The Beginning of the Gospel

The Beginning of the Gospel

The Gospel of Mark: Who is this Man?
April 7, 2024

Mark 1:1-13 - The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 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. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 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. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

Introduction to Mark:

• Who - It was written by John Mark – He was likely an early believer and follower of Jesus – most commonly believed to have been a teen during Jesus’ earthly ministry. The same John Mark who travelled with Paul and Barnabas. Why two first names? “John” was his Hebrew name and Mark was his Roman name.
• What – This is the second of the 4 Gospel accounts. Also, the second of the three synoptic gospels. The “Synoptic Gospels” are Matthew, Mark, and Luke and cover about the same period of time and many of the same stories.
• When – Some debate – likely between 50-70 AD with an older date (closer to 50 AD most likely)
• Where – Written from Rome
• How – Likely learned a lot through the teaching of Peter – but inspired by the Holy Spirit.
• Why – Written specifically to a Roman audience – it lacks the genealogies of Matthew and Luke. There is lots of action in this Gospel account – it goes from one act of Jesus to the next pretty quickly.

Main Idea of Today's Text: Three important events that occurred at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and how they apply to us.

1. The Ministry of John the Baptist.

Mark 1:2-8 - As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 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. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 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. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

A. John the Baptist was a prophet who was predestined and set apart to prepare the way for the coming Messiah.

• Isaiah 40:3 - A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
• 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.

B. He was a popular prophet and many people came to him to confess their sins and to be baptized.
C. He was set apart having taken the vow of a Nazarite which included not cutting his hair, abstaining from alcohol etc.– and he lived like a mountain man. Wearing leather and eating bugs.
D. His job was to declare the coming of the Messiah. Our job is to declare that He has come, lived a perfect life, died on a cross, rose from the grave, offers us salvation through His sacrifice, and He is returning. In many ways, the life and ministry of John the Baptist was a foreshadowing of the work of the Church.
E. You are called to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ until He comes. 

2. The Baptism of Jesus.

Mark 1:9-11 - In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

A. We know from Matthew’s account that John objected to baptizing the sinless Son of God:

Matthew 3:13-14 - Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

B. John’s baptism was a baptism for the remission of sins – why was Jesus baptized given that He knew no sin? Jesus answers that question in Matthew 3:15 - "But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented"
• He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness.
• Baptism also foreshadowed His death, burial, and resurrection.
• It identified Him with the sinners He had come to save.
• He modeled what would become believer’s baptism.

C. In Jesus’ baptism there is a public show of the Triune God – The Son being baptized, the Father expressing His pleasure in the Son, and the Spirit descending upon Him.
D. We see the Trinity placing extreme value on baptism. If the Triune God found baptism to be important. If the perfect, sinless Jesus went to be baptized shouldn’t we also follow Him in baptism?
E. If you are a follower of Jesus, part of following Him is following His example in baptism. Not baptized yet? Email the church at and let us know that you would like more information.
 

3. The Temptation of Jesus.

Mark 1:12-13 - "The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him."

A. You will see this word “immediately” in the Gospel of Mark quite often. He moves from one event to another quickly.
B. Continuing in His obedience, Jesus withdrew Himself to be alone in the wilderness for 40 days. 
C. Mark doesn’t include any of the specifics of the devil’s temptation, but again, Matthew does.

Matthew 4:1-11 - Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

D. The enemy used a targeted attack:
• Jesus was hungry – he was offered bread.
• The enemy took Him on two field trips to tempt Him to put God the Father to the test and on the second trip he tempted Him with pride.
• Jesus defeated His enemy with the Word of God.

E. All of us will be tempted concerning the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. The Word of God is your defense. Jesus, being fully man, but also fully God demonstrated for us how to win those battles over temptation.

Conclusion: God’s Word has everything we need to live a victorious Christian life. Know it, memorize it, obey it.

Pastor’s Challenge:

1.) Be a modern-day John the Baptist and share Christ with others.
2.) If you haven’t already, follow Jesus in baptism.
3.) Know God’s Word as it’s your defense against the enemy.