Week 1: The Preparation: Preparing The Way And Our Hearts For Jesus Series

The Miracles and the Ministry of the Messiah in the Book of Mark

Week 1: The Preparation: Preparing the Way and our Hearts for Jesus

Crossroads Community Church

Rev. Ricky A. Rohrig Sr., Founding Pastor

March 8, 2015

Today I am starting a new series as we explore the book of Mark together for the next several weeks entitled, ‘The Miracles and the Ministry of the Messiah in the Book of Mark.’

Let me give you an overview so you can understand the purpose, place, setting, and special features of this book.

• Purpose: is to present the person, work, and teachings of Jesus

• Author: John Mark – he was not one of the 12 disciples but he did accompany Paul on his first missionary journey (Acts 13:13), so we know he was a missionary

• Theme: is Jesus Christ as Jehovah’s servant, the servant character is seen throughout the book

• Written to: Christians in Rome, where he most likely wrote the gospel

• Written between circa 55-65 A.D.

• Setting: The Roman Emperor under Tiberius Caesar. The Empire with its common language and excellent transportation and communication systems, was ripe to hear Jesus’ message, message which spread quickly from nation to nation.

• Key people: Jesus, the 12 disciples, Pilate, the Jewish religious leaders

• Key places: Capernaum, Nazareth, Caesarea, Philippi, Jericho, Bethany, Mount of Olives, Golgotha

• Statistics: 41st book of the Bible, 16 chapters, 678 verses, 15,171 words, 121 questions, 11 OT prophecies fulfilled, 30 new prophecies given, 582 verses of history, 43 verses fulfilled, and 53 verses of unfilled prophecy; 2 distinct messages from God (1:11 and 9:7)

• Special features: Mark was the first gospel written. The other Gospels quote all but 31 verses of Mark. Mark records more miracles than does any other gospel.

• How it’s different than the other gospels:

o Jesus is seen as the servant of God

o Original readers were Gentiles and Romans

o Jesus backed His words with action

o Mark is written from a story teller point of view

o The greatest emphasis is on Jesus’ miracles and actions

How many of you like to eat? All of us right? How many of you like to cook? Not as many hands this time. I am sure you will agree there is a direct correlation between eating and cooking. If you want to eat someone has to cook it first. But there is a step even before the cooking process can take place and that is the preparation progression.

How many of you have eaten a nice sit down restaurant? Think about all of the preparation that goes on before the gourmet feast is in front of you. Let’s say you order a steak dinner with a baked potato, steam veggies, a dinner roll, and a side salad. You normally don’t think about all the preparation that goes into the process of getting that side salad to your table do you?

Let’s explore it together: the lettuce and veggies start off just seeds that a farmer or gardener had to purchase, and then the seeds had to be planted in the ground, with just the right amount of dirt, water, and sunlight. The gardener had to make sure to take care of the ground and make sure weeds did not infest the ground and animals did not eat the vegetables before they reach maturation and were able to be picked. Once picked, they had to be cleaned, packaged and sold to a food distributor, re-packaged, and then resold to the restaurant. Then the manager had to review the veggies, make sure they were charged correctly, they look okay, and then pay for the vegetables. The prep cook would have to rewash, cut the vegetables to the right proportions, build the salad and wait for the server to take it to your table. That’s a lot of work just for a side salad huh? I may have missed a step or two in there but you get the idea. Don’t forget that is just the salad, think about the steak, but we won’t go there.

When preparing something there has to be a start, or the setup and that is what I am going to minister, teach, and focus on today. So today I would like to kick off the series with today’s message entitled: Preparing the Way and Our Hearts for Jesus.’

1. The Preparation for Christ (Mark 1:1-8)

Mark 1:1-2

1 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 thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

Malachi 3:1

1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.