Mark 1

Scripture Reading for Community Life- Isaiah 40:1-10

Introductory Remarks

New people

Hello. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Eric. I am one of the ministers here and part of the teaching team.

If you are new here, let me just say that it is an honor that you have chosen to be here today. We are glad you are here and would love to connect with you. If that is you, I would encourage you to fill out one of the connect cards in the seat back in front of you. If you take it to the Gateway Cafe in the lobby, where the coffee is, one of the people in the green shirts that greeted you on the way in will have a gift for you.

Oct 13th

But another way that you could get connected will be happening on Oct 13th. We are going to go out on the lawn over here, roast hot dogs, make s’mores and get to know one another. This is an event that is designed for everyone in our church family… which you are a part of if this is your first time or your hundredth time, whether you are a sinner or a saint, we adopt everyone into this family… but this event is designed for connection. So we would love for you to join us there. There is a button on our next page that takes you to the church calendar so you can learn more about upcoming events.

MLK Jr

Montgomery Alabama, 1965. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was finishing his speech when he said this...

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I know you are asking today, 'How long will it take?' Somebody's asking, 'How long will prejudice blind the visions of men?'... I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because truth crushed to earth will rise again. How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever. How long? Not long, because you shall reap what you sow. How long? Not long. Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne, Yet that scaffold sways the future, And, behind the dim unknown, Standeth God within the shadow, Keeping watch above his own. How long? Not long, Because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. How long? Not long, because Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;

This speech includes one of Dr. King’s most famous quotes… Because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.

Let me ask you, do you think this is true? Is the world becoming a more just place over time? Or was that just wishful thinking on the part of Dr. King?

We’d all like it to be true, right?

I read an article by Chris Hayes the other day that argued that this quote is inspiring, he likes the quote, but also thinks it is sorely mistaken. He writes, “The claim expresses a specific kind of informed optimism, an eyes-wide-open faith in humanity.” But, he argues, it is optimism that is misplaced. But is that Dr. King’s point?

Dr. King does not say that the moral arc bends on its own. The bending of the moral arc is not based on King’s optimism in the human race. But because of the “scaffold that sways the future,” the God that stands in the shadows, precisely because God’s people have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

It is as if Dr. King sees something different than Chris Hayes sees. A different reality where justice has conquered injustice already. A reality where truth crushed to earth will rise again. A reality that supports his hope in that the arc is bending slowly towards justice.

Of course, I think that both would agree that true justice has not yet been achieved even if they did not agree on what justice actually looks like. Because that is a whole other discussion.

Israel- Exile/ Living under foreign powers

But for the Israelites living under the Roman rule in the first century, they had an idea of what justice could look like. They had a specific hope and it came in the form of Messiah. You see, by the time we get to the book of Mark, the past 600-700 years has been rough for the Israelites, the Jews.

Over the last couple of weeks we have talked about how the Israelites followed God out of slavery in Egypt, into the wilderness and eventually into the Promised Land. He eventually established the kingship of David and makes a promise that David’s throne will last forever, that his descendants will reign in God’s Kingdom forever.

Prophets

The Israelites, however, keep forgetting who they are, who God is and what He has done for them. They forget to trust Him. So God sends prophets to warn them. Stop it. But they don’t.

So the Israelites get taken over by a succession of foreign powers. The Assyrians take the Northern half, then the Babylonians come in and finish the job. Then the Persians come in, then the Greeks. They just keep coming. And finally the Romans. But God sends the prophets to remind the people that He is not done with them. That this is a temporary thing. One day he will send an anointed one, from the line of David, a messiah, a Christ, a king and he will reestablish God’s Kingdom.

Hope of a Messiah

Now after centuries of oppression, people popped up every now and again that looked like they might be the Messiah. But they clearly were not. Dashed hopes led to despair for some Jews. Some gave up on a Messiah. Some had imagined there would be multiple Messiahs. There were a lot of ideas being thrown around as to what a Messiah might look like. No one was really sure. But they were all pretty sure they knew at least one thing he would do. Overthrow Rome and reestablish God’s Kingdom here on earth. He would bring justice with Him.

Mark

One is coming to make the path straight

So into this expectation soup, when we open the book of Mark we are confronted with this truth bomb.

Mark 1:1 NLT

This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began

Underline good news. Many translations call this the gospel. The beginning of the gospel, the good news of Jesus, Messiah.

This good news is a royal announcement. The Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed one, the King has come! Watch out Rome!

Mark 1:2–4 (NLT) just as the prophet Isaiah had written: “Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way. He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’ ” This messenger was John the Baptist.

This quote here is kind of a combination of several prophecies, but the majority of the quote is found in Isaiah, in the passage that Mike read earlier.

In your Bible journals, on about half the page, I want you to draw a straight path. If you are not so good at drawing you can label it, the way. So I picture a guy with a bunch of orange cones and an asphalt truck, making a road, filling in the potholes, making the path clear and smooth. I live in Sayler Park and drive 50 all the time. So that is what I think of. Except not only are all the potholes filled in. The manhole covers are even with the rest of the road.

Apparently there is a saying in England that wherever the king goes he smells fresh paint. When someone important is coming you get ready and spruce things up.

And Mark is like, here is the sprucer. John the Baptist or the Baptizer or , or as I like to call him, John the Dunker. So draw a donut in his hand because he likes to dunk things. You can put a mug in his hand that says I heart Jesus or something. But that is not necessary. And, look John stands out in a crowd.

Mark 1:4–6 NLT

This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.

Elijah

A couple things to notice. Instead of wearing a high vis vest, John stands out by being dressed like a prophet and not just any prophet, Elijah. Many Jewish expectations included an appearance of Elijah to precede the coming of the Messiah.

Wilderness & Jordan

But he is also in the wilderness, baptizing people in the Jordan river which recalls the beginning of the story we told two weeks ago. Where the Israelites, who had wandered through the wilderness for forty years, finally cross the Jordan river to establish God’s Kingdom in the Promised Land.

So good news. The path is being laid for the king. We got the prophet that precedes the Messiah. Things are starting to add up. It is happening. It is time. So people are flocking to John, confessing their sins, because they want to be a part of what God is about to do.

Repentance

John is also calling them to a different kind of renewal. Repentance is a word that means to return to the way things should be. To stop living according to the lie, and to start living according to the truth. Renouncing our sin, where we fail to measure up, and to return to the right way. In order to do that you have to change your mind, your allegiance, your connection to the old way of thinking. So John is preparing the people. Something big is coming.

Mark 1:7–8 NLT

John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”

God is the only one who can bestow the gift of the Holy Spirit on anyone. So John is saying, He/ God is coming here. I am laying down the path and the Messianic King is going to ride into Israel and establish His kingdom, but he is no mere mortal. He is God Himself.

Of course, as astute readers, we already know this, because Mark has already told us this.

And all of a sudden, Jesus appears.

Now draw Jesus on the way that John is building

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Mark 1:9–11 NLT

One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

So not only is the prophet here, thee anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ, anointed with the Holy Spirit, the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit, is here. And then reality itself is ripped in two. And I love what NT Wright says about this moment.

“If we go back to the biblical roots we will realize what ‘seeing heavens opened’ means. It doesn’t mean that Jesus saw a little door ajar miles up in the sky. ‘Heaven’ in the Bible often means God’s dimension behind ordinary reality. It’s more as though an invisible curtain, right in front of us, was suddenly pulled back, so that instead of the trees and flowers and buildings, or in Jesus’ case the river, the sandy desert and the crowds, we are standing in the presence of a different reality altogether.”

So Jesus then walks into the wilderness. I want you to notice this. Jesus did not need to repent. He did not need to confess His sins. He does not have any. And I could be making more of this than I need to. But He is from the Promised land, Nazareth is in Israel already. So he entered into the river, so that he could enter into the wilderness.

Jesus is God. He did not have to take on flesh, become human. He did not have to leave heaven, God space. He resided in a different reality. He did not have to do any of this. But He did. The story that Mark tells is shocking and difficult and amazing and wonderful. It is good news. The Son of God, the Messiah is here. He has entered our wilderness. He will return in power. Elijah is paving the road, crying in the wilderness.

Get out the marching band. Raise the banners.

But then we get this in vs. 14...

Mark 1:14 (NLT) Later on, after John was arrested,

Wait. What? Did you hear the record scratch?

No no no no. John was just getting started. He wasn’t done paving the road. The road is leading to victory, right? Not being handed over to the Roman oppressors. This is supposed to be good news. How can the messenger be sent to prison?

Because John’s story does not end there.

So if we fast forward to Mark 6, we see Jesus sending out the twelve apostles to spread His message that the kingdom of God is being established and they should repent.

And Herod, the guy that had John arrested starts hearing about this Jesus guy.

Mark 6:16 NLT

When Herod heard about Jesus, he said, “John, the man I beheaded, has come back from the dead.”

Record scratch. Wait, what? This is not the way the story is supposed to go. This is not the way the path should go, is it?

When we read the book of Mark, we will come across this question over and over again. Mark asserts that this is good news. A royal announcement. The Kingdom of God is being established. But is this really good news?

Last week we talked about how With Jesus, Better is Possible. You have access to a better community, life and purpose when you follow Jesus. But how can that be true, when so many people throughout history have landed themselves in prison, been tortured and killed just because they identified themselves ‘with Jesus?’

Mark just puts that out there, like the last we heard about John, he was in prison, but not dead. What happened?

Mark tells us the whole tale in chapter 6, but it boils down to this. John spoke out against Herod’s marriage to his brother’s wife. So when his own daughter danced erotically in front of Herod and his friends at a party, when this pleased him so much that Herod made a boastful vow to give her whatever she wanted, Herod’s wife told her daughter to ask for John’s head on a platter.

This is not justice.

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Herod, the wanna be king, the puppet of Rome, has John arrested and beheaded. But John did not do anything wrong. Herod’s own evil leads to John’s death.

And I think this is what we are supposed to see. John is paving the way for the Messiah. If you are walking on the path of the forerunner, and he ends up in the valley of death, that is where you go, right? So if the Messiah is following the path of the forerunner… is this really good news?

John is making Jesus’ path straight… but the path has led to death. Write death at the top of your path.

Now I really want you to think about this. You may have heard the story of Jesus a million times before and you are skipping ahead in your mind. But stay right here. I think that what Mark is trying to do is to make us live with this tension. Because he says it is good news. But it does not look like good news.

So right after this story, Mark talks about the disciples, the followers of Jesus coming back from their assignment that Jesus gave them. Because, remember, that is how the story started. Jesus sends them out, Mark talks about Herod and John, then the disciples come back.

This is what scholars call a Markan Sandwich. Sounds delicious. Mark just interrupts a story he was telling with a different story, then he comes back to the original one. These are found all over the book of Mark and the idea is that the meat of the sandwich says something about the bread. So the story in the middle illuminates the story it is sandwiched in.

The disciples are following Jesus, so flip back and draw a group of people down at the bottom of your path.

So, here’s the idea, John’s path is Jesus’ path is the disciples’ path is our path. This is their path. This is our path.

But is this good news? Most people would say no. We want to avoid pain and death as much as we possibly can. This is why the world will never understand the good news. They will resist it with everything they have.

How could this possibly be “better?” How is this good news?

Jesus follows this path, but Mark ends with an empty grave.

Because, through Jesus, we are standing in the presence of a different reality altogether.

One where death becomes life. Where truth crushed to earth will rise again. The path doesn’t stop at death.

When we are baptized into Jesus’ name, we participate in His death and resurrection, when we pledge our allegiance to his rule and reign in our lives, we are made ready to be anointed with the Holy Spirit, he enters our wilderness and we enter His presence. God says to us, “You are my beloved son, you are my beloved daughter, in you I am well pleased.” Not because we deserve it, but because Jesus was willing to leave God space, to enter into our humanity and subject himself to the death we deserved. He brought justice by satisfying it. He took our penalty and gave us His reward.

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This is the good news. Paul says this in Ephesians

In him we (the Jews) have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.13 In him you also (everyone else), when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. [1]

In Jesus, we get the benefits He deserves.

While all of this is true, in the face of tragedy, one could argue that standing in the presence of a different reality is just wishful thinking. John is decapitated. Even if we look at it through a different perspective, it still stings. It still feels like this is not the way things are supposed to be.

This is a central tension in the book of Mark.

So as disciples of Jesus we are called to follow him. And that path is often a costly one. But it is a better one. And maybe that is too simple to say. But I’ve experienced it. So many in this room have experienced it. But that does not mean that you have.

So I know that our simple answers can sound hollow in the light of real suffering and pain. Simple answers can’t really cut it. So I am sure some of you are saying, I am sure that is true for some people. But you don’t know my situation.

I am not pretending I can. What I am saying is that look, the Bible is not a book of easy answers. reading Scripture is like grappling, wrestling with the truth of a Creator who loves us, who has rescued us and is still rescuing us.

world of injustice

We live in a world of injustice. We are called to fight for the oppressed, to feed the hungry, to clothe the poor. We are called to follow Jesus to the cross. To take on the burdens of those who face injustice, to bear it for them, to make ourselves last and others first.

separate reality

But we also live in a completely separate reality.

NT Wright says, “A good deal of Christian faith is a matter of learning to live by this different reality even when we can’t see it. Sometimes, at decisive and climactic moments, the curtain is drawn back and we see, or hear, what’s really going on; but most of the time we walk by faith, not by sight..”

Tom Wright, Mark for Everyone(London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 5–6.

the gospel bent it

Dr. King says the moral arc of the universe bends towards justice. It seems to me that is was his conviction that it was precisely the gospel that bent it. Most of the people who Jesus sent out in Mark 6, followed the path that was laid by John. The path that Jesus followed. They remembered who they were, what God had done and the stepped into His work and proclaimed that with Jesus, a better world is possible. In fact, it already exists behind the one we know. One where justice is perfect. Where the rulers of this world do not have the power to create injustice as they once did.

And they paid the cost for it. Many of them died for their faith. But they got to experience the better through Jesus. They got to step into His work. They got to present the truth of the gospel and bend the arc of the moral universe.

And Jesus is the only way into that reality.

this is good news

The purpose of Mark is not to make us comfortable with the good news. In fact, it might be close to the opposite. He is asking us to wrestle with upside down nature of Jesus’ messiahship.

He is trying to remind us that Jesus is messiah and that this news is good. Because sometimes it is hard to see.

On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. This is what he said on April 3.

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Dr. King knew that any moment could be his last. He was a controversial figure. By this time, his house had been bombed and he had been stabbed. But he was standing in a different reality. He was not perfect, none of us are. But he saw the opportunity to bring more of that reality into this one. And so he did. He got to bend the arc a little more. But it cost him.

So is that better? Was the good news good to him? Seems like it.

What about you?

Have you experienced that reality? Does the good news seems good to you? Or are you still wrestling with the gospel?

That is totally normal. The call to take up your cross is not an easy one to follow.

Communion

Each week, those of us who are on the path, or at least are trying to be, we remind ourselves and each other why we stay moving in that direction.

God came down as a man and died to give us life. So let us eat and remember Christ’s body broken for us.

Let us drink and remember his blood poured out for us.

His death was an invitation into new life, into that different reality that is here, but is also hidden.

Baptism

But maybe today you are thinking, it is time. Are you ready to respond to this good news, to step into that reality, that truth, that Kingdom where Jesus is on the throne? Maybe you need to respond today by participating in his death and resurrection in the waters of baptism. Where you repent of your paradigm, you turn your life towards the true reality, you confess your sins, that you have fallen short, that you have chosen injustice and selfish pride over and over again, that you missed or misunderstood God’s presence and work in this world. Where you declare that you believe, that you trust in the promise and are committed to living that truth out in your life. Where you submit to Jesus’ kingship over your life. To be called a beloved son or daughter of God? If that is you, don’t wait. We have clothes and towels ready for you. Just come up during the song set or after the service, we would love to help you enter into that promise.

Witness

Or perhaps you need to be a little more bold, to put on some furry clothes and go out into the desert, eat locusts and honey. Maybe you need to build some courage and tell people the message of the gospel. If John’s story is any indication, it will cost you.

Read

Maybe you just need to wrestle with that tension some more. Let me encourage you, if that is you, make the time to just read through the whole book of Mark this week. Look for sandwiches, confusion, tension and ask the question, what does this story or this part of the gospel tell us about Jesus? It can be read in about an hour, maybe a little more. So sit and read it all at once or split it up into 10-15 minute segments.

Benediction

May you experience the better that Jesus brings

Tom Wright, Mark for Everyone(London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 5.

• [1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version(Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Eph 1:11–14.