Before You Begin...

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

John 1:32-34

Certain things in life are prerequisite to the journey ahead. You don't begin a road trip without first checking to make sure you have enough gas in the tank, air in the tires, and oil in the engine. Neither do you start a hiking trip wearing only your PJs and house shoes. It's the same with our Christian walk. Before you begin any undertaking for the Lord you should make sure you have what is necessary.

In today's passage we find Jesus about to embark on His public ministry, but before He begins, one thing is necessary. Jesus gets baptized and at His baptism the Spirit descends on Him like a dove and remains on Him. That last point always escaped my notice, but it is important. You see the Spirit's lighting on Jesus is not merely a sign to identify Him as the Messiah. It is much more than that. The Spirit resting on Him is both a symbol of His kingship (kings in the O.T. were often anointed with oil as a symbol of God's Spirit) and an important empowering preparation for His ministry. This is Jesus' Day of Pentecost. He is being filled with the Spirit and empowered to go out and perform His ministry.

If it was necessary and fitting for Jesus' ministry to begin with a Holy Spirit anointing, then how much more is it necessary for us? Notice that none of the gospels record Jesus having a single convert or performing a single miracle before His anointing with the Spirit. Therefore, we must be careful to remember that we are not called to do anything for God, as though we were capable of accomplishing anything of substance without Him. Rather we are called to do great things with God...good works He has prepared in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10). How does one get the Spirit? The passage says that it is Jesus who baptizes us in the Holy Spirit. Every Christian at their salvation is filled with the Spirit. It is given to all believers to empower and guide them along their journey, but we must learn to walk and minister in it. So before you begin making your own plans today, be sure to ask for God's guidance and blessing through His powerful Spirit.

For further reading...

• Matthew 4:1-11- Several of the gospels follow Jesus' baptism with the Spirit immediately leading him into the desert to face temptation. 
• Romans 8- Life through the Spirit.
• I John 4- How to recognize the Spirit of God.

A Glimpse of the Gospel in the Old Testament

This week as I read Isaiah 59, its truth shined to me as though I had never read it before. I found a beautiful glimpse of the gospel too precious not to share.The chapter opens with the truth of the human problem of sin. Isaiah 59:2-3a:

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity... 

In Isaiah's time this passage spoke of God's judgment on the people of Judah. Their continued sin and rebellion had turned God's face away from them in punishment. But this passage is also one of Isaiah's prophecies about the coming Savior, thus its meaning extends beyond its original context to the plight of every man. We all have sinned against God. Our sin separates us from God and earns His wrath. We, like the exiles of Isaiah's day, "hope for salvation but find none" in what this world has to offer.

But into this bleak picture steps God Most High.

Now the Lord saw, and it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice. And He saw that there was no man, and was astonished that there was no one to intercede; then His own arm brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. According to their deeds, so He will repay, wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies... “A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the Lord.  (Isaiah 59:15b-18a, 20)

The wickedness of Judah is such that there is none to save. Worse than that, there isn't even one to act as a mediator between to intercede on behalf of the people. God chooses to take this role on Himself in order to save His people. Again, the meaning of this prophecy easily extends to Jesus. All of humanity is lost in sin and unwilling to repent before a holy God. No one intercedes or seeks after God while in sin. There is not even one righteous person in all the earth. So our Heavenly Father sent Jesus to bring salvation to mankind and to act as that needed mediator. Just as verse twenty says, He offers redemption to men who turn from their sin. This happened through His death on the cross during His first coming. But God has also promised a second coming of Christ in which He will sit in judgment over all the earth. He will pour out God's wrath on those who oppose and turn away from God the Father Almighty.

So what are we to do with so great a salvation? Certainly we are to turn from our sin in repentance before the day of His coming in judgment! We are to believe that Jesus is God's Son who took the punishment for our sin upon Himself by His death on the cross. We also ought to believe that He rose from the dead on the third day in order to beat the power of sin and death. He ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty and there He waits to return and judge the living and the dead. Beyond this act of faith, the Lord tells us what else we ought to do in verse twenty-one.

“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.”

We are called to live in the Spirit and to proclaim God's good Word not only to our families but to the whole world. Glory be to the only God who is righteous enough to demand justice against His enemies, loving enough to intercede on their behalf, powerful enough to bring salvation to His enemies, gracious enough to offer them forgiveness by way of His own suffering, and good enough to give them His great Word. Share His good Word with someone today!

For further reading...

• Romans 10:9-10 & Acts 16:16-40-What must I do to be saved?
• Romans 1-3- The sinfulness of man and the righteousness of God as presented in the New Testament.
• Isaiah 49-53- The Servant Songs of Isaiah

A Very Important Message: Part 1

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

   “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2:13-14

 

 

How do you communicate a message that you believe is extremely important? Do you shout it to make sure it is heard? Or maybe you whisper it to draw them in closer? Perhaps you put it in print, in ALL CAPS, bold it, underline it, or change the font color. Whatever you do, chances are that you make sure people can tell your message is important.

 

God has His own ways of making sure we know when He is giving us important messages. One of those ways is by sending the message via His messengers, the angels. This is one way we know that the birth of Christ is so important, because there are so many angelic visits surrounding the event (Matthew 1:20-21, Matthew 2:12, Matthew 2:13,  Luke 1:11-20, Luke 1:26-38, & Luke 2:8-14). But there is only one message in the Christmas story that is delivered by more than one angel. In fact, God sent a great company of angels, possibly thousands of angels to deliver the same message to the same people at the same time. This must be a very important message!

 

Luke 2:14 reveals the two great accomplishments of Jesus’ arrival: glory in heaven and peace on earth. This week we will consider how Jesus' birth and life brings God glory. Next week we will consider how it brought about peace on earth. 

 

Scripture compares God’s glory to the sun in Revelation 21:23 when it says that in heaven there will be no sun for God’s glory itself will be our light. So God’s glory is like the sun that sends forth its warmth and light. God’s glory sends forth God’s goodness and excellence so that creation can respond in praise. Jesus is like the rays of the sun in this analogy. The sun would be warm and light giving even if its rays did not reach all the way to earth, we just wouldn’t know it. But because they do bring its warmth and light to earth we can enjoy them and give thanks for the sun. Jesus brings the glory of God’s grace and goodness down to earth in ways we never could have known otherwise. Through Him we experience God's love and forgiveness. Because of Him, God is glorified as we respond with faith and praise.

 

Christ also provides the ultimate example of obedience. John 17:4 says that Jesus glorified God by completing the work He gave Him to do. God had a perfect and wise plan for Jesus’ life. By submitting Himself to follow God’s plan completely, Jesus allowed Himself to be used to display God's glory supremely. He was born as a man. He lived a life of service to the sick, the dying, the needy, and the sinner. He allowed Himself to be falsely accused, mocked, tortured, murdered, & buried in the very ground He created; all to follow God’s plan for His life and bring glory to His name.

Do you know that God has a plan for your life too? Ephesians 2:10 says that God has prepared good works in advance for believers to do. It isn't just Jesus or ministers that God has a specific plan for. God has specific good deeds He has planned for your future. Only through prayer and the discernment of the Holy Spirit will you determine exactly what these good works are...if you are willing to fully obey Him like Christ. Is God calling you to quit work to stay home with your children? Is He calling you to go back to work, to share the gospel? Maybe you feel led to become a missionary or a minister? He might be calling you to make a big year end gift to a church or charity. Whatever the Lord is calling you to do, even if you don't know what it is yet, will you commit to following His plan for your life? At Christmas as we celebrate that Jesus was willing to come to earth following God's plan for His life, what better time than now for you to submit yourself to God’s plan?

 

For further reading...

• Hebrews 1:1-4- Jesus is the radiance of God's glory. 
• Ephesians 2:1-10- God has a plan for your life.
• Matthew 1:20-21, Matthew 2:12, Matthew 2:13,  Luke 1:11-20, Luke 1:26-38, & Luke 2:8-14- Check out all the angelic visitations surrounding the birth of Christ.

Be Thankful: Serve!

Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

Mark 1:23-25, 29-31

In the above passage, Jesus shows His hearers, in very tangible ways, that the kingdom of God has truly come. He does this by driving demons out of those they possess and healing illnesses. Though I wouldn't quite call activities such as these routine, they were a quite common part of Jesus' ministry. The reason for this is quite simple. The Bible tells us what the kingdom of God will be like (Isaiah 29:18, 35:5-6, 53:4-5, 61). It's the world as it should be. In the kingdom no one is demon possessed, sick, lame, blind, or deaf. So one way that Jesus can prove that the kingdom of God has truly come in Him is by driving out demons and healing the sick. So this is exactly what he does! And Jesus is able to do this because He has the authority to do so. Jesus is God incarnate, God in human form, the God/man, Immanuel (God with us). He has authority over demons and over disease and so He goes about setting His children free from these shackles that sin has placed on them. 

I love that the Bible records the healing of Peter's mother-in-law, because in such an understated way she shows us how we should react to this shackle-removing work of Christ. Once Jesus heals her, what does she do? She immediately sets out to serve Him and His disciples. Our response to Christ's work really is that simple. When Christ sets us free from what entangles us, whether that be sin, illness, demon possession, or something else, the appropriate response of a thankful heart is faithful service. Thus, in Peter's mother-in-law we have an excellent picture of what all of us as Christians should be doing. Are you thankful for what Jesus has done for you? If so, have you found your place of service in the kingdom? Since Jesus is no longer on this earth, the best way we can serve Him now is by serving His bride the church, and through that service to aid the church in bringing more and more people to a saving knowledge of Him. Are you showing your thankfulness by serving the people of God?

For further reading...

• Luke 10:9, 11:20- Notice the close connection between the healing of the sick and the driving out of demons with the acknowledgment that the kingdom of God has come near.
• Matthew 11:2-6- Notice what proof Jesus gives to John the Baptist's disciples that He truly is the Messiah.
• Isaiah 29:18, 35:5-6, 53:4-5, 61- Read some Old Testament Passages about what kind of kingdom the Messiah would bring with Him.

John the Baptist: Herald of the Promised King

...as 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 wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

 

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Mark 1:2-8

 

 

Every king needs a herald... someone to go before him to announce the greatness of his arrival...someone to make sure that the people have been prepared...that there will be a reception fit for a king. This is no less true of the promised Messiah. The coming of this Messiah had been foretold many times for more than a thousand years before Jesus. So there was great expectation, especially in Jesus' day, for the coming of the great king from the line of David who would restore the people of God to their rightful place. But Mark weaves Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1 together in verse 2 of his gospel to remind his readers that the Messiah wasn't the only one who was prophesied to come. For over five hundred years now the people of Israel had awaited the herald, one like Elijah (Malachi 4:5-6), who would announce that the time of the coming king was finally at hand. This herald would make ready and prepare the way before the Messiah. Let's look and see what the herald has to teach us.

 

First, let's look at his actions. John the Baptist appears out in the wilderness offering a baptism of repentance in the Jordan River. This action was rich with history for the people of Israel. God had long ago rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt. He led them through the waters of the Red Sea on dry ground and through the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land (God's promised inheritance for His people). Then they passed through the Jordan River (also on dry ground) to enter the Promised Land. This story of the Israel's exodus is the context for understanding what John the Baptist is doing. By his actions John is saying, a new exodus has begun. We have fallen short of living like the people of God should, so repent and let's start over. The king is coming, now is the time to repent before he gets here. We want him to find us washed of our sin and living rightly when he gets here. So prepare yourselves for the coming of the king! Come back to the wilderness with me. We will pass through the waters again in repentance and in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. God is doing a new thing. Now the people of God will receive the true promised inheritance.

What a powerful message! You know this message is still relevant today. The Bible tells us that King Jesus is coming yet again at some time in the future to take his new people into their Promised Land (Heaven). So make ready and prepare yourself for the coming of the king is at hand! What do you need to repent of in order to be prepared for the king's arrival?

 

Second, let's look at his words, and what powerful words they are! John says that he is unworthy to even stoop down and untie the straps of Jesus' sandals. The ESV Study Bible notes that untying the straps of the master's sandals was usually the job of a low servant in the household. You see, the roads and well worn paths of that day were often littered with animal waste and other filth, so this was an undesirable job to say the least. In fact, Jews were not supposed to ask their Jewish servants to do this task. This disgrace was reserved for the already unclean Gentile servant.* John uses this everyday activity from their culture to make a powerful statement about his place in relation to Jesus. He says that he is not even worthy to be Jesus' lowliest servant. That is how high Jesus is above him. Let me ask you, do you serve the Lord with this kind of humility?

John continues by comparing their baptisms. "I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” What a wonderful thought, to be immersed not in water but in the Spirit of the living God! This is truly a salvation experience, to know God and be immersed in His presence. And this is what Christ has done, He poured out the Spirit for all believers on the day of Pentecost and He continues to pour out the Spirit into the lives of those who believe in Him today. I can say from experience as a redeemed sinner that nothing in this world compares to knowing this kind of intimate fellowship with God. And this isn't something that you can secure for yourself. Only Jesus can give this to you. If you haven't yet experienced it, then I encourage you to accept Jesus as your Savior. Surrender your life to God today by following the simple formula in Romans 10:9. And seek after God. He will not run from you for His Word tells us to, "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8- English Standard Version).

 

 

For further reading...

• Exodus 1-14: Read the story of the Exodus.
• Joshua 1-3: And the story of the crossing of the Jordan River.

* ESV Study Bible note on Mark 1:7-8. Crossway Bibles, Wheaton, IL. 2008.

Mark: Opening Lines

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God...

Mark 1:1

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."* Chances are that you know exactly what book opens with this famous line. I have never read it but even I know it. That just goes to show you how impactful and important the opening line of a book can be. Not only does it set the scene and the tone of the entire book, but it can very quickly give you an idea of the author's purpose. Unfortunately, we do not always give Scripture the careful reading that we give great works fiction. Let's correct that today as we look at the opening line of Mark's gospel.

First, a little bit about the author and the book. We believe that Mark's gospel was the first of the Biblical gospels to be written and that it was penned roughly thirty years after Christ's death. This dating is important since John, also called Mark, was not one of the disciples or an apostle of Jesus and probably therefore was not a firsthand witness to many of the stories he recounts. This dating establishes that he could have known others who were firsthand witnesses on whose testimony he based his book. Indeed, the Biblical record bears this out. John Mark was a cousin of Barnabas (Col. 4:10) who joined Barnabas and Saul on their first missionary journey (Acts 12:25 & 13:5). Mark also had a relationship with the apostle Peter. When an angel rescued Peter from prison he went directly to a church meeting being held at the house of a Mary who was John Mark's mother (Acts 12:12). We also know that Mark spent some time in Rome with Peter (I Peter 5:13). It is likely that Peter supplied him with the majority of the details he needed for his gospel at that time.**

Now, how does Mark choose to begin his gospel? He says that it is the "beginning of the good news about Jesus." The Greek word for "good news" is where we get our word "gospel," but Lane helpfully points out that this word was not first used by Christians but by the dominant culture of the time. Lane points out that "for the Romans it meant 'joyful tidings' and was associated with their worship of the emperor as a god. The emperor's birthday and accession to power were celebrated by festivals across the empire. The reports of these festivals were called 'gospels'" (Lane, p.42). So the power of Mark's choice to use of this word to speak of Jesus' arrival on the scene would not have been lost on his first century readers. Mark is very clearly saying that a new day has dawned. A new king has come, a king whose coming to power is good news for the world. In fact, Mark says that this is just the beginning of the good news about Jesus. He has much to tell us!

Next, Mark tells his reader that this Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. Some Bibles translate "Jesus the Messiah" as "Jesus Christ." This is fine because Christ was not Jesus' last name. Christ comes from the Greek word which was meant "messiah", so these two translations say essentially the same thing. The Jewish hope had long been that God had promised to send a Messiah, a Savior for the Jewish people. The term Son of God has clear overtones of Jesus' divinity but was also used in the Old Testament in reference to kings so it also, at least in part, points to God's promise that this Messiah would be a king from the line of David. God had promised that the Messiah would be a king over all kings. He would restore God's people to their place of prominence in the world and set the world right by squashing injustice and protecting the innocent.

Mark doesn't pull any punches. He tells us immediately that this is who Jesus is. The rest of his book will endeavor not only to prove this to us but also to unpack all the implications that this "gospel" has for our lives. What impact has Jesus had on your life, and when was the last time you celebrated the good news of Jesus' coming? When was the last time you endeavored, like Mark, to tell someone that good news?

For further reading...

• Identity Crisis- An interesting post about the opening line of Paul's letter to the Romans.
• Acts 13:13, Acts 15:36-41, Colossians 4:10, & II Timothy 4:11-Read about how Mark caused a little bit of a controversy among Paul and Barnabas by leaving their missionary trip early. But, Scripture also makes clear that Mark and Paul were later reconciled.  

*The opening line of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

**The Gospel of Mark by William L. Lane. Eerdman's Publishing Co., 1974. from the New International Commentary on the New Testament. p.21.