Reconciled

Introduction

Last week, we focused on how Mark packs certain realities into his words, but that the glorious news of the gospel was that Jesus had come and that Jesus Christ the Son of God was the content of that gospel. Over and above any human gospel, the gospel of Jesus is eternal, sourced in God, and capable of doing what other gospels cannot. This week, we will focus on two basic concepts:

The cycle of reconciliation: How to be made right with God (as well as human relationships)

The incongruous grace of Jesus

Making the Path of the Lord Straight

V. 2

Mark immediately begins by rooting his gospel in the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah is the anchor for what Mark is looking to lean on. Grabbing ahold of the fact that Mark desires to go to Isaiah makes his usage of Malachi 3:1 in verse 2 more sensible. Specifically, verse 3 is the citation that Mark is working toward, but verse 2 helps detail the nature of John’s voice in the wilderness. John is more than a voice in the wilderness; he is God’s appointed messenger whose purpose was to prepare Israel for the coming Lord.

This point summons two important questions

If a very special person were to come to your house, what would you do?

I’d image you might clean and make the place inviting.

If the Lord Himself were to come to you, what would you do?

This is such an interesting follow-up because I don’t think the answer is the same. In the first example, that person might look upon the mess of your house, but God looks upon the mess of your soul.

This makes me think of Jesus’s interaction with Martha in Luke 10:38-42. While Martha hurries to make preparations in her house, Mary puts herself at the feet of Jesus and is blessed.

John’s ministry is thus a ministry of preparation; he come (v.3) to make straight the path of the Lord.

High Christology in Mark

Excursus

Though this is not a focus or emphasis of the message, I do want to stop for a moment and linger on Mark’s use of language in these citations. Some of you may have heard people argue that Mark, being possibly the first gospel ever written, has what some might call a “low Christology.” This is to say that the emphasis of Mark is Jesus’s humanity and crucifixion. To these things, all of us might say “amen.” Jesus is the incarnate God who did take on flesh and was crucified. The problem, however, is when people argue from Mark to say that the gospel author only thought of Jesus as a man who was crucified. Such a belief, I think does not deal adequately with the biblical evidence or grapple with texts such as these.

Some of you are wise to this, but it is not insignificant that Mark clearly refers to Jesus as the LORD in this text. What this text indicates is that Mark, being knowledgeable of the OT looked at Isaiah 40, saw a Yahweh text, and applied that Yahweh text to Jesus. This introduction is much more subtle than John’s opening (John 1:1-5, 14), but it is the same result. These texts affirm what the ancient church at Nicaea affirmed: Jesus was “God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God.”

Other authors in the NT do this same thing. For instance, Paul does this in Romans 10:9-13 when he says that a person can be saved by confessing Christ as Lord and believing in one’s heart that God raised him from the dead. This statement is paired with Joel 2:32 which says that no person who calls on the name of the Lord (Yahweh) will be put to shame.

All of this is to say that Mark actually has moments when he exhibits a high Christology that emphasizes the deity of Christ. Grabbing ahold of this fact also clarifies or jives with other passages in Mark such as when the Scribes marvel at Jesus’s words and ask: “who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7) Though Mark details that the Scribes called Jesus a blasphemer, the natural grain of the text indicates that the Scribes had arrived at the right destination, but refused to accept the conclusion. Thus, their rejection of Jesus was evidence of their hardness of heart.

The Cycle of Reconciliation

Returning to V. 3-4

Let’s ask again:

What do you do if God is coming to your door?

Verse 4 supplies an answer. You set your heart right before Him. John’s whole message was a message of bowing one’s heart to God. We live in a world of thrones. There are people all over this earth that sit on thrones and rule territories and states and nations, but God is interested in sitting on the throne of your heart. Every person is faced with the ultimatum which was given by Joshua to the Israelites as they entered into the Promised Land (24:15 and 23): “Choose this day whom you will serve” and “incline your hearts to the Lord.”

How ought one bow their heart before the Lord? This question is critical, and it opens up a much broader concept which we will call the “cycle of reconciliation.” The verbiage of this cycle is found in this passage as a whole, and we will unpack each of these concepts in turn. The words (and their verses) are:

Confession (v. 5)

Repentance (v. 4)

Forgiveness (v. 4)

The result of these is reconciliation (Romans 5:10-11)

The logic of this cycle is evident in our own relationships, but the concept is grounded in Scripture with how people ought to relate to God.

Confession

When transgression has occurred, confession is the first step towards reconciliation. Using Genesis 3 as a backdrop for this conversation, one could note that what God says to Adam and Eve in the garden after they’ve sinned was not “gotcha!” Rather, God poses a question: “where are you?” (V. 9)

You see Adam and Eve were hiding because their eyes were opened and they saw themselves as naked before each other and before God. They tried to cover themselves with their works, but they were scared to present themselves before the Lord. Sin led to exile from the Garden and that exile began while Adam and Eve were still inside. In the same way, John’s ministry was situated in the wilderness — the place where Israel had first transgressed God’s Law before entering into the promised land.

God’s question therefore was to do something specific. What God was inviting Adam and Eve into in this moment was confession. Confession is the unwillingness to hide any more or let cycles of sin and shame rule over your life. Thus, you cut off the pain of shame with confession by saying out loud what one has done or experienced. In Adam and Eve’s case, the transgression was that of disobedience. God knew where Adam and Eve were — but He was offering them the tools to experience freedom again. Here there are so many dynamics at play, it is almost impossible for us to get our arms around the tremendous depth of what was just said, but I’ll try by sticking to some bullet points I jotted to help me get through this.

Satan and the power of sin call a person to freedom as an end unto itself. What results is not freedom, but bondage and pain. God however, calls a person to obedience, but remarkably releases the person to experience real joy, peace, and freedom.

This whole dynamic is the center of Paul’s writing in Galatians 5. It was for freedom that Christ set you free, so don’t be subject again to a yoke of slavery. (v.1) What does that slavery look like? It looks like Paul’s list: devouring one another (v. 15); immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, etc. (v. 19-21).

All of these sins pivot on the belief that one ought to be in control of one’s own destiny. Or, instead of placing God as the center of the universe, the individual places the self at the center and winds up becoming a slave.

Before I advance, I also acknowledge that there are some people who have figured out that confession does offer escape from bondage, but instead of running to the only person who could free them, they rejoice in their sin. The prophet Isaiah was correct when he screamed (at least I imagine him screaming): “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20) Instead of listening to the voice of conviction which beckons them back to God, they reject that voice and embrace death as their best friend. As believers, we ought to be grieved in Spirit and motivated to speak life into such people.

However, Paul says — again — that people were made for freedom. How does that work? When you give your life to Jesus and say: “take my life and use me as you will,” Jesus says: “Okay, I will.” Then, he breathes His Spirit into you, and you experience all of the fruits of his Spirit which are listed in Galatians 5:22-23 — one of which is amazingly self-control. When you give your life to Jesus and just admit to him “I am a dead person. I am going to die. I have no power to fix anything.” Jesus says back to you, “son (or daughter), I have been waiting for you to come to me like this. Long before you gave your life to me, I gave my life for you and I will gladly give you all that you need to be released from what you are in.”

All of this conversation with God Almighty begins with confession. God is calling you to confession. “Where are you?” Answering this question is the first step toward freedom. It is for this reason that John was calling Israel to confession in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins.

Repentance

Repentance is the next step in the process and involves changing course. A repentant person does not continue in sin, but instead embraces a life of faith. Some people resist the whole cycle of reconciliation because they have the mindset of an addict. This is to say: “I would like to change, but I don’t believe I have the power to do so and I don’t want to fail or relapse into old sin.”

Right out of the gate we can begin funneling through four basic questions:

Does this person have a high or low view of God’s power to save them?

Does this person have a high or low view of their own power to save themselves?

Does this person have a high or low view of the power of sin over them?

Does this person have a high or low view of the sin they struggle against?

How a person lines up in those questions dramatically impacts how repentance will go and be received. What you are called to though is claiming a couple of basic things:

God’s power is greater than my own. He is able to deliver me from evil, so I will trust in Him.

What God offers is better than what sin offers. Sin twists, distorts, and destroys. God gives life.

We frame all of these questions and statements because I have witnessed God release people who get these ideas straight. For some of you who are fearful to change or to follow Christ, you can be reminded:

Journeys and adventures that are worth taking begin with single steps. Single steps also add up over time. Do not let fear stop you from taking the steps which God is so clearly calling you to take now. Part of faith is understanding that God will provide for your needs when you face significant struggles, and you need to learn how to cast your cares on Him. 1 Peter 5:7

Sin and evil is black. The reason for this reminder is that sometimes a person can wonder if all sin is actually that bad. You might say “So I roll my eyes at my spouse, what is the big deal?” If you repent after doing this and change, then you can see healing in your relationship. However, I can guarantee that to the thousandth repetition, your eye roll will become a wedge in your relationship. Wives will destroy their husbands through a lack of respect; husbands will destroy their wives for lack of love. This is why John Owen famously said: “be killing sin or it will be killing you.”

Just as confession is showing oneself to another in earnest in order to earn freedom, repentance is the taking of that freedom and wearing it. It is not enough to say that you are chilly and in need of a jacket. It is another thing to physically take the jacket and wear it. Your response in wearing the jacket is critical.

As it comes to God, your repentance is noted when you turn from what is displeasing to God and live in a way that honors Him.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is the part of the reconciliation cycle which can be the scariest. As it comes to God, one might wonder: “If I come to God as I am, and I confess and repent, will He accept me?” The reason this is scary is because forgiveness is something that is left in the hands of the other party. You may have confessed and repented to your friend, but it is up to them whether or not to offer forgiveness. As it comes to God, here, you and I have the benefit of being able to know the answer to this up front from the New Testament. The answer here is yes!

Here are a couple of verses which speak to God’s forgiveness:

1 John 1:9

Ephesians 1:7

Colossians 1:13-14

Romans 5:8-11

It should be noted here that the purpose of this message is not to focus deeply on forgiveness, but I am also aware that one of the great struggles some of us have is not concerning gaining forgiveness with others, but giving forgiveness to others. Here, a couple of statements could be made.

We are told by the Lord Jesus to be forgivers. Matt. 6:14-15, Eph. 4:32

This command to forgive is like God’s command to Adam and Eve in the Garden. It is designed for life. Don’t shirk the Lord’s commands. Instead, instill into your heart the mind that is present in Psalm 119:33-36 (a)

Trust what God says in Romans 12:19.

The great reality of forgiveness is that you are setting yourself free from bondage to this other person or thing.

Forgiveness does not mean that you must live without boundaries afterwards.

Reconciliation

The result of true confession and repentance before the Lord leads to forgiveness and reconciliation.

John’s ministry was “making” paths straight for Jesus by starting where it mattered most: in the hearts of people.

Conclusion and Call

Where do you find yourself in this message? Would you like to confess, repent, and experience the forgiveness of Jesus? If that is the case, I want to pray with you. We will close in a worship song, and I am going to be standing right in the back. Grab me and I’ll pray with you.

For those of you who have accepted Christ and know Him as your Lord, maybe you could join me in praying Psalm 27:4. We want to be people who are Christ saturated people, whose hearts constantly respond to the Holy Spirit and rejoice in His beckoning. We desire to be people who live into new depths of trust and offer ourselves as living sacrifices to the King.