Discipleship 101: Messenger Service
Mark
1:2-8
Introduction: In
Brazil, important documents are delivered around the city of Sao Paulo by
messengers on motorcycles, “moto-boys” they are called. Most of them are
on small motorcycles that can zip between the lines of traffic, so they can
make their deliveries relatively quickly, but it is dangerous work! A
pedestrian, a car mirror, an opened car door, a pothole, it doesn’t take much
when there is so little space between cars and the bikes are moving so fast,
for something to go really badly! In the city of Sao Paulo, rarely does a day pass
without someone dying in a motorcycle crash. Yet the messengers have
their work to do, they know the risk, and they continue. They have
counted the cost.
We too have been entrusted with a message, and sent out. We’ll see in Mark, a
call to discipleship, an invitation to believe in Jesus, and to follow Him.
We’ll also see that Mark doesn’t present an “easy” picture of the Christian
life. In presenting Jesus, he emphasizes that He came as the suffering servant,
the one who would be rejected and bear our sins. And he makes it clear that it
won’t be easy for those who follow Jesus. Being a “messenger” is dangerous
work, we need to count the cost. One of the most poignant scenes in the gospel
comes about half-way through. We read in Mk 8:31-38...
31 And
he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be
rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and
after three days rise again. 32 And he said this
plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But
turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind
me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the
things of man." 34 And he called to him the
crowd with his disciples and said to them, "If anyone would come after
me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For
whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my
sake and the gospel's will save it. [N.B. the connection
between the suffering of Christ and the suffering of His followers!] 36For
what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his
life? 37For what can a man give in return for his
life? 38For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in
this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be
ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
We’ll
refer again to that context as we go through this gospel, but for now back to
1:1 and consider the…
Context:
Last week we read Mark 1:1, “The beginning of the “Gospel of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” I’ve suggested the entire Gospel of Mark can
be outlined in terms of Mark inviting us to answer three questions: 1) Who is Jesus?
2) Why did He come? And 3) What does it mean to follow Him? We’ll be looking at
those questions as we go through this gospel. Today’s passage, Mk 1:2-8,
touches on all three. We'll consider 1) Our Great Calling; 2) Our Great Need; and 3) Our Great Savior.
The BIG
Idea: All who know Jesus as He is, as He is revealed in the Bible, share
the mission to proclaim Him, and to share the message of His grace.
I. Our
Great Calling: As messengers of the LORD: John
was called and sent by God with a specific mission (as are we!) [1-3].
2 As
it is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I send my
messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3 the
voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his
paths straight."
First, notice that the Promised Messiah was announced by a messenger in accord
with the prophecies written centuries before (2,3). We sometimes see the
NT writer subtly alluding to the OT, trusting his readers to make the
connection (as in Mk 1:1). Here, Mark underscores John’s mission as being in
fulfillment of Scripture by specifically referring to Isaiah (though the
quotation actually is a composite of Mal 3:1 and Isa 40:3 [and maybe Ex 23:20]).
The point: God has spoken and the prophetic revelation being fulfilled confirms
God’s plan... (see Heb 1:1).
John announced the coming of Christ. We testify that Jesus has come, and accomplished
salvation: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners! John
had his role in the unfolding drama of Scripture, and we have ours. He was the
announcer of Christ’s arrival, we are the proclaimers of Christ crucified,
risen, and coming again.
The first part of the quotation seems to come from the prophet Malachi...
"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... (Mal 3:1, cf. Ex 23:20).
The Lord, Yahweh, sends His messenger in Malachi. And then the actual citation
from Isaiah in v.3, “...prepare the way of the Lord...” Who is the
“Lord” to whom Mark is referring in his citation? Jesus,
without a doubt. When we turn to Isaiah 40:3 the Hebrew text is quite
enlightening...
3 A
voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
“LORD,” written with all
capital letters, translates the name “Yahweh.” The parallel phrase
reinforces that he is speaking of “...our God.” Mark immediately, at the
very beginning of his gospel, shockingly, applies this passage, speaking of
Yahweh, God, to Jesus. This promised one, the messiah, the coming “Lord,” is
Jesus. Who is Jesus? Mark confronts us immediately with a challenge to
consider His identity as the God-man, the promised Deliverer spoken of in
Scripture. If we know Him as He is, as He has revealed Himself to be,
then our mission is to proclaim Him, and the message of His grace. That is our great calling...
II. Our
Great Need: JOHN’s Message Focused on our Sin Problem
(4,5). We too must be clear about our greatest need (and God’s great answer!).
4 John
appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance
for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country
of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him
in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
Arrival of the Messenger: “John appeared...” The precursor
anticipates the Messiah’s work (4). Mark immediately alludes to the second
question. He has begun to shock us with the answer to the first question, who is
Jesus? And the 2nd, why did He come? John came into the world
under unlikely circumstances. Zachariah and Elizabeth were old and childless.
But God is the Author of life! As he gave Abraham and Sarah a son in their old
age, He again overcomes barrenness to send His chosen “spokesman” into the
world. John was a voice, like an OT prophet, in the wilderness. The promised
one was coming! As a herald would go before a king, announcing his
approach, so John was sent to prepare the way for the Savior, announcing His
arrival.
Notice also that John presents a “correct” perspective on what the Messiah came
to do. He was pointing to the coming One as the answer to the problem
of sin. It wasn’t merely the external participation in water
baptism that dealt with sin. It was a baptism accompanied by repentance.
That word literally refers to a change of mind, and it implies that someone has
recognized their sin and turned to God. Repentance and faith are two
sides of the same coin. Faith is taking God at His word,
believing that Jesus is who He claimed to be and trusting in Him as our only
hope for forgiveness and life. Repentance implies
recognizing our need, our SIN, our separation from God, and turning from our
reliance on self to trusting Him.
The response exposes the readiness of hearts (5). God is at work in the hearts
of humans. Mark reports that “All the country of Judea and all Jerusalem
were going out to Him...” He is using oriental hyperbole. The point isn’t that
literally every person from the region went out to John, but
rather that a large number, from all over the region, went to him. An audience
was being prepared to meet the Savior, the Messiah, Jesus. John had a
unique mission at a transitional point in history, preparing the way of the
Lord.
We can be encouraged us as we carry out
His mission in the world. We have a challenge in our witnessing. People, for
the most part, are dead, blind, and deaf to spiritual things. They CANNOT
understand (I Cor 2:14). We shouldn’t be surprised if they don’t receive
the message! But some hearts will be opened, they have been prepared
to hear and believe the truth. That is the work of the Spirit, who brings new
life. If we know Christ, as He is, as He has revealed himself to be, our
mission is to proclaim Him, and the message of His grace.
III. Our
great Savior: Like John, we point to Jesus (6-8).
John later said, “He must increase, I must
decrease...” He knew that He was just the
messenger, that it was all about Jesus...
6 Now
John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and
ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached,
saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose
sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I
have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit."
John
looked and lived like an exile, a pilgrim in this fallen world (6).
In 2 Kings we read the story of the LORD sending Elijah to intercept the
messengers of Ahaziah who were going to inquire of the prophets of Baal
concerning the king’s recovery from an injury. They were met on the way by a
rather unusual looking character who brought a message from the true God. We
read in 2 Kings 1:6-8...
6 And
they said to him, "There came a man to meet us, and said to us, 'Go back
to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says the LORD, Is it because
there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the
god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have
gone up, but you shall surely die.'" 7 He said
to them, "What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these
things?" 8 They answered him, "He wore
a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist." And he
said, "It is Elijah the Tishbite."
The
message surely helped, but the dress left no question, just by the description
Ahaziah immediately knew it was Elijah! Why was John the Baptist’s dress
mentioned by Mark? The Jews expected Elijah to return before the coming of
messiah, and John the Baptist certainly looked the part! In Malachi 4:5-6a we
read,
5 "Behold,
I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD
comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to
their children and the hearts of children to their fathers...
We
know that later Elijah appears with Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration, but
Jesus also says that John came “in the spirit and power of Elijah,” so in a
sense, he fulfilled that prophetic hope. We read in Luke’s account the angel’s
word to Zechariah,
16 And
he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and
he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of
the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to
make ready for the Lord a people prepared..." (Luke
1:16, 17).
That
was John the Baptist’s ministry, in fulfillment of Scripture. He was announcing
the arrival of the Promised One and preaching a message that moved many
to recognize their sin, and to look ahead for the Rescuer who was about to
appear on the stage of human history. He signaled a time of transition, the Age
of the Messiah was at hand!
John
understood his mission was to point people to Jesus (7). “After me
comes one who is mightier than I, the strap of who’s sandal’s I am not worthy
to untie...” The lowest servant in a household would undo the sandals
of the master and his guests and wash their feet. John expressed his humility
by saying that he was unworthy even of that humble task. He knew his calling
was specific, to point people to Jesus. Do you understand your calling? Perhaps
3 years after John’s death, after the cross and resurrection of Jesus, right
before His ascension, the Lord would tell his disciples,
“...you shall be my witnesses,
starting in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the earth...”
(Acts 1:8).
Jesus would accomplish salvation, and then send the Spirit to empower and
mobilize the church (8). John says his baptism in water wasn’t an end in
itself, it pointed forward to what the Messiah would do: baptize them in the
Holy Spirit. Water baptism in John’s ministry has parallels, but is not the
same as Christian baptism as it is practiced in the church. It was symbolic of
cleansing, and like the baptism of proselytes, converts to Judaism, it pointed
to a new spiritual beginning. John is pointing ahead to Pentecost, when
Jesus would pour out the Spirit on the church. The Lord taught the
disciples for 40 days after the resurrection. Then, as the time for His
ascension drew near, we read,
3 To
them he presented himself alive after his suffering by many proofs, appearing
to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 And
while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to
wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from
me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be
baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." (Acts
1:3-5).
“Not many days from now…”
Ten days to be precise. The ministry John predicted would be realized. They
had to wait for the pouring out of the Spirit on the church. Now there is
some discussion and disagreement among believers as to what this “baptism”
is. With humility and respect I suggest the Scriptures point to
Spirit-baptism as the common experience of all true believers in this church
age. We see it initiated in Acts 2 as the Spirit is poured out on the
church. The disciples explain it in terms of the work of God in the last
days as He pours out His Spirit. Peter says, “This is that!” It is the new
reality of which all true believers in Christ are a part (Rom 8:5-11; I Cor
12:13). We have all been baptized by one Spirit into one body, and if anyone
does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
Now let’s take this back to the calling of John and our calling as the
witnesses of Christ. John was preparing the way, looking ahead to the life and
work of Jesus, and ultimately of His sending of the Spirit. We, in this
post-Pentecost age, have the reality of His presence, to empower us and to
guide us. Have you ever thought, “I can’t be a witness, I can’t share my
faith. No one would listen!”? In your power that is true. God is the one who
must open hearts. Paul talked about that in 2 Cor 4:4-7, affirming
the need for divine intervention to open the hearts of humans...
4 In
their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to
keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is
the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not
ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus'
sake. 6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out
of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But
we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power
belongs to God and not to us.
The good news is that God has chosen through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe... and some will believe!
What
is God saying to me in this pericope? Think of those 3 questions
as you read Mark:
1) Who is Jesus? Mark
tells us, He is the promised messiah, the Suffering Servant, God, incarnate.
2) Why did He come? To address
our sin problem. To make a way for sinful humans to be reconciled to Holy God.
3) What
does it mean to follow Him? For one thing, it means we are called to be His messengers, His
witnesses. He doesn’t promise that it will be easy, quite the contrary.
Remember, we are pilgrims in this fallen world! That’s the BIG Idea: If we know
Christ, our mission is to proclaim Him, and share the message of His grace.
What
would God have me to do in response to this passage? The
moto-boys in Sao Paulo know they have a job to do, it is dangerous, but they’ve
counted the cost and they are out there. We know how John the Baptist’s story will
unfold. He’ll be arrested, and before long, he’ll be martyred. Some
believers, in other parts of the world, realize that might be the cost for them.
Everyday people are martyred because they are willing to say, “I have decided
to follow Jesus.” For most of us, the cost is not so extreme, but it may
be. Are we willing to take up our cross and follow Him? We are reminded again, on a first Sunday, as
we share in the Table of the Lord, what He has done for us. Greater love has
no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends… He did that
for us. This is how God showed His love among us, He sent His one and only
Son into the world that we might live through Him… God demonstrated His love
toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us… In view of
what God has done for us in Christ, will we embrace the call to follow Him, and
to be His witness where He has sovereignly and strategically placed us?
If you are not certain
that you have believed in Jesus, will you trust Him for your salvation now, entrusting
yourself to Him, acknowledging Jesus as your Savior and Lord? He paid the
price, the gift is offered, do you believe that? Then thank God for His
indescribable gift! Remember what He did, know that He died and rose again, and
be assured, He is coming back! AMEN.
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