JESUS & JOHN
Mark 1:1-13
INTRODUCTION
The beginning of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (Mark 1:1).
Mark is going to give us a portrait of Jesus as the servant
who came to give His life a ransom for many.
As such, we will see a very human picture of Jesus. We will see him loving. And we will see Him angry. And tired.
And hungry. We will see Him
marveling at unbelief and sighing at opposition
Perhaps for this reason, Mark begins by emphasizing, not the
humanity, but the deity of Jesus. He is
the holder of two titles.
1. The Christ - the Messiah - the One who
was anointed by God.
2. The Son of God.
Mark’s introductory statement is somewhat reminiscent of
both Genesis 1:1 as well as John 1:1.
It turns our attention to the subject of beginnings. And it reminds us that the gospel started
long before Jesus was born.
THE PROMISE OF ISAIAH
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,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.’” (Mark 1:2-3).
|
The phrase “it is written” is in the perfect tense, indicating a
continuing result. |
The quote is taken from Malachi 3:1, the very last book of
the Bible. Malachi was writing to the
sinful generation in which he lived. He
was warning them of their need to repent and to straighten out their manner of
living. The reason that they needed to
repent was because the Lord (Yahweh) was going to come.
John is plainly the promised forerunner. And the Lord who he announces is JESUS. Thus, the Old Testament passage which
promises the coming of Yahweh is fulfilled in Jesus.
Mark says that this is “written in Isaiah, the prophet”
(1:2). Actually, the quote is taken
from two separate passages of the Old Testament.
“Behold,
I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me,,,”
(Malachi 3:1a).
A
voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in
the desert a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3).
Why is only Isaiah mentioned by Mark? Perhaps it is because Mark did not expect
his Gentile readers to be familiar with the tiny book of Malachi. Or perhaps it is because Isaiah, being the
first book of the prophets, was sometimes used as the title for the entire
collection of the books of the prophets.
The juxtaposition of the concept of “the beginning of the
gospel” with these prophetic words is no accident. It points to the fact that the gospel did not start with the
birth of Christ. It had its beginnings
a lot earlier. The prophets preached
the gospel and told of the One who would come to redeem the world.
THE PREACHING OF JOHN
John
the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for
the forgiveness of sins. (Mark 1:4).
These prophetic words were fulfilled in the person of John
the Baptist. He was the messenger who
was sent by God to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. He was the one whose realm of ministry was
the wilderness.
What was not mentioned in the Old Testament was his ministry
of BAPTISM. John’s ministry of baptism
was not explicitly foretold in the Old Testament. Neither did baptism take place under the Old Testament
economy. And yet, the term “baptism”
and its corresponding concept was not an invention by John the Baptist.
1. The Greek word baptizw is an old word, going all the way back to the days of
Homer who used it of a sinking ship.
2. The Greeks came to use baptizw of ritual washings. Thus, it could sometimes refer to a washing
of purification. However, the most
common ritual usage came to be that of IDENTIFICATION.
The Spartan general Xenophon
described soldiers BAPTIZING a sword and a spear in blood before entering into
a military alliance (The Persian Expedition, Book 2, Chapter 2).
3. This concept of IDENTIFICATION is found
in every usage of baptizw in the New
Testament.
|
Usage |
Significance of Baptism |
Passage |
|
John’s Baptism |
Identified people as repentant |
Mark 1:4 |
|
Baptism of Jesus |
Identified Jesus with preaching
of John and Kingdom of God |
Mark 1:9 |
|
Baptism of Believers |
Identifies us with Father, Son
and Holy Spirit |
Acts 2:39-41 |
|
Spirit Baptism |
Identifies us with Christ |
1 Cor 12:12-13 |
|
Baptism of Moses |
Identified Israelites as people
of God apart from Egypt |
1 Cor 10:1-2 |
John’s baptism included this concept of identification. Those whom he baptized were identifying
themselves with the coming King. But it
was also a rite of purification. The
water symbolized a cleansing washing of repentance. And this was not a new concept.
It had been promised in the Old Testament.
“Then
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you
from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
“Moreover,
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove
the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
“And
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you
will be careful to observe My ordinances.” (Ezekiel 36:25-27).
Although John had a ministry with water, it merely
foreshadowed and prepared the way for Jesus who had the ability to bring a new
heart and a new spirit.
THE RESPONSE TO JOHN’S
PREACHING
And
all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem;
and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
(Mark 1:5).
The ministry of John spread like wildfire. All of the people of Jerusalem were a lot of
people. Added to all of the people of
Jerusalem was all the county of the province of Judea. What is more, they had a considerable
distance to travel to hear John. It was
a 20 mile hike from Jerusalem to the Jordan River.
Think of this!
People walking 20 miles and more to hear a man preach.! And it was not a one-time event. The use of the imperfect tense indicates
that they were continually going down the hear John and to be baptized.
This doesn’t coincide with most modern church-growth
experts. You don’t begin a ministry out
in the wilderness if you expect it to grow.
You go where people are and you say and do things that will attract them
to your ministry. You have a “seeker’s
service” with contemporary music. And
you advertise in the paper and on the radio.
You form a welcoming committee.
And you follow up with a visitation team.
|
When God lights a man with a holy fire, people will come to watch him
burn. |
John did none of this.
And yet, he met with great success.
The reason is because the Spirit of God was moving. In our quest for growth and for significance
in God’s kingdom, we need to determine which way the Spirit of God is moving
and go in that direction.
THE CLOTHING AND THE DIET
OF JOHN
John
was clothed with camel's hair and wore *a leather belt around his waist, and
his diet was locusts and wild honey. (Mark 1:7).
Why are we given this description of John? What is its significance? Let me suggest that, in a book as short as
the Gospel of Mark, nothing is written here merely by happenstance. This description is significant. It is significant because it takes us back
to one of the prophets of the Old Testament.
That prophet is Elijah.
John was wearing the same kind of clothes that Elijah had worn (2 Kings
1:8). He was preaching a similar
message to the one which Elijah had preached.
He was ready to denounce Herod Antipas and Herodias in the same way in
which Elijah had denounced Ahab and Jezebel.
John was the last of the Old Testament prophets. His message was from the Old Testament. His clothes were from the Old
Testament. His food is that which was
associated with the Old Testament.
Jesus would later be asked about the teaching of the scribes
that said Elijah must come prior to the coming of the Lord. Jesus would refer to John and he would
reply, “Elijah has indeed come” (Mark 9:13).
THE PROPHECY OF THE COMING
ONE
And
he was preaching, and saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I,
and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals.
“I
baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark
1:7-8).
John’s ministry was not centered around himself. He was a forerunner, announcing the coming
of One to follow.
John was not the main attraction of his ministry. He understood that his purpose was to point
to another. When we become the main
attraction to our ministry, then we have lost sight of what ministry is all
about.
There was an old rabbinic exhortation that says, “Every duty
that a slave performs for his master, a disciple shall do for his teacher,
except for the removing of his sandals.”
This was a duty that only a slave would perform. This was the most lowly duty of all. John says that he is not worthy to perform
this lowliest of duties for the One who is coming.
Here is the principle.
You cannot comprehend the grace of God until you first come face to face
with your own unworthiness.
|
I baptized you with WATER |
(But) |
He shall baptize you with the HOLY SPIRIT |
|
|
It is one thing to be baptized in water. It is a much greater thing to be baptized in
the Holy Spirit. To be baptized in the
Spirit means that the Spirit of God has come upon us and has identified us with
the person and with the ministry of Jesus.
We have been united with Christ. Because He has eternal life, we also possess eternal life. Because He is the Son of God, we are also
children and sons of God. Because He is
the heir to the kingdom of God, we are co-heirs with Him. Because He died, we are considered to be
death to sin. Because He rose from the
dead we will also rise - indeed, we are already risen to a new life.
THE BAPTISM OF JESUS
And
it came about in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was
baptized by John in the Jordan.
Immediately
coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a
dove descending upon Him; 11 and a voice came out of the
heavens: “Thou art My beloved Son, in
Thee I am well‑pleased.” (Mark 1:9-11).
|
The Greek word which describes the heavens OPENING is the same word
which is used in Mark 15:38 to describe the veil of the Temple being TORN. |
The advent of Jesus is described in very matter-of-fact
terms. There were no trumpets or
fanfare. One day, He simple arrived
from his home in Nazareth and was baptized like anyone else who had come to be
baptized. What made this baptism
significant was what took place AFTER the baptism.
The Son rising. The
Spirit descending. The Father
Speaking. For 400 years there had been
nothing but silence from heaven. Not
only was there no word from heaven, but even the prophets stopped
prophesying. But a silence of 400 years
was now broken. What did God say? Was He angry? No. He was
well-pleased. It wasn’t that we had
done anything to please Him. He was
well-pleased with His Son.
The same is true today.
Do you ever feel as though God had gone away on vacation? You wish that God were speaking today, but
you also wonder if He would be angry.
There is a message of comfort here.
God is still well-pleased. He is
well-pleased with His Son. If you have
been united through faith with His Son, then He is well-pleased with you, too.
Indeed, when we come to Him in faith...
The Father declares us to be
righteous in His eyes.
The Spirit descends and indwells
and seals.
And heaven is made open for us.
Discussion Question:
Why was it important for the Spirit to descend upon Jesus?
1. As an affirmation (Isaiah 42:1).
2. Because Jesus was a true human being
who required the ministry of the Spirit in order to be anointed with power
(Acts 10:38).
THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS
Immediately
the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.
And
He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the
wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him. (Mark 1:12-13).
In keeping with Mark’s preference for brevity, the entire
temptation incident is described in only two verses.
1. The Impelling of the Spirit.
The same Holy Spirit which came down on Jesus like a
dove in verse 10 now impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.
|
Israel |
Jesus |
|
Came through the Red Sea |
Baptized in the Jordan River |
|
Wandered in the wilderness for 40 years |
Impelled into the wilderness for 40 days |
|
Failed the test |
Passed his test |
The Greek phrase translated
“impelled into the wilderness” is from the root word ekballei. It is a
compound word.
a. Ek
means “out of.”
b. Ballw
is “to throw.”
The expulsion of Jesus into the wilderness is
described in forceful terms. It is the
same term that is used throughout Mark to describe Jesus “casting out” demons
(1:34, 39; 3:15, 22-23; 6:13; 7:26; 16:9, 17).
Though God is not doing the actual
temptation, He is nonetheless sovereign over it, for it is the Spirit which
drives Jesus into the wilderness so that this temptation might take place.
|
The Greek text says that Jesus was
tempted by tou satana - the Satan. This
is a transliteration of the Hebrew word for “adversary.” |
2. The Wilderness.
The Judean Wilderness was that area
between the central mountain range and the Dead Sea. It remains today a dry, windswept land where only the Bedouin and
the wild animal live. John’s ministry
was located on the northern border of this wilderness, being along the Jordan
River.
3. Tempted by Satan.
The details of the temptation are
recorded elsewhere, but they are not significant to Mark’s account. What he wishes to emphasize is that Jesus
was tempted. He faced what we
face. He was alone. He felt the same pangs which we feel.
It is easy to be faithful in a
crowd. True faithfulness is what takes
place when no one is looking.
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