Christmas Series – 2014
The Birth Narratives
Sermon # 4
The Credentials of the King
Mark 1:1-13
If your job this morning was to introduce Jesus to the world, where would you begin. This is your one shot at telling the world about Jesus what would you tell them? What would you include and what would you leave out. For as John says in John 21:25, “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”
My intent in our Christmas series - “The Birth Narratives was to note how each of the Gospel’s intro-duces the person of Jesus differently. So far in series we have examined “The Genealogy of the King” in which we noted that Matthew introduces Jesus by giving His gen-ealogy. His was to prove that Jesus was of the lineage of King David and thus qualified to be the Messiah.
Last week in “The Eternal King” we noted that John made sure that no one came to the erroneous conclusion that the life of Jesus began at His birth in human form at Bethlehem, John begins in eternity past.
Mark begins his Gospel account of the life of Jesus with one short, yet profound statement: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (1:1).
“In contrast with Matthew, who starts with a genealogy and needs sixteen verses to announce Jesus is the king of the Jews; …in contrast to John, who introduces his Gospel with a sentence of seventeen mystical and baffling words to show that Jesus is the Son of God, … in contrast with Luke, who begins with a sentence of eighty-two words in order to tell the story of Jesus as the Savior of all men; Mark puts it all together in a simple sentence of twelve words.” [David L. McKenna. “Mark.” The Communicators Commentary. (Waco: Word, 1982) p. 27]
Mark begins by saying, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” and in so doing he is saying that what he is about to share is foundational to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Gospel means “good news” and Jesus is presented as the Christ - the one who has come to save men from their sins. And that is good news. The found-ation of the Gospel, the good news of salvation is the message that repentance is both possible and necess-ary. Repentance is necessary and forgiveness is avail-able.
Mark makes his case with the presentation of three character witnesses, John the Baptist, God the Father, and Satan the tempter.
First, Announced By Man. (1:2-8)
•The Authority of John’s Message. (vv. 2-3)
“As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.”(3) “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.”
John the Baptist is saying that he is the messen-ger sent from God and the message is based on the authority of God’s word. In fact his coming is foretold - “as it is written in the prophets” (v.2). John the Baptist was the fulfillment of that which was foretold by the prophets as the one who would prepare the way for the Messiah. The prophecy that Mark refers is Isaiah 40:3, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert - A highway for our God.” And in Malachi 3:1 we read, “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, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight Behold, He is coming.”
There has been over three hundred years of prop-hetic silence in Israel. God has not spoken but now John the Baptist burst on to the scene and is presented as the fulfillment of those prophecies of the forerunner of the Messiah. God’s Word is the authority for John’s ministry.
John had the authority of Scripture and when he spoke he told it like it was. He did not dance around the truth. He dealt with issues that others in his day were afraid to tackle. John was not afraid to tell it straight because he was not merely giving his opinion he was revealing what God demanded.
• The Aim of John’s Message. (v. 4)
“John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”
The baptism that John spoke of is probably more important than we readily understand. First, the Jews are being asked to do something they have never done before. Baptism is not a normal practice among the Jews. The only thing that came close was the fact that Gentile converts to Judaism were baptized. But Jews were not baptized. This had never been done before in their history. John as a Jew was asking Jews to submit to something that they thought was only required of Gentiles.
Secondly, this baptism was a symbolic of washing away the defilement of sin. Jews did not readily identify themselves as sinners. John had come to call the people to -repentance. He pointed out that the way of the Lord must be prepared, and that the way is not simply a highway in the desert, but rather a highway in our hearts, a direction and a step that we must take, if we are to be ready for the coming of the Lord. The message is all about repentance.
But what does the word “repentance” mean? Quite simply it means, to “turn around” to have a change of mind, about God, about sin and about oneself, to have a change of direction, to face a new way, to begin to walk on that way, leaving the old way behind.
Repentance is not beating yourself up while saying what a miserable sinner you are - repentance is not saying how sorry you are, over and over, repent-ance is doing things in a new way. To repent is to recognize that the old ways in which we have traveled led us nowhere, and then to turn around, and to ask for God’s forgiveness and help, and to start walking in the way that leads us to the light. Repentance is a new beginning - a beginning that we continue each day, for the rest of our lives! John brought people to Christ by the only way anyone can come, through acknowledge-ment of sin. When we come in repentance then God meets us, cleanses us and forgives us.
• The Attraction of John’s Message. (vv. 5-8)
“Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.” (6) Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.”
The people literally flooded out of the cities to hear John preach. I don’t believe they came because of his great eloquence. I believe they came because John’s message offered hope. John preached the truth, not condemnation but deliverance. There is no doubt that the people came to John because his message had a deep appeal to them. They willingly walked the 20 to 30 mile journey from the city into the wilderness to hear this somewhat strange preacher.
I am sure that some of them came because they thought John was a “character.” Some came to see this man, who dressed in skins of animals and eat locust and wild honey. But I am convinced that the majority were moved because of the attraction of his message. They were attracted to his message because he spoke to a sense of need that is deep within each of us. This need that can be seen in four elements:
A Realization Of Our Own Sinfulness.
While many today would like to deny the reality of sin, people still feel the burden of it. Modern man may deny its reality intellectually but their hearts still feel the weight of it. The essence of sin is self-centered-ness. We commit sin because we are thinking of our-selves, loving ourselves, indulging ourselves, looking out for ourselves, and taking care that no one takes advan-tage of us or gets ahead of us.
Sin In Turn Always Produces Guilt.
When we survey the damage that we have done because of our sin we feel guilty. Guilt has even driven people to commit suicide. Even more frequently in our day guilt drives people to the psychiatrist. What is sad is if they see a secular counselor they are more than likely told that they have no reason to feel guilty. There are no absolute right and wrongs. The real problem is the guilt “feeling” that they are experiencing. They are encouraged to look into their past to see what may have caused this and usually this result’s in fixing the blame on someone else. But the guilt is real and it remains! It is only when one is able to say, “I have sinned” that God is able to respond, “I forgive!”
Guilt Is Always Accompanied By Fear.
So man sinful and full of guilt is filled with fear
as he faces the future. Fear comes as a result of feeling powerless in the face of the reality of our sin. And that is why they came to John. They had a desire to be free. So they came and they came and they came. John’s message drew them because he spoke to this universal need. He did not dance around the issue of sin, he dealt openly with it and they came to hear what he had to say hoping to hear something that would set them free.
Jesus Is The Answer To Man’s Sin Problem.
John pointed to someone greater than himself. He pointed to someone who was the answer to the problem of man’s sin. Verse seven says, “And he preached, say-ing, ‘There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. (8) I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” John’s aim was never to be the center of attention his sole aim was to led sinners to connect with the answer their sin problem. John the Apostle in his gospel account of the baptism of Jesus records John the Baptist as saying, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29) Those who came to John were directed to Jesus as the only one could take away their burden of sin. And folk’s Jesus is still the only way for a guilty sinner do away with burden of sin and to become reconciled to God.
Jesus is Announced by Man and ….
Second, Affirmed By God. (1:9-11)
“It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. (10) And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. (11) Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Jesus was born in Bethlehem and lived and worked in obscurity as a carpenter until he begins His ministry at age 30. Jesus announces the beginning of His ministry by coming to John to be baptized. His baptism was not for repentance, he had no sin, but as an act of consecration. Jerry Vines puts it this way, “God the Son came up out of the water. God the Holy Spirit descended out of the sky (in the form of a dove). God the Father spoke from heaven. Jesus was acting out what He had come to the world to do. He was consecrating himself. He went into the water, picturing his death. He went under the water picturing his burial. He came out of the water, picturing his resurrection.” [Jerry Vines. “Exploring the Gospels: Mark.” (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Bro., 1999) p. 15]
Mark in these verses makes three striking state-ments concerning Jesus’ special relationship with the Father.
The words reference the Old Testament scripture. The first part "This is My beloved Son…” that expression comes from Psalm 2:7 which says, “Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.” So this is a statement from the Psalm of the King which speaks of the rule of the Messiah.
•“You are my … Son.” (Psalm 2:7)
At the baptism of Jesus, God the Father, speaks
to both Jesus and to the World. To Jesus, He gives assur-ance, “You are my Son.” I claim you. You belong to me. And to the world, God the Father gives the warning, “Don’t ever forget that this is MY Son.”
• “Whom I love.”
The fact that Jesus is the Father’s “beloved son” underscores just how great the sacrifice of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
•“With You I Am Well Pleased.” (Isaiah 42:1)
The second part, “…in whom I am well pleased."
comes from Isaiah 42:1, which we read, “Behold, my servant whom I uphold, mine elect one.” When God says to His Son, “With You I Am Well Pleased,” He is saying, “I am proud of you!” He commends His char-acter, honors His achievements, and encourages Him for the future.” [McKenna. p. 37]
The father’s affirmation of Jesus reveals how essential Jesus is to the Father’s heart and plan; one cannot reject Jesus and at the same time claim a relationship with the Father. Jesus is not just another prophet He is God’s ultimate revelation, as the writer of Hebrews expresses it “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, (2) has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.” (Hebrews 1:1-2).
Jesus is Affirmed by God the Father…
Third, Attacked By Satan. (1:12-13)
“Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. (13) And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.”
Mark only gives us the barest of glimpses of the temptation of Jesus by Satan. So in order to understand what Jesus faced, we need to look at Matthew's account of these events. Turn to Matthew 4. Let's examine the three temptations that are mentioned here and see what lessons we can glean from them.
•The First Temptation – (Matt. 4:3-4) Be Dissatisfied with God’s Provision. –
In this first temptation, Satan questions the Son's relationship with the Father. No doubt, Satan had heard the Father's declaration in Mark 1:11. The ques-tion posed by Satan is, “If you are the Son of God” – is a conditional phrase in the Greek and in reality is not a question but an affirmation. It literally means “since you are” or “in view of the fact that you are the Son of God.” Satan is not questioning Jesus’ deity but he is challenging Him to prove it!
There is no law against turning stones into bread. It won’t hurt anything. Jesus had been without food for a long time! The temptation here is to fulfill His legiti-mate need in a miraculous way. The temptation is to act contrary to what He knew the will of God to be! Now, there is no question that Jesus could have turned the stones to bread had He wanted to. He had the power to do so. And, it is not a sin to want to meet a legitimate need. But, to use His power in that way at this time would have shown a lack of faith in the Father. The temptation here is for Jesus to act indepen-dently of His Heavenly Father. The Devil wants Jesus to do His Own thing. Christ's answer to the Devil showed the condition of His heart (v. 4). He would rather starve to death than be out of His Father's will! Being in the center of the Father's will meant more to Jesus than food or even life.
•The Second Temptation – (Matt. 4:5-7) Demand Proof of God’s Love.
Here, Satan tries to get Jesus to perform the miraculous apart from the will of the Father. Satan took Jesus to the pinnacle of the Temple. This spot was said to be 450 feet high. Having seen Jesus defeat him already by quoting Scripture, Satan now quotes it himself, for his own purposes. But Satan misquotes the promise of God (Psalm 91:11-12), it was right as far as it went, but he did not quote it all. Satan left out the phrase that says “to keep thee in all thy ways.” This is God's promise to protect the Messiah as He carried out the Father's will. Satan was trying to get Jesus to step outside that will and work a miracle to prove that He was Who He claimed to be. He was also trying to get Jesus to accept immediate fame. If He had stepped off the pinnacle of the Temple and floated to the ground, He would have been instantly famous.But Jesus understood to start His ministry by dramatically jumping from the pinnacle of the Temple would be completely contrary to the will of God. To do so would be to test God. Jesus refused to take this short-cut.
•The Third Temptation – (Matt. 4:8-10) - Don’t wait on God’s Plan
Here, Satan, as the god of this world, offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world. In effect, Satan was offering Jesus a kingdom without the cross. Why go to all the trouble and pain to win the world when it can be handed to you on a silver platter. No suffering, No Struggling, No Sacrifice. But a crown without the cross would mean that there would be no forgiveness for our sins. Since Jesus does not challenge Satan’s ability to make such an offer, it must be assumed that, as prince of this world, this was something he had the power to deliver. Thus this was a very real temptation. This was a political solution to the world’s problems.
The one thing common to all three temptations is that they attempted to distract Jesus from His mission or destroy His relationship with His heavenly Father.
But Satan’s offer was so preposterous that Jesus dismissed him with the words, “…Away with you, Satan!”
Conclusion
This is the season that we celebrate the birth of Jesus in human form, as baby in Bethlehem. John wanted us to know that Jesus did not begin to exist at that time. He has always existed, coeternal with the Father. Matthew wanted us to know that Jesus had the legal right to be the Messiah, for he was of the house and lineage of David. And now Mark shows us how Jesus was announced by John the Baptist, affirmed by God the Father and even proven by the opposition of Satan to be the Savior. The question for us today is, “Do you know Him? Have you accepted Him as your Savior? Do you really have a reason to celebrate the birth of the King?
The Credentials of the King
Mark 1:1-13
First, Announced By Man. (1:2-8)
•The Authority of John’s Message (vv. 2-3)
(Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1)
•The Aim of John’s Message. (v. 4)
A Realization Of Our Own Sinfulness.
Sin In Turn Always Produces Guilt.
Guilt Is Always Accompanied By Fear.
Jesus Is The Answer To Man’s Sin Problem.
• The Attraction of John’s Message (vv. 5-8)
Second, Affirmed By God. (1:9-11)
• “You are my … Son.” (Psalm 2:7)
•“Whom I love.”
•“With You I Am Well Pleased.” (Isaiah 42:1)
Third, Attacked By Satan. (1:12-13)
•The First Temptation – (Matt. 4:3-4)
Be Dissatisfied with God’s Provision.
•The Second Temptation – (Matt. 4:5-7)
Demand Proof of God’s Love. (Psalm 91:11-12)
•The Third Temptation – (Matt. 4:8-10)
Don’t wait on God’s Plan
