The Voice In The Wilderness (1)

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Mark chapter 1.

Mark 1 · chapter mention

Let's go ahead and start reading at verse number 1 and we'll read down to verse number 8.

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in the prophets,

John did baptize in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

And there went out unto him all the land of Judea and they of Jerusalem

and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

And John was clothed with camel's hair and with a girdle of skin about his loins.

And he did eat locust and wild honey.

And preached, saying,

There cometh one mightier than I after me,

the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

I indeed have baptized you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

Everything that we study in the gospel of Mark must be primarily viewed

through the lens of Mark's stated purpose in verse 1,

which reads,

This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Now Mark's goal in writing this collection of eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus

was specifically to proclaim that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Messiah, the Son of God.

His desire here in this gospel is not to tell the story of Jesus.

His desire in this gospel is to make a definitive statement about Jesus.

So we do not understand the gospels to be biographies.

That's not what they are.

They are gospels.

They are proclamations of good news.

And the material contained within the pages that we'll study

is the evidence that Mark gives to support this purpose statement.

So in verse 1 he says,

Jesus is the Christ.

He's the Messiah.

He's the Son of God.

Everything that then follows after is the evidence that builds and supports Mark's case.

And so when we come to each and every passage, beginning with this one today,

we have to first start with this question.

How did Mark intend for this passage to point us to Jesus Christ

as the Messiah and the Son of God?

So that's where we begin.

Not only here, but really any particular passage that we would study in the Bible,

ask that question.

But as we view this book through the lens of Mark's gospel,

we ask how does he want us to see Christ here?

How is he proving to us in these verses that Jesus is indeed the Son of God?

I spoke at length last week about the significance of this term gospel,

the Greek equivalent being euangelion.

It's used in the first verse to describe exactly what Mark's doing.

Now both the ancient Jews and the Romans would have understood the reference here.

He's speaking specifically to a herald that would go from town to town announcing the arrival of a king

that has come to save his people.

In the scripture, it always refers to the message of salvation.

So Mark stated that his writing was such a proclamation,

and Jesus is that very king.

That's the significance of the term itself.

But as he begins to give evidence to the fact that Jesus is indeed the king,

that he is indeed the Messiah and Son of God,

if he's going to use this term gospel,

it only makes sense that there would be a literal herald that would go before this king,

that would go before this Messiah in order to announce his arrival,

to announce his coming, and to prepare the way.

And that's exactly what he does in these verses.

He builds his case by speaking to the significance of a man that we have come to know as John the Baptist,

or probably even better, John the Baptizer.

Look with me again at verse 2, the very first phrase there.

As it is written in the prophets, this is the beginning of Mark's proof.

He doesn't do his proof based on his own rationale or his own capabilities of reasoning.

Mark turns to the scriptures.

That's where we must always turn first.

If it's going to be our goal to share the gospel of Jesus with others,

to persuade and convince others that Jesus is indeed the Christ,

we must not start with our own reasoning.

We cannot start with our own rationale.

We must turn to the scriptures.

And that's exactly what Mark does.

Now it's important for us to acknowledge here

that John's ministry didn't happen by chance.

It wasn't that the gospel writers were noticing John

and noticing what was going on in this ministry prior to Jesus

and this wilderness fanatic, which is really what most people would have viewed him as.

It's not that they noticed this guy's life and thought,

you know what, this would make our story about Jesus so much spicier,

so much more significant.

Maybe we'll add this in there,

and maybe we'll get a few more copies and publications sold to make a little more money.

That's not what's happening here.

They're not including John's story here to make their story better.

This was a part of God's plan from before the foundation of the world,

as Ephesians 1 tells us.

We cannot separate the ministry of John the Baptist from the gospel of Jesus.

The true identity of who Jesus is cannot be understood fully

apart from the fulfillment of these prophecies to which Mark is referring

here in these first two verses.

And so we don't come to it thinking this was a really unique guy,

maybe this helps us understand the context.

No, there is a specific purpose that Mark has written about John.

It is the specific purpose of proclaiming who Jesus is,

and so that's the lens that we see.

All four gospel writers, even Jesus himself,

emphasizes the life, ministry, and preaching of John the Baptist.

John was a voice.

John was the voice.

The voice that was set aside hundreds of years before

to prepare the way for Jesus.

And to help us with our understanding today,

I've kind of grouped these verses into two categories.

We're looking at the voice in the wilderness.

First, we'll see the voice prophesied,

and then we're going to see the voice personified.

Let's first look at the voice prophesied in verses 2 and 3.

Would you read it with me again?

As it is written in the prophets,

Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,

which shall prepare thy way before thee.

The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

prepare ye the way of the Lord.

Make his paths straight.

Now, it's helpful for us here to be reminded of the fact,

and maybe even exult in the fact,

that God is a God who speaks.

He speaks.

It's by the very power of his word

that all of creation came to be.

God said, let there be light,

and there was light.

And we see that demonstrated through the creation story.

Really, all throughout the scriptures,

we see the power of God's word in creation.

We also find that as we study the scriptures,

that the scriptures themselves are the very words of God.

It is his way of speaking,

his revelation of himself,

the revelation of his plan of redemption.

He speaks that to us.

Now, take just a moment before we move any further

and contemplate how glorious of a truth that is.

That not only did God create you,

not only did he provide this life that you enjoy today,

not only does he know that your life can only be fulfilled

as it is related to a personal relationship with he and his son,

Jesus Christ,

but he has actually spoken to you through his word,

through creation,

in order that you may know him.

He is a God who speaks.

And as we come to this passage,

and we're looking to verify the identity of Jesus

through the identity of John the Baptist,

we see that it is God's grace that has spoken to us in this way.

He has spoken about John the Baptist,

and then he has spoken through John the Baptist.

But the most significant way in which God speaks

is through his son.

Hebrews chapter one,

and the whole book opens this way.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways,

God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.

But in these last days,

that is the days in which you and I live,

he has spoken through his son.

And he goes on, the writer of Hebrews,

to say that the son is the exact imprint

of the nature of God.

It's a wonderful revelation.

How do we know who God is?

We look at Jesus.

How do we understand God's love for us?

We look at Jesus.

How do we understand God's purpose for us?

We look at Jesus.

He has spoken to us,

not only through creation and through the prophets,

but in these last days,

through his son.

So now we understand that all true revelation

points us to Jesus Christ,

because that's the way in which God has now spoken.

Mark wasn't writing about John

because he was particularly impressed by him,

even though I'm sure that his ministry

would have impacted Mark in a unique way

as he was not alive during that time,

but at least as he recalled it and heard of it.

The ministry of John the baptizer

was only relevant to the gospel writers

in so far as it was connected to the person

and the work of Jesus.

So they only wrote of John the baptist

as it was in connection

with these Old Testament prophecies

about the herald of the coming Messiah.

That's why no other intertestamental preachers

are mentioned for us in the New Testament.

Why is it that John is singled out?

Because there was a specific purpose to John.

He wasn't just a preacher.

He was the voice,

the one that long ago had been said

would come and prepare the way for the Messiah.

So let's look at these two prophecies.

There's two of them that Mark actually quotes here,

Malachi chapter three and Isaiah chapter 40.

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

In fact, I think it would be helpful

for us to actually turn to them.

So if you would,

turn with me first to Malachi chapter three.

This is the passage that Mark is quoting

in verse number two.

Malachi chapter three, verse number one.

Behold, I will send my messenger

and he shall prepare the way before me

and the Lord whom you seek

shall suddenly come to his temple,

even the messenger of the covenant

whom you delight in.

Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.

Now keep your finger there

and flip over to Isaiah chapter 40.

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

This is the other one.

In verse number three,

Mark quotes Isaiah chapter 40,

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

this other prophecy.

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,

prepare ye the way of the Lord.

Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

These are the two scriptures that Mark quotes here.

It's how he opens his gospel.

He gives his stated purpose

and then he immediately goes to the scripture

and he says, here's what the scripture says.

Malachi 3, 1, Isaiah 40 and verse three.

And then he applies those scriptures

specifically to John the Baptist.

Now there's a couple of ways

that these scriptures speak about who John is.

Let's talk about what they say about John.

First, they say that he will prepare the way.

We just read it.

A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Isaiah says,

prepare ye the way of the Lord.

In Malachi chapter three,

I will send my messenger.

He shall prepare the way.

There's a cultural significance to this statement.

There was a custom of near Eastern kings

that as they would travel from place to place,

they would send a herald ahead of them.

And that herald had a specific job.

He was not only to proclaim the coming of the king,

that's a part of it, we'll get to that in just a second.

He was to prepare literally the way of the king,

the way that the king would travel.

That involved clearing obstacles out of the path.

It involved straightening crooked roads

or crooked valleys that the king

and his envoy would have to travel through.

It involved creating causeways over swampy areas

or areas that would have been difficult

to traverse on the ground.

It involved preparing the way quite literally.

And these Old Testament writers

take this cultural context and they say

that when the Messiah comes,

there will be one that goes before him

and he will prepare the way.

He will remove the obstacles.

He will not only announce the coming of the Messiah,

but he will make the way of the Messiah straight.

He will prepare the hearts of the people to receive him.

So what do these verses say about John?

He'll prepare the way.

Then they say that he will be a voice

and specifically that he will be a voice in the wilderness.

Both prophecies emphasize the fact

that the forerunning herald would be a voice

and a messenger.

Voice is the word used by Isaiah 43

and messenger by Malachi chapter three.

Speaking on behalf of God,

the preparations would be made for the Messiah

by this forerunner

and would be focused particularly on his preaching.

That's the significance of this herald.

How do we know that this was John?

Because this is what the scripture said he would do.

There's a focus on his preaching.

He would be noticed by the people specifically

because of the content of his message

and the way in which he would deliver it.

Isaiah says he will be a voice of one crying out

in the wilderness preparing the way of the Lord.

All four gospel writers take these two prophecies

and they apply them specifically to John the Baptist.

Matthew does it in chapter three of his gospel.

Here's what he says.

Now in the days,

in those days,

John the Baptist came

preaching in the wilderness of Judea

saying,

repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand

for this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet

when he said,

the voice of one crying in the wilderness,

make ready the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

Luke chapter three does the same thing.

And he came into all the district around the Jordan

preaching a baptism of repentance

for the forgiveness of sins

as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah.

The prophet Luke writes,

the voice of one crying in the wilderness,

make ready the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

Every ravine will be filled.

Every mountain and hill will be brought low.

The crooked will become straight

and the rough road smooth

and all flesh will see the salvation of our God.

And then we get to the gospel of John

and his claim comes in a little bit of a different way.

This time it's John the Baptist himself

making this claim.

He says,

I am that one.

The gospel of John chapter one in verse 23.

He said,

I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness,

make straight the way of the Lord,

as Isaiah the prophet said.

And you may be here today and you may say,

well, it doesn't really matter to me very much

what John claimed himself to be.

And maybe those other gospel writers

were just getting together

and they were coming up with this story

in and of themselves.

But that's not the only claim

that we see in the scripture.

Jesus Christ himself in Luke chapter seven

and Matthew chapter 10

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

says this about John the Baptist.

Here's what he says in Luke seven.

But what did you go out to see?

That is in the wilderness.

A prophet?

And Jesus said,

yes, I say to you,

and one who is more than a prophet.

Why?

Because this is the one about whom is written,

behold, I send my messenger ahead of you

who will prepare your way before you.

The fact that these prophecies

were perfectly fulfilled by John the Baptist

give validation to the fact

that Jesus is indeed the Messiah,

the Son of God.

Because hundreds of years before,

it said there will be a herald.

This is what he will do.

This is how he will do it.

And he will go before preparing the way

for the Messiah.

And now we see John the Baptist

perfectly fulfilling that.

And so we say not only is John the Baptist

the voice in the wilderness,

but because of that,

Jesus is indeed the Messiah,

the Son of God.

So we see what these Old Testament passages

say about John.

Now let's look at what these two

Old Testament passages say about Jesus.

The prophecies of Isaiah and Malachi

are not only about John.

They are indeed,

first and foremost,

about Christ.

In fact,

if you'll allow me

just to take a side trip here

for just a second,

all of the Scripture

is ultimately

about Christ.

The entire book in your hand,

it doesn't matter where you turn

in one way or another,

it is there for the purpose

of directing you

towards the person

of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said this.

And we see the example of this

in the Gospels.

Remember after Jesus' resurrection,

a couple of the disciples

were discouraged

and they decided

that they were going to go home

to Emmaus.

And they begin walking the road

on Resurrection Day

to the town of Emmaus.

And Jesus shows up

and walks with them.

But he prevents them

from recognizing that it's him.

And what is it that Jesus did?

Luke tells us in chapter 24.

Then beginning with Moses,

that's the law,

the Pentateuch,

the first five books

of the Bible,

and with all the prophets,

that's the rest

of the Old Testament,

he explained to them

the things concerning himself

in all the Scriptures.

What was Jesus explaining to them?

The Bible is about me.

Everything you read

is meant to point you to me,

Jesus was telling those men.

But then Jesus makes the claim

expressly in John chapter 5.

John 5 · chapter mention

He told some religious people

who are having a hard time

accepting him,

he said,

you search the Scriptures

because you think that in them

you have eternal life.

And then he says,

it is these that testify

of me.

And you are unwilling

to come to me

so that you may have life.

In other words,

he was meeting

with a bunch of religious people

that loved the Bible,

that studied faithfully

the Bible,

but they couldn't understand

that the Bible

was actually about him.

They went to the Scriptures

searching for eternal life

as if they could just

follow the rules

just the right way

and if they could just

conform to the religiosity

just the right way

that they would gain salvation.

But Jesus says,

you've missed the whole point.

If you study

and know every passage

of the Bible

but you've missed me

in the Bible,

then you've missed life

in the Bible.

All of the Scripture

is about Jesus.

So when we come

to these two prophecies,

it's not just indirectly

about Jesus,

it's actually specifically

about Jesus.

And it cannot be overlooked

by us today.

They're absolutely essential

to our understanding

of who Jesus is in nature.

Now let's look at them again.

Look at Malachi's prophecy first.

Malachi chapter three.

What is it that he says?

Behold, this is God speaking

through Malachi,

I will send my messenger

and he shall prepare the way

before, what's that next word?

Me.

Who's speaking?

God.

This is not Malachi

writing Malachi's word.

This is Malachi speaking

on behalf of God.

And God says,

behold, I will send

my messenger before me.

Look at the next phrase.

And the Lord,

God,

Yahweh,

whom you seek

shall suddenly come

to his temple.

what's the purpose

of this?

What does this tell us

about Jesus?

The messenger

to which God

is referring

is John the Baptist.

But the person

whose path

John would be preparing

is God

himself.

In other words,

the Messiah

would not be

merely

an extraordinarily

gifted man

that would lead

the nation.

No,

this would be

Yahweh himself

in the flesh.

Malachi's prophecy

insists

that the one

to suddenly come

would be

none other

than God

himself.

Now look with me

at Isaiah chapter 40.

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

We'll see it again.

Isaiah chapter 40

Isaiah 40:3

verse 3.

The voice

of him

that cries

in the wilderness

prepare ye

the way

of the

who?

Lord.

Whose way

is he preparing?

The Lord's way.

You notice

in your Bible

Lord has

four capital letters.

That's the covenant

name.

Yahweh.

Whose way

is the voice

in the wilderness

preparing?

Yahweh's way.

Make straight

in the desert

a highway

for our God.

And then he goes on.

Every valley

shall be exalted.

Every mountain

and hill

shall be made low.

The crooked

shall be made straight

and the rough places

made plain.

That is by John's

preaching

and John's ministry.

And the glory

of the Lord

shall be revealed.

And all flesh

shall see it together

for the mouth

of the Lord

hath spoken it.

The voice

said

cry.

And he said

what shall I cry?

All flesh

is grass

and all the

goodliness thereof

is of a flower

of the field.

The grass

withers

the flower

fades

but the spirit

of the Lord

bloweth upon it.

Surely the people

is grass.

The grass

withers

the flower

fades

but the word

of our God

shall stand

forever.

What word?

Isaiah's word

Malachi's word

John's word

what were all

three of them

testifying of?

That not only

is Jesus

the Messiah

but the Messiah

is God

himself.

Jesus was not

just a man.

He is God.

He is the only

one that could

ever provide

atonement for sin

not because he

was a superhuman

but because he

is God.

So Mark says

in verse number

one

my goal

in this book

is to proclaim

and evidence

that Jesus

Christ

is the Messiah

and then he

tacks on

that next phrase

and the Messiah

is the Son

of God

and the very

first thing

Mark does

is he says

let's look

at the scriptures.

Here's what

the scripture

says.

There's going

to be a man

that comes

and the way

that he prepares

is a way

for God

himself

and then

John himself

testifies

of this God

as he walks

up to the river

one day

and he says

behold

the Lamb

of God

who takes away

the sins

of the world.

What's the significance

of John's ministry

is because it points

us to Jesus

and what is significant

about these Old Testament

prophecies

that we find out

that long before

we ever got

to Philippians

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

that the Old Testament

said that the Messiah

would come

and the Messiah

would be God

in the flesh.

Who is Jesus?

He's God.

He's God.

How do we know?

Because the Bible

tells me so.

Where does it say it?

We can start

in Isaiah 43.

And Malachi 3.

And then we can

go to Mark 1.

And then we can

go to Philippians 2.

And then we can

go everywhere else

in the scripture

that you want to go

because it all

testifies of him.

What's the significance

of Mark writing

about John?

Nothing really

except for the fact

that he's writing

about Jesus.

Jesus made

these divine

claims himself

as being one

with the Father.

But it was not

a claim that was

unsubstantiated

in the rest

of the scripture.

These prophecies

about John

aren't really

about John at all.

The importance

of recognizing

that these prophecies

referred to John

cannot be overstated

as they clearly reveal

that Jesus of Nazareth

is indeed

God in the flesh

that has come

to save us

from our sins.

This is the gospel.

This is the gospel.

Listen this morning.

This is who Jesus is.

What are you going

to do with him?

What are you going

to do with him?

You cannot look

at Jesus

and do nothing.

You cannot

just accept Jesus

as being this

really awesome

powerful preacher

of days gone by.

You cannot come

to understand

what the Bible

says is the true

nature and purpose

of Jesus

and walk away

from that

indifferently.

You must either

believe him

and follow him

as Lord

or you must

deny him

and reject him

and follow

your own way.

And anything

indifferent

is really just

a choice

to follow yourself.

as you take

the word

to people

in your family

and you take

it to people

across this community

and across

this world

we introduce

them to who

Jesus is

but we cannot

introduce him

in a way

that leaves

them indifferent.

If Jesus

truly is the

son of God

as the Bible

insists

and attests

to

we must do

something with him.

We must either

fully embrace him

or we must

fully reject him

as a liar

or a lunatic

as C.S. Lewis

said.

He's either liar

lunatic

or Lord.

You cannot walk

out of this room

today

indifferent to that.

You walk out

of this room

either acknowledging

him as Lord

or as a liar

or a lunatic

one or the other.

Thank you for

listening to this

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Lakeside Bible

Church.

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