The gospel of Mark is the shortest of the gospels and one that gives a 30,000 feet flyover of the ministry of Jesus. Mark’s audience is Roman believers who are primarily gentiles. One of the reasons we know this is because Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus and Mark begins with the ministry of Jesus. Mark gives no account of the birth and early life of Jesus. Mark’s main focus is about the acts and words of the Lord Jesus.
Here is a summary of Mark: “This gospel is unique because it emphasizes Jesus’ actions more than His teaching. It is simply written, moving quickly from one episode in the life of Christ to another. It does not begin with a genealogy as in Matthew, because Gentiles would not be interested in His lineage. After the introduction of Jesus at His baptism, Jesus began His public ministry in Galilee and called the first four of His twelve disciples. What follows is the record of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.” (www.gotquestions.org/gospel-of-mark)
This past Sunday we examined Mark 1:1-8, in which John prepares the way for the ministry of Jesus. John the Baptist who is the forerunner of Christ, who had been prophesized in the Old Testament. Mark opens his letter by quoting from Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3. Those Old Testament passages are proclaiming the coming of John the Baptist and his preparing of the way for Jesus the Messiah.
John was not like the Pharisees who dressed in religious attire or stood in the most prominent of places to speak or teach but was one who wore camel-haired clothes and preached in the wilderness. The Pharisees were easy to spot and desired the attention in their teaching and actions. But to hear John, you would have to go out into the wilderness. John’s message was that of repentance and preparation for the coming Kingdom.
In the sermon this week, Pastor Tony had three main points. Let’s take a little dive into those points and apply them to our daily life.
Point 1 – The Proclamation of the King (verse 1)
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
As mentioned above and in the sermon on Sunday, Mark begins his gospel, not with the birth of Jesus, but with the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. The Messiah has now come and the ministry is beginning.
In the Greek, the Word “Χριστός – Christos” means the Christ, the Anointed One, or the Messiah. The Lord Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed Redeemer, and the Messiah. Mark, from the very beginning, wants his readers to know and understand that Jesus is the promised one.
Mark had encountered the Lord Jesus himself and had heard the accounts and ministry of Jesus from Peter and from the beginning of his book, he wanted the reader to experience that kind of encounter with the Messiah. As followers of Christ and readers of the gospel of Mark, that should be our prayer and desire as we walk through this book. Every parable, action, and word should draw us to a new encounter with the Lord. Many of us have read Mark numerous times, but my prayer is that each of us would read it with fresh new eyes this year. As we read these words, may we realize the Messiah has come and the promise of redemption is before us!
Application question – How are you encountering Jesus and the gospel today?
Point 2 – The Preparation of the King (verses 2-5)
“As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”
As mentioned in the sermon and at the beginning of this commentary, Mark references two Old Testament passages (Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3). Some Bible Translations will say “As it is written in Prophets” and others will say “As it is written in Isaiah the Prophet.” Why the difference, and why does he only mention Isaiah when he quotes two different Prophets? The reason only Isaiah is named, is that it was custom to only mention the Major Prophet when quoting multiple prophets. Isaiah is one of the major prophets of the Old Testament, where Malachi is a minor prophet. To help the reader, some English translations just leave out the name of the major prophet and mark it as the prophets. Either one of them is fine in translation and both give us the clarity of the original text.
The primary ministry of John the Baptist was to prepare the way of the Lord. He was the forerunner to Christ and his message was baptism of repentance (that is admission and confession of sin and disobedience). “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” John’s baptism had to do with repentance—it was a symbolic representation of changing one’s mind and going a new direction. “Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” (What was the meaning and importance of the baptism of John the Baptist? | GotQuestions.org)
Each of us who have come to know Christ as Lord and Savior have repented from our sins and trusted in Christ as our Lord and Savior. Our baptism is not for repentance but is one of proclamation of Christ as Savior. We die to our sins and are raised a new in Christ Jesus. When we read texts like this one, they should remind us of the beauty and glory of the work of Christ in our lives.
Application question – In what ways are you preparing your heart, mind, and soul to see Christ daily in the scriptures? And with that in what ways are you living a life that points others to Christ?
Point 3 – The Preeminence of the King (verses 6-8)
6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
The description of John’s attire and food is one of interest. John, who preached out in the wilderness, wore camel’s hair for multiple reasons. One of those reasons is that it connected him to the Old Testament Prophets who would wear attire that would be more rugged because of the nature of where they were. Another reason is because it was in direct contrast to the priestly attire of the Pharisees (who would have had on priestly garments). His attire in of itself would have spoken of the prophets of Old. His eating habits would have as well, as he ate what was available in the wild. He was not eating of the nice and delicious food that the Pharisees would have eaten. The whole description of John is one that spoke of his position as the forerunner of the Messiah and as a prophet (that is one who proclaimed what was to come and the message of the Lord).
Not only was John’s attire different but the message was one that would have been different from the Pharisees as well. The message of the Pharisees was of keeping the law by the works of man, but John’s message was that of repentance of sins that had been committed by breaking the law of God. This message is the message that the Messiah would bring to humanity and John was proclaiming it as the forerunner to Christ.
Lastly, John realized his position before God and realized the Holiness of the Messiah. John preached of the repentance that is for salvation and his baptism was a form of confession of that repentance. The baptism of the Messiah would be the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It was an inward baptism that transformed the heart and soul of man.
Application question: In what ways is your life an example of Christ living within you? Do you live a life that is different than that of the world?
In Conclusion:
Mark begins his gospel with the ministry of the Lord Jesus. In his opening statement, Mark unashamedly proclaims Jesus as The Son of God (The Messiah). Mark was the forerunner of Christ that prepared the way, we are the messengers of Christ who proclaim the message of salvation and prepare the way for the Kingdom. As you reflect on these first few verses, ask the Holy Spirit to help you Encounter Jesus in a fresh and new way. Ask the Spirit to give you boldness to proclaim the message of repentance just as John the Baptist proclaimed. Your wilderness is where you do life, take that wilderness and make a pulpit for the gospel of the Lord Jesus!
Church, Chattanooga is our wilderness, and our message is the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we live out and proclaim the message, God will draw people to Himself. May each of us have the boldness and passion of John the Baptist and proclaim the good news of the Messiah.
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