Who Is He?

Mark's biography of Jesus is written about 65 AD.

It's about 35 years after the death of Jesus.

And Mark writes really vividly the stories and the sayings of Jesus

and there are people who are still alive who had witnessed those events.

And they were events which were so significant to those who witnessed them

that they told the story over and over and over again.

It's the first and it's the earliest account of Jesus.

Really unusually a number of the New Testament letters are written

before the Gospels are written down.

A Gospel.

It's a declaration about who Jesus was and what he came to do

and Mark is so important and so accurate

that Luke and Matthew will later write their own biographies

biographies based on large parts of Mark.

Matthew and Luke use lots of Mark in them.

I was surprised as I prepared for today

because I saw that this is an Italian Gospel.

It's written to an audience like us,

people in the Western world, people from the Western world,

people not from the Jewish world.

Mark tells the story about a Jewish man called Jesus

but he uses Roman words and expressions and ideas.

He talks about legions of demons,

about the army as the praetorium,

the commander as a centurion.

He uses Roman money and expressions

when he talks about a denarius

and two small copper lepta,

two Roman tiny coins that the widows put into the treasury.

And even when he talks about the trial of Jesus,

he tells the events in an Italian way,

in terms of four watches of the night

instead of the Jewish way with three watches.

And I think if he was here telling us the story this morning,

he would be painting the picture

with terms that we understand.

He'd be telling the same story

but he'd talk about dollars and cents

and army and SAS and parliament

and lieutenant colonels to tell the story about Jesus

in ways and means with which we could readily identify.

So you ask this question, who is Mark?

Colossians chapter 4 tells us that he's Barnabas' cousin.

Colossians 4 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 15 tells us

Acts 15 · chapter mention

that he is the source of a sharp disagreement

between Paul and Barnabas.

He'd been part of Paul and Barnabas' team

on the first missionary journey

and it seems like he got cold feet along the way

and he came home.

And they're getting ready to go out on their next journey

and Paul feels let down by him

and says, I don't want him to go with me.

So Paul and Barnabas divide over Mark.

And later on in 2 Timothy chapter 4

2 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

when Paul says, get Mark and bring him with you

because he is helpful to me in my ministry,

it clearly shows that they'd been reconciled.

Perhaps even more significant is Mark's connection to Peter

and you get a glimpse of that in 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 13.

1 Peter 5:13

Peter writes,

It's strange language but there's this clear connection

between Peter and Mark.

When you hear Babylon in the Bible

you have to think evil empire.

Peter is using hidden language.

He's writing from the capital of the world.

The capital of the world at this time is Rome.

So when he says,

She who is in Babylon

it's a way of saying the church who is in Rome

sends greetings

and so does Mark

who's here as well.

1 Peter

is probably,

this letter is probably written

just before Peter's death

and history tells us

that he was crucified

in a similar way to the Apostle Paul

upside down in a Roman circus

by Emperor Nero.

Mark has been

a companion.

So you see out of Acts

and you see out of the New Testament letters

that Mark has been

both a companion

of the Apostle Paul

and a companion

of the Apostle Peter.

And he's also been

on ministry assignment

with Barnabas,

his cousin,

as well.

And so he's heard

the gospel preached

by these men.

He's heard them

tell first hand

about their experiences

with the Lord Jesus Christ.

They were eyewitnesses.

They heard what Jesus said.

They saw what Jesus did.

And Mark has probably seen

both of them die.

And so he writes down

this gospel.

Key witnesses are dead.

And what he does,

he commits their preaching

and teaching to writing.

He writes down the message

which has been seeing

men and women

and boys and girls

from different ethnicities

and nations

coming to know

and believe in Christ

all over the world.

So it's multicultural,

it's multi-generational preaching

which has brought

many people to faith.

and Mark is a preacher

who just wants to grab

people's imaginations

and hearts

with the importance

of this message

about Jesus.

And so he begins.

The beginning

of the gospel

about Jesus Christ,

the Son of God.

And we are so familiar

that we just do not see

the glory of what he's saying.

He makes a stunning declaration

from the centre

of the evil empire

where the so-called

God-King Nero

has his home.

Mark announces

the beginning

of the ministry

of Jesus the King

who is the actual

Son of God,

the one and only

Son of God.

Calling it gospel

is loaded as well.

Gospels are common enough

word outside the Bible.

It means glad tidings

but there is only

one known place

outside the Bible

where it is written

in the singular

where it says

glad tidings

and it is used

to declare

one really big bit

of good news.

Archaeologists

found a calendar

inscription

from about 9 BC

referring to the birth

of Emperor Augustus.

He was the king

when Jesus was born.

And the description

describes

the birthday

of Augustus

the king

the God

as

the birthday

of the God

was for the world

the beginning

of tidings

of joy

on his account.

That's a politician

in Rome.

Emperors in Rome

were worshipped

as deities

North Korean

type dictators

their birth

was seen to be

an event

of world shaping

significance.

And so

with a very

understated

beginning

Mark shouts

the beginning

of the gospel

about Jesus

Christ

the son

of God

he's saying

this is a history

shaping moment.

The king

from heaven

the son

of God

is Jesus

Mark announces

a joyous

moment

when the son

of God

steps onto

the stage

of world

history

as king.

It's a

momentous

moment

and this

news has

power

it has

already

transformed

the existence

of many

people

he's been

watching

what's

been

happening

in Peter

and Paul's

preaching.

The gospel

will finish

with a similar

declaration

an Italian

centurion

attending

Jesus'

crucifixion

will cry

out

surely

this man

was the

son of

God

in Mark

15

39.

Mark

moves

and it would be

really helpful

if you got

your gospels

open

Mark

Mark 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

Mark

moves

very quickly

to tell us

about three

different voices

that testify

to Jesus

first comes

from the

past

from the

Old Testament

verse 2

it is written

in Isaiah

the prophet

I will send

my messenger

ahead of you

who will

prepare your

way

a voice

of one

calling in

the desert

prepare the

way for the

Lord

make straight

paths

for him

it's been

seven or

eight hundred

years since

God has

shown his

way

shown himself

by way

of miracle

or voice

there hasn't

been much

for a long

time

the events

have been

few and

far between

maybe some

of the miracles

with Daniel

the sun's

shadow going

backwards

for Hezekiah

some of the

really big

miracles in

the time of

Elijah and

Elijah

God defeating

the prophets

of Baal

or tucking

Elijah away

in a rock

crevice

while he

passed by

but it

really had

seemed as

though God

hadn't shown

his face

or moved

his arm

in a very

long time

and Mark

quotes

Isaiah

prophesying

about a

future day

when God

would appear

again

he uses

the personal

name of God

to declare

a future

day when

Yahweh the

Lord would

show his

face again

God is

going to

come in

person

so when

Mark

describes

the second

voice of

John the

Baptist

he is

the one

that Isaiah

said would

come immediately

before the

appearance of

the Lord

and so in

verse 4

and so John

came baptising

in the desert

region and

preaching a

baptism of

repentance for

the forgiveness

of sins

and the whole

Judean

countryside and

all the people

of Jerusalem

went out to

him confessing

their sins

they were

baptised by

him in the

Jordan River

and you get

this picture

of people

coming from

all over

the place

to hear

and to

respond to

John's

preaching

they're

coming 40

or 50

kilometres

on foot

to get

ready for

God's

coming

they're

cleaning up

their

ad

they're

cleaning up

their

act

can you

imagine

the risen

Jesus

coming in

the flesh

later today

coming to

the AGM

that would

be interesting

really

interesting

and

looking into

your eyes

and you

won't be

looking back

in his

eyes

saying

aren't

they

beautiful

brown

eyes

aren't

they

beautiful

blue

eyes

or

whatever

we'll

be like

everybody

else

in the

Bible

who will

be on

our

knees

overwhelmed

by his

goodness

and purity

and deeply

aware

of how

broken

and sinful

we are

but when

they get

to John

these people

they're

confessing

their sins

they're

receiving

baptism

they're

being washed

outwardly

outward

indicators

of

inner

cleansing

a change

of heart

and when

they come

John

preaches

a powerful

message

which points

them to

a much

greater

one

he doesn't

just let

them stop

with him

he's pointing

beyond himself

to someone

far greater

verse 7

this was his

message

after me

will come

one more

powerful

than I

the thongs

of whose

sandals

I am not

worthy

to stoop

down

and untie

I baptise

you with

water

but he

will baptise

you with

the Holy

Spirit

coming after

me is

someone so

great that

I am not

worthy

even to

do up

his

shoelaces

and he

will bring

a washing

not with

water

he will

baptise

you

he will

wash

you with

the Holy

Spirit

of God

he will

empower

you

with

the

power

of

God

himself

so

Isaiah

declares

the coming

of God

John

the Baptist

declares

the coming

of God

and then

while Jesus

is being

baptised

heaven is

torn open

and the

third voice

comes from

God

the Father

himself

in heaven

you are

my son

whom I

love

with you

I am

well

pleased

God

appears

in all

his

persons

at the

baptism

of

Jesus

the

son

is

present

in

the

flesh

the

spirit

descends

on him

in

power

and the

father

in the

most

extraordinary

way

speaks

and declares

him to

be

his

son

deeply

loved

and

delighted

in

the

father

and the

son

are

united

in

the

father's

love

the

son

is

not

abandoned

to

this

world

he

comes

with

the

full

power

and

the

love

of

God

himself

and

that

spirit

enabled

power

is

about

to be

demonstrated

in

the

most

extraordinary

ways

in

the

life

and

ministry

of

Jesus

in

the

story

that

Luke

Mark

will

now

tell

and

so

very

soberly

the

stage

is

set

and

a

story

is

about

to

be

told

where

people

who

receive

the

son

receive

the

love

of

his

father

and

those

who

reject

the

son

reject

the

love

of

God

his

father

you

cannot

ever

say

that

you

believe

in

God

and

not

believe

in

Jesus

they

are

absolutely

inseparable

and

so

Mark

begins

to

preach

about

Jesus

because

he

knows

that

if

you

come

to

know

and

understand

and

receive

Jesus

then

he

will

bring

you

safely

to

his

God

and

father

who

is

the

almighty

God

of

the

universe

do

you

want

to

know

God

know

Jesus

when

you

read

the

opening

of

Mark's

gospel

it

moves

really

quickly

it

covers

significant

geographical

distance

in the

first

13

verses

within

the

first

13

verses

people

have

travelled

many

kilometres

to where

the

action

is

Jesus

himself

travels

about

100

kilometres

south

from

Nazareth

in

Galilee

and in

a few

more

verses

he'll

be

back

there

again

I

don't

think

he

used

astral

travel

I

think

he

walked

and

it

would

have

been

a

journey

that

took

many

days

but

Mark's

not

interested

in the

details

of the

journey

he's

into

events

so

verse

12

at

once

the

spirit

sent

him

out

into

the

desert

and

he

was

in

the

desert

for

40

days

being

tempted

by

Satan

and

he

was

with

the

wild

animals

and

angels

attended

him

Matthew

takes

the

preaching

ministry

in

Galilee

verse

15

Jesus

announces

his

ministry

begins

his

ministry

the

time

has

come

the

kingdom

of

God

is

near

repent

and

believe

the

good

news

it's

begun

I've

always

been

troubled

by the

next

bit

charismatic

preacher

walks

along

the

shore

of

the

lake

it's

the

workplace

of

fishermen

and

the

way

Mark

tells

it

Jesus

says

follow

me

and

they

do

and

I've

heard

messages

on

this

passage

in

the

past

and

people

say

hear

the

call

of

Jesus

and

respond

which

is

a

true

thing

to

say

but

it

never

sits

quite

as

easily

as

that

on

such

a

brief

description

we've

got

children

and

we've

got

grandchildren

we

live

in

a

world

of

charlatans

and

where

child

protection

matters

and

it

doesn't

seem

right

to be

teaching

people

to

respond

to

the

most

powerful

persuasive

voice

that

comes

along

and

we

see

here

that

disciples

left

businesses

and

they

left

families

to

follow

Jesus

but

remember

Mark's

being

brief

very

brief

he's

rapidly

summarising

the

call

the

response

John

will

later

write

and

fill

in

some

of

the

details

that

Mark

doesn't

give

here

some

of

these

disciples

were

already

disciples

of

John

the

Baptist

Andrew

would

be

the

one

who

brings

his

brother

Peter

to

hear

Jesus

Mark's

not

doing

detail

he's

painting

this

very

rapid

picture

and

so

for the

rest

of

chapter

one

he

will

do

what

he

does

for

the

next

half

of

the

gospel

I

guess

will

unfold

for

us

over

the

next

few

weeks

he

will

paint

a

picture

of

the

power

of

the

son

of

God

in

action

he

will

confront

evil

spirits

and

they

will

obey

him

he

will

show

himself

to

be

a

absolutely

good

he

overturns

the

effects

of

sin

and

darkness

and

disease

and

people

will

come

from

all

over

to

see

and

to

hear

him

the

son

of

God

is

powerful

and

the

son

of

God

is

very

good

when

Mark

writes

down

his

glad

tidings

about

Jesus

he

does

something

incredibly

strategic

he

changes

the

model

of

ministry

that

he

had

lived

under

he

had

experienced

two

teams

of

two

great

eyewitnesses

of the

Lord

Jesus

he

lived

under

the

preaching

of

Paul

and

under

the

preaching

of

Peter

he

associated

with

people

like

Barnabas

and

what

he

does

now

is

he

commits

their

preaching

to

writing

preaching

from

within

30

years

of

Jesus

on

the

cross

is

in

our

hands

and

still

proclaiming

the

wonderful

son

of

God

when

we

pick up

Mark's

gospel

or when

we give

it to

someone

else

these

words

preach

and

proclaim

Christ

these

words

in the

Holy

Spirit's

hands

have

power to

change

and transform

people's

lives

these

words

in

God's

hands

bring

about

faith

in

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

in

one

sense

we

are

all

preachers

and

I

know

when

I

say

that

it

might

sound

a bit

intimidating

so

a better

word

might be

tell us

tell us

about

Jesus

we

are

all

people

who

can

tell

about

Jesus

in

our

own

way

and

in

our

own

place

I

want

to

leave

you

this

morning

with

a

double

challenge

and

it's

one

I'm

taking

up

myself

and

I've

already

begun

the

first

is

we've

got

numbers

of

copies

of

these

in

the

foyer

this

morning

and

the

welcomers

will

have

them

at

the

door

as

we

go

out

to

morning

tea

written

in

easy

modern

English

the

Italian

gospel

in

a

contemporary

way

and

what

I

want

you

to

do

if

you

will

is

take

one

and

read

it

this

week

and

not

just

read

it

little

bits

of

time

like

we

do

sometimes

but

read

the

whole

thing

in

one

sitting

one

sitting

and

that

might

sound

like

a

lot

but

you

can

actually

read

it

in

the

time

it

takes

to

watch

one

episode

of

Modern

Family

or

whatever

it

is

you

enjoy

I

don't

watch

it

I

read

it in

just

over

that

sort

of

time

this

week

myself

so

I've

done

it

and

as

you

read

it

treat

it

like

an

exercise

book

not

a

holy

book

just

an

exercise

book

with

a

pen

in

hand

and

put

question

marks

over

things

that

you

don't

understand

or

that

you

wonder

about

or

other

things

that

you

notice

and

go

wow

I

hadn't

noticed

that

before

and

then

take

those

questions

to

your

Christian

friend

somebody

else

that

you

can

share

it

with

and

tell

them

and

ask

them

tell

them

about

what

you've

been

reading

and

ask

them

what

you've

got

questions

about

and

if

that

fails

to

satisfy

bring

your

questions

to

me

or

one

of

the

ministry

team

but

not

as

first

resort

as

second

resort

and

do

me

a

favour

send

me

an

email

ring

me

give

me

a

text

send

me

a

text

whatever

it

is

you

won't

get

me

on

Facebook

to

tell

me

you've

done

it

because

I

think

it

would

be

an

enormous

encouragement

for

many

of

us

to

take

up

a

challenge

like

that

it's

a

fantastic

way

for

us

all

to

launch

into

the

Mark

series

which

is

going

to

be

preached

for

about

the

next

10

weeks

until

we

get

to

the

end

of

Easter

second

challenge

is

more

difficult

but

it's

doable

it's

to

pray

and

it's

to

invite

someone

you know

who

isn't

a

believer

to

do

what

I've

just

asked

you

to

do

take

one

of

these

read

it

note

your

questions

and

will

you

sit

down

and

talk

with

me

about

your

questions

I've

got

a

friend

that

I'm

praying

for

about

asking

to

do

that

together

tell

you a

secret

that

is

one

of

my

favourite

ways

of

doing

evangelism

I guess

I get

a

door

into

relationship

with

people

sometimes

by

virtue

of

my

position

but

one

of

my

favourite

ways

of

introducing

people

to

Jesus

is

to

challenge

them

to

read

Mark's

Gospel

because

if

they

take

up

that

challenge

they

will

sit

under

the

very

first

preaching

of

the

apostles

as

they

proclaim

Christ

and

over

the

years

I've

prepared

many

families

for

baptism

in

different

places

for the

baptism

of their

children

normally

and

they're

often

people