April 24, 2022 - There is One Who Came (Mark 1:1–13)

Welcome out today this afternoon. I will have to be careful not to say this morning again, right and mess up, everybody's sense of time. We are starting a gospel of Mark, the next 16 weeks or so. We're going to be looking at the gospel of Mark and it is the shortest gospel. And it was written Mark wrote it probably to Roman Christian's Christian's rather who were living in the city of Rome Greeks. Speaking originally Latin speakers, and they didn't know much about the promises of the Old Testament. They didn't know much about the Jewish scriptures, but they had heard this message. Presumably from those Jewish Christians who have been saved on the day of Pentecost and returned home to Rome and Mark was a disciple of the Apostle Peter and Peter had spent some time ministry in Rome. As did Paul later on wrote the book of Romans, of course to the church there in Rome. And what I want to do here by way of beginning is I want to read through the first 13 verses of the Gospel of Mark.

Mark chapter 1.

Beginning and verse 1, the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God as it is written in Isaiah. The prophet behold. I'm sending 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 path, straight John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness, and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the Forgiveness of sins and all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem. We're going out to him, and we're being baptized by him in the River. Jordan confessing their sins know, John was closed with camels hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist and he ate locusts and wild, honey. He preached saying after me comes one who is mightier than I the strap of whose sandals? I am not worthy to stoop down. And untie. I have baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. 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, the spirit immediately drove them out into the Wilderness and he was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan and he was with the wild animals and the Angels were ministering to him. So we're going to cover these 13 verses by way of introduction and Mark in his gospel. He basically is going to argue. There is one who came before feeling all the promises of the old testament's and he came at exactly the right time to be the savior of the world. That's the whole Gospel of Mark. In fact, in verse 1. He gives it away. Doesn't he? He says right at the the verse when he says the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God. So marks putting all his cards out on the table. He saying, this is who Jesus is, he's the son of God and this is the gospel about him. Now, this word gospel. It's very familiar to most of us in both of the Old Testament which was translated into the Greek. And it was called the Septuagint as well as other Greek literature. This word for gospel. You on, Kelly on it meant a Victor in an army or a battle. I was bringing good news from the war, front back to the people to say we had Victory. We won. This was delivered around the Roman Empire by Harold's. Also, because for example, perhaps a new Caesar was born his birth, his his rise to power or even that Caesar was coming to visit and there would be this gospel, this good news. This you on, Kelly on that was mentioned, two people to say. Hey, guess what? Great news, we know what this is. Like, it's like waiting on. Good news of perhaps acceptance into college. Birth of a child, a new job. Perhaps to the good news that our wedding day is coming and we're going to get married and I can't wait. And she said yes when I asked her. And now I'm waiting for that day when she walks down the aisle. And she says, I do. And there's there's at least one couple in this room. That's that's coming soon. And so no stress there at all about that. She's going to make it. So this idea of good news that were very familiar with this end in the Old Testament. There was this hope of good news, the Hebrew word bizarre is this idea? For example, the prophet Isaiah. It was used all over the place, but I'm choosing Isaiah because, Mark mentions, Isaiah, and Isaiah 40:19, Isaiah Wright's. Get you up to the high mountain o. Zion Herald of good news. That's the word. Lift up your voice with strength. Oh, Jerusalem, Herald of good news. Lifted up, fear not say to the cities of Judah. Behold your God. We're going to sing a song later after the sermon, Behold our God. And I want you to pay attention when we sing that song because that song is sung about the second person of the Trinity. I don't want you be confused. It's not about God, the Father. It's not about God, the holy spirit. In the context of that song, is the idea that will be holding our God in the face of Jesus Christ and everything. He's done. And this is what Mark is saying. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God, this is the beginning of the Gospel. This is the good news beholden. Look at who Isaiah fifty two, a few chapters later. He says how beautiful a pain, the mountains are the feet of him, who brings good news, but what's the good news? He publishes DC pronounces. Good news of happiness. Who publishes salvation? Who says to Zion your god? Reigns, we celebrated it last week, didn't we get our god reigns? Our Lord, Jesus Christ, didn't stay dead. He rose from the dead. He's seated at the right hand of the father. He's ruling with the greatest Authority and he's called king of kings. And Lord of lords. Got to revert. We're kind of backtracking here to the beginning of the story and Mark says, Hey listen up. This is the beginning of the good news about Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. And so we get 16 weeks of listening to the good news, and I hope that excite you because it excites me because I don't know about you, but I need to hear about the sufficiency of my savior over and over again. We need to hear over and over that. He's the one is going to hold us fast. We wouldn't do it in ourselves. He's the one whose Mercy is more than our sin. Our sins. They are many, but his Mercy is more, and how do we know it? Because we look to the cross. And we see that wonderful promise that God, the father. So, loved the world. He gave his son and the son. So loved us. He lay down his life and the spirit, loved us because he's the one who sheds abroad. The Father's Love into our hearts Romans 5:5 says, so that we cry out Abba Father in Romans 8, I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm stealing my own Thunder here. I was supposed to introduce this thing. What about Mark? The guy who wrote it? Well, John Mark, he's an interesting guy. If you follow him out in scripture, the first incident we hear about John, Mark is in the book of Acts and X-15. Do you have deserted Paul? He had become a chicken. He decided Mission work was too hard and he bailed he Tapped Out.

And so much so that Paul and Barnabas had a split in their Ministry because Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with him. Well, of course, we know that Mark is grows, the Lord does work and he's not done with him. He loves to use crooked sticks because Paul writes and 2nd, Timothy 4 that Mark is useful in service. Even to him. He writes to Philemon that he's a fellow worker accorsi markings up under the discipleship of the Apostle Peter and the first Peter 5, 13. Peter says of Mark, he's a spiritual son. And I would say, Mark was found useful, wasn't he wrote us a gospel Gospel of Mark and Mark wrote it. As I said earlier, to explain the person and the mission of Jesus Christ to Greek readers. Probably Roman Christians undergoing persecution. In Nero's rain. In the fifties. They weren't familiar with Israel per say or the Hebrew Old Testament. And so Mark when you will you read the gospel of Mark? If you compare it to the gospel of Matthew where the Gospel of Luke, it is much more like Twitter than it is like Facebook. In terms of short dense sentences that are very brief to the point. It reflects Roman culture. It reminds me of how my dad would always talk to me. I'd want to tell him a story needs. I get to the point. What is it? You want you want money? What do you want? You want permission or? No? No, I just need to tell you what's going on. So you're fully aware of all of the circumstances and all of the situation or The Book of Mark is very concise. It's very clear. And Mark here in first one. We see Mark's Divine perspective. The one who's come is the Son of God, the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, why does he say the beginning? Well, because Mark wants us to remember that, the beginning of the Gospel. It doesn't start with his birth. It starts before the birth. It starts with the promises of the Old Testament. Mark mentions, the prophet Isaiah inverse too, but perhaps, he's even thinking I want to go back to Genesis to that promise to Eve where God told Eve, right before he kicked them out of the garden. I'm going to send a descendant. Who's going to come? And he's going to crush the head of the serpent. He's going to undo the mess. The fall has made in life. This world is broken. It's ruined. We see it all around us. The last couple years. If anybody thought it was getting better and better, they've been deeply disillusioned by that idea. And we have more trouble in more strife and more problems. It seems like today then in recent memory. And that's because of the fall, but God because he knew he had made this promise in the beginning that he was going to send a descendant of Eve. The woman who is going to undo the curse and restore what was lost. Well, then you fast forward into time. And you hear this promise to David, for example, in 2nd, Chronicles 17, and in 1st Samuel 7. You see you this promise to David that there's going to be a descendant. Who's going to sit on the throne forever and we heard it in Psalm to the David wrote that there was going to be one of his descendants, who is going to have the scepter and it wouldn't depart from his hand and he was going to rule and Reign forever and wasn't David, it wasn't Solomon. Who was it? One of the descendants of David who was to come? And then God made more and more promises and Mark picks up hinting from Isaiah that God is going to be seen and he's going to bring Salvation and he's going to do it through a messiah and the Greek word for messiah is Christ is not Jesus, last name, by the way. It's a title. He's the Messiah. He's the anointed one to Christ. He's the hero. He's the one who's going to come and restore everything lost. And Mark openly declares. This is the good news about Jesus. The Messiah, the Christ, the one who's going to restore all things. It's, it's a bit. Like the gospel of Mark is going to hit us a bit like oil paintings during covid, especially lockdown. I went down the rabbit hole of you to boil paintings. Yes, the reason is is because I'm not a painter and my wife is an amazing painter and I was astounded like I'm watching this video and some guy takes blobs and he puts it on a canvas and then he starts scraping it with a knife, like a butter knife and I'm thinking that's a mess. Like, I don't know what's going to come of this and and oil. Evidently I learned, you know, you have to layer it. One upon another and and a Bob Ross III. That was where it started, right? It always starts with Bob, Ross and perhaps I needed. Happy little trees. But then I started seeing you know, how YouTube algorithm works. I started getting all of these crazy amazing, hyper realistic cityscapes that came out of like blotches of oil and I would, I would walk over and tell my wife, I have no idea how they do that. Like I'm I I I don't get it and I'm trying to get her to explain it to me. And I just over time, though. Those blotches would turn into something real, something, clear, something easy to see and understand and the gospel. The Mark's going to be a bit like that. It's, it's, it's exposure. Multiple exposures over time of our savior or Messiah, the Lord Jesus. Oh, Mark at the beginning calls him, the Son of God in this phrase is important in mark, because twice, he's declared to be the Son of God in the gospel of Mark, the demons, even acknowledge that. He's the son of God in chapter 3 and chapter 5. Jesus himself claims it. When he's on trial in chapter 14 and the Centurion at the cross, says it in chapter 15. Surely. This is the Son of God and so right from the beginning work. We're confronted with this question of. Who Do You Think Jesus is? Who do you think he is? And what's amazing about this is there's only one right answer. And that answer is of Eternal significance. Because he's the one who saves and he's the one who delivers and he's the one who was promised from the very beginning. And so then what Mark does in the next 11 verses 12 verses, he sets the stage for the gospel. Setting the stage for the gospel in these first 13 verses or are the introduction. It's like the beginning of a movie before the opening credits, and Marvel Cinematic Universe is has got this down to a science. They hook you in like a big fish. Because by the time the opening credit hits you've decided I'm staying for the rest of the movie. Except for the internals. I was a terrible movie, but we'll talk about that afterwards. Something utterly remarkable is happened, Marcus saying something. So remarkable that the news, he's about to Proclaim will change everything. And it has for 2,000 years. Change the world. I don't know if you've thought about this, but Jesus. Was of no reputation in Israel around the Sea of Galilee the city of Nazareth where he was raised. And he told his disciples after he was raised, you'll be my Witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth and the City of Benicia where we are, is about the other side of the planet. From Israel. We are the ends of the Earth. Where it in the gospel is come to us. And every nation and every tribe and every people, and every tongue are going to be gathered around the throne praising God and who would have thought. People on the other side of the planet who are without hope and without God were brought near by the blood of Christ. Hallelujah, this changes everything and so John says this is setting the stage will first, John the Baptist is the promised 4Runner vs. To 28. Let's read that again as it is written in Isaiah. The prophet verse to 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 and make his path straight. What Mark does here is he basically combines a couple Old Testament passage has? He combines Malachi chapter 3 and Exodus chapter 23 in Isaiah chapter 40. And the emphasis Mark wants us to see here is not on the voice of the one crying or the people who are to prepare and make the way ready. But on the lord, it's his way. It's his paths. John is remaining. Mark is reminding us here. That that God is keeping his promises. He kept them in the Old Testament and he will keep them to you. He's trustworthy. Think about this song to that. We read it. Clearly spoke about the Lord Jesus in throned and when it says kiss the son, lest he be angry. It's do homage. If you go to a King, you kiss the ring. I make my kids do that from time to time. Write. I sit in my lazy chair and Kiss the Ring. This is the idea of a bowing down in submission and worship to the one who's worthy of it because he's the king. Any povn? What does he say? All those who are under the Refuge of this King, those who are in the shelter of this King? Guess what? They have joy, happiness, safety security. This is Glad Tidings of great joy, which is for all the peoples. And Mark here doesn't even start with the birth of Jesus. He skipped right over it. Doesn't he? He just says this one's come. He starts with the baptism of Jesus. Any does this? I think on purpose because he wants to get straight away into the ministry of Jesus, the work of Jesus, the heart of the Gospel. The quotation from Malachi is at least, 500 years old from Mark. That is the citation from Isaiah is some seven hundred years old. So I'm too that we read is a thousand years before Jesus. And God has kept all of the promises. The book of Exodus is some 1,200 years before. Jesus. God is not in a hurry to fulfill his promise. He's not in a hurry to do his work and sometimes when we wait on the Lord, it feels like he's forgotten about us. feels like, We begin to think, maybe maybe there's people that are more important that that he needs to help out after all, I know myself. I know the sand that remains in me. I know the battles. I have the Temptations. I have I do the mess. I am. It seems like I don't ever get any better. And so why would God even put his efforts on me or keep his promises to me? I don't even deserve it. And that's what the gospel says. You're right, cheer up. You're worse than you think. God in Christ has loved you far more than you could. Possibly imagine. You don't want to know what it is. Look to the Cross. He gave his son. When you were at your worst. He gave his best. And not only that, he didn't leave us as orphans. But when the sun was raised in a, send it to the right hand, he poured out the spirit so that we would never be orphaned. We would never be abandoned. We would never be alone. He keeps his promises, all of God. The father's promises are yes, and amen. And his son. And so dear Christian take hope today. I don't know exactly what you're going through. But if you are despairing, if you are beginning to grow weary in well-doing, if you're hopeless, you have a God who keeps his promises and if you doubt it look to the Cross where all of God's promises are found. Think about that, that promise of forgiveness that we sang about thrown into the depths of the sea, yummy promises regarding forgiveness. There is for God, he removes it. As far as the East is from the West. The song, this tells us, Isaiah tells us, he washes us whiter than snow and he puts our sins behind his back and in the Hebrew. It's and it's an amazing word because it's like that place in the middle of your back that you can't scratch like between the shoulder blades. Is the idea where he can never see it. Again, the Book of Micah tells us he Treads our sins, underfoot tramples them out, so they can't be found. This was the promises in the Old Testament. And what is the guarantee, the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, in our place, on the cross, so that we can have his righteousness that we could be declared. Holy in his sight. Not because of what we've done, but because of what Christ has done, hallelujah, this is good news, a men.

Well. John's Ministry then inverse for John, a baptizing in the wilderness. Proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the Forgiveness of sins and all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem. We're going out to him and being baptized by him in the River, Jordan confessing their sins. Malachi was the last book written in the Old Testament. And for the people, the Hebrew people, it was as if because the prophets were silent, God was silent and when John the Baptist came everything changed, he was a, a prophet, like an Old Testament prophet and he was baptizing. He was telling the Jewish people to be born. Jewish wasn't good enough. It was only through repentance and forgiveness of sins that they could be part of the people of God. It was a repentance baptism to prepare the way for the Messiah who was coming to prepare the way for the message of the Gospel in all the countryside was coming out. The message of John, the Baptist was striking it created a sensation that was like a viral video. He would have been a an Instagram influencer. Probably unintentionally. He wouldn't have been, you know, using a selfie stick out there. John 5:35 says he was burning and a shining lamp and you were willing to Rejoice for a while. In his light. He created an excitement all over Palestine and it was in the air. By the way, that's the way I feel about the new Church Plant about our seminarian Vallejo that we would do that. We would have Revival in the Bay Area, this place where I grew up this place that I love, that is so lost. And so hopeless that the Lord Jesus Christ would see fit to glorify himself at the spirit of God would move and show people to Beauty in the Majesty of Christ. So that we would see Revival that there would be excitement. Over the gospel, over forgiveness of sins, over a change life. And this is what Jon's message was for 6, John was closed with camels hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist and he ate locusts and wild honey, and he preached saying, after me comes, what is mightier than I the strap of whose sandals? I am not worthy to stoop down. And untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Now, what a description of John camels locusts Wild Honey. Spray like Paleo Diet before paleo was cool. He was preventing presenting himself as a prophet, but not just any profit. The one proclaimed by Malachi Elijah himself the 4Runner. In fact, in Mark 9 verse 13 will see it in a few weeks. Jesus says, I tell you Elijah has come and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it was written of him. See, John look like Elijah. He ate like Elijah locusts. And wild honey. In fact locusts are still eaten by the Bedouin of that region. To this day. He probably smells like Elijah after all camel's-hair. It's kind of hard to wash out there weren't Tide Pods in those days. He certainly spoke like Elijah. He said there that, I the one who is coming. I'm not worthy to stoop down and untie, the strap of his sandal. I baptize you with water, but he's going to baptize you with the Holy Spirit. In other words. This one coming is mightier than me. And in verse 9, this obscure northerner, when he comes to the scene, Jesus, it's not immediately obvious from the gospel of Mark, what connection? He even has with John, we know from the Gospel of John. He's is cousin. But we don't know the Jesus. This one who shows up and says, I need to be baptized is the one whose mightier than John. Seems like that oil canvas, he shows up. Now. We know the story, we've heard the story over and over but for the the people of Rome that were listening to this, they're like, oh yeah. Oh, wow. He showed up out of nowhere. He was, you wasn't anybody important. He wasn't anybody influential.

John's words in Ministry, pointed to the coming of God himself. See, this one is greater than me. What is eyes of those reading or the ears of those hearing, the words of red would have thought, we'll the only one greater than John the Baptist. If he's a prophet is God. To the one coming. Must be God. And then, who do we see? Not God. We see Jesus. A man of humble, man. But what Mark wants us to get is the coming of Jesus is the coming of God. So I'm Bruce, when he said, he's the son of God. It's as if John is saying, I'm going to baptize a man who you think will be my disciple who's going to fall under me and follow me but you know what the reality is. I'm not worthy to untie his sandals and then only that his baptism is going to be greater than mine as well. Mine is just a preparatory. Baptism to tells people be aware of your sin and have a heart attitude of repentance. He's the one who's actually going to bring forgiveness because he's going to baptize with the Holy Spirit. More on that in a minute. You see John Was preparing for the coming of Jesus. The focus of everything is Jesus. The Messiah and nothing else and birth date. This idea of baptism with the Holy Spirit is a massive. Old Testament expectation. This is something that have been promised and planned and talked about for hundreds and hundreds of years through multiple profits. I'll give you just a few examples. Isaiah, 40 43, I will pour water on a thirsty land and streams on the dry ground. I will pour my spirit upon your Offspring and my blessings upon your descendants or Ezekiel. 36 verse 26. I will give you a new heart and a new spirit. I will put within you and I will remove the Heart of Stone from your flesh. And I'll give you a heart of Flesh. And I'll put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statue, tend to be careful to obey my rules. Or how about Joel 2:28 and she'll come to pass. Afterward that I will pour out my spirit on All Flesh, and your sons, and your daughters will prophesy your old men shall dream dreams. And your young men shall see visions and back. Acts chapter 2. This is what Peter quotes is Joel 2:28. This is that Pentecost. Well, what in the world is, is going on here? We're going to celebrate it a little bit later when we take communion. We're going to celebrate this idea of a New Covenant, a new vow, a new relationship with God. That is not like the old Covenant, that was based upon the Ten Commandments which could never save it. Could never deliver. It can never make you right With God. All it could do is shut you up. Understand and condemn you, but this New Covenant, the law of God is not going to be written on tablets of stone, like, the old Charlton, Heston movie, write the, The Ten Commandments, that's for the older folks in the crowd. Again, kids will like it was Charlton, Heston. The New Covenant is the law written on the heart as we heard in his equal. 36 gal. Does this work that the Bible calls regeneration, the new birth. So that we actually now can obey God. We actually have the power in the means to do what God commands us to do. We're not alone. We're not left to our own efforts. And by the way, this is really, really good news. Cuz if it was left to me and my own efforts. I would have been in the face a long time ago. You see if the spirits rather is our guarantee that the kingdom of God has come and that the power of God is coming to our lives, back Paul writes in Ephesians, that the spirit is the down payment, The Pledge, the seal that everything God promised is going to come through to us. We're being in 12, buy him. We're being built into a temple of dwelling, place for the spirit. This is the guarantee that God is going to keep his promises. And if you're a Christian here, this morning, you have the spirit. You've been born again your chain. You're not who you were, and that is really good news, isn't it? Because when you wake up tomorrow on Monday, and you have to face the reality of whatever this world throws at you, whatever indwelling sin remains in the, the thought that I will never be different. Why do I keep trying and doing this in Falling on my face? And I keep sending and I, I can't stop it. Well, the spirit of God is the hope that you can change. There's the hope that you're not what you were and by God's grace. You're going to be like Jesus someday. Because that's what the spirits Ministry is to do is to, as you behold, the glory of the Son of God, you're transformed into that Glory from one degree of Glory to another 2nd. Corinthians 3 tells us Well, it s here, in setting the stage, the baptism of Jesus is the Father's blessing on his son to do the work of Messiah versus 10:51 in those days. Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and he was baptized by John in the Jordan. In when he came up out of the water immediately. He saw the heavens being torn open and the spirit descended on him like a dove and a voice Came From Heaven. You are my beloved Son with you. I am. Well, pleased. Now, we I mentioned the John's baptism, was a baptism of repentance for the Forgiveness of sins. Will why in the world was Jesus? Baptized? He never send. Why did this have to happen? He didn't need to repent because he never send. He didn't need forgiveness. And so what in the world is going on here? I have the privilege of mentoring and being the advisor for PhD students at a couple different cemeteries in one of my PhD students whose now. Dr. Brian Morgan. He just finished his dissertation. He wrote his entire book on this verse, you are my beloved Son, verse 11 with you. I am. Well, pleased, that's pretty amazing, 200 pages on that one verse and it's it's a PhD dissertation. So I'd I'm not going to get in the Weeds on the words. He used in the technical language, but he basically concludes the reason why Jesus is baptized in the reason why the father says you are my beloved Son. With whom I am. Well pleased is that this is The father blessing, the true is real this last Adam the one who's come to undo. The curse, the Sun than is encouraged and empowered to fulfill his Messianic Ministry. And redeemed, humanity is blessed as they are incorporated into the life of the Incarnate son. That's a little bit of dense, heavy words cuz I was pulling from his dissertation. But he did a fantastic job showing that this is why Jesus was baptized so that the father could put his stamp of approval on his son from the beginning of his ministry to say, this is the one in whom I am. Well, pleased. This is the one who's going to save the world and be the Messiah.

Isaiah 53:12 says the suffering servant, who was the ideal Israel. He was numbered with the transgressors.

You see, he was made to be identified with us. And so when he baptizes himself under John, it's so that he can identify with all of humanity. To say he's one with us.

Without this, there's no good news. There's no good report. Will the heavens are torn open. They're ripped open and this is a recurring theme in scripture to show that there's something going on, but beyond this Earthly world and it's a vivid and dramatic word like tearing the curtain. In fact, the only other time it's used in the gospel of Mark, is when the curtain in the Holy place is torn in to the temple curtain. Isaiah in the last one of the last chapters of Isaiah, he cries out o that you would Rend the heavens and come down that the mountains might Quake at your presence. And what do we see at the baptism of Jesus? As the heavens are rented open? They're torn apart. And whose there in the water. This man. Jesus. Well, who is he? He is Yahweh who's come down in our presence and the mountains are quaking. And not only that, the spirit Bears witness. Jesus is empowered as a man with the Holy Spirit for the Fulfillment of his Messianic roll. Again, Isaiah 11 says, there's going to come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse a branch from his roots, shall bear fruit. And the spirit of the Lord is going to rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of counseling, might the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. Isaiah, 61, the spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He sent me to bind up the Brokenhearted to Proclaim, Liberty to the captives and opening of the prison to those who are bound. This was promised again and Isaiah. This one Mark. I mean, he mentions this brief little hail. Guess what? The prophet Isaiah talked about this and we hear it over and over and over again. Well, why a dove? Why does the Spirit come down like a dove? Is it, is it just so that we could have you no pretty pictures of doves as the Holy Spirit later on. No, that's not. Why. It's an illusion to Genesis one where the spirit at. The creation was hovering over the waters. Shepherding them brooding over them, like a bird, over the waters in the process of the original creation. The father in the spirit in the Sun, the Eternal Sun, where all operating to create the heavens and the Earth. And now the sun is come into the world and become inkarnate. And the spirit of God in God, the Father are pronouncing. This is the Eternal Sun who's become the incarnates, son, who's going to bring a new creation in us and he's going to make all things right in a new Heaven and a new Earth.

And the father says with you, I am. Well, pleased notice, all three persons of the Trinity are, are here at the baptism of Jesus and so has an audience. We should have no doubt who he is. He's the son of God, the Eternal Sun. See the rest of the people in the story. Don't know the answer yet. They're going to get multiple exposures overtime but marks giving us the details. He's giving us the major spoiler. At the beginning. He's ruining the plot as it were to say. Guess what? You're asking. Who is this one? Who came? I'm telling you. He's the son of God. And he's the beloved Son, the one the father loves.

What a glorious thought this is Jacey rile, who is a pastor over in England in the previous Century actually. Now, in the 1800's into the 1900s. He said there's a rich mine of comfort in these words for all Christ, believing members in themselves. And in their own doings. They see nothing to please God their daily, sensible of weakness of shortcomings of imperfections, and all their ways, but let them recollect that the father regard them as members of his beloved Son. Jesus Christ. He sees no spotting them. He holds them as in Christ, closed in his righteousness and invested in his Merit. They are accepted in the Beloved. And when the Holy eye of God looks at them, he is well pleased. This is a good news of the baptism of Jesus is that there's one who came who is being baptized, who is identifying himself with Humanity? And if we believe this gospel is good news. That mark is telling us we're United to him. And when the father looks at us, he no longer sees our sin. He sees the Perfections of his son.

That's why we sing. When he shall come, with trumpet sound all may. I then in him be found dressed in his righteousness alone? Faultless to stand Before. The Throne on Christ, the solid rock. I stand all other ground is sinking sand or the last. Picture that we get from Mark and setting. The stage is the temptation of Jesus, in verses 12 and 13. It's the first confrontation with Satan and the first testing of his mission. And if we were to do a study of the Wilderness in the Bible, it is loaded with significance in the story of redemption. We know that Israel was in the wilderness. Wandering, 40 years. We see over and over the Patriarchs are in the wilderness or in the promised land. We see this imagery of East of Eden outside of the garden, is a Wilderness. That's a, a picture of the curse. It's a picture of the Fallen World in the sun right after. He's baptized. The very first thing he does, is he goes into the wilderness? But notice who drives him into the wilderness. It's the spirit of God that sends him. This testing in the wilderness. It's not an accident. It's not a surprise attack. This is what Jesus was sent for. This is why you came to Earth. It's why the spirit drove him out into the desert, Pastor Derrick Thomas, who's a presbyterian Pastor. He writes this he was driven to meet Satan in enemy occupied territory. He sent, he's driven on a mission to engage the enemy. He's going unannounced into his presence into his lair, into his very Den. It's the first major assault on. The kingdom of darkness, in the initiative is entirely doubt of the spirit and of Jesus. So, on one side of the battle lines were Jesus supported by the Holy Spirit and the angels. Now, the other side is Satan in the wild animals. What a picture. I mean, I grew up in Vallejo. There's not a lot of wild creatures in Vallejo. Right at you. We just don't run into wild creatures. Then I moved out to Brentwood for a while and you start to run into wild creatures a little bit cuz that's more of the country out there and a city boy doesn't know about wild creatures and wild animals, but it's not like super Wilderness. I mean, maybe if you climbed up Mount Diablo, maybe there would be no Bobcats mountain lions. Lions, tigers, bears. Oh my, I don't know. But Jesus is in the wilderness with these wild animals and it is real. There. Were there were Lions. I don't know about tigers and I don't know about bears, but there were wild creatures and it was dangerous to go out into the Wilderness. It was like man versus wild right Bear Grylls, going out there and with him and his stick, you know, and surviving. And is this conflict rages throughout the rest of the Gospel of Mark between Jesus and Satan between these forces of light in these forces of Darkness. Jesus first miracle, and hit in chapter one. In his first, Parable in chapter. Three are offensive attacks against the kingdom of Satan. You say, Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. The book of Hebrews tells us this in Hebrews chapter 2, that Jesus came to not only rendered powerless, the devil G. The Satan who holds Us in fear, who are all our lives subject of bondage because of death. He came to destroy that into destroyed death. He killed death, dead is John Owens. Famous book is the death of death in the death of Christ. What a title. Death. I done and dead. In the death of Christ. And we just haven't seen it yet because the Bible tells us, it's The Last Enemy to be destroyed. Well, Jesus was faithful in the wilderness. It we don't see the three temptations that we get in the other gospels. We don't see him defending himself against The Temptations of Satan with the scriptures, but we see the results in verse 13. He was not only with the wild animals, but also the Angels were ministering to him. 1st. John 3:8, says, whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil. For the devil has been sending from the beginning and when John says that he doesn't mean you know, it. Christian, if you send from time to time your of the devil, that's not what he's saying. He's saying, whoever makes a practice, whose life style is characterized by Disobedience to God, should have no hope that there really a Christian there of the devil. But the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil to get us new life. And it should bring us great. Hope. Because the devil is defeated, his end is coming. Paul in the book of Ephesians says, after Christ was raised and seated in the heavenlies. We as the church are seated in the heavenlies with him. Far above all, principalities and rulers and authorities and dominions these names for spiritual forces. And so, by the time, we get to chapter 6 in Ephesians where we're told to put on the armor of God because we don't battle against flesh and blood but against what spiritual forces in the Heavenly places. It's a reminder that they're defeated foes because Jesus was placed above them and we've been placed in the heavenlies with Jesus. And so when we Face spiritual attack were not alone. We have the armor of God, which is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. We have the spirit of God in dwelling us and our Victory is assured. This is why it's a gospel. This is why, it's good news. I want to read to you from a church father in who lived from 176 to 236 a d. That's a long time ago. 1,800 years ago. This is what he said of this verse. His name is hip politist. There you go. To anybody having kids. There's a good name, hippolytus.

You know, they'll be called hippopotamus. Don't do it. This is what he says. Listen to The Father's voice. This is my beloved Son in whom I am. Well, pleased. This is, he whose name the son of Joseph? Who according to the Divine Essence, is my only begotten. This is my beloved Son. Yes, none, other than the one who himself, becomes hungry, yet. Feeds, countless numbers. He's my son who himself becomes weary yet, gives rest for the weary. He has no place to lay his head yet, Bears up all things in his hand. He suffers yet. He'll sufferings. He's beaten yet, confers Liberty, upon the world. He's pierced in his side yet. Repairs, the side of Adam. Play glorious. Thought this our savior, This Is Our God. This is good news long live. The king King Jesus. He's on his throne. And that should give you great comfort Christian tomorrow. This week coming as you face, whatever this life throws at you. You have a savior who stated at the right hand of the father and he's ruling and reigning with the greatest Authority.