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preparing the way of the lord Daniel Patz, Lead Pastor Grace Church, Sunday Worship Mark 1:1-8 October 2, 2011
Mark 1:1-8 ESV The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (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,'" (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. (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." INTRODUCTION The story of Zechariah in Luke 1:
OBSERVATIONS – What does the text say?
Verses 2-3 - OT Prophesies: Messenger preparing the way of the Lord - crying in the wilderness (Mal 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. (Exo 23:20) "Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. (Isa 40:3) A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. In verses 2-3 Mark quotes 2 (and maybe 3) passages in the Old Testament. He begins by partially quoting Mal. 3 – this is a reference to a forerunner or preparer of the Way of the Lord. When the Lord come He will purify the people of God. He then quotes Isaiah 40:3 – the messenger who will make the paths straight for the Lord. It is probable that Exodus 23:20 is quoted. This passage states to Moses and the people Israel that God will send His Angel (messenger) to go with them into the Land). John is the man who is the fulfillment of prophecy. He was prophesied of – a messenger who is getting things ready for God’s presence – His rescue of His people who are in a mess and need rescuing.
Verses 4-5 - John's prophetic ministry: baptizing and preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sins Here he assumes that the people were sinners - in spiritual exile - the desert/wilderness He proclaims their need of repentance – In Matthew and Luke he calls them a brood of vipers. The people responded by confessing their sins. He warns them in Luke to bare fruit in keeping of their repentance. People are flooding into the Jordan country to hear the preacher John. He announces that the Messianic kingdom is at hand (on the verge of beginning). He calls them to repent and turn from their sin by confessing sin and entering the Jordan River as a symbol of their repentance. He is saying – “ready yourself for the messianic work of God.” God is now going to come and reign – get yourself ready. Israel was in a state of spiritual exile. They were in a wilderness spiritually. Instead of being a light to the World, they were proud of their status of being children of Abraham and were wrongfully secure in their circumcision. Here it says that people were responsive to his preaching. They were repenting and confessing their sins.
Verse 6 - John's Prophetic Attire - Like Elijah in the OT - in the wilderness of Judea - with wild clothing and eating weird stuff 2 Kings 1:8 ESV 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." This passage describes John like a new Elijah. Malachi 4:5 ESV "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. Elijah was the prophet of all prophets. He represents the prophetic Word of the OT. Here is the new Elijah coming.
Verses 7-8 - John's Prophetic Pronouncement - Proclaiming the Messiah - Jesus coming Someone is coming that is greater He will baptize with the HS John’s message is of the Kingdom and the King – someone is coming! John – “behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) John’s ministry is about another. He points to the Greater one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit – He will bring a cleansing that is transformative and will change everything. Ezekiel 36:25-28 ESV I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. (26) And 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 give you a heart of flesh. (27) And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (28) You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. INTERPRETATIONS - What does this text mean? From look at the text, what can we learn? Implications from this text:
This passage implies that John’s audience (Israel in the first century) needed rescuing from their sins. They were in slavery and the slavery was not the Romans. The exile they were in was not literal but spiritual and covenantal. This is true for us – we need rescuing.
God had promised that He would deliver his people. He promised to send a messenger and that He would forgive sins and bring salvation to a desperate people. Here we see God keeping His promises. God is doing what He said He would do.
The message to the people needing rescue was simple – you are sick and you better admit it and get help from the only one who can help. The message was to repent and confess your sins. John called people to bow before a king, not to make an alliance with the king. This is God’s requirement – humble yourself before Him and admit your sinfulness and your need of His help. Confessing our neediness requires that we perceive our own neediness. Do we see our sinfulness? Illustration – Miss Leefolt – She didn’t even know it was her in chapter 2. I start down the driveway, crying too, knowing how much I'm on miss Mae Mobley, praying her mama can show her more love. But at the same time feeling, in a way, that I'm free, like Minny. Freer than Miss Leefolt, who so locked up in her own head she don't even recognize herself when she read it. And freer than Miss Hilly. That woman gone spend the rest a her life trying to convince people she didn't eat that pie. I think about Yule May setting in jail. Cause Miss Hilly, she in her own jail, but with a lifelong term. (Kathryn Stockett, The Help)
Just as John finishes this section by pointing to Jesus – so must we look to Him as central to all of this. God’s rescue comes through His Son, Jesus. Jesus is God’s promises being kept. Jesus is the King we bow down to. Jesus is the One who is our Physician. He is the One who brings the true cleansing by the Spirit. His true presence reveals our sin and should lead us to repentance – LIKE ASLAN and JILL POLE. In John 3, John the Baptist exalts Christ and then we hear these words: (Joh 3:36) Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. APPLICATIONS – What does this text mean for me today and what should I do? One of our greatest needs is to truly understand our own sinfulness and need to repent and turn to God. Have you repented and turned to God through Christ? One sign of whether we have repented or not is if we are repenting when sin (our own sin) is brought to our attention. What sin in your life is God convicting you of that you need to confess to God and turn to Him for help? Here is something from Wilson on the Narnia Lewis series that speak truthfully on the subject of confession: first, that good confession is honest and humbling, and that means you are not to spin, cover, gloss over, or make excuses; second, that God fully and immediately forgives those who do confess honestly; and third, that every person is responsible for confessing his own sins—not his neighbors'. Wilson, Douglas (2010-11-23). What I Learned in Narnia (pp. 59-60). Canon Press. Kindle Edition. Baptism? |
