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Introduction:
Have you ever been unprepared for something important?
Maybe you were unprepared for a job interview that cost you the job.
Maybe you were unprepared for a class exam that determined whether you would graduate or not?
Maybe you were unprepared when you got married?
I have nightmares of being unprepared preaching on a Sunday morning where I did not study and I have no clue what to say where everyone is staring at me with blank faces.
Or have you ever been unprepared for something that could literally change your life?
I know personally I have.
I was unprepared for the birth of my daughter in December.
I was totally unprepared when Verity got sick and spent two and half weeks in the hospital in the ICU.
If something worse were to happen to her, I literally would not know what to do with myself.
Or worst, have you ever been unprepared where something could not only change your life, but it could literally cost you your life?
When I went to Hawaii with Helen a few years back, we visited the historic Pearl Harbor.
I could only imagine how unprepared the soldiers may have been when the Japanese invaded and bombed Pearl Harbor which cost them their lives.
But the greatest tragedy would be to be unprepared for eternity.
And there are millions of people today who are unprepared for the judgment that is coming upon the world because they were not prepared to receive the King of kings and the Lord of Lords.
This is what Mark prepares us for this morning.
He wants us to be prepared for eternity by introducing us to the greatest story ever told and showing us the greatest person who ever lived and who continues to live.
He wants us to be prepared now spiritually, because to be unprepared spiritually would lead us to eternal ruin.
As Mark introduces these eight verses of Scripture.
Proposition:
Mark wants us to be prepared to meet Jesus through the ministry of John the Baptist.
John’s ministry was to prepare the way of the Lord so that people could meet the Lord and be changed and saved eternally.
In our introduction to Mark, we will see how Mark prepares us for eternal matters as we look at...
Purpose Stated
Mark wants us to be prepared to meet Jesus through the ministry of John the Baptist.
Prophecies Fulfilled
Prophet Introduced
Preaching of the Messiah
Background
Prologue (v. 1)
Prophecy (vv.
2-3)
But before we launch us into our text, let me give some background information of the author and the audience.
Prophet (vv.
4-6)
Proclamation (vv.
7-8)
Background
Who is John Mark?
John Mark is normally referred to the “disciple” and “interpreter” of Peter.
John was his Jewish name while “Marcus” was his Latin name.
The Apostle Peter called him “Mark, my son” () referring to their close relationship.
Furthermore, Mark was also called the cousin of Barnabas ().
In , Mark accompanied the Apostle Paul on his first missionary journey.
For some unknown reason, Mark abandoned Paul and Barnabas at Perga in Pamypylia ().
Because of this abandonment, Paul did not want to take Mark on his second missionary journey that created a division with Barnabas ().
Instead, Paul chose Silas to accompany him ().
But later in Paul’s ministry, he apparently reconciled with Mark by calling him a fellow worker ().
Paul told Timothy, “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” ().
Kent Hughes writes, “What a recovery Mark made!
He rose from failed follower of Christ, to devoted disciple, to premier biographer and honored martyr.”[1]
The earliest testimony connects Mark’s name to the Gospel.
It comes from Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis in Asia Minor, who wrote the Interpretation of the Lord’s Oracles (written sometime between 110 and 130).[1]
According to Papias, Mark was the interpreter of the apostle Peter.
Furthermore, the Christian apologist Justin Mattyr called the Gospel of Mark the “memoirs of Peter.”[2]
Other church Fathers such as Irenaeus called Mark the disciple of Peter.
The earliest testimony connects Mark’s name to the Gospel.
It comes from Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis in Asia Minor, who wrote the Interpretation of the Lord’s Oracles (written sometime between 110 and 130).[1]
According to Papias, Mark was the interpreter of the apostle Peter.
Furthermore, the Christian apologist Justin Mattyr called the Gospel of Mark the “memoirs of Peter.”[2]
Other church Fathers such as Irenaeus called Mark the disciple of Peter.
John Mark also accompanied the apostle Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journeys (;).
Who was the Audience?
[1] David E. Garland, The NIV Application Commentary: Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: 1996, Zondervan), 26.
[2] John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible, 1416.
Cousin of Barnabas.
Follower of Peter.
Accompanied Paul on Missionary Journeys.
Who was the Audience?
Written to Gentiles, probably in Rome during the time of Nero’s persecution around 60s.
This book was written to encourage Christians concerning the true identity of Christ, the Son of God.
Unique Features
It is know as the fast and quick gospel.
It is the shortest gospel.
It is known for its brevity.
You will see the word immediately 42xs and the word and/then.
It does not have a birth narrative or genealogy like Matthew or Luke.
But it begins with Jesus’ ministry.
And Jesus is moving from place to place healing the sick and preaching the gospel of the kingdom.
Sections are divided with Jesus ministry in Northern Galilee (1-8) and Jesus journey to Jerusalem (9-16) with a 1/4 of the gospel devoted to the last week of Jesus’ suffering and death.
If we are going to be prepared to meet the Lord, we must know the purpose of Mark’s Gospel.
Let’s look at at our first point, the purpose of the this book stated...
I.
The Purpose Stated(v.
1)
The purpose is to introduced us to the hero of the Bible’s story: Jesus Christ.
The Beginning.
When you think about those words, I think of and .
It is an introduction to the person and work of Christ.
Star Wars Episode 4 Luke Skywalker is a nobody, but we find out that this is one of the great Jedi’s.
The title is a New Hope.
One of the highest grossing films of all times was the movie Star Wars.
This is why my kids and I won’t be attending Disneyland for awhile because they just made Star Wars land and people are still excited about Star Wars just as they were four decades ago.
For you Star Wars fans, do you know the subtitle of the first Star Wars movie?
A New Hope.
As you know, the first Star Wars movie was not the ‘beginning’.
There were three movies before that, and three movies after the first trilogy.
The beginning, a new beginning.
Luke Skywalker, comes from some some obscure village and ends up being the chosen one to lead the Rebel Alliance to defeat the evil Galatic Empire.
A new hope.
A new beginning is taking place.
Sometimes I think Star Wars borrowed from the Bible.
But when Mark says the beginning, I think it is not only the beginning of the book, but it is more significant than that.
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