John walked so Jesus could run

Main idea: Just as John paved the way for Jesus, so we should pave the way for Jesus in people’s lives

I don’t know how many of you enjoy memes, but in our family they have become the primary means of communication. We send them to each other all the time. One theme within memes that was popular for a while was the _______ walked so that ____________ could run. Here are a couple of great ones:

Memes

We are starting our new teaching series today called the Life of Jesus and we are going to take the next 10 weeks and walk through the life of Jesus in the book of Mark. And the reason I brought up the walk before you run meme is that the book of Mark jumps right in with the man who walked so Jesus could run, John the baptist.

I find the book of Mark fascinating. Mark just skips the Jesus’ entire birth narrative and we jump in at Jesus’ baptism. This gospel is like an action movie - it moves from scene to scene quickly and if you pause on a scene for a while, you can see all sorts of little details and easter eggs. It was the first gospel written and most scholars think that Matthew and Luke took Mark and expanded it for their gospels. And if you wondering why Mark would write this, it’s because he was close with Peter. In 1 Peter 5, Peter calls Mark “his son,” showing us how close they were. So the gospel of Mark is actually based off of Peter’s preaching and testimony, which is why he is featured heavily in it. And maybe that’s also why the theme of the gospel is that Jesus is the “suffering servant.” Peter, himself no stranger to suffering for Jesus was an eyewitness to how Jesus himself suffered, how he was beaten and crucified and three days later was resurrected.

With that background in mind, let’s read about John, the man who walked so Jesus could run

Mark 1:1–11 NLT

This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began just as the prophet Isaiah had written: “Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way. He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’ ” This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!” One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

Pray

There are few things that I love about this passage in Mark

I love the opening line

It acts like the title of the book (this should be called “The gospel of Jesus” not the “Gospel of Mark”)

It acts like the summary of the contents of the book - what is this about? Oh, this is about the good news of Jesus

It sets us up with anticipation and expectation. I have a video game that I enjoy playing that is called Batman: Arkham Knight. There is a cinematic introduction when the game starts where Commissioner Gordon says in a gravelly voice, “This is how it happened. This is how the Batman died.” And that line sets us up to anticipate the story. In the same way, Mark’s opening line sets us up in anticipation of who and what the story is about. This isn’t a story about a good person. This isn’t a morality tale. And it’s not a depressing list of rules to follow. This is good news about Jesus, who is the messiah (Christ) and the Son of God.

2. I love the historical continuity

Mark realizes that Jesus isn’t an anomaly that just popped up one day. His birth, life, death and atonement were all prophesied in the OT hundreds of years before Jesus was born. And part of the prophecy about Jesus includes a forerunner - a person who prepares the way. Pulling from Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3, Mark declares that John is that prophesied forerunner. In the ancient world, a king who would travel to another city or kingdom would often send an emissary to make preparations for his arrival. They would go ahead of them and make sure the roads were repaired and in good shape to make travel easier and he would ensure that the people were ready to receive the king.

That’s what John does in a spiritual sense. He is preparing the way for Jesus’ ministry by fulfilling the role of a prophet. Israel had not had a recognized prophet for over 400 years and the people were hungry for a new word from God. When John arrives on the scene, he is wearing a camel hide with a belt, which is similar to what Elijah, one of the greatest of the OT prophets, also wore. And John preached repentance for sins, which is what all the ancient prophets did as well. Everyone wants to hear messages that make you feel good but those who are spiritually hungry want something deeper - they don’t just want to feel good, they want to experience transformation.

John is a link - a bridge - between the OT and the NT. He takes the office and authority of the prophet and transfers it to Jesus. Some people think that the OT is obsolete and was replaced by the NT. But John the Baptist is one way that shows us that the NT doesn’t replace the OT, it fulfills it - it carries it through to completion. I love the historical continuity that this passage gives us.

3. I love that Jesus came to be baptized

Baptism - a religious act where a person is completely submerged in water - was practiced for many years before Jesus and John did it. When a gentile - someone who isn’t Jewish - would convert to the faith, they were baptized as a sign of their conversion. What makes John’s baptism so unique was it was a baptism for Jews. It became a symbol that the people, although ethnically were the people of God, were spiritually far from God and they needed to repent and turn from their sins. It was a revival of the soul and a re-alignment with God.

But then Jesus comes, but Jesus isn’t sinful. 1 John 3:5 “And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him.”

So then, why would Jesus, if he has no sin, be baptized by John? Because of us. Baptism is an identification with a group. It is a declaration that you are a part of something bigger than yourself. For ancient Gentiles, when they were baptized into the Jewish faith, it was their public declaration that they now belonged to Israel -that they were spiritually Jewish. For those of us today who have been baptized, our baptism was an identification with the person and work of Jesus and that we now belong to a new people - the church. But what does this mean about Jesus’ baptism? Well, look at who was being baptized. It wasn’t the religious elite - the Pharisees, or the Saducees. It was ordinary people who recognized their sin and wanted to make a change. It was the repentant. Jesus loves everyone but in his baptism he says of those who identify as sinners and who repent as “my people.” Although he is sinless, he joins with us sinners in order to save us.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

I love that Jesus gets baptized because it reminds me that God isn’t against me, even though I have sinned against him. He is for me and he came to save me.

But more than just having some great principles that I love in this passage, there are some challenges for our lives that I see in it. Let me share with you two takeaways from this passage.

We need to prepare people to meet Jesus

I don’t mean this in the “ get a giant sign and angrily yell at people ‘Prepare to Meet Jesus’” sort of way that the rise of Christian Nationalism has brought back to the forefront of our cultural consciousness. No, what I mean is, we need to make the road smooth for Jesus to grab hold of someone’s heart.

Every day we have a choice - we can either point people to Jesus or away from him and the way that we live, the words we use, and the way that we post on social media will do just that.

Jesus says to the disciples in John 13:34-35 “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”” We Christians should be known for our love and as I look at the cultural landscape here in the west, I see more anger than love, more power grabbing than serving, more despair than hope and more disillusionment than faith. But now is the time for us to shake off the dust, to transcend our cultural moment and live for Jesus with passion, hope and faith. Let us love each other in the church like brothers and sisters. Let us witness to the transforming love of Jesus in our community through service that isn’t about our own benefit. Let us love those we disagree with and treat all people - regardless of what side of a topic they come down on - with dignity and honour.

In the NT book of Philippians, the Apostle Paul encourages us to Philippians 2:12b-15 “Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”

Care has to be taken. Some people have taken this too far and assume that we are always on display to the world so you have to be perfect. This is not the gospel. The gospel is not that we are perfect but that Jesus is perfect and because he loves us, he forgives us when we sin. We are not perfect, we are forgiven. But others then take this so far the other way that they stop trying to live for Jesus because if everything is forgiven, we can do anything we want. But healthy Christianity lies in the middle. We recognize we are not perfect and we treat ourselves and others with the same grace God extends to us but we still press on and everyday we work out our salvation with fear and trembling, growing to become more like Jesus and humbly living our faith out in front of the world.

The way that you live will impact how people see God. If you are arrogant, abusive, or confrontational, and you proclaim Jesus in your life, people will think that’s what God is like. If you don’t display integrity, biblical morality or you align yourself with racism, fascism or sexism, they will assume God doesn’t care about justice or ethics. But if you love people like Jesus loves them, that can change someone’s heart. If you serve the poor, listen to the disenfranchised, and help your neighbours, then they will associate God in the same way. John prepared Israel by hearing confession, proclaiming forgiveness and pointing to Jesus, not himself. God is calling us to the same ministry: to prepare the people he will bring or he has already brought into your life to meet Jesus by being Christ-like in our character and loving others the way God loves them.

We need to live out our baptism every day

John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance and forgiveness. People, recognizing they had strayed from God turned back to him and they marked that return with baptism. In many ways, we do the same thing. Jesus is more than a teacher, who guides us on how to live a good life. He is more than a cultural revolutionary who died in opposition to the Pharisees and the Romans. He is more than an example for people to follow. He is a saviour. He is one who died to offer to each of us forgiveness from our sins, freedom from guilt and spiritual uncertainty if we have been good enough. He died so we could be born again, spiritually revitalized and walking in intimacy with our Triune God.

When we were baptized, we did it to publicly declare this truth for our lives. We identified with the one who identified with us and gave himself up for us as a ransom. At each of our baptisms, we said, to those who were there, that I believe that Jesus died for me and now I will live for him.

But then, time passed. Life happened and the way we practice our faith changed

For some of you, your faith has become like your favourite underwear - it has stretched just enough to fit you and now is so comfortable, you forget its even there. But there was a time when your faith was exciting because the idea that Jesus loved you so much that he would die in your place to save you from you sin filled your heart and mind. It was intoxicating in some ways. But now, it’s just there.

For some of you, you’ve come to realize that you live in a constant state of guilt. Every time you do something, you feel the weight of perfection upon your shoulders and when you don’t perform perfectly, your soul is broken a bit more. And what’s worse, is that you keep replaying your mistakes and your sins in your mind, even if they were years ago.

And for some of you, your faith in Jesus has shifted and you didn’t even notice. At one time, you were on the right track, but then some sin, some issue, some distraction came along and you drifted a bit. And then, as time went on, you drifted a bit more. And then you realized that you can get away with looking like a Christian, even though you don’t live like one. You show up at church, take communion and bow your head when we pray, and everyone says what a good Christian you are, but inside, you don’t think about God. You think about everything else: the Superbowl, or that girl or that guy you like, how you can get out of work, those videos you watched on your phone or computer last night or how much fun it was when you and your crew went out and got blitzed drunk or high again.

This passage in Mark reminds us that we need to live out our baptism EVERY SINGLE DAY.

For those who are in a state of comfort in your faith, you need to remember that Jesus didn’t come to make us comfortable. He came to transform lives. The people of Israel were hungry for a spiritual renewal so they went to John, confessed their sin and were baptized. We need to remember our baptism and the transformation that Jesus gives us and let that be the fuel for our discipleship - of how we follow Jesus. It’s time to awaken, O sleepy Christian, and renew the passion for the Lord that you had when you were baptized.

For those who live in a constant state of guilt, you need to remember that in Jesus, every mistake and every sin is completely and perfectly forgiven. People experienced their spiritual freedom when they confessed their sins and were baptized. You embraced that forgiveness once and now you need to reclaim it. Jesus didn’t just die for all the sins you committed up until your baptism, but for every sin you have ever and will ever do. You are forgiven. So forgive yourself. The good news of Jesus is that he was perfect, because you can’t be. But through your faith in his death and resurrection, God gives you freedom. Paul says, Galatians 5:1 “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”

For those of you who maybe started out well, but somewhere along they way, you’ve gotten off track, then this passage implores you to turn around. All who confessed their sins were forgiven. No matter how far you may have drifted from our God, his mercy and grace is ready to embrace you if you would come back to Jesus.

Baptism is about confession, repentance and identifying with Jesus and his church. We need to remember our baptism daily as it helps us to realign ourselves back to God so we can experience and offer God’s forgiveness.

Conclusion

I am so grateful for Mark’s gospel. He gets right into it here setting up Jesus’ ministry by connecting Jesus to the Old Testament through John the Baptist, showing us how spiritually hungry Israel was and how Jesus identified with those who confessed and repented of their sins by being baptized like them. And as I read this passage, I believe that we need to prepare people to meet Jesus by the way we live, by the way we talk to and about people, and how we post online. I believe we need to remember our baptism - that we are sinners who have been forgiven by Jesus and allow that to fuel our spiritual lives. And if you are someone here in the room or online and you are ready for baptism - you believe that Jesus died for you and you are ready to follow him, then I want to encourage you to connect with us here at North Park Stratford. We are offering to have a baptism on Easter Sunday, April 12 and we would love to talk more with you about what it means and how we do it. You can email us at [e-mail] or connect with us after the service. So as we move into our last worship song, Behold Him, let us exalt and worship Jesus.

Pray.