Trinity Baptist Church

The Book of Mark

The Coming New King, Part 2

Mark 1:1–8

 

Mark 1:1-8

 

We began last week to look at five characteristics of this new King the Gospel of Mark announces.  First we saw the promise of a new King.  The coming of the Messiah was announced through the prophecies of Isaiah and Malachi of one who would come preparing the way.

 

Then we saw the Person of the King.  He is Jesus Christ, the Son of God by human name and title.  But we also see He is God Himself as these prophecies record.  It is God Who is announcing His own coming into the world.

 

Tonight, I want us to take some time to consider

 

 

Verse 4

 

Here we are introduced to the messenger who is the voice crying in the wilderness. He is John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus who appeared in the wilderness preaching or announcing the coming of the King in fulfillment of the prophecy.

 

He is known as John the Baptist? Why do you think they called him that? You say because he was the original Baptist.  He is the founder of the Baptist church.  Although many believe that, that isn’t true.

Nor is Baptist his last name.  It is a way of identifying him as one who is known because he baptizes.  It’s literally John the Baptizer. He was known primarily as one who baptized.  That’s the thing that's so distinguishing about him.

 

And since John was a very common Hebrew name, it was a very practical way to identify him among the other “Johns” of the New Testament such as John the Apostle.

 

It also places emphasis on the baptism that he performed.  The Jews didn't baptize except in one instance.  It was a one-time symbolic event they did to a Gentile proselyte who wanted to enter into Judaism and become a worshiper of the true God.  They would baptize that proselyte by immersing him in water to symbolize that they were being purified from their former life and entering into the cleanness of Judaism.

 

And apparently it wasn’t a common occurrence that happened all the time and that's why he was identified as John the Baptizer because that was so unusual.

 

Notice also he appears in the wilderness or the desert.  John 3:23 it places him about 20 or 30 miles south of the Sea of Galilee along the Jordan River and up and down that river he went for the duration of his ministry.  He ministered away from all the cities and towns and people. He was in that wilderness his whole life according to Luke 1:80.

 

 

 

Now John the Baptist is one of the most familiar figures in the New Testament and the gospel writers provide quite a lot of information about him.  We know he was miraculously conceived because his parents were too old and had been barren.

 

We discover he was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb. He was a relative of Jesus and we know about their mother’s spending time together during their pregnancies.

 

We know he is the last of the Old Testament prophets making his appearance after a 400 year silence.  In Matthew 11:11, Jesus said, “He's the greatest man that ever lived up until his time.”  And we know he was given the greatest responsibility any man ever had which was to announce the new King.

 

But what I want you to notice is of all the great things that could have been said of John the Baptist, Mark chooses to tell us about his wardrobe and diet.

 

Verse 6

 

Doesn’t that seem a little bit strange to you?  John the Baptist, it seems, spent so much time out in the desert by himself that he kind of twisted off.  Maybe he had a sun stroke or something.

 

But in reality, those are very practical things.  If you're living out in the desert, a good way to sustain yourself would be to just live off the land and what was available.  And I’m sure if you are by yourself in the wilderness, fashion is probably not high on the list of priorities.  I would guess being warmed and protected were much more important than being in style.

And besides that, when I see what some people wear who live in the big cities, I think John the Baptist was not so strange after all.

 

But besides the practical side of it, why does Mark choose to tell us of his diet and fashion?  And by the way, he provides great detail. 

 

Notice, he was clothed with camel's hair. It doesn’t say “hide”, it says “hair.  I take it to mean his clothing was woven from camel's hair.  It was still hair, and I would imagine somewhat rough and hairy.  And he had a leather belt around his waist.  And of all the stuff that Mark could have chosen, this is what he tells us.

 

I see in that a parallel to his life.  Was that all he had to wear or could have worn?  I doubt it.  I think these were his chosen garments and her is why I believe that.

 

Zechariah 13 talks about a coming day when you won’t see any prophets wearing garments of coarse hair.  Why not?  They won’t wear garments of coarse hair because they don’t want anyone to think they are a prophet.  In other words, the way to identify a true prophet was by the kind of clothes he word.  If a man was seen wearing a hairy robe, you knew he was a prophet.

 

In 2 Kings 1:8, you meet Elijah the Tishbite and he is described as a “hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.”  That’s not a comment about his body hair, but about his attire.

 

 

So if you wanted to be taken seriously as a prophet, you found a hairy robe and a leather belt and you made sure that you conveyed that you were a prophet in the way that you looked.

 

John the Baptist was a prophet. Not only was he a prophet, but he was a prophet who came in the spirit and power of Elijah. He came with an anointing from God on his head. And John understood that.  The prophecy came to his parents before he was ever born that he would minister in the spirit and power of Elijah. He identified with Elijah from the get go. That's why he wore what he wore. That's why he lived the way he lived.

 

So when Mark mentions his wardrobe he is giving us much more than a comment on what he wore.  He is providing great insight into the very power and presence of God that was poured into the life of John the Baptist as he is used to announce the coming of the Messiah.

 

We are also told about his diet which was locusts and wild honey.  According to Leviticus 11:20-23, there were only four kinds of insects that could be eaten and locusts were one of them.  Don’t ask me for any recipe; I don’t have any but I suppose if you want to prepare some, you yank off the wings and the legs and then, depending on your preference, you can fry them, boil them, bake them or roast them or even grind them up and add them to something else.  They are supposedly a good source of protein.

 

And as far as honey is concerned, we don’t need any explanation.  Wonderful taste and great health benefits come to us through honey.

 

So there we have the prophet.  He is separate and distinct from the general population, identified in message and appearance as a man sent from God.

 

Let's go to number four and think about his message.

 

 

Back to verse 4

 

He was preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. That's what he was doing. In ancient times, the envoy of the arriving king would go before him, remove all the obstacles in the path, sometimes they'd carve a path, sometimes they'd build a road, sometimes they'd make a bridge, removing the obstacles. And then they would make sure the people were ready to receive this new king.

 

So how were John’s hearers to prepare for the coming of this King?  They were to prepare through a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

 

In other words, they needed to have their sins forgiven. In order to have their sins forgiven, which God would mercifully do, they needed to repent of their sins. And to demonstrate their repentance they would be willing to undergo a baptism.

 

The baptism didn't bring forgiveness of sin, it only declared their intention. That's why John, as I said, was labeled the baptizer. The Jews had only one baptism and it was a proselyte baptism.  So for a Jew to submit to baptism was to say, “I'm no better than a Gentile. I am not ready to meet the new king. I am not ready for God to ascend to His throne.

I am unprepared for God to establish His Kingdom.  I am nothing more than a sinful Gentile in the eyes of God and I am repenting of that sin and submitting myself to a symbolic act of baptism to demonstrate that.”   That was a huge admission for a Jew who had been, from birth, conditioned to resent and hate the Gentiles and think of them as outside the covenant. He's calling the Jews to declare themselves no better than Gentiles and openly demonstrate that through baptism.

 

Remember what Luke records of his message in Luke 3:8?  “Bear fruits worthy of repentance.” In other words, if you’ve repented, prove it.  The first step would be to be willing to undergo a proselyte baptism and view yourself as if you were no better than a Gentile.

 

And interestingly enough, there were lots of people who wanted to be a part of the Messiah's Kingdom. So, according to verse 5, people were coming from everywhere to find John and be baptized in the Jordan River.  It looks like a national revival.

 

However, as good as it appeared, we discover later that it was pretty superficial.  In fact, by the time it's all over and the true believers are gathered in Jerusalem after the ascension of Jesus, there's one hundred and twenty in the Upper Room. And yet, here, all the land of Judea and those from Jerusalem were going out to him to be baptized

 

And notice, verse 4 says he came “baptizing in the wilderness.”  Why the wilderness?  That is specifically a Jewish reference.  Remember their history.  Moses led them out of the land of Egypt to possess the Promised Land.

Instead they spend 40 years wandering in the wilderness.  And in order to enter the Promised Land, they had to pass through the Jordan River. 

 

Now they are called to a second type of exodus, not physical, but spiritual.  And to enjoy what this exodus promised, they were going to have to return to the wilderness, and pass through the water of baptism to get there.

 

Now don’t miss the symbolism.  The wilderness represented judgment.  As the people heed John's call and go out to him in the wilderness, they return to a place of judgment.  They are called to repent and begin again.  In essence, they were to go back to the wilderness before we ever came into the land and start all over again.

 

Finally, Mark leaves the promise, the person, the prophet, the preparation and focuses on

 

 

Verse 7

 

This is the sum of John's ministry. The thing that is most apparent about John is he never points to himself.  He always and only points to Jesus.

John 3:30, “I must decrease, He must increase.”

 

And the English translations don’t really capture it, but what he says is, “After me THE one is coming.  It is a definite article, not just One, but THE one.

And the One Who is coming is One Who is mightier than I. How mighty is He? He's the Lord. He's Yahweh, He's God the Son. He's the King, King Jesus.

How far above me is He? John says, “He is so much mightier than I that I'm not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals.” You know what? That was the lowest possible job that any servant could have. That was it. That was the bottom. If you were the servant who untied your master's sandals, you were the scum of the scum of the scum.

 

Listen to this old Hebrew quotes:  “A Hebrew slave must not wash the feet of his master nor put his shoes on.” That's beneath the dignity of a Hebrew slave. Another one, “All services which a slave does for his master, a pupil should do for his teacher with the exception of undoing his shoes.”

 

But John says I'm below the people who do that. I'm not even up to the level of those who would untie His shoes, that's how low I am.  Now that's the picture, but what's the reality?

 

verse 8

 

John says, “All I can do is get the outside of you wet.  He, however, can transform you on the inside. That is a reference to salvation and John says I can't do that. Only God gives the Holy Spirit.

 

So Mark begins his gospel with the language of good news. Good news means there's a new King who is God Himself bringing a new Kingdom. It's a Kingdom of forgiveness and blessing. It comes to those who repent. It's the culmination of all past redemptive history and the door to all future glory. The herald has come to announce His arrival and the rest is His story which he picks up in verse 9.

 

Let’s pray.