Series on the Gospel of Mark
Sermon #1
“In the Beginning of the Gospel”
Mark 1:1-11
A study of the Book of Mark is fascinating because the account of the life of Jesus found here is a succinct, yet vivid telling of the story. The style is almost abrupt. It begins with the phrase, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1) which seems to give the author’s perspective on the account he is about to give about the life of Jesus. The author is telling the reader that the story is not over at the end of his narrative (Mark 16:20). The resurrection of Jesus that ends the narrative is only the beginning of the story, of the good news about Jesus Christ that is to be proclaimed unto the end of the age.
Some have advanced the idea that it is Mark who is the young man that is recorded as having fled from the scene of Jesus’ arrest (Mark 14:51), leaving his garment behind. Author and pastor, Ray Stedman goes so far as to advance the theory that perhaps Mark is the Rich Young Ruler who came to Jesus and asked the secret to eternal life (Mark 10:21). Stedman believes that it could have been Mark because his account of this incident records something that neither of the other accounts tells us. He says, “Then Jesus beholding him loved him…” (Mark 10:21), a personal touch that suggest at least to Stedman, that Mark was the rich young ruler. If we accept Mark as the rich young ruler it suggests that rich young ruler did ultimately make the commitment that Jesus asked of him, he did give up everything to follow Jesus. He gave up his inheritance, all his worldly goods to the point that all he had left was his robe, and finally, he even lost that to follow Jesus. No one knows that this is fact but it is an interesting thought. [Ray Stedman. “A Place To Begin” Mk 1:1-8 www.pbc.org]
We officially meet Mark for the first time during the last week of the ministry of Jesus. His mother, Mary, owned the house where the Last Supper was held in the Upper Room. He would have been an observer of the tragic events of the betrayal, trial and execution of Jesus. His mother had been one of the women who were the first witnesses of the resurrection.
We also know that Mark had a shaky beginning in the ministry, when he accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey but abandoned them in the middle of the trip and decided to return home (Acts 13:13). Paul was so unhappy with Mark that he refused to take him on the second missionary journey precipitating a quarrel between Paul and Barnabas which ended in splitting their partnership (Acts 15:36-41). Although the details are never given there seems to have been a reconciliation between Paul and John Mark. Later Paul would ask Timothy to bring Mark with him to Rome because “he is useful in service.” (2 Tim 4:11).
But it would seem that the gospel of Mark is the result of his close association with Paul but with Peter. Peter speaks affectionately of his association with him in his first letter (1 Peter 5:13) where he calls him “Marcus (or Mark) my son.” The gospel of Mark then reflects Peter’s memories, perceptions and experiences with Jesus.
Although the author of the Gospel of Mark is not named, there is strong and clear early tradition that Mark was the author. The study of the gospel according to Mark is important for several reasons. First, the book of Mark is important because it is the oldest of the Gospels – and the very first systemic account of the life and ministry of Jesus. Each of the gospel accounts tells us something different about the person of Jesus. The Gospel of John reveals Christ as the Son of God and emphasizes His deity. Matthew in his gospel account declares Christ as the King and highlights His royalty. The story of Jesus as told by Luke discloses Christ as the Son of Man and stresses His humanity. The Gospel of Mark unveils Christ as the Servant and accentuates His humility.
Secondly, the study of Mark is important because it is the shortest gospel account - it is the gospel of action. In only sixteen chapters the author gives us the complete account of the ministry of Jesus. Mark concentrates on the actions of Jesus, what he does not just what he says.
Finally, the study of the book of Mark is important because it is the gospel of the “second chance.” This is important if John Mark is the author then he is the same young man who accompanied Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey but left the party at Perga (Acts 13:13). It was he that Paul and Barnabas had a disagreement about when Paul refused to take Mark on the second missionary journey. (Acts 15:38-40). If he is the author of the gospel account then not only was he restored to ministry as recorded in 2 Timothy 4:11 but he went on to perform this enormously important work for the Lord. The young man who had failed so miserable in his first attempt to serve at last made good. It is an encouragement to all who have been plagued with failures in their past.
Verse one begins, “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 Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.”(3) “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.’” (4) John came baptizing in the wilder-ness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. (5) Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. (6) Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. (7) And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. (8) I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (9) It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. (10) And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. (11) Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
In keeping with the concise fashion that will characterize this gospel, John begins not with the birth of Jesus, but with a introduction to his ministry. Mark begins by saying, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” and in so doing he is saying that what he is about to share is foundational to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Gospel means “good news” and Jesus is presented as the Christ-the one who has come to save men from their sins. And that is good news. The found-ation of the gospel the good news of salvation is the message that repentance is both possible and necess-ary. Repentance is necessary and forgiveness is avail-able.
He begins with the man who announces the person and ministry of Jesus – John the Baptist. This morning I want us to see three things about the message of John the Baptist.
First, The Authority of John’s Message (vv. 2-3)
“As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.”(3) “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.”
John the Baptist is saying that he is the messen-ger sent from God and the message is based on the authority of God’s word. In fact his coming is foretold (v.2) - “as it is written in the prophets.” John the Baptist was the fulfillment of the foretold by the prophets as the one who would prepare the way for the Messiah. The prop-hecy that Mark refers is Isaiah 40:3, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert - A highway for our God.” And in Malachi 3:1 we read, “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight Behold, He is coming,”
There has been over three hundred years of prophetic silence in Israel. God has not spoken but now John the Baptist burst on to the scene and is presented as the fulfillment of those prophecies of the forerunner of the Messiah. God’s Word is the authority for John’s ministry.
John had the authority of Scripture and when he spoke he told it like it was. He did not dance around the truth. He dealt with issues that others in his day were afraid to tackle. John was not afraid to tell it straight because he was not merely giving his opinion he was revealing what God demanded.
Secondly, The Aim of John’s Message (v. 4)
“John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”
The baptism that John spoke of is probably more important than we readily understand. First, the Jews are being asked to do something they have never done before. Baptism is not a normal practice among the Jews. The only thing that came close was the fact that Gentile converts to Judaism were baptized. But Jews were not baptized. This had never been done before in their history. John as a Jew was asking Jews to submit to something that they thought was only required of Gentiles.
Secondly, this baptism was a symbolic of washing away the defilement of sin. Jews did not readily identify themselves as sinners. John had come to call the people to -repentance. He pointed out that the way of the Lord must be prepared, and that the way is not simply a highway in the desert, but rather a highway in our hearts, a direction and a step that we must take, if we are to be ready for the coming of the Lord. The message is all about repentance.
But what does the word “repentance” mean? Quite simply it means, to “turn around” to have a change of mind, about God, about sin and about oneself, to have a change of direction, to face a new way, to begin to walk on that way, leaving the old way behind.
Repentance is not beating yourself up while saying what a miserable sinner you are - repentance is not saying how sorry you are, over and over, repent-ance is doing things in a new way. To repent is to recognize that the old ways in which we have traveled led us nowhere, and then to turn around, and to ask for God’s forgiveness and help, and to start walking in the way that leads us to the light. Repentance is a new beginning - a beginning that we continue each day, for the rest of our lives! John brought people to Christ by the only way anyone can come, through acknowledge-ment of sin. When we come in repentance then God meets us, cleanses us and forgives us.
Third, The Attraction of John’s Message (v. 5)
“Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.”
The people literally flooded out of the cities to hear John preach. I don’t believe they came because of his great eloquence. I believe they came because John’s message offered hope. John preached the truth, not condemnation but deliverance. There is no doubt that the people came to John because his message had a deep appeal to them. They willingly walked the 20 to 30 mile journey from the city into the wilderness to hear this somewhat strange preacher.
I am sure that some of them came because they thought John was a “character.” Some came to see this man, who dressed in skins of animals and eat locust and wild honey. But I am convinced that the majority were moved because of the attraction of his message. They were attracted to his message because he spoke to a sense of need that is deep within each of us. This need that can be seen in four elements
•A Realization of our own sinfulness. While many today would like to deny the reality of sin, people still feel the burden of it. Modern man may deny its reality intellectually but their hearts still feel the press of it. The essence of sin is self-centeredness. We commit sin because we are thinking of ourselves, loving ourselves, indulging ourselves, looking out for ourselves, and taking care that no one takes advantage of us or gets ahead of us.
•Sin in turn always produces guilt. When we survey the damage that we have done because of our sin we feel guilty. Guilt has even driven people to commit suicide. Even more frequently in our day guilt drives people to the psychiatrist. What is sad is if they see a secular counselor they are more than likely told that they have no reason to feel guilty. There are no absolute right and wrongs. The real problem is the guilt “feeling” that they are experiencing. They are encour-aged to look into their past to see what may have caused this and usually this result’s in fixing the blame on someone else. But the guilt is real and it remains! It is only when one is able to say, “I have sinned” that God is able to respond, “I forgive!”
•Guilt is always accompanied by fear. So man sinful and full of guilt is filled with fear as he faces the future. Fear comes as a result of feeling powerless in the face of the reality of our sin. And that is why they came to John. They had a desire to be free. So they came and they came and they came. John’s message drew them because he spoke to this universal need. He did not dance around the issue of sin, he dealt openly with it and they came to hear what he had to say hoping to hear something that would set them free.
•Jesus is presented as the answer to man’s sin problem. John pointed to someone greater than himself. He pointed to someone who was the answer to the problem of man’s sin. Verse seven says, “And he preached, saying, ‘There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. (8) I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” John’s aim was never to be the center of attention his sole aim was to led sinners to connection to the answer their sin problem. John the Apostle in his gospel account of the baptism of Jesus records John the Baptist as saying, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29) Those who came to John were directed to Jesus as the only one could take away their burden of sin. And folk’s Jesus is still the only way for a guilty sinner do away with burden of sin and to become reconciled to God.
Verses nine through eleven, “It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. (10) And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. (11) Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Conclusion
There are basically two reasons why people fail to receive forgiveness.
The first is that they fail to repent. Have you ever repented? Have you ever had a change of mind and heart and stopped defending yourself and trying to blame others and said, “No, Lord it is not them, it is me. This is the way I am and I need help.” That is the place that God will meet you. That is where you will find forgiveness. If you have never repented before, I urge you to do so now. God will meet you right here.
The second is that they fail to forgive. Jesus is very explicit about that in Matt. 6:14-15 where he says “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. (15) But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Is there someone you need to forgive today? Do not let bitterness destroy your life, forgive that you may receive forgiveness.
“In the Beginning of the Gospel”
Mark 1:1-11
First, The ___________________ of John’s Message (vv.2-3)
(Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1)
Secondly, The _________________ of John’s Message (v. 4)
Third, The __________________________ of John’s Message (v. 5)
•A realization of our own __________________________.
•Sin always produces __________________.
•Guilt is always accompanied by ________________.
•Jesus is presented as the ___________ to man’s sin problem.
There are basically two reasons why people fail to receive forgiveness.
The first is that they fail to ____________.
The second is that they fail to ____________. (Matt. 6:14-15)
