Let me add my welcome to you.
My name is Sam and I'm one of the pastors here.
If I haven't met you yet,
hopefully I'll get the chance to
over the course of tonight's service or afterwards.
And if you are our guest tonight
or if you are here for the first time,
you've timed your run well.
We're starting a new series tonight.
So you're on the same page as everyone else.
So I'm going to pray for us
and then we're going to open that passage
from Mark that Ali read out.
Father God, we thank you for bringing us here tonight.
We thank you for this word that you have given to us.
And we ask that as we look at it now,
that it would not be my words that are spoken,
but it would be you who speaks
and you give us ears to hear.
We pray that the result of tonight
would not be that we know more information,
but that we see you more clearly
and love you as you deserve.
Amen.
I have reached a really exciting milestone
in terms of parenting over the last couple of weeks.
Those of you who know my son know he's very enthusiastic
and he's very energetic,
but he's added to that repertoire
the ability to say a few words.
So this week he welcomed me home with,
hey, buddy, when I walked through the door.
That wasn't the milestone that I was aiming for,
but it was kind of exciting just the same.
But the milestone in particular,
which for me was a really significant moment,
was when I was,
I think I was putting him in the car.
And I make a habit of telling him this as often as I can
to the point where it will annoy him,
but it will be imprinted on his brain.
And I did up his seatbelt,
I tickled his leg,
and I said,
love you.
And as I'm backing out of the car to close the door,
I heard this,
love you!
And I can't tell you
how much it warmed my heart.
He still hasn't quite got the ver down,
but the sentiment is really significant
that he,
even as a not quite two-year-old,
could express that emotion towards me
was something that was quite warming.
But I noticed that just in passing,
every time he says it now,
I get very excited,
and I give him a big hug,
and let him know how fantastic it is.
But my wife tells me that she loves me all the time.
And I've noticed that I don't give her
the same amount of excitement
that I do when my son says it.
And I was reflecting that
her love for me is just as significant,
if not more.
She's the one who has to look after me,
whereas Bailey, of course,
is going to love me.
All I do is feed the kid
and play with him
and do fun things.
But it's amazing how
when we get familiar with something,
we can empty it of its meaning.
My wife still means,
I love you.
I want to be with you.
I want to serve you.
I'm excited about our family.
I'm excited about our future.
She still means all those things
when she says it,
just as much as Bailey means
that he loves me when he says it.
But for some reason,
I've heard it so many times
that there's this desensitization for me.
Today, we're going to open up
the Gospel of Mark,
potentially a Gospel that we've heard before,
potentially words that we're familiar with,
stories that we've heard before.
And I wonder if we are in danger,
if we're running the risk
of being over-familiar
with the things that we're about to read.
This Gospel begins with a very basic
but very significant sentence.
Mark 1.1 says,
The beginning of the Gospel
about Jesus Christ,
the Son of God.
Now, it is really easy to read that
and to move on,
to wait and see what comes afterwards.
But you've got to actually sit here
and imagine what it would have been like
to read this when it was first written.
Imagine what it would have been like
for the author as he wrote these words
and the weight and force
and importance and gravity
that were wrapped up in these words.
These words were written somewhere around 60 AD.
And at the point where Mark was writing,
the Christian church was under fierce persecution.
The Emperor Nero was known for
basically skewering Christians on poles
and setting them on fire
as torches for his garden parties.
He set Rome on fire
and then blamed the Christians for it
so that he had an excuse
to basically wholesale murder Christians
left, right and centre.
And into that context
where the church and Christians
fear for their life,
Mark pens this message
and begins it with the words,
The beginning of the Gospel
about Jesus Christ,
the Son of God.
He calls this message
in a time where he has seen
the great missionaries
and the Apostle Peter
and the missionary Paul die.
He calls his message,
he begins his message
with the good news,
it's what Gospel means,
the good news about Jesus Christ,
the Son of God.
Can you imagine the urgency
with which he wrote this message?
Having watched his mentors die,
probably fearing for his own life,
the pressure is on,
people need to know
what he knows,
Mark has an agenda.
He's a desperate man
who wants to share
the good news
that have changed his life
to the point
where he will willingly die
for this man, Jesus Christ.
So hear the words again.
With that weight,
with that context,
the beginning of the Gospel
about Jesus Christ,
the Son of God.
Mark begins this Gospel
at a rapid pace.
We jump in,
we read through just chapter one
and already we've seen
a stack of stuff happen.
So begin with a prophecy
from the Old Testament
and then John shows up
to prepare us for Jesus
and then Jesus shows up
and is baptised
and then Jesus is tempted
and then all of a sudden
Jesus is preaching
and then he's driving out
an evil spirit,
then he's healing people,
then he's praying,
then he's healing more people.
It is just rapid fire
and there is hundreds of kilometres
covered in just these 28 verses.
Jesus is journeying
all over the Middle East
to do his ministry
and so you've got to ask
the question,
why is Mark in such a rush?
He keeps using words like,
immediately this happened
and then this happened
and he's skipping us through
all these really significant stories
and you've got to ask yourself
the question,
what's his agenda?
Where's he trying to take us
in such a rush
as we jump through
all these different events?
And I want to take you to
the clue which I think
is found in Jesus' baptism.
This week on Wednesday
I'll have the privilege
of officiating a wedding
for two friends of mine.
These are friends
who don't come to church,
who aren't Christians,
but who because of my job
invited me to be a part
of their special day.
And if you've ever been
to a wedding,
you'll know that
the most important words,
and they're not,
you may kiss the bride,
just to clarify,
the most important words
that I say
in a wedding ceremony are,
I declare them
to be husband and wife.
That's the official point
where we have crossed a line
and there is a new family
now standing at the front
of the building.
But just because
that is the important bit,
just because that's the climax,
just because that's
what everything else
is leading up to,
doesn't mean that
all the things before that
are unimportant.
For me to say that,
we need the context
of having talked about
what marriage is
at the beginning.
We need the context
of a husband and a wife
making promises to each other
so that when I announce it,
we know what we're announcing.
I'm not just saying
some empty words.
And so even though Mark
is obviously in a hurry
to get somewhere,
we do actually need to look
at some of the details
in these stories
if we're going to understand
where it is
that he's taking us.
So look with me
at the baptism of Jesus.
So let's start,
before we get to
the baptism of Jesus,
by looking at John
in verse 4.
So John came,
baptising in the desert region
and 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 baptised
in the Jordan River.
Jesus' baptism
in this passage,
it happens so quickly
that you could miss it,
but Jesus' baptism
is a response
to the ministry
that John is doing.
You've got to understand
before John comes,
baptism is a foreign idea.
It's not something
that people had been doing
and then Jesus just jumps in.
John shows up
and is the one
who introduces baptism.
But did you see
what his baptism is about?
It's not just about
splashing water.
John's baptism is,
verse 4,
a baptism of repentance
for the forgiveness
of sins.
And the people come to him,
confess their sins,
and are baptised.
John's baptism,
while it's an invitation
to come back to God,
an invitation for forgiveness,
his ministry has to have started
by telling people
that they needed to be forgiven.
John's message was,
God is not happy.
You do not deserve the love
that God has shown you.
You are not entitled
to God's goodness
and God's promises.
You need to come back.
You need to confess.
You need to apologise.
John's message
was a message of judgement.
And the people
who heard his message
knew that he was
right on the mark,
and so they came out
in their droves
to be baptised
and seeking forgiveness.
Jesus doesn't need
a baptism
for forgiveness of sins.
So you've got to stop
in these stories,
even though Mark
skips through them.
It doesn't make sense
that Jesus,
who is perfect,
needs to be baptised
for forgiveness.
That's why we get
a clue here
as to where Mark
is taking us
in this gospel.
If you look in Matthew's
account of the same thing,
John gets really uncomfortable
when Jesus shows up
to be baptised.
John's kind of,
you know,
standing on the spot
when Jesus comes
to the front of the queue
and is ready to be dipped.
John's like,
um,
I think you're supposed
to baptise me.
I think that's how it works.
I was just for a little while,
now Jesus,
it's up to you.
But Jesus insists
that he be baptised
by John.
And the reason is,
Jesus wants to identify
with sinful people.
Jesus wants to take on
the identity
and the place
of people
like you and me
who have spent our lives
treating God
like he doesn't matter.
Jesus doesn't need
to be baptised
for his own sin.
But what he does
in choosing to be baptised
even when he doesn't need to,
is shows that his agenda
is not to be some
person out there
who is just distant from us
and perfect
and beyond approach,
but to be the one
who comes down
and understands
our struggle.
To be the one
who takes on
the judgement
that we deserve
and stands before God
in our place.
Mark is showing us
right from the very beginning
of this gospel
that Jesus' life
and Jesus' ministry
and everything
that he will do
is directly connected
to the hope
that they had
all through the Old Testament
that one day
God would provide
a means for forgiveness.
Permanent forgiveness.
Not the kind of forgiveness
where you come back
every week
with a new apology
and a new sacrifice
because you've done
more things wrong.
All through that history
they were hoping
that one day
God would give them
a way to be
completely clean,
completely forgiven,
forever forgiven.
they hoped
that one day
God would provide
a substitute
to take the judgement
that they deserved.
Right here
in chapter 1
of Mark's gospel
Mark is pointing us
to the cross.
This is the beginning
even from verse 1
his agenda
is for us
to be looking
to the end
to the climax
to the finish.
Mark is rushing us
through his gospel
to Jesus' destination
which is the cross
where he will
give up his life.
Mark is telling us
these first bits
of the gospel
and all the bits
that we're going to cover
for the next few weeks
he's telling us
these bits
with the cross
in view.
And so we need
to look at all
these little stories
that Ali just read
out for us
all these little episodes
from Jesus' life
and ministry
conscious
that the cross
casts a shadow
over all of it.
That that's always
the agenda.
that Jesus
turned up
to offer forgiveness.
This gospel
is a proclamation.
Gospel is good news.
The word gospel
isn't necessarily
a Bible word
it's just a word
to describe
an exciting announcement
a significant announcement
something that you need
to share and pass on
and so right from the beginning
Mark says
this is important
and this is good news.
But there's a bit
of a tension
I don't know
if you picked it up
as we were reading
through there
you've got this emphasis
on focus on Jesus
Jesus is important
from the first verse
Jesus is the Christ
we go to Old Testament
telling us about
Jesus being the Lord
we've got this amazing
scene in the baptism
but there's this
tension going on
I mean four times
we get an announcement
about Jesus
in verse one
Mark the author
says Jesus is the Christ
and then immediately
following that
in verse two
we have a quote
from two Old Testament
prophets
explaining that
Jesus is the Lord
who was promised
Jesus is the one
who they've been waiting
for who will come
and he will bring
judgment
but he will also
bring grace
then we get an announcement
from John
in verse eight
sorry in verse seven
this was his message
after me will come
one more powerful
than I
the thongs 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
so Mark says Jesus
is significant
Isaiah says Jesus
is significant
John says Jesus
is more significant
than he is
and then perhaps
the most significant
voice
in verse eleven
as Jesus is baptized
the heavens open
and the voice
of God in heaven
speaks
you are my son
whom I love
with you
I am well pleased
this is all
in the first eleven
verses of this gospel
Jesus matters
Jesus is important
Jesus is significant
Jesus is divine
Jesus is from heaven
but then at the same time
three times in this chapter
Jesus tells people
who know who he is
to be quiet
did you see that
verse twenty five
Jesus is doing ministry
he cast the demon
out of someone
and the demon says
in verse twenty four
sorry
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
Jesus said sternly
and he wouldn't
allow this demon
to proclaim
or announce
who he was
verse thirty four
again
he is casting out demons
but he will not
let them speak
because they know
who he is
verse forty four
he heals a man
with leprosy
and he says this
see that you don't
tell this to anyone
but go show yourself
to the priest
and offer the sacrifices
that Moses commanded
for your cleansing
as a testimony
to them
four announcements
and three commands
to silence
what's Mark
trying to do
announce Jesus
or keep a secret
or at least
why is Jesus
not happy
for everybody
to stand on the rooftops
and shout out
who he is
if that's Mark's agenda
why wasn't it
Jesus' agenda
as well
I remember
a couple of years ago
the first time I met
Steve
our senior minister
was when I had the chance
to be a part
of a committee
that organises
a youth convention
it's a fairly
significant convention
it's about
six thousand teenagers
we'll be taking
our youth ministry
there in a couple
of weeks time
and I'm walking
into this room
with these people
and being really excited
that I had the opportunity
to be a part of this
I was maybe
twenty-one
twenty-two
and so I thought
you know
I've got something to offer
I'll be the most
significant member
of this team
but it was really quick
that I noticed
in the room
that there was
a pecking order
Steve was the chairman
as you might guess
when Steve's in a room
Steve's the boss
that's because
that's how Steve works
and because he was
given that title
as well of course
but as well as Steve
being the chairman
there was somebody
allocated as the vice chair
which I found
a little bit comical
because I figured
it was Steve
and the rest of us
but in order to ensure
my position on the team
I appointed myself
as the vice vice chair
it was a self-appointment
and it remained
a self-appointment
for the amount of time
that I served
on that committee
it was light-hearted
most of the time
but every now and then
I would pull rank
and go hey
I'm the vice vice chair
but the funny thing is
when you give
a vague title
like vice vice chair
or even vice chair
or even chairman
for that matter
what we do
is we import
our definition
of what that means
and so for me
vice vice chair
meant that I didn't
have to do any extra work
I could basically
put the kibosh
on anyone else's idea
and I got all the perks
of being on the committee
like not having
to put chairs out anymore
or getting to the front
of the morning tea line
those sorts of things
vice vice chair
was an important task
and I set out
to make it
very beneficial
for myself
when you have
a vague title
you just import
and you add things
to it
and there is this
risk for us
as we read this gospel
and there was this risk
for people
as they met Jesus
in his ministry
that they would hear
his title
they would hear
that he was the Christ
the saviour
they would hear
that he was the Lord
they would hear
that he was the son of God
and they would begin
to shape their own picture
of what that meant
they would begin
to join the dots
for themselves
and decide
what they thought
the Christ should be
in fact
that's exactly
what happens
and that's exactly
what happens
even now
so often you talk
to people
and they have
their version
of what Jesus
should be
if Jesus
is the son of God
he should love
everyone
I have spent time
in a previous church
sitting with
someone who I consider
to be a close friend
and basically
wrestling
with this issue
they deeply
struggle
with the possibility
that God
would condemn
someone
who struggles
with something
like homosexuality
they have
a family member
who is a practicing
homosexual
and so for them
they've adjusted
their picture
of Jesus
to suit themselves
they hear
certain bits
of the title
Christ
or the title
saviour
or the title
lord
and they adjust
it to be
the kind
of saviour
they want
the kind
of lord
they want
the kind
of king
they want
and so
when they come
to bits
in the bible
where Jesus
might say
certain things
are wrong
or certain
things are
unhelpful
what they do
is they just
adjust
their picture
of Jesus
so they don't
have to
include that
but before
we point
the finger
too much
we all
do it
when we
are called
to sacrifice
and treasure
Jesus
above all
else
above things
that matter
in our life
how quickly
we adjust
our version
of Jesus
he doesn't
want me to
sacrifice
that area
because it's
harmless
he doesn't
want me to
give up
that hobby
that I've
got
which takes
me away
from time
with important
relationships
takes me
away from
ministry
takes me
away
from spending
time in
the word
because it's
harmless
but actually
Jesus
demands
everything
demands
our whole
life
there is a
tension in
this beginning
of Mark's
gospel because
Mark wants
us to know
Jesus
he wants us
to know
who he is
but he is
protecting us
from making
up our own
version of
the truth
see when we
make Jesus
who we want
him to be
we reduce
him
at best
he becomes
a better
version of
us
our goodness
plus some
our love
plus some
our forgiveness
plus some
our servant
heart
plus some
but when you
see him
for who he
is
when you
see him
as he is
revealed in
his word
in the
gospel
his majesty
his goodness
his holiness
his justice
his love
and his
authority
far exceed
even your
wildest
imagination
or dreaming
when it
comes to
Jesus the
truth is
better than
your inventions
and Mark
is trying to
spare us
even at the
beginning
false dreams
and false
ideas about
who Jesus
is
he wants us
to have
the blessing
of seeing
him in
his fullness
and his
fullness
is seen
in the
cross
that's why
even from
verse 1
chapter 1
Mark
wants us
to see
the cross
we need
the cross
to understand
what Jesus
is doing
we need
the cross
to understand
what it
means for
him to be
Christ
we need
the cross
to understand
what it
means for
him to
be Lord
that's why
this opens
up in
verse 1
this is
the beginning
of the
gospel
about
Jesus
Christ
there's
more for
us to
know
but we
need
to use
the cross
as our
starting
point
you'll find
in a couple
of weeks
when we
look at
chapter 8
of Mark's
gospel
that even
when Jesus
gets explicit
and says to
his disciples
me being
Christ
me being
saviour
means I
have to
die
the first
thing his
disciples do
are
Jesus
I think
you've
got it a
bit wrong
if you
don't talk
like that
it's probably
going to make
more people
want to
follow you
Jesus
if you're
going to be
Christ
if you're
going to be
saviour
you win
you don't
die
you win
and Jesus
response
is the
scary
rebuke to
Peter
get behind
me
Satan
even as
Jesus says
to Peter
I must
die
to be
your
saviour
Peter
has his
own vision
of what
a saviour
will do
for him
even
as we
get to
the end
of Mark's
gospel
the disciple
Peter
still
doesn't
get it
and as
Jesus
is arrested
Peter
denies
that he
even
follows
him
we
need
the
cross
to make
sense
of what
Jesus
is doing
in his
life
we need
the cross
to understand
his
preaching
when he
says
the time
has come
the kingdom
of God
is near
repent
and believe
the good
news
the good
news
is that
in the
cross
we can
be welcomed
into the
kingdom
of God
this
gospel
this
message
of Jesus
is the
proof
that it
was the
cross
the death
and resurrection
of Jesus
that enabled
Peter to
understand
everything
that he
had experienced
while spending
time with
Jesus
this gospel
is written
by Mark
but Mark
probably
was writing
what Peter
told him
writing
what Peter
experienced
as he
spent time
with Jesus
doing
ministry
with him
and it
appears
that Peter
goes from
telling Jesus
to rethink
his idea
of what it
means to
be the
saviour
Peter goes
from denying
that he
even knows
Jesus
to rejoicing
in him
following him
serving him
preaching
about him
and dying
for him
and the
difference
between the
Peter that
we read
about here
and the
Peter who
told this
stuff to
Mark
is that
Jesus had
died
and Jesus
had risen
we need
the cross
for us
as we
read Mark's
gospel
the cross
is a past
reality
Jesus is
risen
for Mark's
readers as
they open
this up
around 60
AD
they would
have been
alive for
some of
them when
this all
happened
some of
them may
have even
seen Jesus
hanging on
that cross
for the
first time
and so
now as
they read
these words
there is new
meaning as
they hear about
their saviour
new meaning
as they hear
about the
one who
claims to
be their
lord and
king
this message
of Jesus
gives hope
to Christians
facing persecution
and death
at the hands
of the Roman
emperor
this message
of Jesus
gives hope
to people
who are
lost
and need
forgiveness
this message
of Jesus
calls people
to trust
Jesus
so that
they can
be forgiven
hear verse
one again
the gospel
about Jesus
Christ
the son
of God
the message
of Mark's
gospel
is that
Jesus
the Christ
our saviour
was the
divine
son of
God
who came
to earth
to bear
our sin
to take
our punishment
to take
our judgment
and who
has died
and risen
as our
saviour
and king
this gospel
and these
words
contained here
in this book
are used
by God
to bring
people to
trust him
to bring
people to
have faith
in him
if you
are somebody
who is a
Christian
who follows
Jesus
then God
used
this gospel
maybe not
Mark's
gospel
but the
message
of Jesus
contained in
Mark's
gospel
to invite
you to
trust him
and so
if you
are somebody
who like
Mark
feels the
urgency
to share
this with
your family
with your
friends
with your
neighbours
with your
work colleague
you don't
need to
find something
fancy
or clever
or more
exciting
or modern
you need
the gospel
you need
the message
of Jesus
this is
the good
news
about our
saviour
Jesus Christ
and good
news
needs to
be shared
good news
is not to
be kept
to ourselves
we're beginning
tonight a
series in
Mark that
will take
us through
our focus
time of
mission in
a few
weeks that
will take
us through
Easter
and I
want to
challenge
you
as you
look again
at the
gospel
by which
God called
you to
know him
who can
you share
this gospel
with
who can
you put
these words
into the
hand of
maybe it's
the person
that you've
been praying
for in
your one
plus one
Chris
challenged
us this
morning
that we
as individuals
could read
the entirety
of Mark's
gospel in
an hour
it's not
huge
you could
sit down
and knock
it over
without too
much trouble
but the
other thing
that means
is you
could quite
easily hand
a copy
of Mark's
gospel to
your friend
and say
just have a
go at
reading it
just scribble
questions in
it
underline things
that confuse
you or excite
you and then
let's talk
about it
because this
gospel is
what God
uses to call
people to place
their trust
in him
not your
fancy
presentation
or your
amazing
stories
it's the
good news
that Jesus
has come
to earth
and died
to take
your sin
and is
now risen
as king
personally I
want to ask
you are you
at risk
of being
too familiar
with the
gospel
do you
read verse
one of
Mark's
gospel
and shrug
your shoulders
and wait
for what's
next
or do you
feel the
weight
of God's
son coming
to earth
and dying
for you
because that's
what Mark
says in
verse one
Jesus the
Christ
Jesus your
savior
let's pray
father God we
want to thank
you that you
give us your
word we want
to thank you
that you use
Mark to record
the life of
Jesus so that
we could read
and see him in
his majesty and
fullness God we
want to ask that
you would protect
us from painting
our own picture of
what we think
Jesus should be
and instead you
would exceed our
vision exceed our
dreams and show us
who Jesus really
is show him in
his majesty and
power his power
over sickness and
demons and
nature and sin
and death and
as we see him
may we find the
unshakable hope that
can only be found
in him
father if there
are people in
this room who
don't yet know
your son Jesus
who don't yet know
the forgiveness that
is found in him
I pray that you
would show yourself
through these
words
I pray that you
would show them
that you can and
will forgive them
if they would trust
you and the work
you have done
father please use
us to share this
good news with
people who don't
know you yet
light a fire in
us that we would
need to share the
hope that we have
and use us to bring
joy and peace to
our families and
friends
amen
you