Journey with Jesus

Preparation for the Gospel

God had not given a prophetic message for 400 years to his people. The last word had come from the prophet Malachi. In Malachi, the people were questioning God’s love for them. Because of that the people brought pitiful sacrifices to the Lord. God is threatening to send a curse upon them because the priests are not honoring the Lord. God’s people were guilty of robbing the Lord by withholding their tithes and offerings to the Lord.

The gospels each offer a journey with Jesus. The gospel of Mark ends with Jesus arrest, His trial, His crucifixion and His resurrection.

In between the opening verses and His death and resurrection we will witness his teaching, his miracles, his conflict and his desire to reveal himself to his disciples and his Jewish community as well as the gentile world.

Matthew- written to Jews- focus- Jesus is the Messianic King who came to fulfill the OT prophecy.

Mark- written to Romans/ Gentiles- focus- Jesus is the Suffering Servant- who came to give his life as a ransom for many.

Therefore, you will not find a lot of OT quotes in Mark because of his writing to Gentile audience. Hebrew prophecy would not mean a whole lot to the Gentile crowd.

Luke- written to Greeks- focus- Jesus is the Son of Man who came in the power of the Holy Spirit to save sinners.

John- written to the world- Jesus is the divine Son of God- He is fully man and fully God.

Mark is a fast-paced book- moving quickly from place to place.

There is no genealogy in Mark, nothing about his birth in Bethlehem, nothing about the shepherds, nothing about his childhood. The Romans would not be interested in his genealogy since he is considering himself a servant. Servants were not highly regarded.

Author- John Mark- traveled with his cousin Barnabas- and they were companions with Paul on his 1st miss. journey. ()

John Mark- decided to go home before the journey was over. Paul viewed this as John Mark not being ready for miss. service and ended splitting up from Barnabas.

Later Paul and John Mark were reunited and Paul states in that Mark was “Useful” to Paul in his ministry.

Mark wrote down Peter’s accounts of being with Jesus.

Hebrew name-“John”- means “God’s gift”

Roman name- “Mark”- means “polite” or “shining”

John Mark is not simply recording the history of Jesus, but he is also communicating theology.

Augustine said, “Where Scripture speaks, God speaks.”

John MacArthur- two aspects of God’s messengers in communicating truth.

Revelatory and Explanatory-

Revelatory- communicating new revelation- such as the prophets and priests of the OT. Sages also communicated counsel. God gave the interpretation of dreams- he revealed the meaning of those dreams.

Explanatory- giving an explanation or the sense of that revelation.

The disciples never come to the understanding that Jesus is the Son of God in Mark.

The demons confess it in 3:11, 5:7.

The Roman centurion at his crucifixion understands it in 15:39. The disciples do not come to that understanding until after the resurrection.

God is faithful to keep His Word- Mark 1:1-4

“The beginning of the gospel...”

gospel- “good news”- “euangelion”- commonly used of reports of victory from the battlefield.

“When the Phillistines defeated the troops of Saul on Mt. Gilboa, “they sent messengers throughout the land of the Phillistines to proclaim the news. The messenger was the deliverer of “good news”.

Within a decade of Jesus birth, the birthday of Caesar Augustus was called “good news”

In the Greco-Roman world the word for good news always appeared in the plural form , meaning one good news report after another.

In the NT- “euangelion” appears only in the singular.

Isa.- the prophet said in ” that the Lord anointed me to preach good news to the poor....”

This good news is now realized in Mark to be the saving gospel of Christ who would give his life on the cross for us.

“Jesus”- transliterated form of the Hebrew word we know as “Jehoshua”- means “Jesus saves”

“Christ”- transliterated form of the Greek word which means “The Anointed One”

In Jesus we have the deity, humanity, and atonement of our Lord.

In Christ we have the Anointed of God is the Son of God, to Israel, the Messiah.

“Son of God”- Mark will write to prove that Jesus is the Son of God. This emphasizes God’s nature and character.

The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Mark John the Baptizer: Forerunner of Jesus (1:2–8)

8 John’s baptism was symbolic and provisional of a more permanent and powerful reality to come: “I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” That is an extraordinary declaration, for in the OT the bestowal of the Spirit belongs exclusively to God. John’s declaration, according to Mark, transfers the bestowal of the Spirit to Jesus, once again indicating that, as the Greater One, Jesus will come in the power and at the prerogative of God. The spiritual power of the messianic baptism will thus supersede the symbol of water in human baptism. “Holy Spirit” identifies the spiritual power of Jesus with God, thus guarding the divine power from being misunderstood as something Satanic or evil (e.g., 3:22).

Bob Stein- said “Son of God” reveals Jesus’ unique and unparalleled relationship with God.”

This communicates Jesus pre-existence and deity (, Col. 1:15-20)

- “It is written...”- would speak more to the Jews in the audience. This phrase was used to introduce laws or declarations carrying legal force. This gospel carries authority.

“It is written...”- OT records preserved and passed on from generation to generation- to this 1st century. Permanent record- “not one jot or tittle will pass till all is fulfilled...”

Isaiah 40:3 ESV

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

“I will send my messenger....”- present tense- timeless in this context- conveys a sense of commission, authority and responsibility in the transmission of God’s Word to man.

To announce the arrival of the Messiah.

“ahead of you”- before your face. John is an ambassador for Christ- we represent Christ to a list world. God commissioned John to be the forerunner for Christ.

You and I are ambassadors for Christ- we are forerunners of Christ’s

“Prepare”- for a dignitary or a king to come. An ambassador- guest chambers are ready, furnished and equipped for his visit. Make ready. To clear the roads and make them passable- A command to be obeyed at once.

“Prepare”- for a dignitary or a king to come. An ambassador- guest chambers are ready, furnished and equipped for his visit. Make ready. To clear the roads and make them passable- A command to be obeyed at once.

“To prepare the minds of men for the reception of the Messiah, the king, and the gospel.”

In John’s message- there would be no beating around the bush, no watering down, no timid preaching.

“Prepare”- keep in readiness. Urgency,

“Make” straight paths- “Make” is a present imperative- a command to be obeyed continuously. This should be a way of life for Israel, a habit that is ingrained in the heart.

This path is referring to the hearts of the people.

God is faithful to send His messengers-

The faithfulness of John-

faithful in preaching God’s Word- with a powerful voice- his unswerving courage, his unwillingness to compromise, his unashamed commitment- to do what God called him to do.

Message of compassion and brokenness. It came from the heart and was delivered to the hearts of his listeners.

God calls us to be faithful witnesses to His Word- Do I demonstrate faithfulness to his Word when my parents aren’t around? Do I demonstrate faithfulness to his Word when my peers ask me to do something that is contrary to God’s Word? Do I demonstrate faithfulness to his Word when I am around people who pay no attention to the things of God?

Do I demonstrate faithfulness to speak up for God when I am given an opportunity?

Do I demonstrate faithfulness within the walls of my home? on the internet? in my speech- talk with respect to my spouse, to my children?

“baptism of repentance”- change of mind- a deliberate turning from sin. Involves the heart and will as well as the mind. Coming to one’s sense- resulting in a change of conduct.

“Confessing their sins”- admission of wrong by the sinner. Come out of denial- about your addiction,

your hurt, your habit, your hangup.

Honesty. Disobedience to the revealed will of God. “to miss the mark”.

Honesty. Disobedience to the revealed will of God. “to miss the mark”.

Sin is not just people who do bad things, it is people with bad hearts.

Sin is not just people who do bad things, it is people with bad hearts.

“forgiveness”- sin debt is canceled, burden of sin is carried away- lifted up, pardoned- no longer guilty.

Wipe out, erase- the bad heart, to be released from bondage.

Flawless MercyMe

There’s got to be more Than going back and forth From doing right to doing wrong ‘Cause we were taught that’s who we are Come on get in line right behind me You along with everybody Thinking there’s worth in what you do Then like a hero who takes the stage when We’re on the edge of our seats saying it’s too late Well let me introduce you to amazing grace No matter the bumps No matter the bruises No matter the scars Still the truth is The cross has made The cross has made you flawless No matter the hurt Or how deep the wound is No matter the pain Still the truth is The cross has made The cross has made you flawless Could it possibly be That we simply can’t believe That this unconditional Kind of love would be enough To take a filthy wretch like this And wrap…

The humility of John-

John was humble in his dress- camel’s hair and leather belt

John was humble in his dwelling- in the desert

John was humble in his diet- locusts and honey (high in protein)

His humility allowed him to be obedient

Leviticus 11:22 ESV

Of them you may eat: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind.

Am I demonstrating faithfulness to God?