He Came_Week 1

4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 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. 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. 8 I baptize you with[e] water, but he will baptize you with[f] the Holy Spirit.”

Reference SMALL GROUP Curriculum and the reason for Sermon Base Small Groups.

The Gospel of Mark is fast paced.

It is the shortest of the four Gospels filled with miracles and action to show the power of Jesus the Messiah.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes the super-human power of Jesus.

Mark presents Jesus as God’s Son in action, demonstrating His divinity by His miracles.

For example, there is an account of a man born blind who was healed by Jesus. (YES THERE ARE OTHER STORIES OF JESUS HEALING IN OTHER GOSPELS, BUT IN MARK THEY ARE LISTED BACK TO BACK EVEN THOUGH THERE IS SOME TIME IN BETWEEN EACH OF THEM.)

The Pharisees claimed that Jesus was a sinner and that they did not know where He came from.

They claimed That Jesus was a sinner mainly because he performed miracles on the sabbath.

Mark uses the word “immediately” almost 40 times in the Bibles that are more literally translated.

It’s like a young child at a zoo running from cage to cage yelling,

“Look at this! Can you believe it? This is incredible!”

This first sermon out of the 6 in the series is to emphasize that

Declares the good news about Jesus — The Good News that Jesus CAME!

In the midst of Jesus coming he fulfills the prophecy

Check this out!!!

Mark starts off with putting this passage in its proper context.

— A voice of one calling in the wilderness is placed right within an Old Testament in .

“For it is written…” in the the prophet of Isaiah.

Mark’s brief introduction presents three preparatory events that are necessary for a proper understanding of Jesus’ life-mission:

1. The ministry of John the Baptist (vv. 2–8)

2. Jesus’ baptism (vv. 9–11)

3. Jesus’ temptation (vv. 12–13).

Under the Holy Spirit’s guidance Mark gave those Old Testament texts a messianic interpretation by altering “the way before Me” ()

.... Make his paths straight — He will prepare a way...

Make His Path Straight It means to create a favorable environment or to make it easy for one to come to you and operate in your life.

Let’s take a look at , “As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth.”

Apparently, John the Baptist was creating a favorable environment and making it easy for Jesus to enter into and operate in the lives of the people.

Have you heard of the word Messianic?

What does Messianic mean?

■ adjective

1 relating to the Messiah.

▶ inspired by hope or belief in a messiah.

John the Baptist believed in the Hope of the Messiah and went before him to path the way for Him.

He helped pave the way for Jesus enter into and operate in the lives of people.

He believed in the HOPE

This is what Jesus calls us to do. We are his agents!! We are to go out and help lay the foundation for him to enter and operate in peoples lives.

John was a voice urging the nation of Israel to prepare (pl. verb) the way for the Lord (Jesus) and to make straight “paths for Him” (Jesus).

3 Challenges for today

I. May we be a voice that urges this generation and the next generation to enter into the almighty presence of God.

The meaning of these metaphors is given in John’s ministry ().

This illustrates a common practice by New Testament authors in quoting several passages with a unifying theme.

The common theme here is the “wilderness” ( and desert) tradition in Israel’s history.

In Israel’s geography there it is very clear what Desert is and what Wilderness is.

Wilderness is defined The Greek word used here, erēmos, describes an uncultivated or unpopulated region.

In the Bible, the term often refers to the arid expanses south and east of Judah.

(SHOW PICTURE of Birth Place of John the Baptist)

Mark showed the great impact John made on all areas of Judea and Jerusalem.

John was an Agent sent on behalf of the Messiah to prepare others for what was to come.

Agent (DEFINITION)— The person or thing that instigates an action or causes change in another person or thing; for example, “David (Agent) struck Goliath” or “David (Agent) killed Goliath.”

This is what Jesus calls us to do.

The second challenge

II. May we be his agents!! We are to go out and help lay the foundation for him to enter and operate in peoples lives.

John was the agent to Jesus

The people went out and were baptized by John in the Jordan River (cf. v. 9) as they confessed their sins to God.

The verb “baptize” (baptizō, intensive form of baptō, “to dip”) means “to immerse, submerge.”

Jewish tradition - Water meant — Purity, Life, Restoration.

Being baptized by John in the Jordan marked the “turn” of a Jew to God.

It identified him with the repentant people who were preparing for the coming Messiah.

According to — This was John’s ministry.

He went around baptizing people.

Then its as if the people were ready for Jesus to COME!!

There hearts were ready

There mind was hungry

The water that they were submerged in was not holy, but the public act or rather the public exhortation signified the inward transformation.

Just like the Israelites when they cross the Jordan River as it symbolized the going into the Promise Land.

After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites crossed the Jordan to take possession of the promised land ().

The Jordan River carried symbolic connotations of national renewal and the fulfillment of God’s work among them. It is at this location that John the Baptist inaugurates the way for spiritual renewal.

PICTURES of the JORDAN and Baptism

The Baptism and Testing of Jesus

9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

This is such a crucial verse —- Jesus came from Nazareth (Where he grew up. Traveled to Galilee, which was a days walk to be baptized by John in the Jordan.

INSERT: PICTURE of MODERN DAY NAZARETH

10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

The first act in Jesus COMING — Baptism. Being purified, cleansed, marked by God.

The heavens opening up Evokes the language of .

is about the awesome arrival of God’s presence and the need for sinful people to be saved; the passage has in view both the Jewish people and the nations (the entire world).

In culmination of , Jesus’ baptism marks the arrival of God’s presence

Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted[g] by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

How Can We Prepare the Way?

• Remember our Baptism,

• Remember the times of His Presences,

• Remember there will be the unexpected factors,

I believe the Lord gave me a beautiful revelation about how we can ‘prepare the way’ for the Lord in our own lives.

• Remember in the dry places is a greater Purpose

John the Baptist was said to be sent fourth to prepare the way for Jesus, but what exactly did he do?

• What gets us through is knowing there is a greater purpose

He preached the repentance of sins and baptized people for the remissions of their sins.

now Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" This reading of the text dose not sound like a man who has been overcomed by the dry places but a man who has over come the dry places.

He was getting people ready for Jesus’ arrival by getting them to turn from their sins and repent!

tells us, “...holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”

Jesus appears in this speech to say, This dry place 40 day s in the desert has given me great strength. To carry on.

I believe a valuable point we can learn from this passage is that if there are un-confessed sins in our lives, they can hinder us from ‘seeing the Lord’.

We need to repent of our sins and turn from them and receive forgiveness ().

The 3rd Challenge is

III. By repentance of our sins, we ‘prepare the way’ for Jesus to operate in our lives!

We certainly need to prepare for a healthy and happy life.

Confessing Sins John tells us that if we confess our sins, we not only receive forgiveness for them (), but they are washed and cleansed from us by the blood of the Lamb ().

They are removed as far from the east to the west ()!

If we fail to acknowledge our sins, however, tells us that we will not prosper, “He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.”

Choir Song from East to West --

To choose the path of Jesus, which is more often than not a path that leads away from the easy and the expected.

Remember to pick up your Small Group Devotional after church today, They are available in the Welcome Center.