Mark 1:9-20 "The Preparation & Beginning of Jesus' Ministry"

Good Morning Calvary Chapel Lake City!

Please turn in your Bibles to Mark 1. Mark 1:9-20 today.

Last week we began our journey in the Gospel of Mark…

Since we just opened this Gospel, we covered a general introduction to the Four Gospels, and specifically to the Gospel of Mark.

So, if you missed last week, be sure to check out that message on our app or website to get grounded in this book we will be camping out in for the months ahead.

Mark’s gospel was written to Roman Christians who were living persecuted lives in the heart of the Roman world, thus Mark displayed Jesus as the Suffering Servant.

A depiction of our Lord they would need to emulate to live in the Roman world.

After our introduction, we covered the first 8 verses of Mark’s Gospel which focus on the Forerunner of Christ… John the Baptist.

Mark’s Gospel moves quick and focus more the the things Jesus did… action more than fulfilled prophecy or theology.

Thus, Mark dives right in with John coming on the scene to introduce the Messiah.

Today, we pick up where Jesus is baptized and then tempted in the wilderness… two scenes that prepared Jesus for public ministry… and then we will look at Jesus beginning His Galilean Ministry.

Thus, our sermon title today is “The Preparation & Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry.”

Let’s Pray!

Mark 1:9-11 “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 [being torn open] 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.”

V9 begins “It came to pass in those days…”

In the days that John the Baptist was preaching about the coming Messiah… and baptizing people unto repentance… to prepare their hearts to receive Messiah…

It came to pass that Messiah indeed entered the scene. One day as John was baptizing people in the Jordan River… that river that flows from Mt. Hermon south to the Sea of Galilee… and then further south to the Dead Sea.

It’s interesting how God will use an appointed day to accomplish so much in His program.

There were 400 silent years after Malachi closed his book, and then on one day John broke that silence proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

On another appointed day, Jesus was baptized… on another appointed day, He begins his public ministry… on another appointed day He would die for the sins of the world.

God moved day by appointed day to accomplish His will.

He who is out of time… moving in our time to accomplish His good purposes.

God moves still this day in our lives where on certain days, He reveals His will for us in various ways… for diverse are the ways He can reach us.

And, we wait for an appointed day when that last Gentiles professes their faith in Jesus… that day when the “fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” (Rom 11:25)

Then God’s program will really start to move.... we will be “caught up” to meet Him in the clouds… raptured (1 Thes 4:17).

So, if you’re here today, and you’re not saved… would you get saved? You could be the one we are waiting to get God’s show on the road!

But, until then… we stay faithful to do the work each of us has been called to do.

Waiting on the Lord… until that day.

Well, back in Mark in V9, One day while baptizing at the Jordan river in Israel… the Messiah… who is identified as Jesus of Nazareth came.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem fulfilling Mic 5:2, but raised in Nazareth as spoken by the prophets according to Matt 2:23.

"He shall be called a Nazarene.”

And, Jesus was baptized by John… which is remarkable.

It blew John’s mind that Jesus, his cousin, wanted John to baptize him… so much so that John resisted… which is not depicted here in Mark, but in Matthew’s Gospel…

We read in Matt 3:14-15 “And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” 15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.”

John knew the character of Jesus… He was sinless.

2 Cor 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

And, the simple phrase that Mark writes in V13 that Jesus “was with the wild beasts...” Was that only a reflection of him being in the wilderness -or- does it reflect on the harmony Jesus had with the wild beasts in His sinless state?

Just as the first man, Adam, pre-fall was in harmony with all animals?

Something to consider the next time an animal hisses at you… you’re not sinless.

But Jesus was and thus did not need John’s baptism of repentance for the remission of sins…

Just imagine how sterling Jesus’ character and reputation was… even as a natural man where John would resist Him to say, “I need to be baptized by You, and you are coming to me?”

And, John’s refection here was on the man Jesus… not yet the Messiah…

John didn’t even know Jesus was the Messiah until after the baptism… according to Jn 1:33… until the Spirit rested upon Him.

Jesus instructed John... “Permit it to be so...” … for this was right or proper… it was what God required.

In multiple ways this was appropriate:

Jesus identified with those turning from sin and turning to God.

Baptism symbolized how Jesus would fulfill all God’s righteous claims against sin.

Sin required death… and as Jesus was fully immersed in the water and came out… His death and resurrection were pictured.

How sin would be paid for was symbolized.

Death, burial, and resurrection.

Putting to death the old man, into the water buried by the water, and up out of the water… resurrected as a new person… alive in the Spirit.

God’s righteous judgment on sin would be paid in this act of sacrifice by the Messiah… and all who place their faith in Jesus.... still to this day… are cleansed of sin.

And, as Jesus came out of the water in V10… we see the word “immediately” in V10… again in V12… 8x total in Chapter 1.

80x the word “immediately” is used in the Gospels… 36x in Mark’s Gospel… 45%.

Immediately, upon coming out of the water… the John, the crowds that gathered, and still us today are blessed with this heavenly scene.

The trinity is pictured at Jesus’ baptism.

Jesus is baptized… the Holy Spirit descends upon Him… Luke 3:22- “… in bodily form like a dove”… and “alighted” or rested upon Him (Matt 3:16).

And, the Father speaks from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

This is obviously the Father, because He calls Jesus His “Son.”

There’s a group called “Jesus only people.” They think Jesus is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit… which is false.

I was humored by Chuck Smith painting a picture of how ridiculous their belief is when compared to this scene. Chuck said something to the effect of “I’m not sure what they do with this scene. Jesus is getting baptized, and then descends upon Himself in the form of a dove, and then tears open heaven to speak to Himself. So, now He’s a ventriloquist?”

There are so many off teachings out there.

But, the trinity is truly pictured in this scene.

The word “trinity” is not in the Bible, but the trinity indeed is pictured in the Bible.

Trinity comes from the Latin “trinitas” meaning “three” and it’s one of our fundamental doctrines.

I have a slide of the “Shield of the Trinity” (which should look familiar to some of you)… it’s a visual symbol for the trinity that dates all the way back to the 12th-century.

There are many pictures online of the Shield of the Trinity incorporated into Coats of Arms, and on Knight’s Shields even through the 14th century Middle Ages period.

We’ll keep this slide up for a minute as we talk about the Trinity.

Cults… like Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, and a number of other cults… and world religions… reject the Trinity.

They reject that Jesus is God… and any notion of a Trinity.

They’re good with re-writing the Bible, becoming gods, false archeology, and special underwear… but, Jesus is God and the Trinity… no way man.

You don’t need to be an expert on cults and apologetics to not get backed into a corner by a cultist.

If you know your Bible, you’ll be able to discern they are preaching another Jesus… and when they try to take you down some rabbit trail telling you “Jesus is my Savior”… just get right to it… throw down the gauntlet… Yes… and Jesus is God… and I believe in the Trinity.

I like to watch my conversations with cultist take a nose dive as quick as possible… unless they are honestly seeking, but most of the time they just want to debate… so I’m happy to let them know I believe in a Monotheistic Trinitarian God… and let them shake the dust off their feet at me.

You’re probably more patient than I am.... Good on you if you are.

And, part of the challenge with the Trinity is in human reasoning it’s illogical… it’s incomprehensible. How can three be one… and one be three?

Are there three Gods or one God?

Sometimes people try to understand this mystery using the example of water which can be liquid, ice or steam…

Or in the Philippines, they sold this coffee additive called “three-in-one”… creamer, sugar, and instant coffee… all in one packet… and they would relate that to the Trinity.

Both those examples are way too simplistic for who God is, but if it helps you… great.

For me… I’m good with the mystery because I don’t want to worship a God that I can fully comprehend.

That would mean my comprehension is larger than His essence… and I’m not that smart.

So… the Trinity… this doctrine teaches there is unity and plurality in the God-head.

There is one God in three distinct persons:

God… the one whom Jesus calls “Father”,

Jesus Himself… the incarnate Son of God… God’s representative to the world,

And, the Holy Spirit… the Spirit of God.

Exactly the names Jesus taught us to be baptized in Matt 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...”

And, the plurality and unity of God is not a new concept… it’s as old as time. The Bible begins… Gen 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Look up the word God in that verse… it’s not singular… it’s plural.

God… plural… created the heavens and the earth.

Gen 2:4 tells us God’s name is YHWH… Yahweh… Yehovah… Gen 2:4 “This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens...”

LORD God… Yahweh God. Yahweh is singular. God is plural.

There is unity in the singular plurality of God.

One more OT example… Isa 44:6 “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.”

So… Yahweh the King of Israel AND Yahweh the Redeemer. Father and Son.

The First and the Last… Just as Jesus proclaimed in Rev 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End...”

There’s probably dozens more examples like this. You really have to work hard not to see God as plural and God as One…

Deut 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord [singular] our God [Plural], the Lord is one!

1 Cor 8:4 “...there is no other God but one.”

Gal 3:20 “God is one.”

1 Tim 2:5 “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus...”

Over and again, Scripture testifies that God is three, and God is one.

And, as this Man Christ Jesus is being baptized by John the Baptist… the Son is being baptized…

The Spirit descends and rests upon to anoint Him and empower Him with the Holy Spirit…

Jesus was always filled with the Holy Spirit, but now overflows as His ministry begins.

The baptism with the Holy Spirit is pictured here… the Spirit’s power is given to be a witness and reach the world according to Acts 1:8.

And, the Father strikingly speaks from heaven in V11 proclaiming, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Dramatically, the Father tore open the heavens to enter into our world and experience to be part of this significant moment as His Son is baptized.

Fascinating… the Father pronounces Jesus is beloved and He is well pleased with the Son… and the Son’s ministry has not even begun.

Up to this point in Jesus’ life, He would have taken on His earthly father’s trade… carpentry… which was not houses as we think of carpentry (since they were made of stone), but oxen yokes… furniture, and other wood works.

And what amazing and honest work He must have done… for the Father was already well pleased in Him.

Keep this in mind for your life… you may not have been called into full-time ministry, but your witness of God is still seen.

People take notice of your honesty… your representation of God… what you refrain from… what and who you stand for…

And certainly our Father in heaven takes notice. Would He be well pleased with you… and with me?

I pray He would… but, even when we fail… I’m so grateful knowing He is a gracious God… faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us…

And, I’m grateful that God is so approachable. Jesus didn’t have to humble Himself and enter into His creation and die for His creation.

Jesus was so humble about who He was that John the Baptist… Jesus’ own cousin didn’t even know Jesus was the Messiah.

In John 1:33-34 John the Baptist testified, “I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

John knew Jesus was his cousin, but he didn’t know his cousin was the Messiah.

How marvelous is that?

Just consider… Jesus could have entered the scene “eyes like a flame of fire”, but He doesn’t. John didn’t even know Him.

Only after John baptized Jesus did he know that Jesus was the Messiah because the Spirit descended and rested upon Him.

And, then the next day John proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God!”

And, all this is absolutely intentional. Jesus didn’t come into our reality in His full glory where we could approach or even look upon Him.

For any person in the 1st Century… down through the ages… and still to this day… anyone can approach Jesus.

This is important for us to remember. We need to be grounded in this and remember that Jesus WANTS the sinner to approach Him… He WANTS the prodigal to return… He WANTS that one lost sheep to be found.

It’s easy for us who have been saved for a number of years to forget this.

As we have studied His word for years… and have been changed so much… over the years we have been sanctified by the word of truth… are being conformed into the image of His Son… as we strive to be holy in our conduct…

And, over time… there’s a tendency to look down upon and judge people living in sin…

And, sometimes we need to go back and read Romans 2… and be reminded against hypocrisy…

We need to be reminded that God is patient and delays judgment… He doesn’t zap the sinner into a pile of dust… because He wants that sinner to come to Him.

Rom 2:4 states, “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness [or kindness] of God leads you to repentance?”

Over time we tend to forget who we were before we walked with God. And, it’s probably even more difficult for those raised in Christian homes.

For me, I had a radical transformation in my life… more than once even.

It’s easy for me to compare who I am to who I was.

I had an old man who was really wearing my wife out… because I was saved, but I had a foot in the world.

But, there was an old old man… whom she never met. That unsaved person in my teens and early twenties… fully immersed in the world… living a life that was an abomination by God’s standards.

And, if God wasn’t approachable… that young man NEVER WOULD HAVE BEEN SAVED.

If the Gospel was a legalistic list of do’s and don’ts… I might have just said, “Forget it.”

The Gospel is not a list of rights and wrongs… it’s the Good News that anyone who is in the wrong can approach God through faith in Jesus Christ… and be made right before God.

I’m glad my Uncle… who knew my reputation…sat down with me…I’m glad his sense of holiness wasn’t so black and white, because I needed someone to be approachable… and I needed Jesus to be approachable.

And, truly… this kindness extended to me from man and God… led me to repentance.

The new person doesn’t need someone to hammer them over the head… they need the God who says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Let us never forget that we are disciples of the approachable God… thus we need to be approachable.

As we continue on… Mark next highlights the next step of preparation for Jesus to enter ministry… His temptation in the wilderness.

Mark 1:12-13 “Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. 13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.”

John’s ministry as the forerunner, Jesus’ baptism, and His temptation are three events that all transpired as part of Jesus’ preparation to go into ministry.

His baptism shows us He identified with sinners… though sinless Himself.

And, the temptation shows us Jesus identified with our human experience of facing temptation in life.

Both of these experiences prepared Jesus to truly ministry to people because he shared the same human experience we all face.

So, he goes from an amazing mountain top experience at His baptism… now to a valley low… forty days in the desert wilderness to be tempted by Satan himself.

Mark chooses NOT to elaborate on the details of this scene… where Matt 4 and Luke 4 both share the details of the words of the exchange between Jesus and Satan.

They record three specific temptations which are as old as Satan in the garden.

Satan since the beginning tempts mankind with the “lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.”

And, he doesn’t really need to change things up because our flesh is so weak that these temptations of old still work today.

And, Jesus resists the temptations… not with supernatural powers… Jesus doesn’t miraculously cast Satan aside.

He uses the word of God to defeat Satan. And, this shows us that any person who is filled with the Holy Spirit and knows the word of God… can defeat Satan.

It’s amazing that we even have this account recorded because Jesus was alone in the desert… and He had not yet called His disciples.

Which tells us that there is a scene that we don’t have recorded in our Bibles.

We know this is true because John concluded his gospel with “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”

So, Jesus had to have shared His temptation experience with the disciples. What was that scene like?

Were the disciples having a conversation about temptation one evening while sitting around the fire and Jesus said to them, “Let me tell you about a time I settled an old score with the serpent himself…”

Mark later hears this account from Peter.

Matthew was an eye witness.

And, Luke.. .an expert investigator… interviewed and got the details from the disciples.

And, while Matthew and Luke record three temptations… it’s quite possible that while Jesus was in the desert for FORTY Days… there were many more temptations by Satan.

We know that Satan doesn’t go easy… he doesn’t pull his punches… just read the first two chapters of Job.

Satan attacks Job’s character… destroys his family, property and livelihood… and then ruins his health.

So, were there other temptations that Jesus experienced?

Heb 4:15 states, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Jesus was tempted in every way we are tempted… lust of the flesh… covetousness… unrighteous anger… when was He tempted in these ways?

We don’t know for sure… except that He was.

And, because He was tempted… we have a High Priest who can “sympathize with our weaknesses.”

Sympathize Gk sumpathĕō, soom-path-eh´-o.

A compound word… “syn” meaning “with or together” and “pathos” meaning “passion, suffering, emotion, or feeling.”

By def. “to have a fellow feeling with” or “to have compassion.”

So, for those three years… when Jesus was ministering to people… He was deeply connected to their hurt… and their struggles… their temptations…

He knew the depth of human struggle… and I would suggest even to greater intensity than we know it.

Because He was tempted, but He never gave in. Can you imagine the intensity of that temptation?

How many times have you or I faced a temptation…

And, sometimes we have victory… we flee youthful lusts. We have victory with prayer and the word. We have those in our lives that are iron sharpening iron.

But NONE OF US has been perfectly victorious. Temptation becomes like a flood gate… building pressure until it bursts.

After falling into temptation… temptation subsides… conviction sets in, but temptation subsides.

Jesus never knew conviction from sin, because He never gave into temptation.

We may face all kinds of temptations daily, but, we’re not hopeless… nor powerless over temptation.

1 Cor 10:13 declares, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

You don’t have to fall into temptation.

I really admire Joseph. A slave to Potiphar and Potiphar’s wife “cast longing eyes on Joseph...” Gen 39:7.

Joseph didn’t think, “I could probably get away with it.” … NO…

He refused and reasoned it would be wrong against Potiphar and said, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

Ultimately, he would have to flee from her… she lied about him… and he was back in prison.

And, God used it all. I love the account of Joseph.

Next to Jesus… Joseph is one of the greatest examples in the Bible on how to live right before God… and how God works His sovereign plan out in our lives.

I really want to hang with that guy when I get to heaven.

In Jesus’ temptation… forty days in the wilderness… with the wild animals.

And, perhaps Mark notes the wild animals as Satan has been compared to a roaring lion… this desert of hostility was his domain.. .

We know from Matthew and Luke, these were forty days of fasting (depriving the flesh of food and sewing into the spirit)… He was hungry in the end (which means he was close to starvation).

But, He would not die… Mark records in V13 “...the angels ministered to Him.”

They served Him… they attended to Him.

Did they bring Him bread wand water as the angel did for Elijah in 1 Ki 19?

Did they minister to Him through their presence.

Whatever the case… the angels are a welcomed presence and they stand in contrast to the presence of Satan.

Forty days of victory over temptation… Satan would depart “from Him until an opportune time.”

Satan lost this battle, but would wait like a roaring lion… waiting for his next opportunity.

Some would compare this victory of Jesus to David’s victory over Goliath.

In 1 Sam 17, Goliath presented himself forty days, morning and evening… defying the armies of Israel… tempting them to fight.

Satan seems like a towering Goliath over Jesus who had been fasting forty days… weakened physically… as David… just a boy, seemed weak.

But, with just a sling and a stone for David… and Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God…

Both men of God were victorious over their adversary.

Now, as Jesus had been prepared for public ministry… through His forerunner, His baptism, and His temptation.

Now… His ministry begins. But, between VSS 13-14, there is about a year of Jesus’ ministry told exclusively in John’s Gospel… starting in Jn 1:19.

John captures the very beginning of His ministry… called Jesus’ “Judean Ministry.” Some highlights:

John the Baptist proclaims, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Peter and Andrew are called. He gives Simon a new name… Peter. From stone to rock. We will all have a new name… God can see inside us and will name us true to who we are.

Philip and Nathanael are called. Nathanael… initially skeptical asks, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Jesus portrays Himself as Jacob’s ladder.

Jesus’ first miracle… turning water into wine at a marriage.

The first Passover of Jesus’ ministry… He cleanses the temple for the first time.

He teaches Nicodemus at night… instructing him “...unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” That deep and marvelous conversation.

Jesus and John’s ministry of baptism continues, and John recognizes, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Many ministry moments captured in John… the better part of Jesus’ first year of ministry.

But Mark and the other Synoptic Gospel writers fast forward to the start of what’s called Jesus’ “Great Galilean Ministry” starting in V14…

Mark 1:14-15 “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

In these two verses, Mark highlights that the forerunner has now been imprisoned. This came at the result of John speaking against the illicit marriage of Herod Antipas and Herodias… which we will read more about in Mark Chapter 6.

But, I think the point that Mark is making here is not simply a historical footnote that at this time “John was put in prison”… MORE Mark is correlating that preaching the Gospel is not all easy.

Certainly for John the Baptist it wasn’t easy… that’s obvious… he stood for truth and in the other Gospels we know he was confronted by the religious leaders… the scribes and Pharisees.

And now… he is imprisoned. The Gospel is not all smooth sailing and sunny days, but even with trials… the Gospel must continue to be preached.

And, that’s what Jesus does. John is put in prison, but Jesus doesn’t pack up and go home… Jesus goes to Galilee to preach the gospel knowing His forerunner… His baptizer… His own cousin was put in prison.

And, while not explicit in Mark… we know Jesus is aware that John was imprisoned according to Matt 4:12 “Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.”

And, so… Jesus (about age 30 at this time) begins his Galilean Ministry…

I have a slide of the Sea of Galilee to give you an idea of the immense beauty of one of the key features of this region.

The next slide is a map of the Galilean Region with a red arrow highlighting Capernaum… on the north end on the Sea of Galilee… which will become the city of Jesus’ base of operations.

We will be viewing this ministry in Galilee up to Mark 6:6 when Jesus is rejected at Nazareth… and begins circuit teaching in villages and goes beyond Galilee…

Which brings up back to our point in V14… it’s not easy to preach the gospel, but Jesus keeps doing the hard things no matter the adversity He faces.

Certainly an application and inspiration for our lives.

And, Jesus’ message is preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God.

“Kingdom of God” appears 70x in the Bible (all in the New Testament). Synonymous is the “Kingdom of Heaven” which appears 32x only in the Gospel of Matthew.

The concept of the Kingdom of God… in a broad sense pictures God’s sovereign reign over all things… over our world… over the universe… over all eternity.

This concept can also look forward to Jesus’ millennial reign on earth when He literally sets up the Kingdom of God.

But, here in Mark’s passage… a more personal and spiritual application of salvation is in view.

In VSS 14-15… Jesus is preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God…

Those who accept the good news about the kingdom of God are saved… they are part of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus’ words in red in V15 are, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Repentance is not what you do first to become saved… it’s what happens as you are getting saved.

A person changes their mind and heart about Jesus accepting Him as their Lord and Savior… they have faith in Him… they believe in the gospel… and in that… the kingdom of God is at hand in their life. They are saved and part of the kingdom of God.

But, even for those who reject the Gospel. The Kingdom of God is still at hand… they are just outside of it, but the Kingdom still exists.

And, in V15… Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled...”

The New Living Translation reads, “The time promised by God has come at last!”

God’s program of the Savior come to conquer sin, hell and death in His first coming had come.

The Savior… the Messiah was now entering the scene.

And, the command by Jesus… which is still true today is “Repent and believe...”

And, almost 2000 years later… the door to the Ark… so to say… remains open for all who enter by faith.

But, a day is coming when God will close the door to the Ark.

He has patiently waited… God has given mankind ample time to repent and believe.

The spiritual kingdom of God has been established and soon comes a day when Jesus will return to set up His literal kingdom of God.

Time is short… “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

We’ll wrap up today with one final scene of Jesus calling His first disciples…

Mark 1:16-20 “And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 19 When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. 20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.”

Jesus had already met Simon Peter and Andrew about a year prior as pictured in John 1.

John the Baptist said to two of his disciples “Behold the Lamb of God!” and one of those disciples was Andrew… who told his brother Simon Peter, “We have found the Messiah. … And he brought him to Jesus.”

Now… a year later, Jesus says to them, , “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

This was not a command… this was an invitation. God gives us space to say no.

“Follow Me” or your Bible may say, “Come, follow Me...” literally is “Come after Me.”

Technically it is an invitation meaning “Go behind Me as a disciple.”

Most Rabbis were sought out by their would be disciples.

Jesus flips the script and seeks His disciples out. He calls His disciples… still to this day.

And, he promises these uneducated fishermen, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

Such an interesting picture…

Fishing requires one to be patient and still. You cannot rush salvation… you cannot force salvation…

Fishing in the first century was with the use of nets… and the timing had to be right. They had to cast their nets where the fish were…

And, there were nights when these men caught nothing… which tell us they had to be persistent even when they came up short.

They had to go back out the next day and fish again.

There’s all kinds of analogies you can apply. It’s a rich picture.

And, Jesus meets them where they are. He doesn’t say… “You know… if you guys went to Hebrew Bible College… one day you could be my disciples.”

They didn’t need this… they would get the most practical instruction ever imagined… direct discipleship by Jesus Himself.

Years later Peter and John will stand before the Supreme Court of Israel… the Sanhedrin. And, in Acts 4:13 we read, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”

The truth and boldness that one gains by being in the word…by being in prayer… by abiding in Christ… these daily disciplines can make the most educated people marvel…

Even if you are uneducated and untrained, people take note when you have been with Jesus.

And, if God calls you to get trained and educated… do that. I went to Bible College… there is a place for it.

But, for these guys… Jesus meets them where they were. They were fishermen… and Jesus spoke to them in a way they could understand, “Guys, I want you just as you are. I want you to be fishermen… use all the skills you have just change what you fish for. Fish now for the hearts of people.”

It resonated with them, and immediately they left their lucrative business and followed Him.

And, we know it was lucrative as you see in V20… James and John was with their father Zebedee who had a boat and hired servants.

And, truly that is the greatest sacrifice to Follow God.

It requires obedience no matter the cost.

Simon and Andrew were actively casting a net into the sea. They were in the middle of fishing.

They didn’t say, “We’ll follow you when we finish fishing. We just need one more good catch to pay our bills.”

V18 says, “They immediately left their nets and followed Him.”

Obedience should be immediate… and should be a step of faith. Peter and Andrew did this well.

James and John V19 were mending their nets… helping their father Zebedee.

They didn’t say, “We’ll follow you when we finish mending this net.”

They didn’t say, “We can’t follow you because we have to help our Dad with the family business.”

V20 says, “And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.”

Following Jesus comes at sacrifice… and while that’s hard… I don’t read, “And they regretted leaving the fishing business to follow Jesus.”

These first disciples would walk with Jesus for the rest of their days… even when things were tough… three of these guys were martyred and John had the martyrdom of a long life.

Today… Jesus is still calling the faithful to follow Him in obedience.

And, nothing… should stand above the calling to follow Christ.

Amen?

Let’s Pray!

Lessons from today…

We serve an approachable God…

Who understands the temptations we face… though He never gave into the temptations.

And, even when ministry got tough… He pressed on sharing the Gospel.

There’s no better example then Jesus Christ. So, when He calls you to follow Him… obey.

God bless you as you go!