Untitled Sermon (2)

Intro:

I love Mark, like I said a few weeks ago, Mark is like an excited little kid telling us the major things and leaving out the deets, he leaves out the details.

Notice that first line there “now after John was arrested”. Most of us would be like ‘hold up Mark, tell me what happened to John”. We be like those people on the freeway holding up the traffic when there is a wreck on the other side. We want to know the details! But all Mark gives us is that John was arrested, which also points to the message of John and ultimatly the message of Jesus is not a fan friendly message. This message will get you arrested, will cause persecution, will cause division.

We will, Mark gets back to the story of John in chapter 6. Right now Mark is trying to let you know there is something more important going on right now, The coronation and visitation of the king, i am not talking about Lebron James, I am talking about the king of kings, the Lord of Lords, the creator of all things, the sustainer of all things, I am talking about King Jesus.

He was crowned by the Father and anointed by the Spirit at his baptism. Jesus baptism was a momentous event, this was His coronation, the Spirit came into him and anointed the king. The Father has said this is my son in whom I am pleased.

Mark then lets us know that this new king is like no other king He has displayed for us his power over satan and sin through his victory at his temptation.

Then Mark hits the fast forward button and jumps to the preaching ministry of Jesus in Galilee. The ministry of Jesus and John overlapped for a time, there was about 6 months where John was ministering at the Jordan and Jesus was ministering in Judea, southern Israel. covers this time period. The cleansing of the temple, water into wine, Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus, the Samaritan at the well. Mark fast forwards to when John was arrested and Jesus becomes the center of human history. What did John the Baptist say “He must increase and I must decrease”.

I. Proclaiming the Gospel of God

A. Jesus came proclaiming

1. to proclaim, herald, preach-to announce (herald) v. — to make known (important news) publicly and loudly (as if a herald).

a. Have you ever seen those movies set in time of royalty and the king has an important message so he sends someone with a scroll and he unrolls it at says “hear ye hear ye” or when your watching TV on a stormy day and all of the sudden “storm watch”.

a.

b. These are examples of what Jesus was doing. Preaching, heralding some important, life altering news.

2. Jesus set the pattern for his followers. Why do we preach?

a. Jesus preached, as we will see very soon we see Jesus show his disciples how ministry should be done.

b. Then he will tell them now you go preach the same message. So we as followers of Christ preach the message of Christ.

c. God chose preaching to communicate the most important message in the world. 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

to announce (herald) v. — to make known (important news) publicly and loudly (as if a herald).

B. The Gospel of God

1. What does Gospel mean?

a. Basic meaning is good news so when Mark says “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ” he is saying this is the beginning or how the good news of Jesus started.

b. This term “gospel” also has a cultural meaning. For example the word bad has a basic meaning and a cultural meaning. When Jesus was using this word he wasn’t just saying hey I have some good news.

c. In the time of Christ this word gospel had a very specific meaning. A gospel was news of a history changing event, that changed everyone's situation, that everyone needed to respond to. For example there is a document in Greek that says “this is the beginning of the Gospel of Caesar Augustus.” It was sent out, heralds (preachers) were sent out every where to share this news. So what is the gospel, it is news of an earth shattering, history changing event that effects everyone. Rich, poor, young, old, all races.

i. Famous example of this is in AD 490 the battle of Marathon

Persians invading Greece

Athenian army went out to battle the Persians on the plains of Marathon

Everyone expected the Persians to win

The people in Athens were in fear because as soon as the Persians broke through Athens would be defenseless.

to everyone’s surprise the Greeks won, as soon as they won they realized we need to communicate the Gospel to Athens.

they realized that unless they people of Athens knew the gospel there could be panic in the streets, looting, chaos.

So they sent a single runner back, and he ran all the way back from marathon to Athens, can anyone guess the miles?

He ran into the city and all he shouted was REJOICE we've triumphed!! Then he fell dead

ii. So when Jesus came proclaiming the Gospel, he was saying Rejoice The King Has Come! He was proclaiming earth shattering news to all people. The messiah the true king of Israel is here.

2. The Gospel of God

a. God was the source

Mark The Gospel of the Kingdom

the gospel belongs to God. God is its Author. We might say that God owns it. He is the One who gave this message, not John the Baptist, and not even Jesus. It was not Jesus’ gospel, as such. It was the Father’s gospel that the Son declared.

The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Mark The Gospel in a Nutshell (1:14–15)

it is probable that by “the good news of God” he does not mean the good news about God, but rather the good news from God that is made known in Jesus Christ. “The good news of God” is thus the sum of Jesus’ teaching and proclamation, and will be further elaborated by “the kingdom of God” in v. 15.

b. The good news was a person, Jesus Christ, who was God

John 1:1 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 ESV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:18 ESV

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

II. The Elements of Jesus’ Message

A. The Time Is Fulfilled

There are two words the bible uses for time

1. one of them is chronos were we get our word Chronology, this is talking about which refers to the moment-by-moment passing of time.

2. The other is kairos which refers to a particular moment in time that is so significant, it defines everything that comes after it. Jesus used this word kairos to describe what was happening.

We do not have words in english for time like the Greek the closest example we have is historical or historic. When we talk about history we talk about historical events, but when we talk about certain events as “historic” like 9/11, those are events that changed the world we live in. the birth, life, death and Resurrection of Christ were not just historical they were historic. Event that changes our world for ever, they mark time. BC/AD

3. Then the other word Jesus used here was “fulfilled”

Mark A Lesson in Time

Thus, when Jesus said “the time is fulfilled,” He was saying that a very significant time in human history had arrived. The arrival of the kingdom of God was surely a kairotic moment.

The Greek word that is translated as “fulfilled” is pleroma, which means “super fullness.” Usually, when we fill a cup with water or a mug with coffee, we do not fill it to the brim because, if we do, the water or the coffee is likely to spill over. We leave a little room at the top so that we can move the cup or mug without spilling the contents. But when we fill something in the sense of pleroma, it is spilling over the edge. Thus, Jesus was announcing that the time for the arrival of the kingdom of God was “super full.”

In effect, Jesus was saying, “The kairos and the pleroma have come together.” Time and all of history up until that moment had been prepared by the Lord God omnipotent, the Creator of the universe, who stands over all time and space. The time of waiting for the manifestation of the kingdom of God was over; it was about to happen.

B. The Kingdom of God is at Hand

1. The kingdom of God is a vast topic.

a. kingdom in the Garden

b. Kingdom in a nation

c. kingdom through a person

d. kingdom through a church

e. kingdom will be realized

2. What was Jesus Saying

Or when we pray your Kingdom come what are we praying?

Mark The Gospel of the Kingdom

What do we mean when we say “the kingdom of God”? Hasn’t the kingdom of God always existed? Hasn’t God been the omnipotent Lord from all eternity? Yes, but when the Old Testament speaks of the coming kingdom of God, it refers to God’s personal visitation to this fallen world to manifest redemption. The people of Israel in the Old Testament looked forward to the day when God’s rule would be manifest here on earth in the coming of His Anointed One.

a. Jesus reigns over all, he rules and reigns over all his creation. in General

b. We are also for to Jesus Rule and reign through people changed by the Gospel. Every time someone becomes a follower of Christ, God’s kingdom is growing because his ruling over another heart. Every time a Christian becomes more like Christ, by loving his neighbor, by sharing what he has with others, by reflecting Christ, by sharing the Gospel the kingdom is being realized on earth, through the people of God.

c. Why was he saying it was at hand or near? Many people think that means it is almost hear or coming but that is not what Jesus was saying, he was saying the kingdom of God is near because the King has arrived, I am hear to teach what my rule and reign looks should look like, not through a priest, not through a fallen king, but God himself is here to rule and reign and show you what it looks like.

III. Entrance Into This Kingdom

A. Repent

1. Some people just feel sorry, that is remorse.

2. Repentance is to reconsider (repent) v. — to have a change of self (heart and mind) that abandons former dispositions and results in a new self, new behavior, and regret over former behavior and dispositions.

English Standard Version Chapter 7

8 For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. 9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

Rom 2:1-4

Romans 2:1–4 ESV

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

B. Believe- to trust (faith) v. — to have a strong confidence or reliance upon someone or something.

1. It is more than believing in the facts,

2. this kind of belief means you are banking your life and your death on Jesus. You are relying on all of what Jesus says is true, you are leaning on him.

Closing

When Jesus started preaching in Galilee, he started after John was arrested. So we know it wasn’t easy and when we read the rest of the book we will discover Jesus preaching ultimately gets him crucified. but also notice where he started, Galilee, if you are like me you probably do not know much about Galilee.

The Message of Mark 1. Jesus Proclaims the Good News (1:14–15)

Galilee was the centre of a humming political and commercial life. It stood at the crossroads of the nations of the ancient world, through which the armies and the traders and the diplomats passed. There some of the greatest battles of the world had been fought.… Galilee was the home of a thoroughly cosmopolitan population: Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic would all be heard in the markets; Syrian, Jew, Roman and Parthian mixed freely. It was a land of passing excitements and dangerous fashions, of a barbarous dialect and offensive manners.

He also draws attention to the tense political and religious scene there. We must resist the temptation to picture the beginning of Jesus’ ministry as being centred in some gentle, quiet backwater (of the kind we often create in our churches!). He began at a place of conflict, threat, racial mixture and busy activity.

Why? does he start here and not in the quite, nice neighborhoods of the world?

English Standard Version Chapter 4

18  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

19  to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Sproul, R. C. (2011). Mark (First Edition, p. 18). Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust.

Sproul, R. C. (2011). Mark (First Edition, p. 18). Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.