Great Lessons from the Life of Christ #1
The Man God Chose to Introduce His Son
Mark 1:1-8
(Parallel Passages: Matthew 3:1-12; Luke 3:1-18; John 1:19-28)
The great promise found throughout the Old Testament is that Christ would one day come into the world – not to right political wrongs or cure every physical and social ill – but He was coming to offer hope to a lost world – a world that finds itself separated from its Creator because of its sin.
By way of the cross, Christ provided a way for us to have a relationship with Him, and He invites us to pattern our lives after Him. That is what the Christian life is all about. It is about transformation into the image of Christ. Christ came for two reasons – to claim us and He came to change us. He wants us to belong to Him and He wants us to act like Him.
Though the Old Testament promises the coming Christ, the last two verses of the Old Testament end with a promise, not of the coming Christ, but the promise of the one who would come before Him and who would introduce Him to the world. That man’s name was John, and the Gospel of Mark begins by introducing us to him.
I want to work through the book of Mark in a series of lessons I am simply going to call – “Great Lessons from the Life of Christ.” I preach a lot of topical lessons, but the fact is, there is nothing we can do better than just take the Biblical text and work through it. You will know a week ahead the title and text of next week’s lesson along with parallel texts from the other three gospels. I hope you will take the time to at least read those texts. And then during the Sunday evening service, we will go deeper into the text. For example, tonight, will be interesting as we are going to take a look at who is this Mark who wrote this book and I encourage you to come back for that.
I just said that the Gospel of Mark begins by introducing us to the man whose job it was to introduce Christ. You have to wonder, what kind of man would God choose to introduce His Son to the world? Physically, he was the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth, born six months before Jesus. When he began preaching, because of his dress and message, he reminded the people of Elijah. What kind of speaker, preacher, communicator was John. What kind of a communicator did God choose to make the most important instruction that had ever been made?
There was a communication formula used by the ancient Greek orators that I really like, and it went simply like this: Ethos + Pathos + Logos = Good Communication.
Have you ever thought much about what makes a good communicator? What is it – what qualities and characteristics - helps one to get their message across effectively? And you might way I don’t know because it has been a long time since I’ve heard someone get their message across.” But you have heard people, who when they speak just have a way of connecting and getting their message across.
I have no idea how many formulas of effective communication have been proposed, but my favorite is an old one – in fact as old as the ancient Greek orators. Those ancient orators had a formula that went like this:
Ethos + Pathos + Logos = Good Communication
You are wondering – What exactly does that mean?
Ethos - refers to the character and personality of the man.
Pathos - refers to the conviction and passion of his heart.
Logos - refers to the content of his message.
Think with me about John for just a moment:
Ethos – that that has to do with one’s moral and ethical character.
John certainly had that box checked. A very humble man who lived a very simple life. He pointed people away from himself and to Christ. The simplicity of his life is seen in the way he dressed and in what he ate.
Then or now - in a very materialistic, self-centered world, humility goes a long way if you expect people to listen to you.
Pathos – has to do with the ability to appeal to the emotions.
John was a man of great emotion. The Bible describes him as “One crying in the wilderness.” He cried out against the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of his day and called upon everyone to repent of their sins and turn to One who could and would save them.
If you are going to be effective in delivering your message, you have to deliver it with conviction. John had that one covered.
Logos – has to do with the content of one’s message.
You can have ethos (character) and pathos (conviction) – but if the message isn’t right, if it isn’t true, it doesn’t make any difference. John’s message was backed up by thousands of years of prophecy and he spoke to the most basic need people have – he told people how deal with their sin problem and how to have a relationship with their Creator.
John was effective, because he was a man of character, who preached with passion, the greatest story ever told.
It is interesting to me that we know more about John than almost anyone else in the New Testament. There are more than 140 verses dedicated to him.
Matthew 11:11 tells us that “Never had one been born greater than John,” and you have to wonder what made him so great. He certainly couldn’t play basketball like Labron James. He couldn’t sing like Elvis or Michael Boulay. I doubt that he could even do what Paul Tavilla did – Paul stood at the base of a 38-story building and caught a grape that was dropped from 520’ above – now that is impressive.
What was John’s claim to greatness – he never caught a touchdown pass, sank a putt, performed in Carnegie Hall, or even caught a grape from a 38-story building.
Here it is – and don’t miss this – John was a great man because he was a man who put his life in the hands of God and allowed God to use him greatly. And as a result – he had a great influence for God and a great influence for good.
John lived the life all of us should aspire to – to live a God honoring life, known not just for being good, but for being good for something – that is what all of us should desire.
Mark begins with eight verses about John the Baptist – other translations are more specific calling him John the baptizer – that was what he was known for – calling people to repent and be baptized as he pointed them to the coming Christ. Both Matthew Luke and John contain much more information about John, and I hope you will read their accounts.
Just a side note – you cannot know your Bible depending on this fellow standing before you each week. You have to actually read your Bible. But when I read my Bible, just reading every text about John, here are the three things that stand out to me.
There is Hope for Strait Laced People
Have you ever known someone who all of their life just seemed to do the right thing? That is the kind of person John was.
• Luke 1:5f – born to a Godly father and mother (Zacharias & Elizabeth), raised in a Godly environment - all of his life he was immersed in spiritual things…and he never strayed from that kind of living
• If John lived today, we would say…
a. He was born into a Christian home with two Godly parents.
b. All of his life he has been brought to church…always in
Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Bible camp, etc.
a. He studies his Bible, prays, shares his faith…his life.
revolves around Christian things.
Here is what I know about John – He never strayed from that.
• Born into a Godly heritage, he never left it…he never strayed.
• Somewhere, some have gotten the idea that in order to do
great things for God we need to have some experience with
this thing called sin.
a. One needs a story as to how he or she were rescued from
the depths and now lives a Godly life – forever thankful
for those who fit that description
b. Question: Why is that a better story than the man or
woman who came to Christ at a young age and has never
strayed from that faith commitment?
(1) Thank God for those who have never strayed.
(2) Thank God for those who can say to our young people:
“You can be faithful. You can know Christ early in life
and you can love Him all of your life. You don’t have
experience the depths of sin to make a difference.”
• Some folks have the wrong concept of sin.
a. Some thinks it takes more of God’s grace to lift people out
of sin than it does to keep them from sinning. I don’t
subscribe to that view. It takes just as much grace to keep
one from sin as it does to restore one out of sin. Maybe more
because as I heard a young man state one time – it is just real
easy to sin.
b. When we fail to focus on the beauty of faithfulness, we
give the idea that everyone will have a time in their life
when they sow their wild oats – as the saying goes “Boys
will be boys.”
c. Two things I want to be clear about:
(1) Not everyone sows those wild oats – it is not true that
everyone is doing it.
(2) Sow those wild oats and you will reap a harvest you
will later regret. A few minutes of sowing can result in
a lifetime of consequences even for forgiven people.
• Young people – if you have Godly parents and a Godly
heritage, thank God for that – stay the course.
• And you parents – give your kids a standard to live by - a
Godly example to live up to – in the words of Paul “keep the
faith” – and be glad you never strayed.
Different Is Good If God Is In It
John was a straight lace type of guy, but John was different.
• He wasn’t a rebel, but he was a radical – as different as they came.
a. He looked, acted, spoke, dressed, even smelled different.
b. The reason he was different: He lived by a different set of
values.
• Bible implies that John took the Nazarite Vow – a vow that required
a very different kind of living
a. He did not drink wine or strong drink.
b. Committed himself totally to personal purity and the service of
God
c. John was different because God was in his life, and different is
good when God is in it.
Our problem: We are scared to death to be different.
• We claim we don’t mind being different, but you can look at the
way we dress and it’s obvious most conform – we are carbon
copies of one another.
• John as Jesus would, called people to live by a different value
system. John would ask, “Do you have the courage to live by…
a. …a different moral standard?
b. …a different sexual standard?
c. …a different material standard?
• John understood that the more like the world you become the
less influence on the world you will have –
a. And what is true in our personal lives is also true in the church.
(1) The religious world has found itself becoming more and
more tolerant of and accommodating of sin, thinking the
world will come through our doors.
(2) The truth is, the more the church looks like the world, the
less use the world has for the church.
John’s challenge – Let God into our life, be different – that difference is good when God is in it.
Simple Faith is What Sustains In Complicated Times
Not sure I know how to express this point well, but here goes…
• John was a very complex man who possessed a very simple faith
– a faith that believed and accepted that Christ and Christ alone
was the only answer and the only hope man had.
• John was not a man with some deep esoteric theology, trying to
find all the answers and secrets to man’s inner life.
a. The essence of his faith could be summed up in one statement:
“Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the
World.”
b. That is what he believed – that is what he taught.
What sustained John was this: If Jesus is not the hope of the world, the
world does not have any hope.
• If Jesus is not the answer, there is no answer.
• I do not believe John understood everything – but here is what
he did understand: There is a problem that we cannot solve, and
Jesus Christ is the answer to that problem.
Conclusion:
1. A straight lace kind of guy, who lived by a different standard, who
believed that Christ was the only answer.
2. Kinda old fashioned, isn’t it – but that is the Bible’s message.
a. We can be God’s men and women.
b. We can live a different kind of life.
c. And Jesus, the One who came and the One who is coming again,
is our only hope.
