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! 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
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