HisStory (Mark 1:1-13)

HisStory

Mark 1:1-13

Intro--You are a part of HisStory today. How? You are here to hear the culmination of HisStory. You are here to enter into the blessed implications of this culmination.

Read Mark 1:1-8

A.     It’s God’s history . . . it’s HisStory. He told it before hand through the prophets. He spoke of the redemption of peoples through his prophets from long before the part of the story that we read here in Mark and shows it’s culmination in what John the Baptizer himself speaks.

B.     It’s God’s self-revelation in the person of Jesus Christ.

C.    It’s God’s identification with man needing salvation.

HisStory is not mere words, tall tales, or theories--it’s grounded in the real events of a prophet preparing the way, the event of a real baptism, the event of real temptations.

I.  God’s HisStory

           

A. Why “HisStory” rather than merely “history.”

           

God planned the redemption of peoples from the beginning of HisStory. This Good News that culminates in the preparation of John the Baptizer and Jesus’ life is not just some kind of good news; it’s THE Good News as revealed by God historically through the prophets, experientially through the history of Israel, and now culminating in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus’ own baptism parallels Israel’s baptism into Moses in the Red Sea Crossing (1 Cor 2) and his triumph over 40 days in the wilderness and temptations parallels Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness. He had been revealing it for hundreds of years. Right here, Mark demonstrates historical continuity through John the Baptizer’s arrival with mention of three prophets and Jesus’ triumph where Israel had failed. Note the three connections to prophetic fulfillment with John the Baptizer:

1)  First through Malachi (in 3:1) who prophesied 600 years before John the Baptizer.

2)  Second through Isaiah (in 40:3) who prophesied 800 years before John the Baptizer.

3)  Elijah’s coming (in 2 Kings 1:8, Mal 4:5, 6).

So, you see, God said this prophet, John the Baptizer, would arrive. No surprises here, right? There were long years of teaching us the truth of what was to come through the voice of the prophets and the redemptive experiences of the Israel. It can’t be said that the event of Jesus’ arrival is accidental . . . coincidental . . . or circumstantial--it was planned. It is the beautiful culmination of HisStory.

B. John the Immerser’s Role

Israel had always had a messianic hope. What do I mean by “messianic hope” you ask. Messiah means “savior.” God had taught Israel to hope for a savior, somebody who would build a bridge for people to gain access to God’s presence. He also had taught them to teach the rest of the world this hope as well.

Israel’s consciousness or awareness of this hope ebbed and flowed throughout HisStory, but it was always present at some level, even if for relief from the oppression of foreign nations rather than spiritual. John’s role was to heighten consciousness of this hope. It was to get people ready to see it when it arrived and ready to respond to it when they were given opportunity. His job was to kind of go around and shake people by the shoulders and say, in not such a quiet voice, “After me comes he who is mightier than me, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have immersed you with water, but he will immerse you with the Holy Spirit!” He is fanning the messianic hope into a roaring flame.

Here’s how people respond to the “get ready” message: They are immersed in repentance. What does immersion mean? . . . it simply means to be consumed by it. What does repentance mean? . . . it means to have a change of mind . . . in this case, to agree with God, to agree with God about what is right and wrong and to do it. In The Gospel of Luke, John says it like this, if you have two shirts, share with somebody who doesn’t have one; if you have food, do the same; if your job is tax collecting, don’t rip people off, if your job is protecting the public  as a law officer, don’t use your position to exploit people. So, he is essentially saying “act in ways that accord with the Character of God.“

When we repent, we respond to the Good News and receive the benefit of the Good News. The benefit: he will immerse you in his own Spirit. Can you imagine that? . . . being immersed in God’s own Spirit . . . living in it so that it’s the atmosphere you live in? Yes; of course you can if you have submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It’s effects your decisions, your countenance, your purpose, your ability to live a life pleasing to God, your ability to become like Jesus . . . it changes everything. John was about clearing out the rubble and building anticipation to get people ready to respond to this miracle.

Are you ready? I’m going to tell you two startling things today.

II.  God Came to Men as a Man

Read Mark 1:9-11

A. How He came.

We know, especially according to what He tells us in John 4:24, that God is Spirit. Now we need to understand how God, who is Spirit, chooses to reveal himself to us. He has revealed Himself to us in creation . . . yes. We look around and see that HE IS. He reveals himself to us through the prophets like Malachi and Isaiah . . . yes. But He finally reveals Himself to us most fully in a life lived. Jesus is not another God. Jesus is not something other than God. Jesus is God. Jesus is God revealing Himself to you and me in the life lived. We learn this in Jesus’ baptism, we see that this is where God by His own Spirit dwells, in the person of Jesus, among us . . . to love us in a specific way that has eternal consequences.

Illustration: The best way to reveal yourself, your true intentions, and your motives to people is to become one of them . . . to enter into their situation. When I was in college I had a beta fish. I thought it would be cool to have a pet, but found it was really just a hassle. He lived in a little bowl with a hollowed out ceramic log in the bottom of it. Every time I approached the bowl to feed him his little piece of frozen shrimp fishy food, what do you think he did? Some types of fish race to the top to grab a bit. Not him. He swam to his log as fast as he could in fear. He misunderstood my intentions. He probably thought something like “big scary monster coming to get me” or something like that. Can fish brains think like that? Anyway, I could have become a fish for a day, maybe I could have finally explained my intentions. God became man for a time, and finally explained his intentions.

In the life of Jesus, God most fully reveals what He wants us to know of Him and, at the same time, what He plans for us to become . . . that is that we are to become like Jesus. What is Jesus like? The rest of the Gospel According to Mark tells this story.

B. What does He accomplish by revealing himself in this way?

1)  Tearing open the barrier

Here we see the genius of Mark at work.  This is the first place we see this genius that shows up in so many places in Mark. Note how the heavens are “torn” open. Mark uses a different Greek word here than does Matthew or Luke. Mark makes a front bookend so-to-speak. It matches the word that he, and the other gospel writers, uses at the end of the story (15:38).

[σκιζομένους (1:10) and ἐσχίσθη (15:38) are both forms of σχίζω.]

Here God is tearing open the heavens as if to demonstrate that he himself breaks through the barrier between men and God to come and to identify with man. Now God can be with men. [Spoiler Alert!] . . . At the end of the story, he tears through the temple veil—the same Greek word—that represented the barrier that kept men form coming into the presence of God. Now men can be with God. This is an ingenious method to make these profound theological statements.

2) The first of many beloved children

Here Jesus hears the voice of a father saying: “You are my beloved son, with you I am well pleased.” This is a summary of the Gospel I think. Every person who is immersed into the Spirit immediately lays claim to this same statement from God. “You are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased.” This is amazing is it not? Many of us need to hear this. As much as we long for this from our earthly fathers, only God is able to authenticate the conditions that truly please. I don’t expect to hear this from my earthly father. Why? Because my life is riddled with things that have displeased my earthly father. To be sure there have been pleasing things that he can speak to and affirm, but to say flatly that I am “well pleased” to the extent that there’s nothing about you that I find displeasing would be an unauthentic statement. However, this is patently the the kind of “well pleased” God is with us as we repent and are immersed in His Spirit. Two things authenticate this “well pleased” statement:

1)  First, in Jesus Christ, he authentically removes all things that displease. We’ll have to leave the greater explanation of that to the story that plays out in the rest of the Gospel of Mark.

2)  Second, though there be mistakes along the way, this is not a fiction, because, by His Spirit, he makes us able to live and progressively become like Jesus. In increasing measure, He transforms us into the likeness of Jesus who is the standard for God’s intentions for the genuine human experience.

I have heard this for myself: “You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased.” This is enough for me . . . it’s the good news I need today.

Is that true, did Stacy Abernathy hear this today? Yes; it’s true. I hear this every day and believe it, because God Himself creates the necessary conditions, authenticates the reality of it, and longs for me to believe it.

STOP for a moment here. Read this statement out loud, putting your own name in the blank:

_________, you are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased.

Have you heard it today? You have heard it, and it’s true if you are in Christ Jesus. This truth has been the most overwhelmingly profound realization in my own life.  

III.  God Identified With Man

A. What he accomplished in the temptations.

Illustration: One of my vocations over the past decade of my life has been to minister to the Lord’s church. A big part of my vocation, or job (if you will), is helping people in their life’s difficulties. More times than I can say, my offer for help has been rejected. Rejection often comes for reasons like these:

1)  You don’t really care; you’re just doing it because you’re a minister.

2)  You don’t understand, you haven’t experienced what I have.

3)  What you’re suggesting can’t be done.

Some of this is true. I haven’t experienced every difficulty that every other person has experienced. Thank you God. And all of those people haven’t experienced every difficulty that I have. Thank you God.

However, it seems to me that if I had experienced everything that every one of you has experienced, and had come out triumphant on the other side ahead of you, you all might just be more willing to listen to any advice that I might have. You might just be willing to follow my lead.

Read Mark 1:12-13

This portion of the story is about Jesus Identifying with each of us. By God’s choice he experienced difficulties, trials, and temptations like we do. He was hungry; he was tempted to grasp at power; he was tempted to strive after the affirmation of men. He was tempted and tested in every way yet was without sin. He experienced life and came through it triumphant. He has dissolved these excuses:

1)  You don’t really care . . . wanna bet . . .  But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9)

2)  You don’t really understand . . . wanna bet . . . For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:17, 18 ESV)

3)  What you are suggesting can’t be done . . . wanna bet . . . For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15 ESV)

As a pastor, a minister, I cannot identify with you in every trial. I have not preceded you triumphantly in everything. And, though I do authentically care, I cannot love you in the same measure that God has loved you through Jesus Christ. This I can assure you: God chose to identify with you in every necessary way, in every temptation, every need, every desire, every joy and every hurt. He knows. He understands. Not that he didn't know and understand before, oh but what lengths has gone to show you. Do not think that you cannot turn to Jesus and not be understood or helped.

B. Yes, you still have trials.

You might assess your situation and say, “okay, where is he now?” The angels did not stop the tests and temptations from happening; they did not completely drive the wild beasts from his presence  . . . they ministered to him in the midst of it. If you are in Christ today, I think he is saying this to you now, “my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased, I understand, I hurt with you, I rejoice with you, I am with you in the midst of your trial ministering to you.”

Close--Will you be written into HisStory?

Could you entrust your life . . . for all of eternity . . . to this Jesus who has humbled himself to identify with you in every way?

He will immerse you in his own Spirit to make you able you.

He has identified with you.

Will you now identify with him through your own repentance and baptism?