Who Is This Jesus?
(Mark 1:1-11)
Mark 1:1-11 – The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2) As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Look, I am sending My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way. 3) A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make His paths straight! 4) John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5) The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were flocking to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. 6) John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7) He was preaching: “Someone more powerful than I will come after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of His sandals. 8) I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” 9) In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. 10) As soon as He came up out of the water, He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending to Him like a dove. 11) And a voice came from heaven: You are My beloved Son; I take delight in You!
Introduction
A) Recently, I recently ran across a story told by J.D. Greear in which he confessed his reaction to a person’s misunderstanding of who Jesus is. He was watching an interview in which a person was talking about moral issues of the day. Repeatedly, he said, “Well, my Jesus would do this or my Jesus would not do that.” To which J.D. Greear stated that he yelled at the television – “You don’t get to have your own Jesus!” The only Jesus is the Jesus of the Bible and the only way to interpret His teachings in light of the entire Bible.
B) Approximately 2000 year ago, a man named Mark penned a gospel that bears his name. His goal was to reveal the Jesus of the Bible to his readers.
He was the same guy that accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. If you remember, well into that missionary expedition, John Mark returned home early. Maybe the venture was too difficult or too exhausting for the young man.
When Paul and Barnabas began planning their second missionary journey. Paul refused to let Mark participate. The two parted ways. Paul and a new partner, Silas, retraced the previous journey. Barnabas and Mark headed to Cyprus.
Years later, Paul identifies Mark as profitable to him, indicating that he had matured and reconciled with Paul.
In addition, John Mark connected with Peter and seemingly became a protégé of Peter (1 Peter 5:13). Church historians have suggested that Mark collected the Peter’s recollections of Jesus ministry and used them as the basis for his Gospel.
C) The Gospel of Mark is divided into three major sections . . .
Section #1 – Who is Jesus? (Mark 1-8)
Section #2 – What does it mean for Jesus to be Messiah (Mark 8-10)
Section #3 – How Jesus becomes King (Mark 11-16)
D) The morning, I want us to notice Mark 1:1-11 as the basis for this sermon in the series, THE GOSPEL OF MARK.
E) We will attempt to answer the question, “Who is this Jesus?”
I. The Anticipated Messiah Has Arrived
Mark 1:1 – “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
A) The Meaning of Messiah?
Messiah, in the Hebrew language meant “anointed one” or “chosen one.” In Old Testament times, prophets, priests, and kings were anointed with oil when they were set apart for these positions of responsibility. The anointing was a sign that God had chosen them and consecrated them for the work He had given them to do.
In essence, Moses was a type of Messiah, as were the judges, and others that “delivered” God’s people.
Christos (Christ) is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew term, Messiah (John 1:41).
B) The misunderstanding of Messiah (2 Samuel 7)
2 Samuel 7 – “When the king had settled into his palace and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, 2) the king said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a cedar house while the ark of God sits inside tent curtains.” 3) So Nathan told the king, “Go and do all that is on your heart, for the Lord is with you.” . . . 8) “Now this is what you are to say to My servant David: . . . 10) I will establish a place for My people Israel and plant them, so that they may live there and not be disturbed again. . . 11) “‘The Lord declares to you: The Lord Himself will make a house for you. 12) When your time comes and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up after you your descendant, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13) He will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. . . 16) Your house and kingdom will endure before Me forever, and your throne will be established forever.’”
The Hebrews read the prophecies of how Messiah would overcome the enemies of God and interpreted them from simply a horizontal perspective. During the time of Jesus, they longed for the anointed one to deliver them from their Roman rulers. They expected him to set up a kingdom on earth in which they would be the rulers, not the ruled
The issue is that they overlooked Messiah’s spiritual role as a deliverer from sin and Satan – God’s enemies. They did not understand that his kingdom would be spiritual, not physical.
I. The Forerunner of Messiah
A forerunner went ahead of the returning, conquering king or general, announcing their Victory.
A) John preached repentance not revolution (Mark 1:2-5)
Mark 1:2- 5 – “As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Look, I am sending My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way. 3) A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way f or the Lord; make His paths straight! 4) John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5) The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were flocking to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.
B) John preached a right heart, not religious rule (Mark 1:2-5)
Mark 1:2- 5 – “As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Look, I am sending My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way. 3) A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way f or the Lord; make His paths straight! 4) John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5) The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were flocking to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.”
(The religious externalism of God’s people was being challenged. Religious externalism is the practice of set of rules, traditions, or practices with external actions, but WITHOUT sincerity of heart.)
Jesus challenged the Pharisees’ externalism when he declared them to be “white-washed sepulchers, full of dead bones.)
Before you judge the Hebrews too harshly, realize that externalism is alive and functioning today under the guise of Christianity.
Modern believers live externally when we practice . . .
A) Inconsistent living
B) Inconsiderate living
C) Selfish living
C) John preached spiritual transformation, not Hebrew lineage
Mark 1:6-8 – “John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7) He was preaching: “Someone more powerful than I will come after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of His sandals. 8) I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
III. The Approval of The Father
A) Baptism of Jesus (1:9)
Mark 1:9-11 – “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. 10) As soon as He came up out of the water, He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending to Him like a dove. 11) And a voice came from heaven: You are My beloved Son; I take delight in You!”
B) His Annointing (1:10)
Mark 1:9-11 – “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. 10) As soon as He came up out of the water, He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending to Him like a dove. 11) And a voice came from heaven: You are My beloved Son; I take delight in You!”
C) God’s Approval (1:11)
Mark 1:9-11 – “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. 10) As soon as He came up out of the water, He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending to Him like a dove. 11) And a voice came from heaven: You are My beloved Son; I take delight in You!”
Conclusion