The Rain Maker - Sermon On Mark 1:1-11 Series

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Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way"-- 3 "a voice of one calling in the desert, `Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" 4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 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. 6 John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt round his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." 9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." 12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13 and he was in the desert for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

Introduction

What is Rain?

I’d like to begin by reading a verse that, for many people, is one of their favorite verses in the Bible.

Hosea 6:3 Let us know the LORD; let us press on to know him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.

That’s a wonderful promise, isn’t it? But what does it mean, exactly? When God comes to you like the winter and springs rains – what is that like? How can you tell that it has happened? And if it isn’t happening, what can you do to make it happen?

The 4-Part Gospel

Today I would like to begin a study through the Gospel of Mark. There are four book in the NT that describe the life of Jesus – the Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Luke, and the Gospel of John. All 4 show us the glory of Christ from a different angle, and it’s appropriate to refer to them all as gospels, but Mark is the only one that actually uses the term “gospel” to describe his book. It’s the very first thing he tells us in v.1 of his book.

Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ

In the NT, the word gospel refers to the entire Christian message. The message that Jesus preached and taught through his actions, and that he propagated through his Apostles. Basically, the entire NT – that’s the gospel. And in the gospel of Mark, it’s presented in 4 parts:

1) who Jesus is

2)

3) what Jesus came to do

4)

5) how he plans to do it

6)

7) how you can get it in on it

8)

We won’t get to #4 until next week, but let’s start with part 1 – who Jesus is.

1) Who Jesus Is: The Son of God

2)

Mark doesn’t burn a lot of words establishing that one. He knocks it out in the very first sentence of the book.

Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Matthew and Luke give long genealogies. Mark just says, “You want to know who Jesus is? Son of God. Next question?” That settles it for Mark – Jesus is the Son of God. That’s a reference to Psalm 2, where God the Father speaks to the future Messiah and says:

Psalm 2:7 … "You are my Son; today I have become your Father. 8 … I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You will rule them with an iron scepter” … 10 Therefore, you kings … you rulers of the earth. … 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed

Who is Jesus? He is a divine being and he is the messianic Son of God from Psalm 2 who will rule the world.

3) What Did He Come to Do? Bring Rain

4)

That’s who Jesus is – how about part 2 of the gospel: what Jesus came to do? Instead of telling us; Mark is going to show us. One thing we’ll learn about Mark is that he writes with a paint brush instead of a pen. So many times instead of just telling us an answer, he paints a picture to show us the answer in a vivid way that we won’t forget. And that’s what he does in this opening section of the book to show us what Jesus came to do. He came to do something about the problem of the desert.