Four Views of Jesus' Coming: Mark’s Gospel
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
David C. Wright
Mark 1:1-8
December 5, 2010
I thought
I’d start this sermon out with a little Christmas quiz. All
four gospels- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John- tell us the story
of Jesus. I’m going to mention a part of the Christmas
story and you are going to tell me in which gospel it can be found. OK?
1. The angel comes to Mary and tells her she will have a child (only in
Luke)
2. God tells Joseph in a dream that his fiancee will give birth (Matt.)
3. Joseph and Mary’s trip to Bethlehem (Luke)
4. The innkeeper (Trick question- he doesn’t appear in any gospel!)
5. Shepherds hear the Good News of Jesus’ birth from angels (Luke)
6. The wise men (or Magi) come to worship Jesus (Matt.)
OK. How did you
do? If we were playing “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” you
could have used a lifeline and eliminated Mark and John, for none of the familiar
elements of the Christmas story are found in these gospels. In fact, they
don’t talk about Jesus’ birth at all! The message of Christmas
is in them, but you have to look a little harder to find it. During Advent,
we’re looking at the story of Jesus’ coming from the point of view
of each of the gospels.
Last week we looked at
John’s gospel, which starts at the beginning of time, “In the
beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.” It
begins with the pre-existent, eternal second member of the trinity, who became
flesh and lived among us. That’s the extent of the Christmas story
for John! But Mark doesn’t start at the beginning of time. And
unlike Matthew and Luke, he says nothing about Jesus’ birth. So where
does he start? Listen as I read the first three verses of Mark’s
gospel. The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
as it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger
ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare
the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”
Mark begins his story
of the “good news of Jesus” with a description of John the Baptist,
starting with a quote from Isaiah in the Old Testament that foretells the coming
of one like John. “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare
the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” (Mark 1:2-3)
Mark makes it clear that the preparation for Jesus’ coming was part of
God’s plan from long before.
In ancient times, as in
modern ones, elaborate preparation was made prior to the visit of an important
person. I remember the preparations in our home when my dad’s parents
were coming to visit. My mom would go a little bit crazy in anticipation
of their coming. We kids were cleaned within an inch of our lives, and
the house was vacuumed and tidied up like a model home. We weren’t
even allowed to use the main bathroom until after they arrived, once it had been
cleaned! I remember one time when my mom forgot to take the “Don’t
use this bathroom” sign down and my grandfather, obeying the sign, ended
up using the bathroom that hadn’t been cleaned! I thought my mom
would have a stroke right on the spot!
In biblical times, vast
preparations were made to prepare for the visit of an important person like a
king. Buildings were repaired, new walkways were created, roads were graded. That’s
the idea behind this quote from Isaiah. A great leader is coming. Preparation
must be made. But what kind of preparation is needed for the Messiah?
“John the baptizer
appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness
of sins. And the people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people
of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan,
confessing their sins.” (Mark 1: 4,5) While preparation for the
coming of royalty involved physical matters, preparation for the coming Messiah
involved preparing the heart! John calls for confession, repentance, and
baptism.
City folks from Jerusalem
and country bumpkins from Judea all left their homes and journeyed through the
treacherous land of the wilderness desert to hear John and be baptized. We’ll
talk about why they might have come in a minute, but first let’s look at
John’s message to them. The first part of preparing for Jesus’ coming
was confession. They came and confessed their sins, Mark says. What is confession? It
is simply admitting the wrong we have done. I say “simply,” but
in fact it is a very difficult thing for most of us to do.
A few years ago Varig
Airlines flight 254 was preparing to leave Brazil’s Maraba Airport in route
to Belem, a night flight that usually took 48 minutes. Unfortunately,
the pilot, Captain Cezar Garcez, entered his flight data incorrectly. After
takeoff, the automatic pilot steered the plane west over the Amazon rain forest,
rather than northeast toward Belem. The pilot sensed that something was
wrong when he didn’t see the Belem airport at the appointed time. He
turned the plane around, still not knowing his location. He lied to the
passengers and crew about what was happening. He even informed the Belem
airport that he anticipated landing in five minutes! When the flight was
about an hour overdue, the first officer identified the problem and tried to
explain it to the captain. He refused to listen! An hour later, the
plane ran out of fuel and crash-landed in the jungle. They were 700 miles
from their intended destination. 13 of the 48 passengers lost their lives
because the pilot refused to admit he had made a mistake.
Admitting we are wrong
is the first step to making things right again, but something deeply ingrained
in us (usually pride) wants to deny our guilt. We might admit that we made a
little mistake or misjudgment, which was completely understandable and excusable,
but we are loathe to admit that we have sinned. Confession demands that
we admit the full truth about our thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions. That
we have sinned in thought, word, and deed in the words of the confession.
Ironically, it can be
remarkably freeing to finally admit this truth about ourselves. We no longer
have to spend so much of our time and energy covering up our real attitudes and
actions! We are free to put our energy into other, more productive ways
of living. Preparation for the coming of Jesus begins with confession.
But John called for more
than confession. He called people to repent. Without repentance,
confession isn’t much help. It’s like the person who says, “That’s
just the way I am”- meaning he has a hot temper, or she is lazy, or drinks
too much. It’s nice to admit these things, but repentance takes the
next necessary step. If the pilot had been willing to admit his mistake,
he could have then chosen to set a new course and saved the passengers. That’s
repentance, setting a new course, changing our behavior. And it’s
very hard for us to do, because our sinful attitudes and behaviors probably have
some positive pay-off for us. Gossiping makes us feel like we’re
better than others. Getting angry gives us a feeling of power. Lying
gets us off the hook. Stinginess leaves more for ourselves. Excessive drinking
helps us temporarily escape our problems. So repentance takes a great deal
of faith and courage. Faith that God will meet our needs in a legitimate
way. Courage to step out on faith and act in a new way.
During the Welsh revivals
in the 19th century, God’s Spirit prompted people to confess their sins
and repent of them. This unexpectedly caused problems for the shipyards
along the coast of Wales. Over the years workers had pilfered all kinds
of things from the yards. But as people prepared to get right with God,
they began returning everything they had stolen, resulting in huge piles of returned
tools, clogging the yards. Several shipyards actually put up signs which
read, “If you have been led by God to return what you have stolen, please
know that the management forgives you and wishes you to keep what you have taken.” There
was real repentance going on there!
The workers first had
to admit that their stealing was wrong- setting aside whatever rationalizations
they had used in the first place. Then they repented of those actions by
making restitution for what they had done. Confession and repentance prepared
the way for God’s work in their hearts. That was John’s message
and it ignited a revival out there in the wilderness. But why do you suppose
people came to hear John and this difficult message? The reason may be
contained in the next verses. “Now John was clothed with camel’s
hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He
proclaimed, The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not
worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized
you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark
1:6-8) Here we find a few clues as to why John was so effective.
First, John looked and
acted like a prophet- a genuine spokesperson for God. In the Old Testament,
the prophet Elijah dressed and lived much like John. And, in contrast
to other religious leaders of John’s day, who tended to be wealthy, John’s
dress and diet made it clear that he wasn’t in it for the money. In
fact, his life as a prophet cost him a great deal. This gave credibility
to his message.
Besides, circumstances
had prepared the people to be receptive to John. There had been no prophet
in Israel for over 300 years. The people were hungry for a word from the
Lord. And they knew deep in their hearts that John’s challenge to
repent was exactly what they needed to do. God had prepared them for this
message and they responded.
I also think that John’s
humility was a factor. He said that the one who would follow him is so
superior to him that he wasn’t even worthy to help remove his sandals,
a task that Roman slaves weren’t even required to do. People are
often willing to listen to someone who exhibits humility. And humility
was necessary to do what John was calling the people to do: admit their
sin and repent. So, the people listened and responded to John’s call
to prepare for the coming of the Messiah by confessing their sins and repenting.
The movie, “Dead
Man Walking” tells the true story of Sister Helen Prejean (Pray-zhaun)
and her ministry with death row inmate Matthew Poncelet. Throughout the
movie, Poncelet vehemently denies any involvement in the brutal deaths of a young
man and woman, even though the evidence clearly linked him to the crimes. In
a scene near the end of the movie, as he faces his execution, Poncelet finally
admits his guilt.
Responding to a question
from Sister Helen, he admits, “I killed the boy.” Sister Helen
then asks about Hope, the raped and murdered girl. Again, Poncelet confesses.
“Do you take responsibility
for both of their deaths?” probes Sister Helen.
“Yes ma’am...
When the lights dim at night, I kneel down by my bunk and pray for those kids...
I’ve never done that before.”
Sister Helen then comforts
Poncelet, saying, “There is a place of sorrow only God can touch. You
did a terrible thing, Matt, a terrible thing. But you have dignity now. Nobody
can take that away from you... You are a son of God, Matthew Poncelet.
Sobbing deeply, Poncelet
says, “Nobody ever called me no son of God before. They called me
a son-of-a-you-know-what lots of times, but never no son of God... I just hope
my death can give those parents some relief. I really do.”
No matter how far we’ve
strayed from the Lord, no matter how awful a thing you’ve done, you can
still prepare for the Lord to come into your heart through confession and repentance. And
that same preparation is just as necessary for so-called “good people.” Our
sin blocks the work of God in our hearts too. You may have heard the expression, “Confession
is good for the soul.” And it is. For any soul who would come
to Jesus must confess and repent. As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper,
use this time today for your own confession and repentance.
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