Unnoticed But Not Unannounced

[0:00] Hallelujah. There was a disciple of John the Apostle, the next generation of believers, a man named Polycarp. You might have heard of him. Polycarp was the disciple of the beloved disciple, and when he was at the end of his race, the authorities came knocking to arrest him and to take him to Rome to be burned if he did not recant his faith in Christ.

[0:41] And Polycarp asked for some time to pray, and the soldiers, discovering who it was they came to arrest were in disbelief at who they came to arrest, this man that was not a threat to anyone, and they allowed him some hours to pray. And he went, and when he was asked to recant Christ, he said, for 86 years I have been his servant, and he has done me no harm. How can I now blaspheme my King who saved me? He has been so, so good. Where would we be without Him?

[1:19] Well, if you have a Bible, please turn to Mark's gospel. We're going to be in chapter 1 this morning, and we're going to be looking at Mark's prologue, verses 1 to 13.

[1:40] Let me read Mark 1, 1 to 13.

[2:03] The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, after me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I'm not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

[3:10] In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. When he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, you are my beloved Son. With you I am well pleased. The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. Amen. This is God's Word, and we pray he blesses the reading of it.

[4:02] Just over a year ago, a group of mountain bikers were cycling in the highlands around the Balmoral estate. Three mountain bikers, and on the trail they approached a lone man with a bonnet and a stick.

[4:21] And as they got closer, they recognized who this old man was. It was King Charles, out for a walk, alone. You can watch the video online later on. It was quite a casual and friendly chat, and if you never knew what the king looked like, if you didn't know what Charles looked like, you easily could have gone past him thinking he was just another old man out for a trek.

[4:46] Following this encounter in the video, many people praised how down-to-earth and how human King Charles was. It was a very likable and friendly encounter, and the cyclist in his video retrospectively said, what a nice man. Now, watching the video does indeed make King Charles more likable.

[5:15] But as I was meditating on this passage, and I'd seen that video ages ago, but I was watching it again, and as I was meditating on this passage, a couple of things struck me about this video.

[5:28] Number one, although he was dressed in ordinary clothes, the people knew that he was the king. Number two, meeting the king did not seem to prompt them to get off their bikes.

[5:40] And number three, after meeting the king, the impact of meeting the king was that he was a nice man. Now, I don't know what I would have been like if I was there, but as I was thinking about this passage, and we'll explore this, as I was thinking about this passage, and I was watching this video, I was almost shouting inside, get off your bikes, this is the king. It made me think about Jesus arriving at the Jordan River, okay, an ordinary person in plain clothes. Yet, I imagined the angels in heaven watching in astonishment that no one is bowing down or praising heaven's king.

[6:28] What are you playing at, people? Do you not know who is with you? Evidently, they did not. Yet, this is how he arrived. It was unnoticed, yet not unannounced. And so, as Mark opens his book, Mark himself announces who Jesus is. He is the Messiah, the Son of God.

[6:57] And his coming is the beginning of good news. It's like he is telling the next generation of disciples that in spite of what they might hear, think about Mark's readers in Rome, the next generation. In spite of the things that they might hear, Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Son of God.

[7:21] In spite of the challenges they might face, in spite of the way that people are acting, in spite of the world out there and what the world is like, in spite of how it might look and feel, Jesus' work on earth really was the beginning of good news. And this should bring these new disciples, these next generation, it should bring them tremendous confidence in Christ, and it should encourage them to endure. And as we go through Mark's account, we will see more and more of the same thing. The world around us may not seem like something world-changing has happened. And the people around town may not talk and act like Jesus really is this great King. In fact, like the mountain bikers who met King Charles, many people might just conclude about Jesus, He was a nice man. But is that all He is?

[8:18] Mark does not think that's all He is. Right at the outset, Mark says, He is the Messiah, the Son of God.

[8:30] And what Mark says next is that this information about who Jesus is should not have taken anyone by surprise, because the prophets have spoken of this and looked forward to this moment of arrival.

[8:45] as it is written, as it is written, as it is written. He's the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written. In Isaiah, in Exodus, in Malachi, we could go through the whole Old Testament. In fact, if you remember that Mark is writing Peter's message, we should expect Peter to say something similar in his preaching and in his letters. And so, in Acts 10, for instance, when Peter is preaching to Cornelius, Peter says, this is the good news of peace through Jesus, the Messiah. He is Lord of all, says Peter. And after speaking to Cornelius, Peter says to Cornelius that from the time that John proclaimed a baptism, he says of Jesus, he says of Jesus that to him all the prophets bear witness.

[9:44] Cornelius, to Jesus, all the prophets bear witness. And then again, we see likewise in Peter's letter, Peter's first letter, 1 Peter 1, Peter says this, concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours, searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to the prophets that they were serving not themselves, but they were serving you. And the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which the angels long to look.

[10:39] And so, Peter has said many times, the prophets have announced this, the prophets have announced this, and when you hear the good news, it has been announced to you as well. It makes sense that Mark, which is Peter's message, tells us from the get-go that Jesus being the Christ, the Son of God, should not be a surprise because it was announced long ago by the prophets. Now, throughout the book of Mark, we will see in many ways how the prophets wrote about Jesus, and in many ways we will see Jesus fulfill what was written about him. But the first reference here in Mark 1 is about making the path straight, preparing the way for the King to arrive, and this is what John's ministry was all about.

[11:25] The prophets speak about a messenger. The prophets speak about a preparer, a voice in the wilderness, and then John appeared in the wilderness, a messenger of God preparing and proclaiming.

[11:44] And notice the prophecy, quote, ends with a voice crying in the wilderness, and then it mentions John in the wilderness proclaiming. And what is it that John's proclaiming? John's proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

[12:07] You might think that John's out there digging a road, make straight the path. The King is coming. But how is it that John's preparing? He's proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

[12:20] And so, question, is this how the way is prepared? Make his path straight. Is the wilderness, is there something about the wilderness that is meant to, in some way, resemble the state of the human heart? And so, think about this. So, in Isaiah 40, which is where this comes from, Isaiah chapter 40, make a straight path in the desert. And then Isaiah 40 goes on to say what, yeah, so, you see, sin has filled our hearts with many obstacles, many valleys, many mountains, many crooked paths, and uneven ground. Do you see that? John is preparing a way, in the heart, because in the heart, there are many obstacles that need to be flattened, filled in, flattened, straightened, prepared. Sin has filled our hearts with many obstacles, and preparing the way for the King wasn't just about cutting a road, but about preparing hearts to meet the King. Think about those mountain bikers. Maybe if someone prepared them to meet the King, they would have got off their bikes. And so, verse 5, all were going to Him, Judea, Jerusalem, and the River Jordan. They were confessing their sins. The River Jordan is the river that Israel crossed to enter the Promised Land. It is this river that God held back the water, and they were told to take twelve stones from in the midst of it. And they were told to stand these twelve stones up as a memorial. This is a significant place for baptisms to happen. Why? Because the River

[14:35] Jordan is a place of new beginning, and sin is like going back from the Promised Land, going back to slavery in Egypt. They need to redo. Their repentance is a redo of going towards the Promised Land.

[14:53] Go cross in the Jordan and enter in the Promised Land. Numbers 33, 51 says this, when they first crossed the Jordan, and I want you to think about a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

[15:07] Numbers 33 says, when they first crossed the Jordan, when you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants and destroy all their idols.

[15:20] Think about what we've got to do in our hearts if we repent. What do you have to drive out of your own heart? Perhaps you could say when you're baptized, you need to drive out all sin and all that is in you that doesn't belong in you anymore. Put sin to death.

[15:40] Leave it behind. Your heart needs to be prepared for Christ. And so, in Joshua chapter 4, they took these twelve stones from the dry ground of the Jordan, and they placed them on the other side as a memorial. And so, when the children would ask, well, what do these stones mean to you? They would tell the children that God cut off the water so that they could cross. And so, perhaps we need reminders of God's grace in our lives. Something that we can look at and touch and say, oh yeah, God cut off the water so that I could cross over. God cut off His own Son so that we could pass from death to life.

[16:25] And so, these reminders that we have been baptized and we've crossed over from death to life, as Jesus said in John 5. And I wonder of all the people that says in this that all were going out to Him from Judea and Jerusalem, all confessing their sins. And I wonder to myself, out of all the people who were baptized by John, how many of them followed Jesus? How many of them actually kept their repentance? Or did they turn back round? Did they repent just for a little while and then stop?

[17:09] The Jordan was also the place where Naaman was to cleanse himself, and he was too proud to do it. He had to go in to the Jordan to cleanse himself. And so, John's baptism was a call, even for the Jews to be cleansed, implying that in some way, even Israel is now defiled.

[17:31] Levels the playing field. Nobody is beyond repentance. Verse 6, now John was clothed in camel's hair, a leather belt, and eight locusts and wild honey.

[17:45] And so, after the service this morning, we have some locusts and wild honey. No, we don't. We don't. Mark's description was a signal. Who does this look like?

[18:00] In 2 Kings 1a, there was a man who stopped these messengers going to inquire of Baal.

[18:13] There was a man who stopped them because the king of Israel sent messengers to go inquire of Baal, and a messenger stopped them. And they went back to the king, and he says, oh, we were stopped by someone, and we were told that you're going to die.

[18:28] And the king says, well, who told you that? Who was it? He says, oh, some guy that was dressed in camel's hair and had a belt, and he was just a bit wild. And the king says, oh, that's Elijah, the tishbite. Elijah.

[18:44] John is saying, this is Elijah. Mark is saying, sorry, that John is Elijah. He is the Elijah. He's the Elijah messenger of Malachi 4.

[18:57] And it's not just saying something about John. It is then saying something about the one that comes after John, the one that John points to, the one that John prepares. And so, John, verse 7 and 8, he preached, saying, after me comes one who is mightier than me, who I'm unworthy to even stoop down to untie the straps of his sandals. One is coming after me, and he's mightier than me, and I'm not even worthy to stoop down and untie his laces. I have baptized with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. John is preparing the way for someone else.

[19:41] This is not the John show. This is not the John the Baptist show. He's the warm-up act for someone mightier, someone who even John is unworthy of doing such a menial task as undoing his laces, despite the status that John had. And John was very popular, a prophet of God, the forerunner of the Messiah, no less. People thought he was the Christ.

[20:07] He was hugely popular, despite his status being the prophet, the Elijah messenger, the forerunner of the Messiah. Despite all that, John can only get you wet. He can only baptize with water, but the one who is coming can baptize people with the Holy Spirit. John can only put you in water. Muddy water at that, whereas Jesus can immerse people in the Spirit of God.

[20:40] Unbelievable difference. John clearly knows his mission. He was there to prepare a way, so his water baptism doesn't do all the work because he's only there to prepare.

[20:52] It's simply to prepare the way. John knows that water cannot do what only the Holy Spirit can do. And baptizing with the Holy Spirit was a new covenant thing, and it is what is promised in the likes of Ezekiel and Jeremiah. It's the only thing that can enable any of us to be who we are made to be. And notice how John has both real conviction about his mission, yet he also downplays his ministry compared with Jesus. He talks about his unworthiness, and he also talks about how much greater and more effective Jesus' ministry is compared with his. Jesus' baptism is going to do far more than my baptism. That's what John is saying. And so, this is the right posture. He must increase, I must decrease. If God has given any one of us a role, we must serve in that role with conviction and obedience, but we must not overestimate our ability. What is it we can do? What can we do?

[22:03] We're just playing about with water. It's Jesus who saves, and it is Jesus who gives the Spirit. What have I done? What have you ever done? And we should work hard at doing good, but if we're going to celebrate anything today, let us properly celebrate what Jesus has done and what He is doing, because if it was left up to us, we would not be here. The difference between us and Him is like the difference between water and the Holy Spirit. None of us are worthy of even stooping down and untying the straps of His sandals. No one on earth is worthy of this, and no matter how rich or resourceful the greatest person on earth is, we have nothing to give compared with what Jesus does.

[22:53] It's like comparing muddy Jordan River water with God's mighty, eternal Holy Spirit. So verses 9 to 11, Mark has recorded John saying, another is coming. And then he writes, and in those days Jesus came. Jesus is the another one that's coming. Jesus is the one that's mightier than John. Jesus is the one with the Spirit when John's just playing about with water.

[23:21] In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when He came up out of the water, immediately saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, you are my beloved Son. With you, you I am well pleased.

[23:45] This is a big, very big moment. But I've got a question. Who sees this? Who hears this? Is it just Jesus that sees and hears this? Does John see or hear this? Does anyone else see or hear this thing that happens when Jesus comes up out of the water? In fact, given who He is, aside from the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit and the voice from heaven, His arrival seems very ordinary.

[24:22] It seems quite unimpressive and anticlimactic, considering how verses 1 to 8 build this up, there's one coming. His way is being prepared. He's mightier. The Holy Spirit. And then just a guy in plainclothes, standing in the line at the Jordan River, waiting to be baptized. Mark is not unaware of the birth details or any other information about who Jesus is. Why does Mark write it this way?

[24:58] Perhaps His arrival is written this way to show that it was not the way that people expected it to be. Although He arrived, there were many who didn't understand who He was. It seems like the only one who understands who He is is John. And then Mark announces this in verse 1. The prophets announce it.

[25:27] John announces it. When He comes up out of the water, God announces it. But it seems like nobody notices it. It's like Jesus is just another guy at the Jordan River. Everyone is confessing their sins.

[25:45] Yet there's something different when He gets to the front of the line. He's the only person there who has nothing to confess. Unlike everyone else, He has no confession. The only one with nothing that you can think of to confess. Hmm. No, I've got nothing, John.

[26:09] Why was He baptized then? If you find an answer, send me it. Mark doesn't tell us all these details of why these things happened.

[26:21] But it was not to repent of sin because He had no confession. It was actually less of a confession and more of an ordination. The idea of repenting wasn't necessarily limited to sin, but it was to turn someone toward God, for someone to accept the will of God. And so people had to come all the way back to the Jordan and accept the will of God because they had not been doing the will of God.

[26:51] But at this juncture of Jesus' life, Jesus is now at the point of accepting His role as the Messiah, the Son of God. Though He always was, He always was that, but now the announcer had arrived.

[27:11] It was time. Jesus couldn't have done it without someone preparing the way. And so up until this point, Jesus was the carpenter or the carpenter's son. Now, God says, you are my son. Now, He always was God's son, but it's an ordination. Now is the time. Now is the time because John has come and announced the arrival of the king. And so it's game time.

[27:45] He goes into the water because His time has come. The way has been prepared and the announcement has been made. And then when He comes out of the water, He is declared to be God's beloved son who is well pleased. And the heavens, notice this, the heavens don't just open like a door. They are torn open.

[28:06] Isaiah 64. Most of you know this. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down. This has now come to pass as the heavens are torn open and the Spirit descends on Jesus. And the commentator Donald Garland writes that it's like, you know, when Ezekiel was called, when the heavens opened, usually God was about to speak. And this happens.

[28:40] God speaks to Jesus, but it's not merely opened. The commentator says, something that is opened can be closed, but something that is torn is not easily returned to its former state.

[28:53] This is a game changer. And so, when Joshua and Elijah and Elisha, they parted the Jordan River.

[29:06] Joshua, Elijah, and Elisha parted the Jordan River. Just a muddy river. But when Jesus came, heavens were torn open. This is something very different. So, as the King of Heaven arrives, the heavens are torn open. And as the King dies, the curtain of the temple is torn. We will see that bookmark. Yet, despite the heavens being torn open, and at the end of the book, despite the curtain being torn, who notices? Does anyone notice? The Spirit descends on him like a dove, and a voice from heaven declares, you are my beloved son with you. I'm well pleased. Again, it makes me think about these mountain bikers meeting King Charles. Heaven must have been screaming, the King is here. Get off your bike.

[30:06] The heavens are torn open. The Spirit descends on him like a dove. God's voice booms from heaven. Again, prophets longed for this day. Angels marvel as they long to look, but who notices it on the ground? Who notices who is in their midst? And as we go through the book of Mark, we will see that the spiritual realm knows exactly who Jesus is. Even nature itself responds to who Jesus is. Yet, humans are very slow to notice or understand who He is. Now, it might not appear like His arrival is causing a big stir, but it really is. It might just seem like another day at the Jordan River, but something big is happening. And we see through Isaiah that the Spirit of the Lord rests on the Messiah. In many ways, there are many great arrows pointing to who Jesus is. Reminiscent of the Spirit hovering in Genesis 1, the Spirit now rests over a human. In the beginning in Genesis, the Spirit was hovering over something that was formless and void. It was something formless and void that was transformed. But in this new beginning, it is humanity that has been transformed and made new through the Son of God. Son of God,

[31:31] Psalm 2. In Psalm 2, the world is setting itself against God and against His anointed. That's where we get the term Messiah Christ from. The world is setting itself against God, yet God sets His King on Zion, and it says, the Lord said to me, you are my son. As my old trainer used to say, Andy Gemmell, Jesus is the antidote for the anti-God world. Yet at this point, who notices it?

[32:07] Why doesn't God present Himself in more obvious ways? Have you ever wondered that? Have you ever been asked that? Well, if God would just show Himself, then I would believe. I was thinking about this. Why didn't Jesus just come crashing in with divine power, irradiating glory, and a thundering voice?

[32:31] Why didn't He appear like Thor or Superman or something like that? Why didn't Jesus do that? What is with all this cloak and dagger? Well, there are many reasons that we will explore throughout this series. For instance, the inherent blindness of humanity. But one thing to remember is, at this point, is that humans can be very disingenuous. Is that not true? Consider the TV show, if you've ever seen this TV show, Undercover Boss. You ever seen that? Basically, the CEO of a company will disguise himself and go into one of the branches and see how the staff are doing, assess them, reward those that should be rewarded, and deal with those that need dealt with. If the boss were not undercover, people might simply behave themselves just because he's there. People can be very disingenuous.

[33:33] Perhaps that's why Jesus uses parables as well. As the commentator, again, Donald English says, only as you are willing to respond to Jesus do you then perceive by faith the truth about Him. And so, this is one thing that I was thinking about with Jesus coming to the Jordan River, not like some superhero, not in obvious splendor, but quite ordinary. Because Jesus…think about what the people were there to do and what John was asking the people to do, and think about what would happen if Jesus came with thunder and lightning and all that kind of stuff. Jesus is not looking for glory hunters. He is looking for humble repenters. It's not that He does things in secret, actually.

[34:20] He's not trying to hide who He is, because John prepared the way. Jesus came very publicly, not hidden. It may have been unnoticed, but it was not unannounced. The prophets were given the memo.

[34:36] John got the memo. Heaven got the memo. Even the demons and the devil himself got the memo. Mark got the memo. But did anyone else notice? Did anyone have eyes to see or ears to hear?

[34:51] And this will be the question throughout the entire book. So, verse 12, the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. I wonder what kind of car he drove him out into the wilderness in.

[35:07] In verse 13, and he was in the wilderness, 40 days being tempted by Satan. Notice that he's been tempted by Satan, not by God, not by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit didn't drive him out for the Holy Spirit to tempt him, because as we know in James 1, God tempts no one. God is not a tempter, nor is He tempted. And then it says, He was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to Him. Do you see how this whole section started in the wilderness? A voice crying in the wilderness, and then it ends in the wilderness, the Son of God being tempted in the wilderness. There's this idea of Jesus being the new Adam, except this time the new Adam is not in a paradise garden with peaceful animals. He's in the wilderness with wild animals. How will the new Adam do when Satan tempts him?

[36:13] When Satan tempts him in a place that is far more dangerous than the first Adam had. And notice this, it's not wormwood. It's not some lower-ranking demon that comes to Jesus.

[36:30] We perhaps attribute to Satan many things which are way below his pay grade. Satan doesn't turn up to everyone. But for Jesus, the beloved Son of God, the only one, only one in whom God is well-pleased, this reminded me of Job. Remember the start of Job, and God says, have you noticed Job? Oh, I'm well-pleased with Job. And Satan's like, oh, really? Let us change that. God makes this announcement, my beloved Son, and you, I am well-pleased. And then Satan turns up, no. Satan doesn't turn up for everyone but for the beloved Son of God in whom he is well-pleased. The next thing that happens is the devil wants to see if he can get Job to fail. After all, he got Adam to fail. And I imagine he wants to see if God will be well-pleased with Jesus after the devil gets his hands on him. But how does he do?

[37:39] Think about people's expectations of the Messiah. And consider this. Up to this point, all the Christ-like figures in the Old Testament have always only fought against the human enemies of God. However, for the very first time, one has come to fight with the great serpent, the devil himself. Not only is this seen in his temptation or even the healings and miracles throughout the book, but it is also seen in his suffering and death and resurrection. All these expectations of the Messiah were mostly about him defeating humans and nations and ending wars and introducing peace. But what is often forgotten is all these things are just puppets of a greater evil that needs to be defeated. And it might not look like that as what Jesus is doing, particularly in his suffering, but it is what he's doing. The Messiah didn't come to just kill Romans. He came to free the world from the grip of Satan and to rescue both

[38:50] Jews and Gentiles from the kingdom of darkness. So, Satan comes face to face with Jesus. How does Jesus get on in this desert conflict? Surprisingly, Mark does not tell us. What's that about, Mark? In some senses, we are just left to wonder what the outcome was. Although, if we are to draw our own conclusions, we are already challenged with all the information that has already been presented. If Jesus really is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Son of God, like Mark says, and if He is announced by John and heavens rip open and He's got the Spirit on Him and God declares that He's His Son and He's well pleased, then what do you think the outcome would be like? So, one of the things that I was thinking about when Jesus is tempted was that when Jesus went to John, He was 30 years old, and yet He had nothing to confess. He had got to 30 years old without anything to confess. So, Jesus is well acquainted with enduring temptation. He is well practiced in obedience. And though this might be a greater trial than He has ever faced, don't underestimate the simple daily task of obeying God in the small things. Obeying God every day in the little things. Because one day, a great temptation might come. Jesus spent 30 years in humble, simple obedience. Now, imagine if you were one of the folks that Mark first wrote this to. Imagine you were a

[40:42] Christian in the first century, Rome, facing pressure and hostility. Perhaps they were even feeling Satan's temptation in Rome, pressure to cower in fear, return to the darkness because of the threat if you're a Christian. I mean, when Nero came along, it was not pleasant to be a Christian.

[41:04] But cowering in fear and running back to the darkness, is that what Jesus did? Well, if you actually were one of those disciples in the first century, then your very faith was evident of Jesus' victory over Satan. You are evidence that Jesus is actually the King, that a far greater King has arrived than the Prince of Darkness. And so, if this passage is all about introducing Jesus as the King, then what kind of King is Jesus? Well, Jesus is one who is foretold. He is one who is announced. He is one who is mightier and one who is worthy, one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. He is one who is obedient, who is humble, and who the heavens tear open for. He is one in whom the Spirit rests upon, one who is the beloved of God, who is God's own Son, and whom God is well pleased with. He is one who is led by the Spirit. He is one who is not afraid of conflict. He is one who can endure. He is one who prompts the biggest response from the enemy. He is one who is not afraid of being surrounded by wild animals, and he is one in whom the angels will attend to. This tells us a lot already about the kind of

[42:31] King that Jesus is. You see, Jesus didn't come as an irresistible force, but He came as a faithful Son and a humble servant, even a suffering servant. And He's not looking for fans or glory hunters. He's looking to see whose heart is prepared to meet their King. Will we get off our bike when the King is before us?

[42:59] Are we prepared to meet King Jesus down the road like they stumbled upon King Charles? It's going to happen. We're all going to come face to face with King Jesus, but are we prepared in our hearts to meet Him? Will we even notice that He is our King? You see, whatever our opinions are of the monarchy, it doesn't change the fact that a King is a King and a subject is a subject. If this is true of Charles, how much more is it with the King of Kings and the Lord of all? So, let me finish with this.

[43:36] As Peter said in his letter, Peter said, these things have now been announced to you in the preaching of the good news. It may be unnoticed, but it is not unannounced. And sadly, in many places, the good news is not preached, and therefore, it is not announced. But even just going through this little section in Mark, do we see that the King has come? In the world out there, He might be unnoticed, but He's not unannounced. Do we live as though the King has come? Do you and I live each day as though the King has actually arrived? And I don't just mean do we behave ourselves, but I mean do we have the endurance not to be filled by how we feel? And do we have the confidence not to be filled by how the world appears? And do we have the joy that the King of glory has actually come?

[44:43] And that is really, really good news. Let me pray. Lord, we can't quite understand just how monumental this was for You to arrive on earth. This changed the world forever. Darkness was no longer the dominant force, and it is true today as it was then.

[45:17] We would not be here if it were not true. And so, we thank You that You have arrived, and that You have been announced, and that You have risen and ascended, and that all Your enemies are being put under Your feet. Please give us the confidence and endurance not to be fooled by the picture out there as though You are not King. You are King, King of all the earth, King of the universe.

[45:45] Help us have the confidence to know what that means for our lives today, and help us have the joy and hope for what that means when we will see You. Lord, we thank You in Jesus' name for Your Word. Amen.