The Beginning of the Good News

Introduction:

Welcome

Mark Series

Scripture Reading:

Please Stand:

(SLIDES)

Mark 1:1–15 (CSB)

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;

he will prepare your way.

A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

Prepare the way for the Lord;

make his paths straight!

John came baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.

He proclaimed, “One who is more powerful than I am is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. As soon as he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.”

Immediately the Spirit drove him into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels were serving him.

After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Introduction:

Fast Pacing of Mark:

Mark jumps straight into the action

Theres no nativity story

No angels… No Christmas story

In these 15 verses we have:

Old Testament Prophecies

The Story of John the Baptist

Jesus’ Baptism

Jesus’ Temptation in the Wilderness

The Start of Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee

What takes Matthew and Luke 4 chapters… Mark does in 15 verses

The Mystery of Mark Unveiled

And right up front… Mark is abundantly clear on who Jesus is

(SCRIPTURE SLIDES)

Mark 1:1 (CSB)

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Now this is the only place in Mark’s Gospel that he is this clear on who Jesus is

Like I said last week: The question at the center of Mark is—Who is Jesus?

Throughout the book everyone is asking—and no one seems to grasp it completely

And in the opening words of his Gospel Mark tells the readers: Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God

Its like Mark is whispering the spoiler to his whole book right up front

This theme is built on throughout the book—who is Jesus?

And ultimately, it climaxes on the cross where Jesus was crucified

We’ll see at the start of the gospel that the heavens are torn open with a proclamation of who Jesus is

And at the end of the gospel the same thing happens

Mark 15:37–39 (CSB)

Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed his last. Then the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion, who was standing opposite him, saw the way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

So why would Mark want to spoil his gospel right up front?

Because he wants to be abundantly clear on who Jesus is and what He came to do.

But he also wants us to press in to see it for ourselves

So today we are beginning this journey together

We know who Jesus is—we might read this words and think “I know this already”

But let’s press in to see Him through His word

Not just things about Jesus—But who he is

Biography vs Knowing Someone

And this unveiling mystery of who Jesus is will be a central theme as we continue through Mark

But today I want to focus on the “Beginning of the Good News”

Just like any story there is a beginning/middle/end and where does it begin?

Today we’ll be talking about 3 things:

The Preparation FOR Jesus

The Preparation OF Jesus

The Good News Jesus Brings

The Preparation for Jesus

(SCRIPTURE SLIDES)

Mark 1:2–8 (CSB)

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;

he will prepare your way.

A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

Prepare the way for the Lord;

make his paths straight!

John came baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.

He proclaimed, “One who is more powerful than I am is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

In verse 4 we are introduced to an important character in all of the Gospel stories: John the Baptist

This is not John (the disciple who wrote John and Revelation)

This is Jesus’s cousin who came to prepare the way for Jesus

You see… Jesus didn’t enter the scene with no context… John had been preparing the way for Jesus

John had a very important role

John was stirring up a longing in God’s people for a savior

He was proclaiming a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”

Imagine the scene

Hundreds if not thousands of people from Jerusalem are being baptized while confessing their sins

There is humility, repentance, confession of sin

This is the first stages of a spiritual revival

And this is where Jesus enters the scene

John had stirred up a deep desire in God’s people for something more

In every revival throughout history there are hearts that have been prepared beforehand for the work that God wants to do

Welsh Revival

Jim & Elizabeth Eliot

Revival starts with Confession/Repentance

Before Jesus enters the scene—there was a longing for Spiritual revival

And John prepared the hearts of all of these people, and then He points to Jesus not himself

He says “I am only a signpost”—Someone greater than me is coming

And there is so much for us to learn from John

All of our lives should reflect the model of ministry that John displays

How do we ‘prepare the way for Jesus in our lives’?

How do we live a life that points away from ourselves and towards Jesus?

It is through humility

Humility prepares the way for Jesus to be put on display

John in his humility knew this wasn’t about himself

Mark 1:7–8 (CSB)

He proclaimed, “One who is more powerful than I am is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Not only John but the crowds in humility were admitting their failures, confessing their sins, and repenting from their ways

You see there is a question you’ll face in life time and time again in life: Where is Jesus?

Or maybe you are asking that question now

It doesn’t look like he’s at work in my life—I don’t hear from him—etc.

Humility is key

We must know who we are, and admit our deep neediness

It is the way we prepare the way for Jesus in our lives and the lives of those around us

(SLIDES)

Isaiah 57:15 (NLT)

15 The high and lofty one who lives in eternity,

the Holy One, says this:

“I live in the high and holy place

with those whose spirits are contrite and humble.

I restore the crushed spirit of the humble

and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.

Those who admit their need/Who ask for help… will receive it

So we see here, the work that was done to set the stage for Jesus

Not only was there a preparation FOR Jesus… there was the preparation that Jesus himself undertook

The Preparation of Jesus

Jesus’ baptism and his time in the wilderness were his preparations for the next several years of his life of ministry

We tend to focus on the stories we read in the gospels but before all of that was a preparation Jesus undergoes

(SCRIPTURE SLIDES)

Mark 1:9–11 (CSB)

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. As soon as he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.”

We see that before any ministry is accomplished Jesus knows God’s Love toward him

Mark 1:11 (CSB)

And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.”

Truth: Ministry/Mission/Service flows out of identity

Beloved/Well-pleased

He was just as loved before He did any of his ministry and miracles

Jesus didn’t do all that did to try and earn God’s favor--He already had it

As Christians, we are the same

We are all called to ministry--but not to justify ourselves--or for us to feel better about ourselves

We are serve God because we are loved by God--not to earn his love

God doesn’t call the equipped—He equips the called

But wherever we are--God wants to use us for ministry

Your friend group, your sports team, your family

There are people in your life that you have unique relationships with, and that gives you unique ways to point them to Jesus

Whether or not they are believers--We all need to remind ourselves of God’s truth

And this ministry doesn’t come out of our talents, self-confidence, strengths, fear and duty,

It must flow out of a heart that is loved by God

I have been so loved by God that I cant help but contain it

I have to share this with others

My friend opens up about how things are hopeless

I have to tell them about the hope I have

Someone opens up about sin they are struggling with

I have to tell you about the forgiveness of our sins that Jesus brings from the cross

Ministry is Pouring in/Pouring out

But we see after this moment of Jesus hearing how much he is loved by God, something strange happens

(SCRIPTURE SLIDES)

Mark 1:12–13 (CSB)

Immediately the Spirit drove him into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels were serving him.

The Spirit lead Jesus into a season of temptation and trials

Our natural reaction when we enter a season of suffering/temptation

Why God?

Have I done something wrong?

These 40 days were preparation for Jesus’s Ministry to come

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that after the story of his baptism we hear this next

I think Jesus took time to let what the Father had to say to him sink in

“I am beloved, and my Father is well-pleased with me”

And Jesus successfully stands against Satan

Sometimes God sends us through difficult seasons and trials

But often the struggles and trials of our lives are the very areas we are equipped to minister to others

Relationship problems

Family problems

Sin problems

So we’ve seen how there were preparations made for Jesus

And we’ve seen how Jesus prepared himself before his public ministry began

After all of this preparation today we are ending with:

The Good News Jesus Brings

(SCRIPTURE SLIDES)

Mark 1:14–15 (CSB)

After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

What is the Good News?

Most people will say its “that Jesus died for your sins so that you can go to heaven”

But how could Jesus have preached that for 3 years if he hadn’t been crucified yet?

The Gospel can get over complicated but Jesus shares what is at the heart of the gospel (or good news)

God’s Kingdom is Near

The time has come—that all of God’s people have been waiting for

The tension of the OT

Repent and believe

Turn towards

(SLIDES)

“When Jesus says “Repent and believe in the good news” towards the beginning of his ministry in Mark chapter 1, there’s almost an exact parallel to that in the Jewish writer, Josephus. He talks about a time when he went to Galilee in the 60’s of the 1st century and he said to one of the brigand leaders, “Repent and believe in me!” What Josephus was saying was, “Give up your way of doing stuff…I’ve got a better idea…Come with me!” That’s what those words sounded like in Galilee in the 1st century!

When Jesus told people to repent, he didn’t mean “Have some kind of sad religious experience.” He meant “You’re going the wrong way! You’re going to have to turn around because God is doing a new thing. If you’re going to part of that new thing, you’re going to have to give up the way you’ve been going.”

- N.T Wright, Mark for Everyone

News vs Advice

The Good News--the Gospel—is that God has come to be with His people

The cross is the way in which we are able to be with God

But it’s bigger than the cross--than just forgiveness of our sins

It’s about living in a loving relationship with our God, our creator

Each of us today, are being told to draw near to God’s kingdom

Whether for the first time

Expand

Or if you’ve been wandering for a while

Expand

Our life is a long practice of repentance, over and over

Course correcting a sailing ship until we arrive at home

And this is what Jesus is preaching throughout Mark

Come, follow me, give up your way of doing things, receive God’s love and forgiveness and stay there

Reflection Questions:

How does humility prepare the way for Jesus?

How are you being prepared to minister to others?

What is the Good News to you?