Mark 1.1-15

Title: The Gospel

Text: Mk 1.1-15; 15.33-38

Introduction: Thank you, Sam, for reading our text this morning; Today we begin our study in Mark. Question: Why Mark? Why not the marks of the church or some other text?

1. Usually, I like to move to an OT book after preaching through a NT book. However, we’re in the OT on Wednesday night – and will be for a while.
2. The Gospel. I want to focus on Jesus – His acts, His mercy, His words, His love. I think this will be good for us.
3. With 4 Gospels, this one is the shortest, the first, most likely comes from Peter.

As a young man, Mark was my least favorite Gospel. I’ve usually run to the other three gospels when I’m looking for stories. Mt 28.18-20; Luke 23 and the thief on the Cross; John and his alternate perspective. Matthew and John were disciples. Luke had done thorough research. But Mark, Mark always seemed to me to be thrown together and condensed. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason. For me, Mark seemed chaotic compared to the other Gospels.

However, after having studied Mark for some years now, I see the beauty of Mark’s story. I see it all so much clearer. I see organization and deep thought in each section. I understand now that Mark had a purpose in mind. And, what makes it even more incredible is that Mark didn’t have Mt, Lk and Jn to lean on.

No, as a matter of fact, I see that a great debt of gratitude is owed to Mark. He learned what he recorded here from Peter. He traveled with Paul and Barnabas – both together and one on one – and learned from them. His goal and his purpose in writing this book is different than that of Matthew or Luke or even John. He was a trailblazer who saw the need to get this story down in book form for future generations because, before this book, there was only oral tradition being passed along. He saw the need and rose to the occasion.

You’re there in Mark 1.1. Let’s read that together. Rd Mk 1.1; an incomplete sentence. There is no verb! That tells us that it was probably the Title of this little book. Your title probably reads: Mark or the Gospel according to Mark. The Greek text simply reads According to Mark. That Title and the one in your Bible was added later. Verse 1 is probably Mark’s title: The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Now, before we look at this title, let’s look at this person, Mark. It would be fun to outline for you all of the evidence pointing us toward John Mark, the helper to Barnabas and Paul. But, we just don’t have time. You’ll have to trust that for nearly 2,000 years, the church has understood John Mark to be the writer. Here is what we’re confident of:

This Mark is the same John Mark who worked with Barnabas and Paul in Acts 13. And he also worked with Peter in Rome (1 Pet 5.13; ). That’s right, that Simon Peter: the one who denied Christ three times; the one who continually put his foot in his mouth. Furthermore, there is strong evidence to suggest that John Mark got his information for this gospel from Peter and his testimony of these things. That should make it more interesting as you read about Peter in these passages.

This Gospel appears to have been written shortly after Peter’s death. Maybe Mark realized there was a deep need for such a book as he watched one of the eyewitnesses to Christ pass from this earth.

As we make our way through Mark, I want to point out to you that I want to focus just on what Mark shares. It is important that you know this. When Mark was written, there were no others with which to compare it. I want you to get that feeling. Sure, I’ll mention the other gospels and relate what you probably already know, but for the most part – we will stick to Mark’s storyline. I want to sort of pretend we don’t have the ‘extras’ in the other Gospels.

Mark was most likely writing this book for the Christians in Rome – and he’s writing from Rome, where he had been working with Peter before Peter’s death.

So, let’s break his title down:

• The Beginning: not like John’s gospel – not that far back. Not like Genesis – that’s not his starting point. His starting point is clarified in the next couple of verses. Malachi and Isaiah talked about this Messiah’s coming. That’s his starting point. He points back to the prophets as the starting point.
• Gospel: εὐαγγέλιον – transliterated is evangelism. εὐ – means well or good. αγγέλοs – is the word for which we get angel – or messenger. αγγέλιον means message. So we have good message or good news. Mark here is the 1st one to use this word this way. His is the 1st gospel.
• Jesus – the gospel, the message of Jesus can be understood in two ways:
  • as the message about Jesus. Mark might be saying I’m going to tell you about him.
  • the message Jesus proclaimed. Mark might be saying I’m going to tell you what he preached. Both work here, for they are the same.
• Christ – anointed one or Messiah. Your translation could read: Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God.
• Son of God – I think Mark is up to something here:
  • Jesus, his earthly name, He was human.
  • Christ, the Messiah of the Jewish people, and the world. These messianic implications would go all the way back to the Davidic covenant.
  • Son of God – a theological delineation. Yes, fully human, but also – fully God. We’ll see more of that in a moment. We’ll see this is an important element that flows through this book, and is a part of the climax to the story at the end.

Mark affirms for us that this beginning was foretold of by the prophets. He mentions Isaiah here (as it is written in), but he references from both Malachi and Isaiah. Let’s look at these passages:

            Malachi 3.1 – “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. He clearly tells us of someone who will come proclaiming, announcing, and heralding the coming of the Lord. Mark, then quotes from Isaiah to clarify for us this: 40 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

²    Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and cry to her

       that her warfare is ended,

that her iniquity is pardoned,

       that she has received from the Lord’s hand

double for all her sins.

³    A voice cries:

       “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;

make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

⁴    Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill be made low;

       the uneven ground shall become level,

and the rough places a plain.

⁵    And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

and all flesh shall see it together,

for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

John is this ‘voice crying in the wilderness’; we meet him in v. 4; Jesus is the Lord, the Messiah, the Son of God mentioned here; we meet him in v 9; let’s do that; rd v 4-8; rd v 9-11;

At this stage of the introduction, I think it would be interesting to note the different witnesses proclaiming this gospel – that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. I think that is more of Mark’s focus than telling us the whole story – like we see in other gospels. Note:

1. Mark tells us in his Title, v 1.
2. Malachi tells us in v 2.
3. Isaiah tells us in v 3.
4. John tells us in v 4-8. This Messiah is mightier than I, his sandals I’m not worthy to even stoop down and tie! John is pointing us to Jesus. And then…
5. The Trinity appears to validate this for us in v 9-11.
   • The Son comes to be baptized
   • The Spirit the heavens are torn open (the clouds don’t just part) and the Spirit descends upon Jesus as a witness
   • The Father himself testifies: You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.

This might appear to be the end of the introduction – v 1 – the son of God; v 11 – the Father proclaims him to be his son. But I think there is more here; I think that Satan and the angels also declare who he is by their actions:

• There is Satan’s validation of who he is as he tries to test him – trying to trip him up; rd v 12-13
• He is with the wild beasts – this is unusual; Wild beast don’t usually act this way;
• The angels were ministering to him, giving their validation of who He is.

Listen, while no single testimony stands alone as valid in some eyes, the weight of these combined all scream at us: Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

1.14-15 tell us that Jesus begins his ministry, even before he picks his disciples (1.16-20); rd v 14a; we won’t hear of John again in Mark, (we hear of John’s disciples in 2.18) but we won’t hear from the Baptizer again until we learn of his death in chapter 6. As John records in his gospel – this is something John the Baptist knew was coming – He must increase, but I must decrease.

And the increase of Christ’s popularity is what we see as he begins his ministry. Let’s continue – 1.14b-15; we see this word gospel again – a nice bookend to this section. Maybe this is the end of the Introduction.

This is common for Mark: bookends to sections where he is focusing on something important. Some scholars call this the top and the tail. They bring the story back to the beginning – in a way. I’ll do my best to point them out along the way. I will try, but I’ll forget from time to time.

Caveat: I know you enjoy digging deeper into a text. I do, too. I know you like to be… well, to put it in a negative term… spoon-fed. Hey, I do, too! It is so much fun, it is so enjoyable to sit at the feet of someone who has done the hard work. I know you feel the same way about WEBS. But here is the problem. If we dig down deep into one small passage, we’ll spend forever in one book.

Example: just verse 1; or just v 2-9; or just 11-13; Can you see that if we did that we would be in the book of Mark for 5-7 years? I only want to spend the next 4 months in Mark. It might take 6 months, but that isn’t the plan.

Turn to 15.33-37; Mark is making reference to the O.T. again. Here it is a reference to Psalm 22.1-18; And at his death something happens: rd 15.38 – ³⁸ And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. This is the 2^nd time we’ve seen this word torn in Mark. Do you know it doesn’t appear at any other time in this book than the two we’ve seen? Mark uses this word torn only twice: Once when the heaven’s were being torn open and the Spirit descends upon the Messiah and here, when the curtain that separated the people from the presence of God was torn in two from top to bottom.

No man can make either one of those tears. Coincidence? I don’t think so. I think Mark’s goal here is to communicate to the reader that a way into the presence of God has been made. He came from heaven to earth and lived the perfect and sinless life, that he might make the payment of death on our behalf. His death opened a way into the holy of holies – the most holy place, that you and I might have access to God.

And if you’ve missed it somehow, look at v 39; Do you know in Mark, only one human makes this remark? The Centurion. God said it back in 1.15; Angels and Demons will declare it. But it isn’t until this moment that a person says it.

Conclusion: And this is our application – our take-aways:

Application:

1. The message of Mark is clear: Jesus, is the Christ, the promised messiah, Son of God. That means that God has done what he has promised by restoring the fracture relationship mankind had with him. This is the Gospel message. God is holy. Our sin has separated us from Him. Nothing we could ever do can remove this sin and repair this separation. (You can’t go to church enough; You can’t give enough money; you can’t serve on enough teams, boards or committees; you can’t go on enough mission trips; you can’t do anything to repair this fracture that sin has caused.) So, God, in his infinite, perfect mercy acted on our behalf and sent his Son to repair what was broken – to restore what we could never fix – to atone for our sin. The Bible says that our sin is what separates us from God. Isa. 59.1-2; Isa. 53.6 – we all like sheep have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 1 Corinthians 5.21- For our sake, God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Romans 6.23 – for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2. This information is too valuable to sit on. It demands your response. The response is simple and difficult. It is absolutely free and yet demands your all. Still, there is a moment when you make that decision to surrender your life to Christ. The Bible calls this faith. God says that you deserve death because of your sin. And then he says that if you’ll trust him, that is believe what he says, he will take your sins and consider them paid for in full in the death of his son, Jesus. All of you sin is placed upon Jesus on the cross where it is atoned and paid for in full. And all of his righteousness is placed upon you.
   1. ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Eph 2.4-7
   1. He died. He was buried in a borrowed tomb. He rose from the dead three days later. His resurrection gives us hope of our future resurrection.

Invitation: Listen, if you don’t have that hope… I want to give you a chance to respond to this hope I hold out before you now. By responding in faith, you can find the forgiveness of sins you just might have been seeking.

The Prophets

Title: The Prophets

Text: Luke 24.13-27

Introduction:

In 1 Kings 13, we meet a man of God. You see the title of the message today: The Prophets. “Man of God” is another title for a prophet. This man of God, a prophet remains nameless. He was summoned by God to go to Jeroboam, the new and 1^st king of the northern kingdom and bring him the Word of God. A couple of interesting events happen here:

1^st, The man of God tells the king that a future king from the house of David, named Josiah, will sacrifice the priests of the high places and burn their bones on it.

• Hey, 1^{st  –} King of the Northern Kingdom, a future king of the Southern Kingdom will sacrifice the priests of the high places and burn their bones on it.
• Oh, and so you know it is God’s Word, a sign will be given to you today –

2^nd, He gives him a sign: this altar will be torn down and the ashes that are on it will be poured out.

That’s a pretty bold statement by the prophet – in the face of the King, no less!

So the king gets mad, as you might expect and yells out a command to his servants: Seize Him!

3^rd, Instead of the man being seized, the king’s hand and arm are what seize up. Ruh-Roe! The King realizes he’s in trouble. The altar is torn down and the ashes are poured out from the altar just as the man of God predicted.

And so the King pleads with the man of God to intercede to God on his behalf, that he might be healed. The man of God does so and the king is healed.

The year this man of God spoke this prophecy was roughly about 930 BC. Josiah’s reforms took place from 621 BC. That’s 300 years later. You can read about it, that is the fulfillment of this prophecy, in 2 Kings 23. Not only did Jeroboam not live to see the prophecy come true, but 19 other kings would come and go. And, by 620 BC the Northern Kingdom no longer existed. It disappeared in 722 BC. It had already been gone for nearly 100 years.

Such is the work of prophets. They speak of things to come, often as if they’ve already happened. You and I are blessed because the work of the prophets showed us Jesus before he was born. And, many other men of God have documented and outlined the fulfillment of those prophecies for us.

We’re in the midst of a sermon series: HisStory. That is: The Story of Jesus. The premise is that all of God’s Word is about Him. From Creation to Revelation, its not just history, it is His Story. Here’s how we got here:

1.	Intro: His Story	The Bible
2.	Creation	Genesis 1-3
3.	The Fall	Genesis 4-11
4.	The Patriarchs	Genesis 12-50
5.	Israel: A New Nation	Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
6.	Kings	Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles

Here is a quick look at the messages to date. The point of them all has been to communicate that each story points us to God’s work of saving his people. And, that points to Jesus. And that won’t change this morning. Really, it is even clearer as you consider the prophets.

7.

Prophets

Luke 24.13-27

Turn to Luke 24.13. rd Lk 24.13-27; this must have been an incredible experience for Cleopas and his traveling companion. The Master himself explains to them just what the Prophets had been saying about him. What clarity!

This leads me to some questions – question I hope to answer in my message today:

1. Who were these men, the prophets? Were any of them women?
2. Where did they come from? What were their origins?
3. What was it these prophets said? Or, What had they laid out before hand that Jesus ‘interpreted’ to Cleopas and this other disciple? How did they do that?

Transition: I’d like to begin by answering this 1^st question: who were they?

1.  These men were called of God. The first man called a prophet was Abraham in Gen.          20.7; the 1^st woman I find being a prophetess is Miriam in Exodus 15.20 (cf.: Isaiah’s          wife, Deborah; Anna); the pattern of a prophet was Moses. He set the example for the        people of Israel that they would look for in a prophet whom God would raise up                  among them. He was the standard by which all other comparisons were made. But, he     also was the example set for them of “The Prophet” – the One who was to come and           The One the Israelites were waiting and watching for.

2.   In answering the question: Where did they come from? At first I was curious about             geographical areas. Where did they live and what did they do before they became             prophets? But this quest took me in a different direction. Where did they come from?         In answering this question I found…

a. Prophetic ministry begins and ends with God. Nowhere do we see prophecy                       with its source in humans (or anywhere else for that matter).

b. A prophet had a private and public call to his ministry. Therefore, a false                               prophet did not have that call upon his life. A Prophet of God was a man who                       had (1^st) stood in the presence of God (think Moses) and then (2ndly) stood                           before the people of God telling them the Word of God. Turn to Deut. 18.15-18                       once again;

i. God will “raise up” a prophet. God is the source by which this man will come.

ii. This prophet will speak God’s Word. And I will put my words in his mouth,                             and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

Note: A Prophet wasn’t necessarily a predictor of the future. I think a lot of times that is the way we think about prophets – that they predicted the future. In many cases that was true. But, it was so much more than that: a prophet’s main duty was to communicate God’s Word.

c. In Jeremiah 7.25 God declares that He as been doing this since He brought                           them up out of Egypt: ²⁵ From the day that your fathers came out of the land of                     Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them,                       day after day.

Because of this fact (Prophetic ministry begins and ends with God), we should take note. This is God’s doing and these are God’s Words. Let that sink in. God has accomplished this incredible feat of preserving His Word – over thousands of years – just so you and I would have it here with us today! In all of literature – all of literature – there is nothing anywhere comparable to God’s Word. Nothing! What a precious gift. Would you want to hear from God?

Ill.: Michael Card: “Present Reality,” I want to know you in the now. Well, if truth be told – no, I don’t think we really would. If God could appear before us as He did with the Israelites at Sinai, I think we’d respond and be just like the Israelites at the foot of the Mountain. We would cry out: Please, Dear LORD, don’t speak directly to us. If you do, we’ll die. Write it down for us to read and learn about. Give us godly men and women to teach us – but don’t present yourself to us! We won’t be able to bear it.

app.: In this regard, modern day prophets still speak forth God’s Word. They have it here before us and open up in all of its beauty and encouragement and life-giving information. And they speak plainly God’s Word. Thus saith the Lord.

Because this is God’s Word, future events have context. Because this is God’s Word, a prophecy concerning the future, these future events, as they take place, now have context. We are uniquely positioned to understand the events as they unfold. And the reason we understand them is simply because God has communicated them to us before hand.

More than that, we have confidence, because He has been faithful to do so in the past. We see where He has spoken and what he has said came about. We understand the circumstance so much more in that God had a plan and a purpose.

Ill.: Our community group has been experiencing this in our studies. We have God’s Word to help us interpret the data before us. You look at the Grand Canyon and you see these pancake layers. Use modern day, evolutionary explanations that scientists have theorized to understand this and you’ll be confused. And the more information they provide, the more confusing it gets! But, when you look at the Grand Canyon through the eyes of Genesis 6-9, things begin to make sense.

I don’t have a picture of it, but in our study we saw another area north of the Grand Canyon some 70 miles. And in that location, there is another pancake layer of sediment that isn’t found here. It is actually found between two of the layers you see here. If it took millions and millions of years for each layer to be deposited, then how in the world did a different layer – that supposedly took millions and millions of years to be deposited – get deposited between the two layers? Well, it can’t it is impossible. But, when you consider a cataclysmic event, such as The Flood, then these layers make sense.

We have God’s Word to explain the past and so we can look forward with the same clarity.

App.: Listen to I.H. Marshall: One of the smartest Theologians of the past Century. History became revelation because there was added to the historical situation a man prepared beforehand to say what it meant. Moses was not left to struggle for the meaning of events as or after they happened; he was forewarned of events and of their significance by the verbal communications of God. So it was with all the prophets. Alone of the nations of antiquity, Israel had a true awareness of history.

Christians are blessed with this same awareness. We don’t look back and feel confused; God has answered those questions in his Word. And, we don’t look forward and feel confused – even if some things are not yet revealed. We know that God has given us context. You and I shouldn’t be confused that the World has legalized gay marriage. If you read the book of Revelation, you already know that the world would become more and more licentious and immoral.

t.s.: So, who were these men and where did they come from? These were men and women that God raised up for the purpose of communicating His Word to His People. Here’s another question: Just how did they do that?

 

3.  The prophets were careful to do exactly as God commanded. God’s Word was                      presented to the people in various ways:

1. Spoken: God said, simply tell them; or tell him; or tell her. 2 Samuel 12
2. Visual Aids or Object Lessons: Ezekiel 4.1-6; rd Ezekiel 4.1-6
3. A Demonstration of God’s Power: 1 Kings 18 (calling down fire from heaven)

If you think about it, we saw all three of these expressions used by the unnamed prophet in 1 Kings 13 – the story I opened up with. He spoke God’s Word concerning the future, gave the object lesson of the altar being torn down and the ashes being poured out, and a demonstration of God’s power through the King’s arm ‘seizing up’ and also healing him.

Which brings me to one final section this morning. It isn’t answering a question per se, but is more of a quest for us: Christ in the Old Testament. Let me say there is no way to know every verse of prophecy in the OT. Many are obscure. People don’t even agree on the ones we have.

One day God will reveal it all and we’ll understand it all so much better. But for now, we do know some very important prophecies of the Messiah from the Old Testament. I thought it would be fun to show you at least one reference to Christ in each of the Old Testament Prophets Writings. We’ll look at the Major Prophets first, then, the Minor Prophets.

Let me begin by saying that ‘Major’ and ‘Minor’ prophets are not good English terms. It isn’t like these were more special, so they are called ‘Major’, or that these were insignificant so they were deemed ‘minor’. These are old English terms. Simply put, it has to do with the Volume of material. Think of ‘Larger’ for ‘major’ and ‘smaller’ for ‘minor’.

Let me also say: this list is not exhaustive. I simply chose a verse or two that I am familiar with. A couple of them, I had no idea, so I had to search. This was more for fun than for this message. But, turn with me to Isaiah and let’s make our way through the prophets and look at some of these.

Isaiah: born of a virgin, king, the Suffering Servant (7; 9; 50; 53)	Jeremiah: a king like David; the ideal King (30.9)	Ezekiel: A king like David; the ideal King (37.24-28)
	Daniel: the 4th man in the fire (3.25); ‘Son of Man’ who is given authority by the ‘Ancient of Days’ (7.13-14);
Hosea: He is the one who redeems his adulterous bride. (3) Hosea 11.1 is the verse: Out of Egypt I called my son.	Joel: His is the Name that is called upon (cf.: Rom 3.10). (2) In those days I will pour out my spirit… the coming of the Holy Spirit.	Amos: He is the Lion from the tribe of Judah that roars from Jerusalem. (1, 3.6-7) 2.16: fleeing naked; Mk 14.52; 4.13 – the one who knows our thoughts;
Obadiah: He might be the Messenger who speaks in v.1; He is the King who shall reign over Mt. Zion with the redeemed in 17, 19-21	Jonah: Just as Jonah was in the belly of the giant fish for three days, so also, Jesus was in the tomb for three days (1.17).	Micah: He is the King who breaches the gate and goes before his people (2); He will be born in Bethlehem (5); will be a light to his people (7); the steadfast love of the Lord is demonstrated through him (7.18-20) cast our sins into the depths of the sea
Nahum: His Character is displayed in 1. He is the one who breaks the chains and free his people (1)	Habakkuk: He is the Everlasting One (1); The Righteous One (2) and the one who reigns in his Holy temple (2). My Strength & my Salvation	Zephaniah: He is the one who saves you, rejoices over you and quiets you with loud singing (3); In His Name one finds a refuge.
Haggai: Zerubbabel is a pattern of this future King. He will be God’s Signet Ring in that day (2);	Zechariah: again, Zerubbabel is a pattern of this future King – He is called, The Branch (3); He is the The King coming, riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey (9); The One whom they have pierced (12); He is the stricken Shepherd (13).	Malachi: the sun of righteousness; The announced by Elijah (4) coming before the Messiah.

Conclusion:

Because of their message, because of their work, we now have the hope of salvation. 1 Peter 1.10ff: ¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, ¹¹ inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

Let that resonate in your spirit. These servants of God, prophets, did their work, faithfully, so that the message you have now received might be made known to you. God was at work all along, preserving it, protecting it.

My friend, what an incredible message from these prophets: that a Messiah would be born to you and that he would die on a cross, taking away your sin and my sin. If you’ve never committed you life to God through His Son Jesus, let today be the day.