Make Way (Mark 1:1-11)

Sunday, 2/21/2021: Mark 1:1-11

Introduction

One of my favorite Disney movies growing up was Aladdin. If you are unfamiliar with this great movie, shame on you. In Aladdin’s first wish, he wishes to be a prince to be able to pursue and marry Princess Jasmine. The genie grants this wish in dramatic fashion with Aladdin making a grand entrance into the Kingdom of Agrabah to the song Prince Ali which starts with the following lyrics:

Make way for Prince Ali

Say hey, it's Prince Ali

Hey! Clear the way in the old Bazaar

Hey you, let us through! It's a brand new star

Oh come Be the first on your block to meet his eye

Make way, here he comes! Ring bells, bang the drums! You're gonna love this guy

It is the grand entrance for Prince Ali as a prince who has come to catch the eye of Jasmine. Not only the song, but a parade and all kinds of noise. It’s a fun scene to watch in the movie. However, it is very opposite to the entrance we see Jesus make as he enters the world. In fact, as we begin the gospel of Mark this morning, Mark’s gospel makes the least noise in the entrance of Jesus than any of the other 3 gospels. For Mark doesn’t even have a birth narrative. And the gospel starts in the wilderness by the Jordan River.

Introduction to the gospel of Mark

Mark’s gospel is reported to have been the first written gospel. With both Matthew and Luke taking from Mark. This gospel is attributed to John Mark. John Mark is noted as the one who Paul and Barnabas split over in Acts 15:36-41. Mark is different from both Matthew and Mark in that it doesn’t start with a genealogy or birth narrative of Jesus, It starts with the beginning of the gospel. Part of that is that Mark’s gospel is said to have the primary audience of gentiles, where Matthew and Luke’s are aimed more at Jews. Mark’s gospel account is brief with certain details, as he is most likely sharing what he has learned from his time with Paul and Barnabas, since he was not an eyewitness of Jesus himself.

Mark’s own discipleship journey is marked by discipleship success and discipleship failure. Through Mark’s gospel account, we are going to see what it means to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ and what it means to follow him. My prayer for us here at Central City Baptist Church is that as we journey through Mark’s gospel, that we will grow in our relationship with Jesus, learning what it means to be his disciple. (READ Mark 1:1-11)

Main Point

The good news of the gospel has come in the beloved Son of God. Therefore, let us repent from sin and turn our allegiance to King Jesus!

Points

Point #1: The beginning of the gospel

Point #2: The beloved Son

Point #1: The beginning of the gospel

Who’s gospel?

Mark doesn’t waste words in writing his gospel account to be spread among the Gentiles. He makes it very clear what this account is about from the very start. His message, his good news is about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He states with so little words much about who Jesus is. He tells us that he is the Christ, the anointed one. He tells us that Jesus is the Son of God. There is no missing this in Mark’s gospel, for it is used twice in our opening 11 verses.

The Messenger who Prepares the Way

Yet, while this gospel is about Jesus Christ, it starts in verses 2-8 with a messenger who has come ahead of Jesus. And this messenger comes in fulfilling what was written in Isaiah, the prophet which says, (READ Mark 1:2-3).

This is quoting from Isaiah 40:3, with pulling in a bit also from Malachi 3:1. And the reason this fulfillment is noted, is that it shouts, Make Way, here comes not a prince, but the King of Kings who is to reign forever. And here is the one who is going to prepare his way.

John the Baptist

This messenger is of course is John the Baptist, as revealed in verse 4. John is a bit of an interesting character. In verse 6 we read (READ verse 6). And yet, even these details are intended to point us back to another prophet, that of Elijah. 2 Kings 1:7-8 says, “He said to them, ‘What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?’ They answered him, ‘He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.’ And he said, ‘It is Elijah the Tishbite.’” John the Baptist is one like Elijah the prophet of old. In fact, John the Baptist is Elijah as we will find out in Mark 9:11-13.

Baptism of Repentance

While John was a bit of an interesting character with his dress and his diet, he did have a powerful and important message to proclaim, as well as an important task. John was to prepare the way of the LORD, but how? Well John came proclaiming a baptism of repentance. The message he was proclaiming was calling out to reveal sin in the hearts of all who came to hear him and calling them to repent.

While part of this is a little fuzzy in Mark, we learn this is the case from Matthew’s gospel. Again, Mark’s gospel is second hand, therefore with more information in areas, but also with a different audience in mind. But the focus in both is that of preaching a call to repentance.

So what is repentance? Repentance involves two things according to Sinclair Ferguson in his little book The Grace of Repentance. He says, “1. Recognizing that offenses have been committed against God and the covenant he has made with his people. 2. Turning away from sin in view of the gracious provisions that the Lord has made for us in his covenant.”

Now, in the case of what is being used primarily in the New Testament, especially here in Mark 1, we can even take this a step further in looking at what word is used for repent, the Greek word μετανεω. This word refers to having a change of mind or seeing something in a different light from past actions. Again, as John is preaching, he is preparing the way of the Lord, making his path straight. And this is being done as John exposes sin and calls the people to now rightly see their sin from God’s point of view, urging them to then turn from that sin to Jesus. He is calling them to renew their minds to use the language of Paul from Romans 12:1-2.

Apart from repentance, apart from a changing of the mind and one’s allegiance, those listening to John could not come to Jesus. Sin had left them standing with corrupted minds, missing who God is and what it means to follow him. This was true for Israel and it also is true for all of us gathered here this morning.

From the moment we were conceived, as David notes in Psalm 51, we were conceived in sin. We are born with a sinful nature. We are not born desiring the things of God, we desire the things of the world and the flesh. Instead of worshiping God as king, we think of ourselves as king. To put it another way, my middle name is Douglas. I share this, because this name means from the dark waters. And my last name, Ryan means little king. So with those two names I am a little king from the dark waters. The reality of this though is that we are all little kings from the dark water, because we have asserted ourselves as king in place of God in the midst of our sin.

The effects of sin are great, not only does it cause us to put ourselves equal with or above God, sin affects our relationships. Sin affects how we perceive ourselves, leaving us blinded often to who we truly are. Sin affects our hearts. And sin creates idols in our hearts, clinging to this idol rather than God. And sin also leaves us as fools.

Paul David Tripp puts this better than I can in his book, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands. He says, “Sin not only makes us helpless rebels and idolaters, it also reduces us to fools. We tend to love lies, to be self deluded, to be the strongest believers in our own empty arguments. We are susceptible to the Enemy’s tricks and temptations. We live for what is already in a state of decay and ignore what will remain forever. We tend to hide, ignore, or be blind to our own sin, while we are obsessively focused on the sins of others.”

Sin grabs us, starting with our hearts, and as it grows, it seeps out into the rest of our body like puss and eventually bursts out of our pores and off our tongues and into how we live. It is this sin that we must recognize. It is this sin that we must acknowledge. It is this sin we must confess. 1 John 1:9 tells us, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Seeing our sin and acknowledging our sin help us on the way to true repentance, because we believe that in confessing our sin, that Jesus indeed forgives those sins. And once we see our sin, confess it, then we can begin to renew our mind and be transformed in the power of Christ through the Holy Spirit.

Now, repentance and feeling guilty for sin are not the same thing. We cannot merely feel guilty for sin and move on as if nothing has changed. Feeling guilty for sin only leads us to try and do enough to get rid of the guilt. Repentance is a renewing of our minds as already stated in which we turn from an allegiance to sin to an allegiance in Jesus.

However, this repentance isn’t just for those who have yet come to faith in Jesus. It is for all of us. Fellow Christian, repentance is not a one time event at the beginning of our faith journey. Repentance is an ongoing work that we are to take part in as we become more aware of sin within us. We are to bear fruit in keeping with repentance as John the Baptist notes in Matthew 3:8. For even as Christians, we still have idols and sin that have crept into our hearts. We need to continually be repenting as we become aware of these different sins. Even as we looked at last Sunday night from Leviticus 4 in our 30,000 foot flyover view of Leviticus, there were to be sin offerings made when an Israelite became aware of sin that was unintentional. As we become aware of sin within us, it is to lead us to this ongoing repentance. Let alone those sins we know and continue to struggle with. Brothers and sisters, we are to continue to repent from sin and turn back to Christ with all our heart, mind, and soul.

May this word cut to our hearts and move within us, causing us to come forward in confessing our sins as it did there at the Jordan River for John the Baptist as he preached and was baptizing.

Brothers and sisters, be spending some time even now to think what all you might need to confess to God and repent of as we prepare to take the Lord’s Supper at the end of our time together this morning.

Maybe for some of us, we need to apologize to our spouses for a fight we had this week. Others might need to confess and repent from being a gossip this week, or even that of a slanderer to someone, including if it was on Facebook. Still others, maybe you are living with sin that you are praying and hoping no one knows about. You are working hard to keep it covered up. Confess this sin today to God, and know that I would love to schedule a meeting with you and talk with you and link arms with you to fight against this sin. Sin will not remain hidden, it will come out sooner or later. Confess this sin and repent from it.

And I’m sure there is at least one here this morning or watching online who needs to consider the need for the first time to confess their sin to God and to repent from that sin. Friend, if this is you, I pray that this morning you would see your sin, confess that sin, and repent from sin by turning to Jesus. See that there is forgiveness for sins offered in Christ! Come to Jesus, see him as your King and follow him from this day forward. If Jesus is working in you now, please come find me after the service, let's talk. My friend, don’t ignore what the Lord is doing in your heart even now.

3. Baptism

Now, to look at the second part of John’s task, baptism. The english word baptize comes from the Greek word, βαπτιζω, which means to plunge, dip, wash for the sake of purification. John was immersing people in the Jordan River to wash them in water. For he says down in verse 8, he baptizes with water.

In his book, Going Public, Bobby Jamieson says, “Baptism renders faith visible; it gives the believer, the church, and the world something to look at. When you trust in Christ, you make that decision visible in baptism.”

Baptism precedes and follows our repentance from sin and our coming to faith in Christ. It shows the world that we now identify and belong to Christ. Therefore, the ordinance of baptism is not to be taken lightly. It isn’t just something we do for the sake of doing it. We go to the waters of baptism when one has come to confess their sin and repent from it, turning to faith in Jesus. For as our dear brother Bobby so eloquently put, baptism renders faith visible.

In the waters of baptism, there is nothing salvific in this event. However, it is the first step of obedience in going into the water, being immersed under the water symbolizing our death to sin and rising anew in Christ, to walk following him by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Likewise, when John states in verses 7 and 8 the following (READ).

John isn’t teaching us of another baptism being needed. The obedience of baptism by immersing in water still happens this way throughout the New Testament. This is the case in Acts 2 and Acts 8 with the Ethiopian eunuch. They are to be baptized apart from their repenting from sin and coming to faith in Jesus. And this is after the Holy Spirit has come at the beginning of Acts 2.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit actually is more of the work of the Holy Spirit that takes place in our hearts through the power of the gospel to lead us to faith and repentance. It is the very reason that our eyes are opened and we are able to come to faith in Jesus. For apart from the work of the Holy Spirit within us, we would continue to reject God and continue to dwell in sin. And it is this Spirit who the one mightier than John will give.

The beauty of this Holy Spirit can be seen in John 16 as Jesus tells his disciples that the Helper will come and convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgement. Then in John 17, Jesus asks the Father to help keep those who belong to Jesus from the evil one. He asks that the Father will sanctify us who are in Christ. And the Father and the Son do this as the Helper, that is the Holy Spirit comes, again there in Acts 2. It is this that is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Christian, do you realize it is this Spirit that is at work inside of us? That this same Spirit is what has brought you to Jesus, who will sanctify you, and keep you? This helper will continue to be at work in us until we are called to be with our glorious King forever and ever. May our hearts be strengthened and encouraged in this.

Point #2: The Beloved Son

His Baptism

Now, having seen John preparing the way through proclaiming a baptism of repentance, we now turn our attention to the one mightier than John. Verse 9 says (READ v.9).

Here Jesus comes from Nazareth of Galilee, his hometown. And Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan. That’s all the details we are given in Mark’s account. As we have just looked at baptism being an outward response to repentance and turning to Jesus, why in the world is Jesus baptized?

Well, we would be helped in referencing the other gospel accounts here. In Matthew’s gospel, John tries to actually prevent this, telling Jesus in Matthew 3:14, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But in verse 15 it adds, “But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented.”

This is part of Jesus coming to fulfill all the law. For in his baptism, Jesus identifies with us, sinners. Jesus had no need to be baptized, he was righteous of his own accord. Yet, he associates with us in becoming like us, even in his baptism, he placed himself among us, identifying with our guilt, our shame, our sin.

We have a Savior who sympathizes with us and has drawn near to us, and befriended us, and loves us. May our response to this be hearts that overflow with thankfulness to the Lord and praise to the one who has come and rescued us by identifying with us.

The Heavens Split

Now, following this act of identifying with sinners through his own baptism, we read in verse 10 (READ). The heavens are described as being ripped open and the Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove. This being the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit coming on Jesus I think has multiple purposes. One, the way Mark uses it is to quickly identify for us as the reader, this is the greater one who John was preparing the way for. That’s one reason I think this is used. More importantly, this is marking Jesus publicly ready and empowered to begin his ministry on earth. It is a sign marking him ready to go.

But still yet, what was said as a voice came from heaven, saying, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” The Father is pleased with the beloved Son. For the Son is committed to humbling himself as the Servant-Savior who would atone for the sins of the whole world. Jesus came to serve and to save sinners, to restore them to his Father in heaven. And the Father is pleased with the Son for this. And it is because the Father is pleased with the Son, that we have access to the Father. It is because the Father is pleased with the beloved Son that we are adopted as sons of God and share in the inheritance with Jesus. Because the beloved Son has pleased the Father, we have a solid ground to stand upon.

Even as we now prepare to take the LORD’s Supper here in a few minutes, remember that Jesus was beaten and pierced for our transgressions, that we might have eternal life in him. As we eat the bread, remember that his body was broken for us. As we drink the cup, remember that he shed his own blood to cover our sins. This is all part of the Father’s will to rescue us. And this is what the beloved Son did that pleased the Father.

Conclusion

The stage has been set this morning, the way has been prepared for the ministry of King Jesus to begin. God’s messenger came and prepared the way by calling people to confess their sins and repent as he proclaimed a baptism of repentance. And Jesus has shown from the very beginning of his first public appearance that he has come to identify and serve sinners that will in the end take him to the cross where he will bear the full weight of our sin and shame and be crushed for our transgressions. And yet, the grave could not hold him, he rose defeating death that we might live. And this is what we turn to in both responding through singing with Come Thou Fount and we remember this morning with the Lord’s Supper. As we prepare to receive and take the Supper, will you pray with me as the ladies come to sing.