Today’s Message

Date:               January 15, 2006

Speaker:          Pastor Steven Thomas

Title:                The Greatest Prophet of All

Text:                Mark 1:2-8

2 It is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way”—

3 “a voice of one calling in the desert,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make straight paths for him.’”

4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and 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 will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Introduction:  Narrative preaching:  See Garland, p. 51

In the prologue of Mark’s gospel (1:2-13), we immediately encounter the figure of John the Baptist.  Jesus would call him, not only the greatest prophet who ever lived, but the greatest man who ever lived (Luke 7:28). 

I.          What does this passage mean?

This portion of Mark’s prologue has five segments.  Even so, compared to the accounts of the other gospel writers, Mark provides us with very little information about John.  Mark’s interest in the Baptist centered on the contribution he made by preparing for, identifying, and initiating the ministry of the Christ.  So, while John is on the stage, he plays the role of the chorus narrating the introduction to the play.  And all who hear him know that the Christ is waiting in the wings.

Let’s walk through each of the segments of Mark’s description of John and his ministry.

A.        The role of John:  He served as the divinely appointed forerunner to Christ.  2-3

Mark weaves together two OT quotations that predict the coming of a messenger, a prophet to announce the coming Messiah.  The significance here lies in the fact that John appeared as the fulfillment of these OT prophecies.  His ministry was ordained of God.  Hear him.

Notice that his ministry is connected with the desert, or wilderness.  This is not mere historical detail.  It has profound spiritual significance.  For the Jewish nation, the wilderness was the place of new beginning.  It was to the wilderness that God led her when he freed here from bondage in Egypt and established her as his own nation.  It was in the wilderness that he met with her at Sinai and etched his law in stone. 

Through Jeremiah God declared:

Jeremiah 2:2-3

2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:

“‘I remember the devotion of your youth,

how as a bride you loved me

and followed me through the desert,

through a land not sown.

3 Israel was holy to the LORD,

the firstfruits of his harvest;

Through the centuries the Jewish people expected the coming deliverer to appear in the wilderness.

So it was that when this prophet burst on the scene, a wilderness man, preaching in the wilderness, the interest of the multitudes was immediately captivated.

Notice the message placed in his mouth:  “Prepare the way for the Lord.  Make straight paths for him”  In ancient times when dignitaries or royalty traveled abroad, runners were sent ahead to announce their coming.  They gave advance warning, summoning the inhabitants of the land to prepare for the visitation of the king.  The command to “make straight paths” often was taken literally as roads were improved to provide comfort for the king. 

This would be the equivalent of our modern expression, “roll out the red carpet.”  For whom?  It is important to notice a fact that would not be lost on the original readers.  In both Malachi and Isaiah, these quotations referred to none other than God himself:

Malachi 3:1

“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.

Isaiah 40:3

3 A voice of one calling:

“In the desert prepare

the way for the LORD;

make straight in the wilderness

a highway for our God.

But Mark took those passages and applied them to the ministry of John as he announced the coming of Jesus.  He has not distorted the meaning of those OT passages.  He has not eviscerated them, gutting them of divine significance.  On the contrary.  He has given them full weight.  You see, the coming of Jesus was no ordinary event for Jesus was no ordinary man.  If you want to know God, see God, hear God, then look to Jesus.

So how were the people of John’s day to prepare for the coming of God in the flesh?

B.        The ministry of John:  He commanded repentance evidenced by baptism.  4

Now I want you to understand that this baptism was new thing.  This was not Christian baptism which had not yet been instituted—though there are similarities.  For example, this baptism took place in connection with repentance and forgiveness of sins, as does Christian baptism and both are accomplished through immersion. 

The Jews did practice a form of baptism called proselyte baptism, but this is not proselyte baptism—though again, there are similarities.

Proselyte baptism was for Gentiles who wanted to become Jews in faith.  The rite of baptism symbolized the washing of their defilement.

Cf. Namaan

This baptism preached by John was for Jews.  The significance was not lost on his audience.  Here was a preacher so bold that he in essence said, “You have become so corrupt that you can no longer lay claim to your spiritual heritage.  You must come back to God on the same path required of the most foul and depraved Gentile.”  It was as if he excommunicated the nation and required them to submit to proselyte baptism. 

Please notice that the significance of the baptism did not lie in the rite itself, but the repentance that it symbolized.  Forgiveness comes through repentance, a turning from sin and self reliance. 

C.        The power of John:  He moved multitudes with his preaching.  5

I never cease to be amazed at the impact of John’s ministry. 

Hyperbole—but to be sure, his ministry drove deep into the fabric of their society, touching multitudes. 

How do you explain the impact of his ministry?  In our day, you must

Dress for success, but he wore peasant’s clothing

Have the right resume, but he was a desert dweller

Be a people person, but he was direct and abrasive

He was the exact opposite of what people look for in preachers today, yet all Jerusalem flocked to him.  Why?

When Gabriel announced John’s birth, he declared, “he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.”  That was the secret of John’s power.  Hear me well, the eternal effectiveness of his ministry and of your ministry does not depend on your creativity or personal charisma, but on the moving of the Spirit of God. 

D.        The character of John:  He stood in the legacy of Elijah.  6

Isn’t it interesting that Mark completely ignores most details of John’s life and ministry—his birth and ministry—yet, he informs us of the apparently insignificant detail of his wardrobe and diet? 

As to his diet, the thought of eating insects is repugnant to us, in some parts of the world, locusts are considered tasty.  Those who slurp oysters on the half shell or frog legs don’t have much room for criticism. 

The point is that he is a wilderness man.  You see it in his wardrobe and diet.  Mark makes an intentional connection with the great prophet Elijah.

In 2 Kings 1, the wicked King Ahaziah suffered injuries in a fall.  He sent messengers to inquire at the temple of a foreign god whether he would recover from his injuries.  Elijah intercepted the messengers and instructed them to return to Ahaziah and inform him that he would die.  When they delivered this dire message to the king, he obviously wanted to know who had declared his coming death.  They could only describe the man:

2 Kings 1:8

8 They replied, “He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist.”

The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”

Listen, the importance of Elijah goes beyond the fact that he was well known and powerful.

Malachi 4:5-6

5 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

This passage was cited by Gabriel when he announced John’s birth:

Luke 1:17

17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Jesus himself connected John with Elijah:

Mark 9:13

13 But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.”

Mark’s point is this:  the greatness of John did not lie in his powerful preaching.  It certainly did not lie in his miraculous powers, for he performed none.  How is it then, that he was the greatest of the prophets?  Precisely this, he announced the coming of Messiah, Jesus Christ. 

E.         The message of John:  He focused on the coming Christ.  7-8

Having introduced the forerunner, Mark drives to the point:  John came to introduce the true subject of the story—One who is mightier.

According to Jewish law, this task was so demeaning that another Jew—even the lowest of all the slaves—could not be compelled to do it.  And if we understand who Jesus really is, even this expression of abject humiliation on the part of John is a gross understatement.

John says, “I baptize you in water, but it takes more than the muddy waters of the Jordan flowing over the flesh to create a new heart; a new spirit.  Only Christ can do that.”

Now listen, again we have allusion to OT promises.  God promised that there would come a day when:

Ezekiel 36:26-27

26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

This is the promise of God’s new covenant with Israel.  Though it has prospect of a future fulfillment, we today enjoy certain benefits of that promise.  But the point for us is this:  The pouring out of the Spirit of God, creating a new heart, a heart for God, is the prerogative of God.  Yet, John tells us that the one who would come after him would do this very thing. 

Surely we have introduced here a story unlike any other about a person unlike any other.

II.        What does this passage say to us?

A.        Jesus Christ is the most significant person in human history.

John himself is not the subject.  These verses are not ultimately about a prophet or a preacher.  That’s why in John’s gospel, we read of John declaring, “I am not the Christ; he must increase, but I must decrease.”

We have been given a glimpse behind the scenes before the drama begins. 

See Garland, p. 55

His coming is the hinge on which history turns.  If you fail to capture this you will miss the point of life and history.

Come to him!

Roll out the red carpet for God

Related to this fact, we also see in our text:

B.        Jesus Christ provides the solution to your greatest need.

The opening of the book drives straight to God’s redemptive purposes in Christ.

Mark 1:8

8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

He comes to give new life, spiritual life.  The irony is that your life requires his death.  That is why the storyline of the book drives relentlessly to a cross.  That is why the theme of the book is worded this way:

Mark 10:45

45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Your greatest need is not for success or financial freedom or a stable marriage or physical health.  Your greatest need is for spiritual life.  It can be yours through Jesus Christ who came to remove the penalty of your sin and lavish life—eternal life—on you.

C.        Jesus Christ requires that you come to him through humble repentance.

This was John’s message and it is our message.  It has always been the case.  The only way to come to God is to humble yourself, confess your sin and repent.  Such a soul Christ will never turn away.

Today’s take-home truth:  You must understand who Jesus is and why he came—turn to him today.