God First
Mark Chapter 1 (Review)
Mark Chapter 1 (Review)
For the last couple of months Ken has been preaching from the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark. Tonight’s message is designed to be a recap of a few key ideas that I gleaned from this chapter.
- Jesus is God incarnate; and
- Christians are to put God first
If you are a Christian, your first reaction might be “well, duh…” – my two big ideas are fundamental to our faith, to how we are supposed to worship and live, and to our mission as Christians. But, like so many simple (but not easy) concepts they bear repeating over and over so that I don’t forget them, or set them aside.
So let’s start with Jesus –
Mark 1:1
The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Right away, we see testimony from men as to who Jesus is – the Son of God. A little further on, we receive testimony directly from God himself:
Mark 1:9-11
9At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
But it’s not just in words or proclamations that Jesus deity is revealed; as Jesus begins his public ministry we see actions that speak to who He is.
Mark 1:21-22
21They went to Capernaum, and then the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.
As Ken pointed out to us, only the author has the authority. Because Jesus is God, he authored the Law that was handed down to Moses. Because he was there from the beginning (see the first chapter of the gospel of John), Jesus knew the meaning and intent of every single word of the Law. Jesus spoke with authority, unlike the human teachers who could only comment on each other’s interpretations, and on the traditions and practices handed down by man over the years.
In addition to his teaching, Jesus healed many – healing the people of various diseases because as God He holds the very power of life. Because Jesus is God, he was able to cast out the demons with ease – demons with power far superior to humans were cast out by Jesus’ words alone. In Jesus we see Emmanuel, God with us; fully God and fully human.
But why is this concept so important to us? Why is it so critical to Christians that Jesus is God? Because this is the very heart of the gospel – the good news.
We are sinners – every human that has lived, or will live, has been separated from God by sin. This goes back to Adam and Eve; and the poor choice they made brought sin into this world, corrupting creation and breaking the relationship between God and man. And so God put into motion His plan for the restoration of creation and the reconciliation of man to God.
And in the Old Testament we see God’s plan begin to unfold, starting with the creation of Israel – called out of the pagan nations to be God’s own people, redeemed from slavery for His purposes. It continues with the words of the Prophets, who were given glimpses of the Messiah, the one who would come and finally reconcile the people to God. And in the first chapter of Mark, we see John the Baptist (called from birth) calling the people to repent and believe.
Is 40:3
A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.”
Because we are all flawed and imperfect (Romans 3:23), it is impossible for any of us to come before God on our own – no amount of giving, or good deeds, or sacrificing can make amends for the sins that we have committed against God. In order for us to stand before God, the penalty for our sins must be paid; God’s wrath must be absorbed.
This was Jesus mission while on earth – to reconcile and restore all things to Himself. To do so, He took on human flesh in order that we might be reconciled to Him. Jesus did what we could not, living in perfect obedience to God the Father and giving Himself over to death, absorbing the wrath that was due me (us) for my (our) sins. Jesus was then raised from death, so that the power of death might be broken for those who believe, and that we might be clothed in His righteousness. In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul puts it this way:
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The second big idea is the response that should come from our profession of faith – putting God first in our lives and living according to His will. And in the first chapter of Mark we see Jesus showing his disciples, and us, what this looks like. We see Jesus’ perfect obedience to God the Father.
Mark 1:12-13
12At once, the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus is sent into the desert to fast and be tempted by Satan. And in this part of the story we see a couple of key pieces to putting God first in our lives:
- Going where God tells us to go
- Trusting in God to provide for us and keep us from harm
Notice that when the Holy Spirit told Jesus to go into the desert, there was no argument. Jesus didn’t complain that his cloak was still wet from the baptism, or that the desert was too hot this time of year, or that he needed to go hang out with his friends. Jesus answered the call from God with complete obedience and went where God told him to go, the moment he was told to go.
We also don’t see Jesus packing up a bunch of food and water and other supplies. He simply went into the desert, confident that God would provide. At the end of verse 13 we see that “angels attended him” – God sent servants from heaven to keep Jesus safe from harm and provide for his needs while in the desert.
Within the first chapter of Mark, we also see this same level of obedience displayed by the first four disciples – each was called by God, and each answered the call without hesitation. John the Baptist is another great example – for a more detailed look into his calling, see the first three chapters of the gospel of Luke.
Throughout this chapter we see plenty of other responses by man to Jesus, some appropriate and others not so much.
In the synagogue, the people react with amazement to Jesus’ teaching. They are astounded because they had never heard anything like it. Nor had they seen anyone who had the power to drive out demons.
Mark 1:27
The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching – and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.”
While the amazement of the people is certainly an appropriate response to witnessing God’s power on earth, as with most good things man tends to look for what’s in it for us. As soon as the Sabbath is over, the whole town seeks out Jesus so that they can be healed – seeking healing from God is not a bad thing by itself, it simply depends on where your heart is.
Jesus’ new disciples even appear to get carried away with their new found fame, trying to adjust Jesus’ mission and work to fit their expectations instead of serving God and putting his will first.
Mark 1:36-37
36Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
I’ll touch on the two other examples of Jesus’ healing touch in Mark 1.
First up is Simon’s mother-in-law. After she is healed of her (grand) fever she gets up and begins serving Jesus and the others. Out of a glad and thankful heart, this woman responds to Christ’s healing touch by serving others. In her, we see our right response to Jesus healing our own sin sickness – setting aside our plans and serving God.
Next is the leper, who comes to Jesus with an attitude of humility; he acknowledges that Jesus can cure his leprosy if Jesus wants to. Up to this point, the leper is a great example for all of us – we need to remember who God is, and who we are, and adjust our attitude when we approach Him. God isn’t a genie who grants wishes – He is the creator, the one true and living God, He is the very life breath that is within each of us. I exist only because he allows it – and it is with this understanding and humility that I need to approach God with any petition.
It is after he is cured that the leper goes off the rails. Jesus gives the leper very specific instructions.
Mark 1:43-44
43Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44”See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
However, the leper doesn’t do anything that Jesus told him to do. The leper responds to Jesus power with rebellion instead of obedience.
So there’s the big picture look of Mark chapter 1. We’ve seen God’s love as He sent His son into the mess that is the world; we see Jesus establish His authority and do what He came to do – to preach the Good News – which is the same message that we try to bring you every week. He preached and we preach – Repent and believe.
Now, the question comes to you, and it is the same for everyone in this room. Whether you are a believer or non-believer, grey haired saint or infant in the faith; no matter who you are or what you’ve done in your life.
What are you going to do with Jesus?
One choice is to reject Him, the other choice is to accept Him. But remember friends, to accept Jesus is to accept Him as He is and to follow Him where He sends you. What will your choice be? If you need to talk this over with someone, get with us afterward and we will answer whatever questions we can, and point you in the right direction for anything we can’t answer…
Let’s pray.
