The Beginning of the Gospel Mark 1:1-13

-Our Good News is the presence of Jesus

My Favorite Illustrations You Can’t Improve on It

In 1956 Billy Graham conducted a crusade in Oklahoma City. One noonday he spoke to a joint meeting of the city’s civic clubs. Dr. Graham’s message was a simple sermon on salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

At the end of the meeting some of the men in attendance rushed forward to thank him for his message. One said, “I have been going to church all my life, but that is the first time I have ever heard that! It is the greatest thing I ever heard.

I. Introduction v. 1

The account is the beginning of the Good News

There is more beyond and the Gospel is ongoing, as we see it continue to work in the lives of people today

However, we see that this Good News has a beginning

Why does this beginning matter? We see that:

It is founded in a historical reality, a moment in time where actual events took place

It is founded on a person, Jesus of Nazareth, who is God’s anointed servant

It is founded in an incarnational identity; He is not only God’s servant but His Son

In the Gospel we see that God comes crashing into the course of human events in a shocking way; Heaven intersects with Earth and it is the beginning of what God is going to do to redeem and restore His broken creation

Years ago, a group of church members were caught in their building as a huge storm blew through. The pastor started to lead the church in a prayer and asked that they would have, “the Spirit of the Children of Israel as they crossed the Red Sea and the Spirit of the Hebrew Children as they entered the fiery furnace.” One old man, not satisfied with that prayer, called out, “Lord, this ain’t no time for children, we need You!”

II. 3 Testimonies vv. 2-11

First, we see that the Prophets testify:

A Messenger is coming to prepare the way

He will be a voice in the wilderness: in the howling madness of humanity’s brokenness, a voice of hope and truth will cry out

The Lord is coming: God is on the move and will burst onto the scene

Second, we see John testify:

There is a need for repentance, symbolized by baptism

There is the hope of forgiveness, that God will be gracious when He comes

There is the presence of the prophet, a man whose wild life is the demonstration of a man on fire with the Lord’s Spirit- What is preaching? Logic on fire! Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire. A true understanding and experience of the Truth must lead to this. I say again that a man who can speak about these things dispassionately has no right whatsoever to be in a pulpit; and should never be allowed to enter one.

-Martyn Lloyd-Jones

There is the promise of Messiah, one mightier than John

There is the outpouring of the Spirit, who will not just be on us, but in us and through us

Third, we see God testify:

At His baptism, Jesus enters the water as our representative:

When we enter the waters of baptism, we enter a place that He has already gone

We share in a repentance that He didn’t need, so that we can experience a forgiveness that He has made possible

He is the one who will fulfill all righteousness

All persons of the Trinity are present and they testify that Jesus is both Messiah and Lord

One day in 1909 a group of Alaskan miners, popularly called Sourdoughs, were sitting in a saloon in Fairbanks talking about outsiders such as Dr. Frederick Cook climbing “their” Mount McKinley. Convinced that Cook’s ascent had never been made, some of the miners decided to prove it the only way they knew how—by doing it themselves.

After a long climb, three miners left their base camp and raced for the North Peak, carrying some doughnuts, thermoses of hot chocolate, and a 14-foot wooden flagpole. As simply as they went up, the Sourdoughs returned to camp. But when they returned to Fairbanks, nobody believed them—and nobody could see the flagpole. But in June 1913, when some professional climbers reached the summit, to their surprise they found the flagpole planted by the Sourdoughs.

There is still good evidence that Jesus is Lord!

John 20:30–31

[30] Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; [31] but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (ESV)

III. 1 Test vv. 12-13

Shockingly, in the wake of His baptism, we see the Spirit drive Jesus into the wilderness

This will be a place of testing

The purpose of the test is critical: It is not intended to see if He will fail but to prove that He will not

In the wilderness, Jesus:

Defeats Hell

Tames Creation

Is Served by Heaven

It all proves one thing: He is Lord!

1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching John 6:35, 51

During World War II, the Germans forced many twelve-and thirteen-year-old boys into the Junior Gestapo. These boys were treated very harshly and given inhumane jobs to perform. When the war ended, most had lost track of their families and wandered without food or shelter. As part of an aid program to post-war Germany, many of these youths were placed in tent cities. Here doctors and psychologists worked with the boys in an attempt to restore their mental and physical health. They found that many of the boys would awaken in the middle of the night, screaming in terror. One doctor had an idea for handling that fear. After feeding the boys a large meal, he put them to bed with a piece of bread in their hands, which they were told to save until morning. The boys then slept soundly because, after so many years of hunger, they finally had the assurance of food for the next day.

Do you have Jesus as your Savior? If you do, you hold the Bread of Life in your hands and therefore have the assurance that you will not go out of this life in terror and fear.1534

He is Lord, He is Lord! He is risen from the dead and he is Lord! Ev'ry knee shall bow, ev'ry tongue confess That Jesus Christ is Lord.