Mark 1 Sermon

Mark 1: 1-15

The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

The beginning --- Same opening as Genesis, Mark is announcing God is up to something new. New things are happening. Remember Genesis 1, In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth, this is that sort of moment.

Look a brand new things is happening. and it is evangeleon - what we know as Gospel or Good news. In Marks time evangeleon had a specific political or military.

So in 1 Samuel when Philistines kill Saul the king of Israel it says:

9 They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news (evangelion) in the temple of their idols and among their people. 1 Sam 31:9

Archeologist have found an inscription on the wall of a Roman city that says “ Caesar Augustus as a God and his birthday signaled the beginning of Evangelion for the world”

Mark is signaling I’m going to tell you a story about a king a real king just like Caesar Augustus but this story really was about the son of God. And his kingdom really has arrived.

It is interesting Mark doesn’t start the story with the Birth of Jesus he starts it with the proclamation of Isaiah a Hebrew prophet. In other words his is not announcing the start of a new religion he is proclaiming the fulfillment of a plan that has been woven into the Hebrew scriptures for over a thousand years. God has not been caught off guard by the troubles of the world. The challenges and screw ups of individuals or whole systems or governments. Have not thrown off this plan.

So in comes John the baptist crying out in the wilderness calling people to repent. You are guilty and screwed up and you need to change the way you think and live. You need to turn back to God.

People come out in droves. They have a religious system for addressing sin and guilt but somehow it is not working. People are clearly hungry for something out in the wilderness that is not getting met in the Jerusalem. The have a religious system for dealing with their guilt and hunger but it is not working. It is not meeting their needs. Let’s face it religion gets old. All religion gets old. Our best attempts to make God happy, to clean up our guilt to feel ok about ourselves runs dry. And when John shows up people are really really dry.

Have you ever been to a church or a religious service where it felt totally and utterly dry. Have you ever felt like your soul was totally and utterly dry. And the best your are offered is try harder. Be Good. What is interesting is John’s message is acknowledgy your sin and get washed, it would simply be another religious duty except it comes with a promise. There is someone coming. I’m just the appetizer, I’m here to awaken you to to your real hunger and the one coming after me. He is going to really satisfy you. He is not going to just get you wet, he is going to submerse you in very Spirit of God - power and freedom from guilt and connection with the holy one.

Finally in verse 9 Jesus shows up; but oddly Jesus is getting baptized. Here John has been calling people to repent and be clean but now Jesus is being baptized as if he was just like everyone else. Three sign happen all at once Heaven is torn open, the Spirit of God comes down like a dove and a voice from heaven says “This is my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” No one else has gotten this response when they were baptized.

First the Heaven are ripped open - Isaiah 64 “God is saying I’m doing it.”

Then the Spirit is coming down on Jesus like a dove. This is another reference to creation. The spirit fluttering over the waters. of the deep.

And then the voice of God but this time. He is not saying let there be light, he is saying: You are my beloved Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.

The voice of the Father, the descending of the Spirit on the start of the Son’s ministry.

This is a great moment to talk about the Christian understand of the nature of God.