Mark 1: 1-8 Prepare the way of Peace

Mark 1:1-8

Today our advent topic is peace. And in looking at our topic today, we are gonna be studying Mark chapter one, verses one through eight.

In this section of scripture, we are introduced to John the Baptist, the one who proclaimed himself to be, in the words of Isaiah, “the voice of one crying in the wilderness.”

As we see in the book of Luke, he was the cousin of Jesus.

Even the birth of John the Baptist is made up of miraculous events, a set of parents who are both up in age and who seem to have no hope of having a son- end up having a son., which is a thematic element that repeats itself in the Bible several times.

And so the miracle of Christmas starts with John the Baptist and the foretelling of Jesus.

He is the forerunner of Jesus. In more ways than one…declaring the coming of the one who would save us.

And it is this promise of peace that we are celebrating with our Advent observance today.

And as we long for peace,

as we pray for peace,

And as we look to the sky-

We constantly confess that Jesus Christ is the only path to peace in the world,

And we are preparing for the second coming of Christ.

Advent is a season of preparedness

Christmas isn't just one day that we celebrate, but it's a whole month that we celebrate.

And the Christmas songs don’t just end at Christmas time.

And all this preparation will come together on Christmas Eve whenever we light that last candle in honor Christ who has come.

That’s right, we'll be here Sunday morning on Christmas Eve to celebrate Jesus coming into the world.

But in Mark chapter one verses one through four, beginning with verse one,

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah,[a] the Son of God, Mark 1:1[b]

I will stop right there and point out some of the theological claims wrapped up in this simple statement alone.

The good news is the gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That Jesus Christ came into the world and bridged the gap between us and God. Paying the penalty for our sin.

And that Jesus is the messiah..

So Right off the bat, the Book of Mark proclaims Jesus as Messiah. It takes a few chapters in the other books in the other gospels to get there, but Mark chapter one, verse one, proclaims that Jesus is the Messiah- the chosen one.

The Messiah was foretold all through the prophetic books, all through the books of poetry and all through the the first five, books of the Bible,

And Most obviously, through the passover, the Messiah is mentioned and foretold and looked upon and hoped for.

As the people of Israel survived the death that passed over them.

And the writer of this gospel, John Mark, is proclaiming Jesus the Messiah.

And not only that, but he is the son of God.

As John said, The word was at the beginning- and the word became flesh. God sent his son. And His name is Jesus!

And then the writer invokes prophecy

as it is written in Isaiah of the prophet.

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way ” Mark 1:2

And who is that messenger? That's John the Baptist coming in more ways than one,

“a voice of one calling in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make straight paths for him.’” Mark 1:3[

This is very similar to a processional- an envoy for the king that is coming, the conquering king who would come and save his people, not only save his own people, the Israelites, but he would save the entire world.

He would call people from people who are not His people.

Verse four says,

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Mark 1:4

Now, baptism and forgiveness of sins, go hand in hand.

We get baptized in church to signify and to show the world that we are saved, that we have acted in repentance, we have been chosen, and we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ.

It's not literally the water that washes away our sins, but it's the blood of Christ that washes away our sins.

And It is the fire of the Holy Spirit that purifies us and sanctifies us.

But let’s reflect for a moment on the physical condition of John the Baptist.

While most avoided the wilderness, he made his home there!

And the wilderness appears many times in scripture.

And the one that comes to my mind is the people wandering in the wilderness after they are released from slavery in Egypt and they spend some time in the Sinai Desert.

And because of their disobedience, the Israelites have to spend 40 years in the wilderness, long enough for an entire generation to die out before the people can go into the promised land. And that includes Moses.

And now, consider this- the Sinai desert between Egypt and Israel is not a very big piece of land, but they were stuck there.

And they received all of their daily provisions from God himself.

Do you find yourself in the wilderness today?

Do you find, especially during the holidays that you’re wandering in the wilderness?

it’s easy to get lost on a relatively small piece of land?

It’s inevitable for many people to end up in a wilderness.

You may be in a wilderness for the very simple reason that the holidays remind you of loss.

The holidays may remind you of the happy times with someone who has gone before you, maybe your parents, maybe your spouse.

You may ge in the wilderness because you’re broke- could be financially, could be from a bad experience this year.

Or maybe 2023 hasn’t been your year.

I think the scripture Deuteronomy 31:8 is for you during this time, “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8

And so you find yourself at Christmas time and it looks very different from how it's ever looked before. Take this to heart- don’t be afraid or discouraged.

And Do you know we can rejoice in the wilderness?

Well, John the Baptist lived in the wilderness and he was waiting for the Messiah to come.

Friends during this Christmas season. I pray that you, if you are in a wilderness, will be able to look up from your circumstances and see Christ.

Up is the only way that you can look sometimes. And it’s the right direction.

And if you've gotten to that place, please know that Jesus Christ is the only one who can save you.

Jesus Christ is the only one who can give you hope and security.

And eternal joy.

And to my friends who are part of the family of God, if you've put your faith in Jesus Christ, it’s very possible for you to be in the wilderness- remember Jesus himself spent some time in the wilderness.

But the God who has always been faithful to you is the same today as he was yesterday.

And there's nothing that can take away that joy that you still have despite the blues that you may be experiencing during Christmas.

Back to our scripture.

Mark chapter 5 Verse five reads

The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. Mark 1:5

John's message that was of repentance.

It says it right there in verse four,

that his message was a baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins.

And what is repentance? Repentance is the turning away from your sins. And asking for forgiveness.

It’s the first step in being born again.

It's a change in direction.

It's realizing that you are a sinner and confessing your sins before Jesus Christ.

Repentance is essential to salvation.

And it says in this scripture that the public responded to his preaching- and we know this because many were baptized.

But I pray that each and every one of you will have a deeper commitment to searching within yourselves.

Asking, What sins am I holding on to that may be keeping me from being used by God?

And then Mark chapter one, verses six through seven reads:

6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. Mark 1: 6-7

I think it's very obvious here that John the Baptist lived a life of humility.

The picture that is painted is a wild man wearing wild skins. Like you would imagine a caveman looking!

I believe that the people of the day would be dressing very similarly to the traditional clothes worn even today in some arab countries.

Very much like how we dress on the square whenever we reenact the story of Jesus.

And so for a man to be wearing clothing made from camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist-that would certainly stand out,

And scripture tells us that he ate locusts and wild honey.

The people ate very sophisticated foods at the time. Think about it- They had bread and processed wine and olive oil.

But John the Baptist was completely living off the land, eating locusts, which he could find in the trees and on the ground in the fields

and honey, which he would find in the honeycombs in the trees.

And his appearance told a story of humility. A simplicity.

And he said himself that He's not even worthy to stoop down and untie the sandals of Jesus.

Now, think about how lowly of a state it would be for someone to untie someone's sandals, to have the job of undoing someone's sandals perhaps preparing to wash their feet,

That’s an interesting thought.

Jesus later lowered himself to his disciples, to unstrap their sandals, taking the form of a servant and washing their feet for them.

Jesus wouldn’t even be outdone in humility by John the Baptist.

I believe We are to have the same humility in our lives as Christians that John the Baptist and Jesus models here.

Because remember what Jesus says about John the Baptist later in Matthew chapter

11 in verses 7–14, Jesus declares about John the baptist: “ ‘What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.” I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.’”

I encourage you during this holiday season to seek out ways to be humble, seek out ways to serve one another, and to follow John the Baptist's example and later the example of Jesus Christ.

But finally, in Mark chapter one, verse eight, John the baptist proclaims:

I baptize you with[e] water, but he will baptize you with[f] the Holy Spirit.” Mark 1:8

The promise here- even at the beginning of the book of Mark, is the coming of Judgment upon the earth.

Last week, we talked in the book of Isaiah about how Isaiah prayed and wished that his enemies would be burned up in fire.

And this must have been a common sentiment of the people- the wish for fire to rain down from heaven and to consume their enemies and to bring about liberty.

And this is what John the Baptist was prophesying here, that the Holy Spirit would come down, that the Holy Spirit in fire would come down upon the people,

my friends. I pray that you'll be expecting the coming of Christ

as we remember his first coming at Christmas time as the barrier between heaven and earth was broken.

And Jesus came into the world and defied all plans that were made.

And he came to the world in a humble way so that he could suffer and die on a cross and be raised to life again.

Jesus is calling you today. He is calling you to repentance and belief in him as the Messiah- the Son of God.

So during this Christmas season, will you say yes to Jesus.