Mark 1:1-15

It's great to see you as always. Folks, I don't know if you've ever played the game of Guess Who.

! It's one of my childhood favourites. In Guess Who, the idea of the game is to guess the identity of the character of your opponent from a selection of about 30 possible characters in the game.

So you use a process of elimination. You ask them questions about the appearance of their character. Do they have brown hair? Are they a man or a woman? Do they have a big nose or a small nose, big lips, small lips and so on.

So you work out their character before your opponent works out your character. It's a great game.

Now there's only really so far that you can push this analogy, but Mark's Gospel, it works a bit like a big game of Guess Who.

Except Mark, who wrote the Gospel, is absolutely terrible at playing it. In fact, he wants to let you win.

Because right from the beginning of his Gospel, he gives the game away in the first verse, doesn't he? Look at verse 1 there that Steve read.

Mark kicks it off, the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Mark reveals the identity of the main character of his book straight away.

It's the first thing that he says to us, isn't it?

He says to us, as the game begins, listen, my character is a man called Jesus, who is God's King, the Christ, the Son of God.

He gives the game away.

But actually he knows that with this particular character, you are going to need more help.

He gives us the answer straight away, but it won't mean we'll automatically win the game.

He tells us the answer by name, the identity of Jesus, but the problem still remains for us.

Will we work Jesus out?

Will we work him out?

Not just in name, but in his nature.

Guess who?

Mark says.

But you know, Mark isn't against us as he writes his book.

He wants to help us.

He wants us to win and to work Jesus out and to respond to him properly.

Do you remember, if you were here last week, Mark showed us the right response for Jesus.

If you look at verse 15, the last verse that Steve read there, Jesus comes out saying,

the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent and believe in the gospel.

That is Jesus' slogan.

And it shows us the response that Mark expects us to have towards Jesus.

But in his opening section here, Mark shows us a collection of voices and of people who say things about Jesus and do things with him

to help us to really work Jesus out.

Guess who he says?

So there are, I think, about six characters in this section who help us work Jesus out.

And I want to take you through three of the main characters, at least three of them.

And you may find it helpful to look on the back of your printed sheets that were in your Bibles

to see those characters as we move through.

So first of all, the first character that we see in this section is a messenger.

It's a messenger.

First of all, Jesus is the one announced by the messenger.

Now I think we can see a really important figure in Mark's opening passage here.

He's probably the most important, actually, if you look at verse 4.

If we read that.

John appeared, baptising in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

And what we've got with this appearance of this guy, John, is a phenomenon.

If you look at verse 4 to 8.

This man, John, appears, and it's absolutely remarkable what happens.

Look at verse 5.

All the country of Judea and Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptised by him in the river,

River Jordan, confessing their sins.

Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt round his waist

and ate locusts and wild honey.

Now this man, John, his appearance is slightly odd, isn't it?

To say the least.

I am not sure that I could pull off the camel's skin and leather belt look.

And he's eating locusts, isn't he?

And honey.

It sounds a bit like a stag do that has gone terribly, terribly wrong, doesn't it?

But actually for the crowds who are around, his costume and the things that he does are loaded with meaning.

They're bursting with meaning.

So Mark tells us he generates this massive crowd, doesn't he?

And his appearance reminds us of the appearance of Elijah,

who is in the Old Testament part of the Bible.

John is like a new Elijah.

Now Elijah in the Old Testament was one of God's most important messengers.

So he's like a new Elijah.

And we see as well that he's in the wilderness, don't we?

Around the River Jordan doing this baptism stuff.

And again, those places are loaded with meaning for John's listeners.

Do you remember way back in Exodus, in the story of Moses and the salvation from Egypt,

God's people are led through the wilderness, aren't they?

Through the desert.

And eventually they cross over the River Jordan into the Promised Land.

So John the Baptist gets these great crowds together and it's like a revival, isn't it?

It's like a new Exodus.

A new salvation.

And it's all about to happen.

So it's amazing.

It's a phenomenon.

Now what is really surprising is what John then says in verse 7 and 8.

If you just glance down.

He preached saying,

After me comes he who is mightier than I,

the strap of whose sandals I'm not worthy to steep down and untie.

I've baptised you with water.

But he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.

So all of this phenomenal activity, this new Exodus activity,

is just part of the build-up.

It turns out that John here isn't the main player.

He's just the messenger boy.

There is one coming, he says,

who won't just get you wet with water,

but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.

God's Spirit.

He will change you not just on the outside of your body,

but he will change you on the inside.

And he says to these folks around him,

you need to get ready for him.

Get ready.

Confess your sins.

Admit your need for forgiveness.

Get ready for him.

I've given you water,

but he will be the Spirit-giver.

So Jesus firstly is announced by this phenomenal messenger

who says, get ready for Jesus.

Second though,

Jesus is announced by another group of people,

the prophets.

He's announced by the prophets.

And the prophets hope in Jesus.

Just look at verse 2 and 3.

There's another group we hear from, isn't there?

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,

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.

So Mark there quotes some prophets

from the Old Testament, doesn't he?

The prophet Isaiah.

And actually the prophet Malachi

is quoted in there as well.

So these prophets have said something in the past

which suddenly now

has a new resonance

in Mark's day.

You know, Emma and I have been watching

a new crime series

called Endeavour on ITV.

It's just finished.

It is a really great TV show.

It's about the life of Inspector Morse

when he was younger,

when he first started out.

It's really good.

But actually, you know,

the one annoying thing

at the end of the series

was that the producers

decided to leave the plot

on a ridiculous cliffhanger.

So Inspector Morse is left in prison.

He's falsely accused of murder.

All the good guys have been framed

for things that they didn't do.

And all of the bad guys

seem to have gotten away with it.

It's really annoying.

And you've got to watch,

you've got to wait for a whole year

to watch what happens.

You're left in suspense.

You're waiting for everything

to be resolved in the plot.

For things to be put right.

You really, really want

the next series to come.

And I guess that's why

it works, doesn't it?

But Mark's Gospel,

it comes at a point

in the whole Bible story

where there is a huge cliffhanger

still looming.

You know, it's been about 400 years

since anybody has spoken

God's word to the people.

Just turn with me, if you will,

to the last book in the Old Testament.

So it's just a couple of books

before Mark,

to Malachi.

Malachi.

Malachi, you can find it

on page 968

and 969.

So Malachi.

The last book in the Old Testament.

Page 969.

Let me just read to you

some words from Malachi

Malachi 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

and verse 1.

Behold, I send my messenger

and he will prepare

the way before me.

And the Lord whom you seek

will suddenly come

to his temple.

The messenger of the covenant

in whom you delight.

Behold, he is coming,

says the Lord of hosts.

But who can endure

the day of his coming

and who can stand

when he appears?

For he is like a refiner's fire

and like fuller's soap.

He will sit as a refiner

and purifier of silver.

And he will purify

the sons of Levi

and refine them

like gold and silver.

And they will bring offerings

in righteousness

to the Lord.

Then the offering

of Judah in Jerusalem

will be pleasing

to the Lord

as in the days of old.

As in former days.

Now Malachi

wrote those words

about 400 years

before Mark

was around.

And we see there

that Malachi

has got this great hope

that things

are going to change.

They're going to change

significantly.

See what he says

in verse 4.

He gets a bit reminiscent,

doesn't he?

Nostalgic.

Ah, the good old days.

He says,

do you remember

those old days?

The days of old

where we offered

to God

in righteousness.

righteousness.

Where our relationship

with God

was right.

What a happy time

that was.

What a good time.

But the problem

of Malachi

is that's just

not how life

is now.

If you read

the short book

of Malachi,

it's maybe a 10 minute

job,

it's a great

thing to do.

Malachi

gives us

a sad story

of the total

breakdown

and disintegration

in the relationship

with God

and human beings.

Everything

has just

fallen apart.

There is this

cosmic barrier

there.

And things

are so bad

in Malachi's time

that actually

people don't

even realise

they're bad.

That is a bit

like today,

isn't it?

Things have

gotten so bad

between God

and human beings

we don't even

realise they're bad.

It's really

so sad.

It's really

so dangerous.

But Malachi's

hope is that

that will change.

And it will

change,

do you see,

in chapter 3

of Malachi

when a messenger

announces

the arrival

of the Lord.

And God

then

will himself

suddenly come.

we'll

know that

when the

Lord's

messenger

announces it.

Then the

Lord himself

will suddenly

come.

So Malachi

says,

watch out

for the

messenger.

When the

messenger

appears,

we know

that the

Lord is

coming.

He's

coming.

He's

coming.

He's

coming.

So back

to Mark.

Back to

Mark.

Mark quotes

the Old Testament

prophets,

doesn't he?

in verse 2

and 3.

As if to

say the

cliffhanger

is finally

over.

The silence

is finally

broken.

Malachi's

hope is

becoming a

reality.

In Malachi's

day it was

when the

messenger

appears,

the Lord

is coming.

He's

coming.

But in

Mark's

time it's

not like

that.

John,

the

messenger

arrives,

and so

now for

Mark,

the Lord

has come.

The Lord

has come.

Jesus is

announced by

the messenger,

and so

Jesus is

the hope

of the

prophets.

But there's

a third

character in

this opening

section of

Mark.

We also

see that

Jesus is

the one

affirmed

by the

Father,

by God

the Father.

Have a

little look

down at

verse 9

there.

So Mark

says,

in those

days Jesus

came from

Nazareth of

Galilee,

and was

baptised by

John in

the Jordan.

So at the

beginning of

Mark's

Gospel we

don't get

Mary and

Joseph,

do we?

We don't

get any

stories of

mangers,

there are

no genealogies,

there is

no childhood

of Jesus.

Mark

introduces

Jesus in

a really

abrupt way

doesn't he?

It's as if

Jesus just

appears out

of nowhere,

and he

comes and

he's almost

like everyone

else isn't

he,

being

baptised

by John.

But what

happens at

his baptism

really distinguishes

Jesus from

everybody else

around him.

as he's

baptised by

John,

he comes

out of the

water,

doesn't he?

And Mark

uses a

word that

is only

used in

his Gospel

and he

only uses

it twice.

Look at

verse 10.

When he

came up out

of the

water,

immediately

he saw

the heavens

opening,

and the

spirit

descended

on him

like a

dove.

Now the

word

opening

there is

more like

the word

torn.

The heavens

were torn,

open.

That's the

unique word

there.

As Jesus

appears from

this baptism,

something

unprecedented,

something

truly cosmic

occurs there.

The heavens

are torn,

open.

As Jesus

appears from

the baptism,

it's almost

like the

twitch in

the curtains

between

heaven and

earth,

suddenly opens,

doesn't it,

momentarily.

It twitches

open,

they're torn

open.

And it's

the same

word that

Mark uses

at the

end of

his Gospel

when Jesus

dies on

the cross.

When the

temple curtain

is torn

from top

to bottom.

The curtain

that divides

man from

God is

torn.

heaven.

So Jesus

appears,

and he

is the

one to

break down

that

dividing

wall.

He will

tear open

the cosmic

divide between

man and

between God.

And a voice

comes from

heaven at that

point,

doesn't it,

in verse

11.

You are my

beloved son,

with you I

am well

pleased.

Christ.

The heavens

tear open

as Jesus

appears,

and the

Spirit of

God descends

on him

like a

dove.

And this

voice from

heaven,

God the

Father,

booms out.

It reminds

us of the

anointing

ceremonies of

kings in

Malachi's good

old days.

the great

kings of

Israel,

like King

David,

who were

anointed

with oil,

and the

Spirit of

God rushed

upon them.

It's

Jesus'

anointing

as God's

king here.

The Spirit

falls upon

him,

and God

the Father

says,

I'm delighted

in you,

my son,

my king.

Jesus is

affirmed

by God

the Father.

So everything

comes to a

head,

doesn't it,

at the

baptism of

Jesus.

The one

whom the

messenger

announces

is the

one who

the prophets

hoped for.

The Spirit

giver is

here.

So it

isn't he

is coming

anymore,

it is most

certainly he

has come.

Malachi's

dream has

come true.

He's the

Spirit giver

come to

change us

from the

inside.

God's

pleasing,

delightful

son,

his king.

So it's

good news.

It is

good news.

But you

know,

as we

finish this

afternoon,

Mark changes

the mood

in the last

few verses

that we

read.

Guess who?

He says to

us.

Even though

Mark wants

us to win,

he knows we

are going to

need more

help to

work Jesus

out.

Because the

Lord Jesus

has come,

but not in

the way that

we'd expect.

Look with me

at verse 12

to 15

there.

After the

baptism,

the Spirit

immediately

drove Jesus

out into

the wilderness.

And he

was in the

wilderness

40 days,

being tempted

by Satan.

He was with

the wild

animals,

and the

angels were

ministering to

him.

Now after

John was

arrested,

Jesus came

into Galilee

proclaiming the

gospel of

God and

saying,

the time is

fulfilled,

and the

kingdom of

God is at

hand.

Repent and

believe in

the gospel.

There are a

few more

characters here,

aren't we,

that we see.

With this

new exodus

salvation that

Jesus brings

in, did you

notice that the

job of the

appearing Lord,

he finally

comes,

but it

starts not

with glory

and power

and might,

but with a

trip to the

desert, a

trip to the

wilderness.

He's led by

the Spirit of

God to be

alone.

He's driven

out by the

Spirit of

God to face

Satan, and

he's opposed

by the devil,

and he's

tempted by

him for

40 days.

He's with

the wild

animals, he

is threatened.

And the

phenomenal

king's

messenger boy

in verse

14 is

arrested.

He's

opposed by

the authorities.

So when

the Lord

arrives, he

doesn't arrive

with open

arms, does

he?

But Mark

there gives

us a hint

that as the

Lord tears

the heavens

open, he

himself must

be torn by

opposition.

And he

must face

temptation, he

must face

our greatest

enemy.

You know,

verse 12

and 14

seem like bad

news, don't

they, if it

weren't for

verse 15.

Because after

the temptation,

after the

arrest, the

Lord Jesus

again emerges

into Galilee.

He turns what

we think we

need from the

Lord on

its head.

He's led

by the

Spirit to

face Satan.

And it's

only getting

through

opposition

and evil

and temptation

and to

emerge on

the other

side that

Jesus can

show us

that he

is Lord.

Then and

only then

does he

and can he

say of

himself that

the time is

fulfilled and

the kingdom

of God is

at hand.

Repent and

believe in

the gospel.

So it

really isn't

the Lord is

coming, the

Lord is

coming.

Jesus says

about himself

that the

Lord has

come.

Only

though by

emerging from

temptation

and opposition

can he

truly say

that.

Jesus

hoped in

the

prophets

announced

by the

messenger

affirmed

by the

father

led by

the

spirit

tempted

by the

devil

and

then

and

only

then

emerging

as

self-pronounced

king.

Guess who

Mark says

have you

worked him

out?

Let's pray.

Let's종