The King Is Here

Intro: When you open you Bible to the book of Mark. You read the Gospel According to Mark.

It is interesting that we know Matthew and John because they are disciples. We know Luke because he travelled with Paul and was a physician. But who is Mark and why is he writing a Gospel? Who is he writing to?

Before we jump into our passage today lets go over some important information that will help us as we read the book of Mark. First, lets talk about who is Mark? Mark is John Mark and his mother name was Mary (Acts 12:12). We also learn that John Mark joined Paul on his first missionary journey, but left abruptly to go home. When Paul and Barnabas were ready to go on their 2nd missionary journey, Barnabas wanted to take Mark and Paul refused and the Bible says in Acts 15 their was a sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas that they went their separate ways and Silas ended up going with Paul. We know after many years that Paul and Mark reconciled because when Paul is in prison he tells Timothy to send Mark because he will be useful to me. (2 Tim 4:11)

Between the time of the first missionary journey and Pauls death, we know he developed a relationship with the Apostle Peter, because Peter calls him “My son” in 1 Peter 5:13. Church History tells us “from Papias, bishop of Hierapolis until 130 A.D., said that Mark had been a secretary and translator for Peter, one of the first twelve of Jesus’s disciples or followers, and “wrote accurately all that [Peter] remembered.” This testimony is of particular significance, since there is evidence that Papias (who lived from 60–135 A.D.) knew the Apostle John, another of Jesus’s first and closest disciples, personally.” You will notice as we go through the book of Mark, that Peter is an important character in the book of Mark because they are Peter’s memories written down by Mark and inspired and preserved by the Holy Spirit.

Many scholars believe Mark is writing his Gospel to a Roman audience, so you will find any Jewish laws mentioned explained and Aramaic translated. You will also find that Mark is not interested in proving that Jesus is the Messiah like Matthew is. Mark is making an argument that Jesus is King over all and has authority over everything and everyone, including Rome.

Another Feature of Mark that I enjoy is that this book is fast paced, you see the word “immediately” used several times through the book, because Mark is about movement, action ad doing. He is like the excited child telling a story who is out of breath and then this happened, then we did this and went there. We do not find very much of Jesus’ teachings in Mark but we find Jesus doing.

Tim Keller points out another important feature, “Mark’s account of Jesus’s life is presented to us in two symmetrical acts: his identity as King over all things (in Mark chapters 1–8), and his purpose in dying on the cross (in Mark chapters 9–16).” The book is structure in 2 parts, the King and His kingdom (Mark 1-8) and the Cross (Mark 9-16)

I. In The Beginning...

Mark 1:1 (ESV)

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

Principio del evangelio de Jesucristo, Hijo de Dios

This is first verse is more like a title than a verse. Mark is not playing any games he wants you to know the identity and purpose of the book he is writing. But before we talk about who and why, we have to talk about this phrase “the beginning”, Mark says the beginning and I believe he does so for a purpose. What other book in the OT starts with “the beginning”? Genesis starts with

Genesis 1:1 (ESV)

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

En el principio creó Dios los cielos y la tierra.

Mark does this by making this statement, this title Mark1:1

Mark 1:1 (ESV)

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

Principio del evangelio de Jesucristo, Hijo de Dios

A. The Beginning of the Gospel

We read that and it doesn’t jump off the page to us like it would some one from the first century. If you were in the first century and read the statement “the beginning of the gospel” you read everything else that follows with great anticipation because the news will be history making, life changing, earth shattering news that will bring about change and impact everyone.

How do we know this? That is how the word gospel was used around the time of Jesus. The greek word for gospel brings two words together and means good news or news that brings joy. What we find in history even around the time of Jesus is they would take this gospel and apply it to history making news. “For example, there is an ancient Roman inscription from about the same time as Jesus and Mark. It starts: “The beginning of the gospel of Caesar Augustus.” It’s the story of the birth and coronation of the Roman emperor. A gospel was news of some event that changed things in a meaningful way.”

The Gospel writers, take this word gospel and apply it to Jesus because the news that Jesus has come is news that brings joy. It is life changing, earth shattering, history making news. Jesus arriving on earth changes everything, his life and death require a response, they require an action from. The beginning of the Gospel

B. Of Jesus Christ

This is the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you remember in Matthew, the angel said to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins and that what Jesus means the Lord Saves.

This word Christ, let me let you in on some information, Christ is not Jesus’ last name.

This word Christ is a title, it means “anointed one” Christ was another way of referring to the “Messiah,” the one who would come and administer God’s rule on earth, and rescue Israel from all its oppressors and troubles. The messiah was not just a king, but The King.

C. The Son Of God

Mark does not stop there, he goes even further. Jesus will save us, and Jesus is the messiah king we are looking for, but this Jesus is also the Son of God. When Mark says this he is saying Jesus is God himself. the Lord God and the long awaited king that was to come to rescue his people is the same person, Jesus. Which took this concept of the messiah beyond the popular opinion at the time.

II. John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Mark jumps right into the story of Jesus, there is no birth announcement, no story about Jesus’ child hood, he just jumps right into the story by mentioning the prophecy about the foretold messenger.

A. God Keeps His Word

We see Mark mentions a prophecy from the book of Isaiah

Mark 1:2–3 (ESV)

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,

“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way,

the voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight,’ ”

This messenger was coming before the messiah, to prepare the way for him. He will be a voice crying in the wilderness. Preparing the way of the Lord, making straight paths for him.

Mark does it try to prove or make a case for John. Mark mentions the prophecy and then lets history speak for itself, “John appeared”. John the Baptist is the messenger he is the one to come.

Mark 1:4 (ESV)

John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

He is the voice in the wilderness, preaching repentance, calling people to turn from their sin and be baptized as a sign of repentance

B. The Response of the People to Johns Message.

Mark 1:5 (ESV)

And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

Y acudía a él toda la región de Judea, y toda la gente de Jerusalén, y confesando sus pecados, eran bautizados por él en el río Jordán.

You have to understand the times, there has been no prophets since the time of Nehemiah, there is 400 years of silence from heaven. Then all of a sudden this man named John dressed in camel hair and eating locusts and honey starts preaching the kingdom of heaven is near, repent and be baptized. This caused the people of Jerusalem and Judea to flock to the wilderness to hear his message and the people responded to the message of John the Baptist.

C. John’s Message

Mark 1:7–8 (ESV)

And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Y predicaba[e], diciendo: Tras mí viene uno que es más poderoso que yo, a quien no soy digno de desatar, inclinándome, la correa de sus sandalias. 8 Yo os bauticé con[f] agua, pero Él os bautizará con[g] el Espíritu Santo.

John’s message pointed to the one that was to come, we see the humbleness of John doing what he is called to do. Submitting to the Lord and his mission. We need some more people like John the Baptist in our churches. People willing to submit to the Lord and his mission and be faithful until they die. When Jesus talked about John the baptist he said there is none greater born among women that John the Baptist. That is an amazing word coming from the lips of Jesus himself about John.

John tells the people, my ministry is external, baptism with water but Jesus’ ministry will be internal baptism with the Spirit. Jesus will fill you with the Spirit and transform you from the inside out.

III. In Those Days

Here we see Mark again quickly jumping to the next event, moving quickly from John to Jesus. Mark shifts from John as the main character to Jesus as the main character and John shifts to the background. What some of the other Gospel writers cover in various chapters, Mark covers in 7verses. We see Mark highlight 3 important events in Jesus’ life. Jesus’s baptism, Jesus’ temptation and Jesus’ message.

A. Jesus’ Baptism

Mark 1:9–11 (ESV)

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Y sucedió en aquellos días que Jesús vino de Nazaret de Galilea, y fue bautizado por Juan en el Jordán. 10 E inmediatamente, al salir del agua, vio que los cielos se abrían, y que el Espíritu como paloma descendía sobre Él; 11 y vino una voz de los cielos, que decía: Tú eres mi Hijo amado, en ti me he complacido.

The question has to be asked why does Jesus have to get baptized if he is the perfect Son of God who has no sins?

In the theology we talk about Jesus’ passive obedience and his active obedience. Jesus died in your place, on the cross he took your punishment we should have died on the cross. When you study theology they call this passive obedience, passive coming from passion Passion stems from the Latin work pati, meaning "to suffer." The stem pass comes from the word passive meaning "capable of suffering."

We also talk about Jesus’ active obedience Jesus not only had to die in your place but he also had to live in your place. Jesus had to be a sinless saviour, walk in complete faithfulness to God and his righteous requirements. Why? So that when we place our trust in Christ there is an exchange happening a transaction, Jesus takes our sin away and gives us his righteousness. He is only able to do that because he was completely faithful to God and what he required. Jesus identifies with sinful man even though he was sinless.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Al que no conoció pecado, le hizo pecado por nosotros, para que fuéramos hechos justicia de Dios en Él.

1. The Triune God Is Working

Mark is also giving us a glimpse into the work of the triune God. We believe God eternally exist in 3 persons but is one God, in unison. Mark describes for us what happened when Jesus came out of the water, the Spirit descended on him like a dove. For Mark to describe the Spirit like a dove is common for us now, but it was rare in the days of Mark. There is only one place , in the sacred writing of the Jewish people that mentions the Spirit like a dove and that is in the Targums, the Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Scriptures that the Jews in Mark’s time read. We find it in Gen 1:2

Genesis 1:2 (ESV)

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Y la tierra estaba sin orden y vacía[a], y las tinieblas cubrían la superficie[b] del abismo, y el Espíritu de Dios se movía sobre la superficie[c] de las aguas.

In the creation account, the book of Genesis 1:2 says that the Spirit hovered over the face of the waters. The Hebrew verb here means “flutter”: the Spirit fluttered over the face of the waters. To capture this vivid image, the rabbis translated the passage for the Targums like this: “And the earth was without form and empty, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God fluttered above the face of the waters like a dove, and God spoke: ‘Let there be light.’ ”

Mark is pointing us back to creation again, just like creation is a work of the the triune God, Father, the Son and the Spirit. Redemption is a work of the Triune God, the Father, the Son and The Spirit.

What we see in the baptism of Jesus is the Triune God glorifying each other. It really is beautiful. We see the Son submitting to the Father, the Spirit covering the Son in power and the Father speaking loving words, you are my beloved son, with you I am well pleased. The Triune God glorifying each other and in unison working toward the redemption of man. Each person of the trinity serving the other, glorifying the other, centering on the other. This is the wonderful, holy, glorious, redeeming God we serve.

B. Jesus’ Temptation

Mark 1:12–13 (ESV)

The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

If we continue to think about the creation account, we see Adam and Eve placed in a Garden and they were tempted. When you think about, every choice Adam and Eve made would be right except one, to eat the fruit. Even though they could only make one wrong choice they did.

Sometimes people think why didn’t God tell them and explain to them exactly what would happen to them if they ate the fruit. Why didn’t he explain the disaster that would happen to the world if they ate the fruit? God created us to be centered around him, to center our lives on him. When God says, “Don’t eat, or you’ll die,” what is our first response? “Why?” But God doesn’t explain; if you obeyed God because you understood what he was doing and how it would benefit you, then you’d actually be stationary. You’d be saying, “Okay, it makes sense. I understand why I should obey and shouldn’t eat from that tree; yes, of course.” God would be a means to an end, not an end in himself. God would only be a way to get what you want and you wouldn’t serve him because of who he is.

Here is a test, have you ever said this, “I’ll obey you, Jesus, if my career thrives, if my health is good, if my family is together,” have you ever said I will Obey you if? In reality the thing that’s on the other side of that if  is your real master, your real goal, your real god. But Jesus will not be a means to an end; he will not be used. If he calls you to follow him, he must be the goal.

Tim Keller points out In Jesus, God says obey me about the tree, only this time the tree was a cross and Jesus would have to die. Jesus obeyed and withstood every temptation that would deter him from the cross. Jesus went before you in every battle, so he can draw you in and bring you in to the family of God. So that you too can hear from the Father, this is my beloved son/daughter, in you I am well pleased.

C. Jesus’ Call

Mark 1:14–15 (ESV)

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Jesus begins preaching, proclaiming the Gospel of God. What is the Gospel of God?

The time is here and the kingdom of God is here, repent and believe the Gospel. We know what the Gospel is, because Mark already told us, the Gospel is Jesus is here, the King is here, the King has arrived and he is building his kingdom.

Jesus’ call is repent and believe the Gospel. Repent, is not a word we use very often anymore. But it is an important element to Jesus’ call, we must repent, which means turn away from our sin which offends a holy God. Repentance has the idea of a u-turn, you life is headed one way, you hear the Gospel, believe and make u-turn and start following Jesus. Repentance requires a change.

Your sin is offensive to God and deserves his judgement, but God who is rich in mercy, sent Jesus to live the perfect life and die in your place, the punishment you should have is placed on Jesus when you repent and believe. when that happens you are clothed in his righteousness. All of this so that one day you can hear from the Father, this is my beloved son/daughter, in him/her I am well pleased. Jesus is still calling people to himself and if you want to know more about following Jesus please reach out to me, Alfredo, Dave or John.