Several weeks ago, we began an expositional study of the Gospel of Mark, and this is the third message in that series. Before I begin the exposition tonight, I want to ask a prayer from you, if you'd be willing to pray. For me, that I would find a rhythm in preaching through this book.
And by that I mean, there's so many issues that, working through a book, issues that surface, that you don't really have the time to stop and address everything that you see. So it takes a certain amount of discernment, wisdom to know how quickly to move, what to pass over. For example, there's a contrast coming between the ministry of John with the ministry of Christ.
He says, I baptized you with water, but he, that is Jesus, will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Well, I could bring several messages on what is the baptism of the Spirit? There might be merit in that. There's a lot of confusion in people's minds about what that is.
And do I do that? Because you can get bogged down. You can just, well, here we are, eight messages in, and we're still in chapter one and verse 10 or whatever. So to find a rhythm that we can move through the book at a pace that's profitable, and not so slow that we get bogged down and get a bit weary of the journey. You see that Pastor Barkman has made some decisions about his preaching in Hebrews. We've thrown out the anchor for three or four weeks at the end of chapter eight, dealing with the New Covenant. Well, it's because it's so significant to our understanding as New Covenant Christians that we need to spend some time and understand that. So you understand what I'm saying.
So tonight we're continuing. We're going to look at verses four through eight. Again, let me read those five verses. John, Mark says, came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea and those from Jerusalem went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, There comes one after me who was mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
The ESV renders verse four this way. John appeared baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Mark has introduced us to John the Baptist. And as we look at these verses tonight, he speaks of John the Baptist and his ministry and he gives us four aspects of his life and ministry.
We're going to see about something about his arrival, something about his audience, something about his appearance and something about his announcement. I remind you of the significance of the ministry of John the Baptist. He is a significant person in redemptive history.
Jesus said in Luke 16, verse 16, The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time, the kingdom of God has been preached. So John occupies a unique and significant place in redemptive history.
He bridges the gap between the Old and the New Testament. His coming signaled the gospel age of the kingdom. The kingdom of God has come. The Messianic King has arrived. And John has the privilege of preparing and announcing the coming of the Messianic King and his kingdom.
We want to speak to these four issues. Number one, his arrival. Again, John appeared. He appeared.
It almost sounds like he wasn't and he is, but there's a bit of a history that the scriptures tell us about John's life. But in terms of his ministry, it's simply, according to the ESV, verse four, John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness. That is, he simply appeared.
No heavenly trumpet blast, no formal announcement. He just came preaching. And where was he preaching?
In the metropolitan area of Jerusalem? No, he's preaching in the wilderness. One of the classes that I had to take in my formal education for ministry to earn a Master of Divinity was a course in church, how to grow a church, how to establish a church. And it was painful at times because experts would come in, lecture the class.
Well, got to have a read on your audience, got to have a read on the community, got to know where people travel, get on a main highway, do these things. Well, evidently, John the Baptist didn't take that course. He was preaching in the most unlikely place to draw a crowd, in the wilderness.
And yet, we're told, those from Jerusalem went out to him and were all baptized in the Jordan. He drew a crowd. Think about his appearance in this way. We noted last week that he is the fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy in Malachi 3.1.
He is the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy in chapter 40 and verse 3. But his arrival brought an end to 400 years of silence. And we know that, we say that, and yet we don't stop to really think about how long 400 years is.
This United States of America just celebrated its 248th anniversary. Another 150 years before we know 400 years. God was silent for 400 years. And that silence is broken by the ministry of John the Baptist. Now, you can't miss the connection between the Old and the New Testament.
John is a bridge between the Old and the New. Listen to the last couple of verses of the last chapter of the last book of the Old Testament. And when we get to the end of chapter 4 verse 6, 400 years of silence.
God doesn't say another word. But this is what he says at the end of the Old Testament through the prophet Malachi. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers.
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. A threat of judgment concludes the Old Testament. Now we know from our study that the promise of Elijah the prophet is fulfilled in John the Baptist. John is the prophet that's being referred to in Malachi chapter 4. So again, it seems that his appearance is very abrupt.
He comes out of nowhere. But don't miss the fact that there has been preparation going on even though God has been silent. 400 years have passed.
God has not forgotten his agenda. God has prepared a man, and that man is John the Baptist as a bridge between the Old and the New Testament. What school of education did he enter in to prepare for ministry? Well, no formal education. He grew up in the wilderness.
He had a very unusual birth. You remember the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, recorded for us in Luke. You don't need to turn there. I'll just read a few verses here. Luke chapter 1 verse 13. Zechariah is serving as a priest in the temple. It says in verse 12, And when Zechariah saw him, that is, saw the angel, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. Well, they were beyond childbearing years in a normal sense of the word.
She was barren. The sense is that they weren't currently praying to conceive a child. They had prayed, but it maybe has been 20, 30 years since they quit praying. And yet, Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
Wonderful encouragement. Despite the fact that we continue to pray and pray and pray and don't see any tangible evidence to an answer to our prayer, does not mean that God has turned a deaf ear to us. The answer might be delayed. It certainly was delayed for them. But God dealt with Zechariah and Elizabeth in answer to their prayer.
That's why that's recorded. Now, Zechariah, despite the fact that he has this heavenly visitation, this angelic message that comes to him, he is doubting. Verse 18 says, And Zechariah said to the angel, How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.
That sounds like some legitimate questioning. And yet, notice how that is interpreted. Verse 19, And the angel answered and said to him, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in your own time. Boy, that's a pretty stinging consequence. There's consequences in disobeying the word of God, not believing the word of God. God doesn't just shrug his shoulders and say, well, there's consequences, consequences here for Zechariah. But you know, he was told that he was to name this son John. And when he was born, all the families, well, they got to name him Zechariah II, you know.
And again, Zechariah hadn't been able to pray, but he took whatever they wrote on and wrote a note. And his name is John. And when he named him John, his voice returned to him and he was able to speak of God's dealings in his life.
But we won't read any more there in chapter one until we get to the very end. This is what we're told about John. John was born and very little else is told about his childhood, his growing up years, except this in verse 80. So the child grew, that is, John the Baptist, the child grew and became strong in spirit and was in the desert till the day of his manifestation to Israel. God has unique ways of preparing his people for ministry. In the wilderness, he was in the school of Christ and he was learning and God was preparing him for a very unique and significant ministry. Note, secondly, how John speaks of John's audience. Again, back to Mark chapter one. Mark's audience.
I mean, not Mark's audience, John's audience. John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea and those from Jerusalem went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan River. Does that mean every single person from Jerusalem and from the land of Judea went out to be baptized by him?
Well, no. Well, how do we understand that? Then all the land of Judea and those from Jerusalem went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River. Well, not a handful of people. A whole bunch of people.
Again, it's another reminder that when we come across words like all and everyone and everybody, that we need to read it in its context. Obviously, not everybody from the land of Judea and from Jerusalem went out, but a large number of people went out. A good number of people went out. That was the audience.
And they went out for various reasons. Some heard about an austere man dressed strangely, strange diet, bold preaching. We've got to go hear this God.
We've got to go find out what this is all about. So that's what Mark tells us about John's audience. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. I'm not sure what it is we're supposed to learn from the description of his appearance, but we have that said before us in verse 6.
Now, John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. I mulled that over in my mind thinking, okay, God, what purpose do you have in telling us that about this man? And I didn't come to any brilliant deduction on it other than to say to you God isn't looking for a certain type of person. There is great diversity in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're different in our personality. We're different in our approaches to life. The one thing that brings us together is our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
So we don't have to be like somebody else in order to be approved by God and to be used by God. This man was an outsider. He was a maverick. He was his own man. And some find great delight in that pattern and say, well, then I can be my own man.
Well, maybe. But this is who John was. We're told about his appearance. And then notice his announcement. His announcement. He came, not to announce, he came preaching.
Notice the emphasis. Verse four, John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching. Preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Verse seven, and he preached, saying. There's no substitute for preaching.
If you've got an ear to modern church growth gurus, they're telling people, telling men, be careful with this preaching. People are tired of preaching. They don't want to hear somebody doing all the talk and they want to have a dialogue.
We want to have conversations. Well, God hadn't ordained a conversation. God has ordained preaching to the salvation of souls. And may we never get tired of preaching. May God develop our hearts that we have a longing for preaching, a hunger for preaching, a desire for preaching.
Because that's what God has promised to use. That is the means that he has promised to use in the salvation of people. And John was a preacher. He came preaching. He was he was bold and he was fearless in his preaching. We're not told here, but listen to what Luke tells us about his preaching.
In Luke chapter three, verse seven, he says, Then he, that is, John said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him. Ready for this? How do you like this for seeker sensitive preaching? Brute of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? That's bold. That's fearless. He wasn't interested in.
Scratching people's ear and gaining an audience and being popular. Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance and do not begin to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from the stones. He came preaching. He came with boldness and fearlessness. He came preaching Christ again, back to Mark chapter one. And he preached verse seven, saying, There comes one after me who was mightier than I, whose sandal strap I'm not worthy to stoop down and loose.
I indeed baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. So he came preaching Christ. And then he preached the necessity of repentance for the remission of sins.
Again, verse five, then all the land. Well, verse four, John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Came preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Now, it doesn't sound all that alarming to us, but to these Jews that came out of Judea and came out of Jerusalem, to hear a man preaching about baptism. Baptism was the right where a Gentile would enter into the Jewish faith.
Wasn't that uncommon? Gentiles wanted to become a Jew. This was the process whereby they did that. They were baptized. They were brought into the covenant community.
But John, he's preaching to Jews. And the idea that a Jew needed to be baptized was foreign to them. It was repulsive to them.
They didn't like that. And yet, we're told, he came preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea and those from Jerusalem went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River. Well, were they just going through some religious ritual?
Was there any definition about what this meant? What were they accomplishing? What was God going to do for them? Well, they went out and were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
That sounds pretty serious. That sounds pretty biblical to us, doesn't it? Confessing their sins. What is confession? Confession is agreeing with God. So here were Jews acknowledging that they were sinners and were responding to this preaching of John the Baptist.
Pretty astounding. Now, notice he's not preaching baptismal regeneration. You're not baptized in order to be saved, like some people teach.
This is a genitive of description. It is baptism for the remission of sins. That for means because of, not in order to. So people are not baptized in order to be saved. People aren't baptized in order to be forgiven of their sins. But they're baptized because they have been forgiven of their sins. And that's what John was emphasizing.
So although it's a new message, it's not new to us. How absolutely critical is repentance for the remission of sins? John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins or for the forgiveness of sins. Well, there is no forgiveness apart from repentance. Forgiveness is conditioned upon repentance. What is repentance? Repentance is a change of mind that affects one's behavior.
Change of mind concerning what? Change of mind concerning sin. I now understand that sin is a violation of God's law.
I have offended God. I agree with God about my sin. I repudiate my sin. I mourn over my sin.
I war against my sin. That's what is being conveyed with repentance, the idea of repentance. We have a different mind concerning sin.
Before we were comfortable with it. We had no problem engaging in sin. We thought God would turn a blind eye to us, that there was no consequence for sin. But now we've changed our mind because the scriptures have informed our understanding. We've come to mourn our sin, war against our sin, confess, agree with God about our sin and forsake our sin. Now, is that a one time act?
No, it's not a one time act. It's a lifestyle for a Christian. We are, if we understand the doctrine of repentance, we are repenting repenters. We have repented. And the lifestyle of our life, the orientation of our life is we are continuing to repent as sin is made known to us. As God reveals sins to us.
And that's why the Lord's table is such a wonderful means of grace. We come before the Lord. We examine our hearts. We ask God to help us examine our hearts. And when God shows us areas of sin that prior to we were ignorant of, we confess, we acknowledge, yes, God, this is sin. I have a disposition wrought by your spirit to forsake that sin, to agree with you about that sin, to turn away from that sin. And that's a way that we maintain our Christian walk with God.
So that's my question to you tonight. Is that your understanding of repentance? Is that your commitment? Are you? Do you agree that you are a repenting repenter?
I trust that you are. When God works repentance in our heart, that's what he does. Now, one more thing about John before I conclude. Jesus said concerning John. Truly, I tell you, among those born of women, there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist yet. Even the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. You're a child of God here tonight. You are part of the kingdom of God. Jesus said you are greater than John the Baptist.
That's a pretty amazing, astounding statement. What I love about John the Baptist is he was quick to deflect the attention that people were giving him. It wasn't about him.
He wasn't interested in gathering a following. He knew what his calling was. He was to prepare the way of the Lord. He was to announce the coming of the king. And that's why we see him saying here in verse seven.
There comes one after me who is mightier than I and he is holier than I. I'm not worthy to even unfasten his sandal. His whole life, John's whole life, was not to draw attention to himself, but to point to the Lord Jesus Christ. Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. Let's not miss the fact that repentance is an absolutely essential element of the Christian life.
Without it, there is no life. Dr. Luke draws attention to two stories to make a point. In Luke 13, he says there was present at that season some who told him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered such things? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those 18 on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them. Do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwell in Jerusalem?
I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. There's not an awful lot of repentance being preached in our day.
But hear me tonight. There's no salvation apart from it. It's a work of God, a gracious work of God in the hearts of people. Where you have a change of mind concerning sin that affects your behavior. And the question is, how can I know whether I've truly repented of my sins?
Well, the answer is pretty simple. You may have agreed with God that what you're doing is sin. But if it hasn't changed your behavior, you haven't repented.
It's a change of mind that alters a man's behavior. That's what repentance is. So quickly, let me just give you four points that I want to tie our thoughts from Mark chapter one here and our time around the Lord's table very quickly. John came preaching a message of forgiveness. John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, for the remission of sins. There is a message of forgiveness. John preached it. Number two, there is the astounding fact of forgiveness.
And I mean astounding. God is no man's debtor. God is not obligated to extend mercy and grace. God is not obligated to forgive any sinner. Why has he dealt with sinful men the way he has and not dealt with us the way he dealt with the fallen angels? They fell. No salvation for them.
No restoration for them. He could have just done the exact same for you and I. We ought to be astounded by the very fact that God would extend forgiveness to sinners.
He could kill us all and he'd still be God. His justice is satisfied in one of two ways. Either our sin is judged in us or it's judged in another, in a substitute. So the message of forgiveness, the astounding fact of forgiveness, the condition of forgiveness. Forgiveness is conditioned on repentance.
I've already said that. And then finally, the cost, the cost of forgiveness. We can't get over what it cost God in the trinity of his being in order to satisfy his justice and be able to forgive you and me. One verse that captures it, I think. He who knew no sin, Jesus Christ, became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
That's the gospel. He who knew no sin, Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God who never sinned, became sin for us. He took our sin upon himself. He who knew no sin became sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Double imputation. Our sin imputed to him, his righteousness imputed to us. The cost of forgiveness, as we sang tonight, the blood of Jesus. Apart from his death, apart from his sacrifice, apart from him bearing our sins in his own body on the tree, apart from him bearing the wrath of God that our sins deserve, there is no salvation.
So the cost is beyond calculation. But thank God that that cost has been paid by the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, we can be forgiven. Because if God kept the record of wrongs, who of us could stand?
None of us. But the record of our sin has been satisfied in Jesus Christ. Our sin debt has been paid. And we have been declared righteous on the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What a gospel. And that's what we celebrate as we come around the Lord's table. So bow with me as we pray. Father, thank you. Thank you for this reminder tonight of this man that you raised up to preach a message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Thank you that there is such a message to preach. Thank you that there is a Savior for sinners. And thank you that we can celebrate him around these elements and to remember him in the way that he's commanded his church to do so. Bless our time around the table, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
