Last week: Matthew 1:1-25 (Jesus’ Genealogy)
1. Who He Is: Son of David, Son of Abraham (The Promised Messiah)
2. Purpose for Coming: He came to save sinners
Mark 1:1-8
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, 3 “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,’” 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.”
In Mark:
- Who is He?
- What makes Him Qualified?
- What is His Purpose?
When Mark wrote this Gospel, he began with the preparation for the arrival of Jesus
Who is He?
Mark 1:11
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
The Gospel of Mark tells us that Jesus is the Son of God
Hebrews 1:1-12
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” 7 Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”
10 And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; 11 they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, 12 like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”
Why the Old Testament matters
- Every Israelite knew it by heart
- Christians today can reference it
Jesus was either a Lunatic, a Liar, or Lord – C.S. Lewis
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse… Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God.
~ C.S. Lewis
QUALIFICATIONS
The Old Testament is what separates Jesus from other religion’s false prophets.
Hebrews 1:1-2
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things.
Jesus came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it
Mark 1:4-5
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.
If Christmas is about the arrival of Jesus, John is the one who prepared the way for His arrival.
Mark 1:7
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.
We are not worthy, but we were sent here to point others to the only One who is worthy
PURPOSE
The Gospel of Mark tells us that Jesus’ purpose is to bring the Holy Spirit
Mark 1:8
I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
John 14:26
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
Acts 1:8
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
“…Loving and serving our neighbors to the ends of the earth.”
~ Soma Christian Church
A mission statement is what keeps us on track to fulfilling our purpose.
When we remember the God of the past, it changes our mindset for the present and the future