repented of their sins. By the way, baptism was not a new idea. In fact baptism was well-known in the Jewish community, because it was used ceremonially as a cleansing of Gentile converts. The radical message was not to be baptized, but was a repentance, a complete turning away from the world, and living for and in anticipation of the coming Messiah.
And this drew much interest from the surrounding cities. All of Judea and all Jerusalem were coming to him to be baptized, confessing their sins, believing his message about the Messiah. And here’s the crazy thing: John was a weird dude. John was not normal. John lived in the wilderness and ate locusts and honey. I don’t know, maybe he was dipping the locust in the honey to sweeten it up. But he was a wild dude. Camel hair clothing, homemade leather belt, probably looked like Tom Hanks talking to his volleyball. But, this wild prophet from the wilderness, listen to what Jesus says about him in Matthew 11:11: “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.” Why? Because he was laser focused on his mission of preparing the hearts of the people to receive Jesus. He wasn’t some extraordinary scholar. He wasn’t a pristine athlete. He wasn’t a rockstar. He wasn’t a CEO. He was a man that believed that his life should be about the proclamation of the One who would come to bring salvation to the world. And that’s what mattered.
Let’s get back into verse 7 and see how this plays out. Here’s the message that John is preaching that is leading people to repentance. Read vs. 7-8. Kind of a weird thing to say, but some more cultural context for us this morning. This from a historical commentary:
“A rabbinic saying, dated after Christ but very likely contemporary to Christ, stated that disciples ought to do everything for their masters that a slave does, except for one thing—untie his sandals. That was simply too much to ask any Jew to do for another Jew. But John had it right in relationship to Christ. He affirmed that he was not worthy of doing the most personally degrading task for the Messiah.”
John has a proper perspective on the authority and prominence of Jesus. “He is so great, so powerful, so holy, that I am not even worthy to perform the most degrading task of a servant.” He uses this to preach the greatness of Christ. Mark leaves a bit of the message out of his account, but Matthew, in chapter 11 of his gospel, adds judgment to those who don’t repent.
“The one who is coming is far greater! You see something incredible happening here, but the baptism that the Messiah is bringing will be far more powerful! I baptize you with water, but the One who is coming will baptize with the Holy Spirit! I mean can you imagine! I can’t! What will that be like?! I don’t know but I want to experience that!”
And then, presumably almost immediately, Jesus shows up. Imagine the scene! John is fired up, people are coming non-stop to hear his message, to repent, to be baptized. God is at work! And then he mentions Jesus, and Jesus shows up!
Fulfillment of the Preparation (1:9-11)
Read vs. 9-11.
This is so awesome! John baptizes Jesus, the One Who he didn’t even feel worthy untying His sandal, and when Jesus comes up, the heavens are torn open. Jesus saw it happen. It wasn’t a metaphorical, sub-conscious phenomenon. It actually happened. And in some physical, tangible way, the Holy Spirit descends from heaven like a dove. And then, as if that isn’t amazing enough, God the Father speaks, audibly, out loud. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all present and involved. Confirmation and evidence of the Trinity. And it’s not just that God speaks, but He affirms Jesus in that moment.
This whole event is kind of like a commissioning of Jesus. Like, he’s been somewhat silent for the last 30 years. Living as a man, learning his craft as a carpenter, experiencing all the in’s and out’s of being human. And now it’s time. It’s time for the world to know who this Jesus is. The time has come for the Messiah to be presented, and what a way to introduce Him. Heavens opening up, the Spirit descending on Him, and God speaking out of the heavens.
This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This is Act 1, Scene 1 of the good news of Jesus.
Application
We could take this passage and apply it a few different ways. But I want to focus on just one this morning, and it starts with this question:
1.. How much of John the Baptist do we have in us? Let’s make one thing clear. We cannot and do not save anyone. The Holy Spirit draws people to Himself. But, we have a role to play, and that is one of proclaiming the good news of the gospel to the world around us.
Let’s take the metaphor of clearing the road of debris. We have a lot of junk in our lives don’t we? Sometimes it’s from our past, sometimes it’s from the present, but that junk can get in the way of people being receptive to anything having to do with Jesus. In fact, that junk can sometimes create anger and bitterness towards God. As Christians, we know the truth! Part of the gospel is God cleaning house in our hearts! He wants to take the junk and remove it, and oftentimes use it for His glory. But people need to understand that! And as followers of Jesus, we are able to help them process these things. Like John the Baptist, we have a role to play in preparing the hearts of those that the Holy Spirit will draw to Himself.
Like John the Baptist, we MUST proclaim Christ to the world around us. It isn’t just the good news, it is the BEST news. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, offering redemption through HIs blood.
