Prologue

Good morning, my name is Conrad and I’m one of the pastors here at Surrey CLA. How many people in the room this morning are familiar with the idea of “wandering in the wilderness”?

Typically when we talk about wandering in the wilderness, we are referring to something like this:

[[[ Community – Waywardness ]]]

And I have typically referred to my bout of “general waywardness” as my time in the wilderness. And I was right, but for the wrong reason. It was just about 20 years ago that I decided that I was done with the church. That’s right. I had a couple years of Bible college under my belt and a couple of church internships and things were generally headed the way they were supposed to be. But then it all went off the rails. And why? Well there’s only 3 reasons anyone falls into sin. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. That’s girls, greed, and glory – or guys, greed, and glory for you ladies. For me it was a girl. And I was in LOOOOVEEE. And the church was holding me down! Cramping my style!

I spent about a year trying to run away from God, but his goodness was running after, running after me. God literally sent a messenger into my life to chase me down and bring me back to Him. And we’ll come back to this story, so let’s drop it in our pockets for the time being, but for now let me just say that the wilderness has gotten an undeservedly bad rap. 

Intro

• Written in Rome – TO Romans
• Preacher’s teaching style
• NOT a chronological book. Order different between Gospels. Luke provides an ORDERLY account.
• Mark is written with immediacy and in an active style. Evangelism. Discipleship

Passage

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way, the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight.’” In the wilderness John the baptizer began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People from the whole Judean countryside and all of Jerusalem were going out to him, and he was baptizing them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. John wore a garment made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “One more powerful than I am is coming after me; I am not worthy to bend down and untie the strap of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Prayer

( God give us perspective )

Verse-By-Verse

Verse 1

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

What an opening salvo! It doesn’t seem like it to modern audiences, but for the Romans to whom this was written, it was a bold and declarative statement. Let’s dive in… and we’ll start at the beginning with, “the beginning”.

What does Mark mean by this? Does he mean simply mean that this is the first line of his record? Is Mark referring to the prologue about John the Baptizer that is about to come? Or is there a more overarching intent? My vote is for the last one, but we’ll come back to that later. So let’s stick it in our pocket for now.

The next interesting this is “the gospel of Jesus Christ”.

The first question that jumps to mind here is, is Mark referring to the Gospel about Jesus, or the Gospel that Jesus taught. That answer – of course – is ‘yes’.

Moving on: if you’ve been around the church for a while you might know that the Greek word used for “gospel” is “evangelion”, and you almost certainly know that it translates to “good news”. Now, most of us think of this word as distinctly Christian, and I think that has become true. But this word, good news, evangelion, gospel, was actually very familiar to the Roman audience for which Mark wrote.

Rulers of these ancient empires often considered themselves god-kings. And so they would create festivals and ceremonies to commemorate – yes – themselves. In this case the good news was the birth of the emperor. But here’s the thing: the good news in the Roman Empire was backward-facing. The Roman good news was a past event, one that was done, finished. It was over and the celebration was one of remembrance.

Some of you are probably thinking, “But… didn’t all the stuff with Jesus happen like 200 years ago? Isn’t that past? Did Jesus Himself not specifically say, ‘it is finished’?”

Jesus’ birth was a singular event in history; done, finished. Jesus’ death was a singular event in history; done, finished. Jesus’ resurrection from the grave was a singular event in history; done, finished. Here’s the part where I get controversial, so stick with me here. Don’t drift off and starting thinking about whether the Falcons are going to collapse down the stretch to the Saints this afternoon. Here it is, here is my controversial statement of the day:

God coming to earth, being killed by His creation, and being raised to life again are not – in and of themselves – good news. Before you start lighting torches and hurling pitchforks, think this through with me. If we ignore for a moment that the God of Israel is an inherently necessary being and pretend that the universe was created by a different God. One who was indifferent to us. If that God came to earth as a man, and we killed him and he rose again just to spite us and/or demonstrate the insignificance of our efforts… would that be good news for us?

No. It would not.

The good news – the gospel – is not Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The good news is that He did those things to pay the price for our sin. The good news is that He did those things to bring about our redemption. The good news is that Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, the Messiah did those things so that we could receive salvation. No longer are we doomed to death and eternal separation from God, he has made a way for us. And now, just as he rose from the grave, so to will we be called out of the grave to live forever in eternity with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and that… THAT… is the Good News. Amen.

And this is the exact same re-contextualization that Mark engages in, with this simple opening phrase. He takes a well-trodden idea about self-appointed god-king emperors, and applies it to Jesus of Nazareth. Mark is saying, “Hey you know that God-King you’ve been looking for? Well, listen to this!”

And more than that, I believe that Mark means to say with this opening line that the story we are about to read, all of it, in total, is the beginning of the gospel. We’re already pulling out that thought we dropped in our pockets a couple minutes ago.

Friends, it comes down to this: Jesus’ resurrection was not the conclusion of the gospel story. It was the beginning. And everything we read between now and then is the final preparatory stage. 

Well… we’re halfway through and we’ve only looked at the first verse. We’d better pick up the pace or we’ll be here all day.

[[[ Seinfeld – Giddy-Up ]]]

Verse 2–3

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way, the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight.’”

Interestingly, this section attributed to Isaiah, is actually an amalgamation of THREE different old testament quotations.

1. Exodus 23:20 – “_I am going to send an angel before you_ to protect you as you journey and to bring you into the place that I have prepared.
2. Malachi 3:1 – “I am about to send my messenger, who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
3. Isaiah 40:3 – A voice cries out, “In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord; build a level road through the rift valley for our God.

The messenger in Exodus in an actual angel from God. The preparer referenced in Malachi is Elijah, who is understood to have been “taken up”, but never actually died. The Jewish tradition held that Elijah himself would be the forerunner of God’s return. Clearly Mark thought very highly of John the Baptizer. Calling him an angel, a messenger of the Lord, on par with Elijah, preparing the way for the Lord. Not for another prophet. We’re not preparing the way for that. Instead we are preparing the way for the LORD HIMSELF.

From Exodus to Isaiah, from the historical books to the prophetic books. The entire history recorded in the Jewish texts was leading to this. All of this, all of it. From Adam to Abraham to Moses to David to Isaiah was leading to this moment in time. And John is the final layer of preparation. And the one who has gone ahead to prepare the way calls on his hearers to do what?

PREPARE THE WAY!

It’s almost like there’s something to this preparation thing. Like maybe it matters. Maybe preparation matters. Let’s drop that one in our pocket as well and keep going…

Verse 4

In the wilderness John the baptizer began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Welp, here we are. Back in the wilderness. Again. But here’s John out in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The wilderness just keep popping up here.

We have the Israelites in the wilderness. Elijah in the wilderness. Isaiah in the wilderness. And now John in the wilderness. Interesting, interesting.

So, what was John doing in the wilderness? He’s preparing the way. No longer will animal sacrifice and rituals and rites and laws be the path to salvation. Personal repentance will now be our deliverance.

You know one finds oneself wondering where a good time and place might be for such reflection. One of life’s great mysteries, I guess. Verse 5.

Verse 5

People from the whole Judean countryside and all of Jerusalem were going out to him, and he was baptizing them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

Huh. The people went to John. And where was John?

The wilderness!

John went to the wilderness. He called the people to the wilderness. And once the people were in the wilderness, they confessed their sins, and only then were they baptized. But it all happened in the wilderness. Moving on…

Verse 6–7

John wore a garment made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “One more powerful than I am is coming after me; I am not worthy to bend down and untie the strap of his sandals.

How many of you read this, or saw this and thought, “this sounds like a crazy person!” We got a guy living in the desert, wearing a camel hide, eating bugs, and hollering about our sins. And then he says – get this – there is one coming who is even greater than me. 

Seriously? Greater than you? Greater than the bug-eat, camel-wearing, desert-dweller! That can’t be true! Surely this is the peak, the pinnacle, the summit of human achievement!

Now I’m the first to admit that it’s kind of a funny scene, but that’s only because we’re missing the point. As the Rock might say, John knows his role. He is to prepare the people. John would have basically taken a vow of poverty, so he worse clothing that was appropriate to his place and means. Likewise he ate what he could find and – yes – locusts were indeed kosher, go ahead and check Leviticus 11:22. And then help yourself to some locust for lunch after church. I mean, you can… I won’t. But, you know…

And another trap that my little farcical summary of John fell into is redefining the idea of greatness. When John says that there is one coming who is greater than he is, he is not using our fallen, human, envy-based ranking system. John is not judging on a scale that reaches it zenith with the richest, smartest, most attractive, socially influential, and politically connected person at the top. John is talking about spiritual things.

Because the fact of the matter is that he who dies with the most toys, still dies. And as our man Mark will himself say in chapter 8, what will it profit you to gain the whole world, but lose your very soul?

So what?

You know what? We’ve got a couple things in our pockets, let pull those back out now. Those two things were: 

1. My Story/the Wilderness
2. Preparation Matters

Let’s pick back up with my story as we start to land this plane today. That’s thing #1 from our pockets. Like I said, I chased a girl right out of the church and was happy to turn my back on my faith and on the God who died for me to pursue something I wanted. See, I got saved the summer I turned 15, but I never had a “come to Jesus” moment in my life. I went from an agnostic/indifferent kid to a Christian because after a sermon one Thursday in the summer of 1997 I basically said to myself, “Yeah, why not? This God guys sounds okay”. Friends, I did not appreciate the depth and breadth and GRIP sin had in my life. I did not understand what I was being forgiven of.

I was saved by, and shared a gospel of “God gives you a positive outlook on life! God gives you a purpose! And hey, if even if it’s not true, isn’t the smart money on betting in favour of God?” And you know what? All of those things are true. Let me say it again: ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE TRUE!

But not sufficient. True but not sufficient. 

Why? Because the Gospel is not the story of how God came to make us feel good about ourselves! …despite what Joel Osteen might tell you. The Gospel is the story of how Jesus the Messiah died on a cross as a punishment for OUR sins. 

[[[ We did this. ]]]

Us. Our choices made this happen. And you know what? If not for my time in the “wilderness” I may never have come to a full appreciation of that fact.

[[[ reset ]]]

See, we have taken the story of the God-doubting Israelites and how they were doomed to die wandering in the desert and we have decided that this is what the wilderness is. To be in the wilderness has somehow come to be synonymous with “rebellion”. But I reject that. In fact I will go so far as to say that not only is the wilderness NOT inherently BAD, it is in fact inherently GOOD!

[[[ COMMUNITY – TAKING IT BACK ]]]

The wilderness is not a place of rebellion. Even in Exodus that’s not what we see. We see the it serve as a place of punishment, yes, but also a place of restoration, a place of transition, a place… of preparation. That’s thing #2 out of our pockets.

See, my rebellious phase was NOT my time in the wilderness. Let me talk about the man who God sent to save my life. If you’ve heard the story, I apologize, but it had such a profound impact this certainly won’t be the last time you hear about it either.

I had given up on the church and on God and went to work at a pizza place. But one day this fellow comes in all wild eyed looking for a job. “Big Ben” we called him. He acted in a way that if I described it to you would seem very off-putting – not unlike Mark’s description of John the Baptizer – but he was absolutely magnetic. So he gets hired and our first shift working together he looks in my eyes for a few seconds. An unbroken stare. Then he leaned back and laughed from his belly and said with a smile and a bellow, “You know Jesus!”.

I was kind of dumbstruck and I replied, “I used to.” And he just said, “Ok”.

A few days later Gert came in to say hello – as she did from time to time – and Big Ben is working the front counter. She hadn’t gotten more than 2–3 steps in the door when he hollers out, “You know Jesus!” I mean, what is that? His catchphrase? C’mon, man. Play a new song amiright?

But it shook me to my core. He was the God I wanted so badly to deny working through this man at my pizza shop. Ben continued to pray for me and invite me to church events and invite me to Bible studies, and play myworship CDs on the store’s stereo system.

If I was your love I would want only you.
I’d lay at this altar, give all I am, all that is true.

This old scarlet letter won’t keep me from holding you.
And there is nothing you can do.
Nothing you do.

This is an excerpt from “Scarlet” by Jars of Clay. It will always remind me of Big Ben and God’s unrelenting love for me. If you’re not familiar with the novel “The Scarlet Letter”, it’s about a woman who is becomes pregnant as a result of adultery and is forced to wear a scarlet “A” at all times as a constant reminder of her sin.

And hearing this song over and over and over, it was like God was speaking to my soul. This old scarlet letter won’t keep me from holding you.

I held out for as long as I could, then I called up Pastor Graham and said, “Pastor I’m sorry. How can I make it right?”

[[[ reset ]]]

And THAT, that is the moment that I left rebellion and entered the wilderness. I began to do what John called for. To confess my sins, repent, and seek forgiveness. That time in the wilderness changed me deeply. It was a time of refining, and humility, and prayer, and preparation. It was a time of learning and growth. Friends, we need to let go of our warped perception of the wilderness. The wilderness simply means casting off all the stuff that weights us down, getting back to basics and focusing on God.

In those moments before worship, we should prepare our hearts for what God wants to say to us. Let that be a wilderness moment.

When we sit down to listen to the preacher, we should prepare our mind for what God wants to teach us. Let that be a wilderness moment.

When we are about to engage in prayer, we should prepare our spirit for what God wants to do in us. Let that be a wilderness moment.

Let us as a church – as a community of believers – take those wilderness moments to prepare for what is to come. We should never be so busy DOING THE THINGS that we forget to prepare. 

The sharpest among is wondering… Conrad… what happened to verse 8? We’re we supposed to do verse 8?

Verse 8

I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Matthew and Luke both expand the quotation to “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire!”

And we read that part and we get excited! I want the Holy Spirit!! I want the fire!! Light it up!! And it’s easy to get caught up in that excitement. “Holy Spirit & Fire!” sounds a lot better than “Camel Hair & Locusts!”, but the preparation matters. The preparation is what sets us up for future success.

Even Jesus Himself spent 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness before launching his public ministry.

My point, simply, is this: we cannot get so excited about what is coming that we forget to actually be ready. That we neglect to prepare. We need to shift our perspective on this whole wilderness thing. Because, as I am fond of saying, a change in perspective changes everything else.

Now I don’t mean to say that we should live our lives terrified about whether or not we’re “ready”. I don’t think the wilderness should be a way of life, just that it should be a part of our lives. We should seek out wilderness moments.

Time to refine, reflect, repent… and prepare.

Amen. Let’s pray.