JESUS, THE EXAMPLE OF PLEASING GOD
Mark 1:1-14
PLEASE GOD WITH FAITHFULNESS
V:1 The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 It is written in Isaiah the prophet:
\”I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way\”—
3 \”a voice of one calling in the desert,
\’Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.\’\”
All things happen according to God\’s divine plan. God revealed His plan of
the preaching of John the Baptist 740 years earlier to Isaiah the prophet.
He confirmed His plan again to prophet Malachi (3:1) in 400 BC.
The need for a Messiah was revealed first in the book of Genesis when Adam
and Eve broke fellowship with God in the Garden of Eden 1900 years before
the birth of Christ. God knew the sins of man before He created man. He left the
door open for man to sin when He allowed Lucifer the Arch Angel to become
too proud of his position. Not only that, God planted The Tree of Knowledge
and of Good and Evil in the middle of the Garden of Eden.
I believe that God purposely left Adam with the weakness of temptation which
Lucifer, renamed Satan exploited to influence the first couple to break the one
command given to them (Genesis 3). From that point on all mankind would be born in
sin and shaped in inequity in need of a Savior.
All the evil that exists in the world today started with and continues with the influence of Satan, the father of lies, the prince of darkness, the master of deception, and the
lord of flies. The first enemy of God is His creation, the devil, and his demons.
All Things are of God (2 Corinthians 5:18). God is omnipresent, omniscient, and
omnipotent. He is in control. Nothing happens that he does not allow (Job 1).
God is love. Out of His love flows His grace and mercy for you and me. God
so loves you and me that He sent us Jesus to die for our sins.
I am confident this morning, that from the beginning, God had you on His mind,
took the time and prayed for your salvation that you can\’t buy, can\’t earn but
must accept as a gift from Jesus Christ.
PLEASE GOD WITH YOUR SERVICE
V:4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy of God. Born to Zachariah and Elizabeth,
filled with the Holy Spirit, and raised according to God\’s command for the mission of
getting Israel prepared to accept Jesus. According to Biblical historians. When a king
was coming to a city, He sent messengers out to prepare the roads he would travel
and the people to receive him. It was John’s job to get the people ready to receive
the King of King with his preaching.
The first order of a preacher is to make the hearers aware of their sinful nature. It is the
the job of the preacher is to influence the confession of sins and baptize them in the
name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
According to the IVP Background Commentary,
Jewish people practiced ceremonial washings. Their only once-for-all ceremonial washing, however, was the immersion that non-Jews had to go through when they converted to Judaism. Non-Jews who were converting to Judaism would immerse themselves in water, probably under the supervision of a religious expert. John\’s baptizing activity fits this model.
The ultimate example of repenting, or turning from a wrong way of living to a right way of living, was when a non-Jew decided to obey the teachings of Israel\’s God.
John\’s baptism was different because it marked the beginning of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. The promised King walked the streets of the promised land.
The Jews were living in a spiritual desert having rejected God’s commands.
The Jews walked across the Jordan River on dry land into the promised land
for the first time (Joshua 3:17) and march around the city of Jericho causing the walls to fall down. Instead of living in victory, Israel lived in defeat, because they refused
to follow God’s command.
It is fitting that Jesus started His ministry in the Jordan river, setting the example
of the spirit baptism needed to wash away the dust of sin. There is a waiting and
ready crowd ready to be baptized in the name of Jesus. God prepared the hearts of
many to receive John’s baptism. When you are preaching Jesus the word travels
from mouth to mouth. We have no idea how many people we are influencing.
when we proclaim the Gospel to one person. The season for Jesus is always now.
PLEASE GOD WITH HUMBLENESS
V:6 John wore clothing made of camel\’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And 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. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.\”
Notice the forerunner for Jesus did not come in king\’s clothes. John did not preach
for fame or fortune. He came dressed as a poor man. He had a poor man’s diet.
The poor ate what nature provided, honey from bees and locusts from the air.
His dress was camel’s skin. He had little, but all he needed was provided by the Lord.
He was not dependent on man for survival.
John set the example for living content with what God provides. He set the example
of being dedicated to the ministry. You can\’t preach a feel-good message and think
you have done God\’s work. We preach the benefits of salvation but rarely do we
preach sin, what we need to repent to enjoy life with Christ.
As humble as John’s attitude was, before Jesus He humbled himself even more.
It is one thing to serve at the feet of Jesus, but it is another thing to know you are not worthy to touch His feet.
John understood the difference between his ministry and the ministry of Jesus.
John baptized with water, and Jesus baptized with the Holy Spirit. John\’s baptism
of repentance was the preparation for the baptism into the newness of life in Jesus.
PLEASE GOD WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS
V:9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: \”You are my Son, whom I love; with you, I am well pleased.\”
Jesus the King of Kings made His home among common working-class people. Historians claim the village had a population of 300 to 2000 people during Jesus
time.
Heaven gave a testimony that Jesus was the Son of God. The question I have is
this: Since no disciples had been selected, how did Mark know the events during
Jesus Baptism by John the Baptist? Other than John the Baptist who would have
heard God speak? According to John 1:42, Andrew the brother of Peter was a disciple
of John. Was Andrew present when Jesus was baptized, we are not told. What we
know is this private conversation was made known to the disciples.
God introduced the Holy Spirit as the companion of Jesus. This is a Holy Trinity
verse. God introduced Jesus as His Son who He was pleased with. Jesus life before
His ministry on earth was one of obedience and growing in the Spirit. Jesus reached
the age when He left His mother to do the will of the Father. There ought to
come a time when each of us put God\’s agenda as a priority in our lives.
PLEASE GOD, RESIST TEMPTATION WITH THE WORD
V:12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13 and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
Why would Jesus need to be tempted? He had spent 30 years on earth without sin.
He was driven by the Spirit for this testing. The great patriarchs of the Bible were tested
and failed in some areas. Abraham, the father of faith lied to a king that Sarah was his
sister to save his life. Noah after building the Ark and weathering the flood came
out of the Ark got drunk and lay naked on the ground. Moses after leading Israel
out of slavery into the desert became angry with Israel and struck the rock to
provide water in disobedience to God\’s instruction.
Jesus, God in the flesh was tested and did not sin. According to Matthew 4, Jesus spent 40 days without eating or drinking. Satan showed up when He became hungry. Satan tempted Jesus in three areas; the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, and the lust of the eye. For each test, Jesus resisted temptation with the Word of God.
JESUS IS OUR PERFECT EXAMPLE OF PLEASING GOD
Rev. M. Mitchell
