[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday, the 22nd of February, 2015.]
Our Gospel writer Mark was a man of few words. He cut quickly to the point in relating the life of Jesus to his primary audience in Rome. Nowhere is that more evident than in the 1st chapter of the book that bears his name. Unlike Matthew, Luke, and John, Mark spends no time at all on the birth and youth of Jesus, but jumps straight to His baptism as an adult.
Hear and heed the word of God, the authority of God, as recorded in the 1st chapter of Mark’s Gospel, verses 4 through 20…
4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5 Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. 8 I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
9 It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. 11 Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
12 Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. 13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.
14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
19 When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. 20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.
--Mark 1:4-20 (NKJV)
Let us pray... Lord God, we come again this morning to sit before Your altar to worship You and hear the message You have for us this day. Use Your servant to give voice to Your words, and Your Holy Spirit to touch our hearts, that we might come closer to You and to what You would have us be. In the holiest name of Your Son Jesus we pray. Amen.
“Two Words” (author unknown)
Sandra Bullock won the 2010 Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Leigh Ann Tuohy in the film, “The Blind Side”. The film chronicles a Christian family who took in a homeless young man and gave him the chance to reach his God-given potential. Michael Oher not only dodged the hopelessness of his dysfunctional inner city upbringing, but became the first-round NFL draft pick for the Baltimore Ravens in 2009. At a fund-raiser, Sean Tuohy noted that the transformation of his family and Michael all started with two words. When they spotted Michael walking along the road on a cold November morning (the movie depicts it at night) wearing shorts and a T-shirt, Leigh Ann Tuohy uttered those two words that changed their world. She told Sean, who was driving, “Turn around.” They turned the car around, put Michael in their warm vehicle, and ultimately adopted him into their family.
Those same two words can change anyone’s life. When we turn around, we change direction and begin an exciting new journey. Some may need to make an about face concerning their disbelief in Christ, or it could be a Christian needs to turn around and reconsider the value of fervent prayer. Whatever your situation, a great story of wonderful change could be just two words away.
When we turn around, we turn to face something new. We also turn away from the past. The word “repent” means just that: to turn away from our sin and to face Jesus. This past Wednesday we entered that part of the Christian calendar known as the Lenten season.
During Lent we prepare ourselves for what is to come: the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a time for repenting, for turning around from our sin and toward Jesus. And it is a time for remembering the great sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, just for us – just for you and me.
We would have looked more closely at Lent in our Ash Wednesday service, which was postponed due to bitter cold and nasty weather. And since we will do so this coming Wednesday evening, weather permitting, I won’t dwell too much on Lent itself today. But I do want to focus on those aspects that Jesus brought out in our scripture reading today.
Mark opens his Gospel with that most significant event: the baptism of Jesus by His own relative, John the Baptist. After all, it was at His baptism that we are first given clear evidence of Jesus’ lordship, when God the Father spoke from heaven immediately after Jesus stood back up and said “This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Mark notes that there was John, baptizing in the wilderness in fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, as written in chapter 40, verse 3 of the book of Isaiah…
“Two Words” (author unknown)
Sandra Bullock won the 2010 Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Leigh Ann Tuohy in the film, “The Blind Side”. The film chronicles a Christian family who took in a homeless young man and gave him the chance to reach his God-given potential. Michael Oher not only dodged the hopelessness of his dysfunctional inner city upbringing, but became the first-round NFL draft pick for the Baltimore Ravens in 2009. At a fund-raiser, Sean Tuohy noted that the transformation of his family and Michael all started with two words. When they spotted Michael walking along the road on a cold November morning (the movie depicts it at night) wearing shorts and a T-shirt, Leigh Ann Tuohy uttered those two words that changed their world. She told Sean, who was driving, “Turn around.” They turned the car around, put Michael in their warm vehicle, and ultimately adopted him into their family.
Those same two words can change anyone’s life. When we turn around, we change direction and begin an exciting new journey. Some may need to make an about face concerning their disbelief in Christ, or it could be a Christian needs to turn around and reconsider the value of fervent prayer. Whatever your situation, a great story of wonderful change could be just two words away.
When we turn around, we turn to face something new. We also turn away from the past. The word “repent” means just that: to turn away from our sin and to face Jesus. This past Wednesday we entered that part of the Christian calendar known as the Lenten season.
During Lent we prepare ourselves for what is to come: the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a time for repenting, for turning around from our sin and toward Jesus. And it is a time for remembering the great sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, just for us – just for you and me.
We would have looked more closely at Lent in our Ash Wednesday service, which was postponed due to bitter cold and nasty weather. And since we will do so this coming Wednesday evening, weather permitting, I won’t dwell too much on Lent itself today. But I do want to focus on those aspects that Jesus brought out in our scripture reading today.
Mark opens his Gospel with that most significant event: the baptism of Jesus by His own relative, John the Baptist. After all, it was at His baptism that we are first given clear evidence of Jesus’ lordship, when God the Father spoke from heaven immediately after Jesus stood back up and said “This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Mark notes that there was John, baptizing in the wilderness in fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, as written in chapter 40, verse 3 of the book of Isaiah…
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.
--Isaiah 40:3 (NKJV)
I can only imagine John looked like the “wild man from Borneo”, one of our more memorable circus acts of old. Yet people came from far and wide to be baptized by him in the Jordan River, even the religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Mark says John was “preaching a baptism of repentance” . Baptizing folks was his ministry, and through the process he would preach to them that they must repent, they must turn from their sins for them to be forgiven – that’s the part about “remission of sins”, which is forgiveness. And the people came to him, confessing their sins before him, being purified by the water and their confession and their repentance. Yet One would come, John preached, that would baptize them by the Holy Spirit of God, and not by water.
And sure enough, that One did indeed come – Jesus too came to John to be baptized. And immediately, Mark says… immediately the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where He was tempted and tested by Satan for forty days! First we are shown that Jesus is indeed God, and then He is whisked off into the wilds where He is ministered to only by the angels, and where He resists everything the devil throws at Him.
I told you Mark was stingy with his words. The next thing we read, John is in prison and Jesus is beginning His ministry in the region of Galilee. And I love the way Mark describes that ministry in verse 14, with Jesus “preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God”. Remember that the word “gospel” means “good news”. The people Jesus spoke to should have known about the kingdom of God, wouldn’t you think?
But the next verse from Mark’s pen, the first words he quotes directly from Jesus, actually carry the good news Jesus preached. The kingdom of God is at hand. Matthew quoted Jesus almost the same way during this event in our Lord’s life. In his Gospel account, chapter 4 verse 17, the disciple puts it like this…
Mark says John was “preaching a baptism of repentance” . Baptizing folks was his ministry, and through the process he would preach to them that they must repent, they must turn from their sins for them to be forgiven – that’s the part about “remission of sins”, which is forgiveness. And the people came to him, confessing their sins before him, being purified by the water and their confession and their repentance. Yet One would come, John preached, that would baptize them by the Holy Spirit of God, and not by water.
And sure enough, that One did indeed come – Jesus too came to John to be baptized. And immediately, Mark says… immediately the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where He was tempted and tested by Satan for forty days! First we are shown that Jesus is indeed God, and then He is whisked off into the wilds where He is ministered to only by the angels, and where He resists everything the devil throws at Him.
I told you Mark was stingy with his words. The next thing we read, John is in prison and Jesus is beginning His ministry in the region of Galilee. And I love the way Mark describes that ministry in verse 14, with Jesus “preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God”. Remember that the word “gospel” means “good news”. The people Jesus spoke to should have known about the kingdom of God, wouldn’t you think?
But the next verse from Mark’s pen, the first words he quotes directly from Jesus, actually carry the good news Jesus preached. The kingdom of God is at hand. Matthew quoted Jesus almost the same way during this event in our Lord’s life. In his Gospel account, chapter 4 verse 17, the disciple puts it like this…
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
--Matthew 4:17 (NKJV)
The kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, is at hand. No longer is it some ambiguous place way out there somewhere. God’s kingdom, heaven, is right here. The time has finally come that all the prophets foretold and heaven is with us right now! The kingdom of God was made manifest in the person of Jesus, come to earth to live among man!
What does that mean for us? How does this piece of information, this bit of good news, impact us? Jesus Himself tells us in the rest of verse 15. We must repent of our sin and believe in the gospel, believe in that good news, believe in Jesus as the very Son of God!
Then, in Mark’s economy of words, we see Jesus walking alongside the Sea of Galilee where He came upon two brothers who were fishermen, throwing their net into the waters to catch some fish. “Follow Me”, He said simply. “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They did just that, and again Mark says “immediately”.
A little further on, and one would suppose with Simon Peter and Andrew in tow, Jesus came upon two more fishermen brothers – James and John. He repeated His invitation and James and John joined Andrew and Simon to become the first four disciples.
And for the fourth time in this short passage, Mark used the word “immediately”. With not one moment of hesitation, these four men dropped everything just to follow this Man named Jesus. In Him, they recognized the kingdom of God. In Him, they saw the good news. In Him, they believed.
In our congregational reading a little while ago, we said: “I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.” What does it mean if my sin is always before me? What might happen because of that?
If my sin is always before me, it’s right there in front of me all the time. It’s right there waiting to trip me up. It’s right there where I might easily step into it all over again. Jesus says to repent of our sins, to turn completely away from them and not go back. To put that life behind us. To turn around and face Him.
And if I know my transgressions, if I know my sin, then I can confess it, just as the people who came to John did so they could be baptized. I need to confess my sin, to Jesus and to myself. Of course Jesus knows all about our sins. We can hide nothing from God. But He wants to make sure that we know what we have done wrong, so that we can turn to Him for help in not doing it again. Some people call it guilt; some call it our conscience kicking us. The Holy Spirit will convict us when we have done wrong in the eyes of God and He will tell us our sin.
It’s up to us to admit our guilt and then strive to not repeat it ever again. We must confess our sins and repent of them – turn from them completely and never go back! And we must believe in the gospel of heaven at hand, of God with us, of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Repent and believe! For the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand!
Amen.
Let us pray… Almighty, all powerful God, You created all that ever did and ever will exist. But Your greatest feat, Your dearest gift, Father, was to send Your Son Jesus to earth, not to condemn the world but to offer redemption to the world. You brought us the kingdom of heaven through Your Son, that we might repent, believe, and be saved.
Father, the believing part seems easier for us than the repenting part. We may readily confess of our sins, but we find it more difficult to completely repent of them. We just seem to slip back into unrighteous ways far too easily. Jesus withstood forty days of temptation from the devil, but Lord we can’t hold out for more than a few minutes sometimes. Help us be strong, please Lord. Help us turn away from our sin and not look back. Help us turn around and face You.
Hear us now, Father God, as we cry out to You in the silence, and listen for Your reply…
Lord Jesus, You showed us a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven. You came to us when we were lost in the darkness, dead in our sin. And You shared with us the good news that all we need to do is to turn completely away from our sin and to believe in You. We believe You are the Son of God, Lord Jesus, and we pray for Your help to repent completely and fully. In Your most wonderful name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.
What does that mean for us? How does this piece of information, this bit of good news, impact us? Jesus Himself tells us in the rest of verse 15. We must repent of our sin and believe in the gospel, believe in that good news, believe in Jesus as the very Son of God!
Then, in Mark’s economy of words, we see Jesus walking alongside the Sea of Galilee where He came upon two brothers who were fishermen, throwing their net into the waters to catch some fish. “Follow Me”, He said simply. “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They did just that, and again Mark says “immediately”.
A little further on, and one would suppose with Simon Peter and Andrew in tow, Jesus came upon two more fishermen brothers – James and John. He repeated His invitation and James and John joined Andrew and Simon to become the first four disciples.
And for the fourth time in this short passage, Mark used the word “immediately”. With not one moment of hesitation, these four men dropped everything just to follow this Man named Jesus. In Him, they recognized the kingdom of God. In Him, they saw the good news. In Him, they believed.
In our congregational reading a little while ago, we said: “I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.” What does it mean if my sin is always before me? What might happen because of that?
If my sin is always before me, it’s right there in front of me all the time. It’s right there waiting to trip me up. It’s right there where I might easily step into it all over again. Jesus says to repent of our sins, to turn completely away from them and not go back. To put that life behind us. To turn around and face Him.
And if I know my transgressions, if I know my sin, then I can confess it, just as the people who came to John did so they could be baptized. I need to confess my sin, to Jesus and to myself. Of course Jesus knows all about our sins. We can hide nothing from God. But He wants to make sure that we know what we have done wrong, so that we can turn to Him for help in not doing it again. Some people call it guilt; some call it our conscience kicking us. The Holy Spirit will convict us when we have done wrong in the eyes of God and He will tell us our sin.
It’s up to us to admit our guilt and then strive to not repeat it ever again. We must confess our sins and repent of them – turn from them completely and never go back! And we must believe in the gospel of heaven at hand, of God with us, of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Repent and believe! For the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand!
Amen.
Let us pray… Almighty, all powerful God, You created all that ever did and ever will exist. But Your greatest feat, Your dearest gift, Father, was to send Your Son Jesus to earth, not to condemn the world but to offer redemption to the world. You brought us the kingdom of heaven through Your Son, that we might repent, believe, and be saved.
Father, the believing part seems easier for us than the repenting part. We may readily confess of our sins, but we find it more difficult to completely repent of them. We just seem to slip back into unrighteous ways far too easily. Jesus withstood forty days of temptation from the devil, but Lord we can’t hold out for more than a few minutes sometimes. Help us be strong, please Lord. Help us turn away from our sin and not look back. Help us turn around and face You.
Hear us now, Father God, as we cry out to You in the silence, and listen for Your reply…
Lord Jesus, You showed us a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven. You came to us when we were lost in the darkness, dead in our sin. And You shared with us the good news that all we need to do is to turn completely away from our sin and to believe in You. We believe You are the Son of God, Lord Jesus, and we pray for Your help to repent completely and fully. In Your most wonderful name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.
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