the gospel of Mark chapter 1 verses 1 through 3. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet. Behold, I will send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. May God richly bless both the reading and the hearing of His Holy Word. Now since the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke cover many of the same events in the earthly life and ministry of Jesus, they are called the synoptic gospels. So if you ever hear that term, that's what's meant, the Greek word that's translated as synoptic means seeing or viewing together. So since they are viewing, in fact if you follow most of Matthew, Mark and Luke, once it gets into the earthly ministry of Jesus, for the most part they will cover many of the very same events. Now each writer may have their own different focus and they will focus on specific details and some will give details that the other omits. But generally they are calling attention to the same events in the public life and ministry of Jesus, even as they bring their own differences to those situations. Now the gospel of Mark stands out because one, it's the first of the gospels. It's the oldest of all of the gospel books, but it's also the briefest of all of the gospels. Mark's not only is it Mark's gospel, it's not only brief, but it stands out for two other particular reasons. One, it stands out for its style, the style of its writing is more, it focuses more on the work of Jesus rather than the words of Jesus. So for this reason the style of his writing does not contain many of the parables. In fact it has the fewest of the parables of Jesus and very few discourses from him. The focus of John's or of Mark's gospel and the style in which he writes is to give us an overview of the work of Jesus. But also it stands out for its tone. The tone of Mark's gospel is some would call abrupt, some would say that it is terse. It is somewhat aggressive in its language and it's notable for as one commentator says for all of its verbs. The reason it is filled with verbs is because again it's a book of action. And Mark's purpose in writing is gospel is to tell us who Jesus is but also to focus on the work of Christ. I remember as a student we were told that Mark focuses on Jesus to man and that's true but it doesn't just focus on him as a man and we'll see this in a moment. But really the emphasis of Mark's gospel is to demonstrate that in the life and work of Jesus is the gospel itself. So John or Mark stands out with John for another reason. Both John and Mark omit what we call the nativity passages of Jesus. In other words those references or those records of genealogy and the recording of events that took place around the birth of Jesus. They don't capture any of that neither. In fact in both Mark and John's gospel when they introduced Jesus he's a full grown man. So therefore it's in these particular gospels that we do not get any story of shepherds watching their flock by night. There is no mention of the wise men coming from the east. There is no reference to an end that's too crowded to receive a pregnant woman. There is no mention of a manger. There is no angel singing in the field. When you get to Jesus in both the gospel of Mark and the gospel of John he's a full grown man. Not even mention of him at 12 years old in the temple because you know the other two gospel writers they have the birth of Jesus. And according to how you would measure it at the earliest you have or the earliest past his birth is possibly five years old when his family had to flee into Egypt because of the edic that had been given by her. And but he doesn't show up on the scene again until he's 12 and others and many have written about the missing years of Jesus from the ages of 12 to 30 which is a gap of roughly 18 years. John Prime even wrote an album the missing years and writers across the ages have have spend have have speculated into what Jesus was doing in those missing years. And it's perhaps for this reason that you have a greater appreciation for Mark and for John because they give us grown man Jesus. And that's where they begin grown man Jesus what I want to do this morning as we look at at these opening verses in John's gospel because both in John and or John I said John Mark in Mark's gospel. But both in John and Mark's gospel Jesus shows up on the scene just prior to his baptism. What I want to do is use thoughts and words that we see expressed here in Mark's gospel that should help us as we head into or are already in what we would call the Advent season. Now let me just mention this because it's always worth repeating and returning to that when we head into this season there are three platforms by which we can understand this season of the season of Christmas. I call one the cultural platform and by cultural I mean in fact it could be cultural slash clan cultural celebration of Christmas is all of those customs and traditions that are germane to families people groups and regions. The hanging of Christmas or of Christmas lights it's a cultural thing every neighborhood in and it's really in certain parts of the world but almost every neighborhood in America has that neighborhood or that street where they have the best Christmas lights. So we it's a cultural thing it's not it's not necessarily bad it's not wrong in and of itself but it's the celebration of Christmas according to either the culture in which we live or the clan in which we are born and by clan I mean family our family traditions. Most people have certain rituals that they go through during the Christmas season whether it's in your immediate home or with your extended family so there is the cultural slash clan celebration of Christmas and that's okay. So whatever you do whether you exchange gifts or don't exchange gifts whether you have a ceremony or a service on Christmas Eve night with the family or Christmas morning whatever you do that's fine and we should preserve that but then there's also the commercial elements and commercial elements of Christmas or the commercial portrayal of Christmas is well just turn on your television and see all the stuff that you that you need that you didn't know you need.
Look at all the things the different ways that if you really want to say you love somebody give them a Lexus right I love those commercials celebrate your gift to yourself and that's okay and and there is a commercial element to it so so here's what we we end up being scrooge when we turn away from our our cultural and clannish traditions and then we also turn away from the commercial I'm not going to they commercialize and Christmas and they are and they do it for all of the reasons that. Let you pour on them yes there is a commercial element of Christmas Christmas trees Christmas decorations Christmas gifts Christmas card all of that is a commercial thing and you know what even on the commercial side of it there are certain parts of certain parts parts of the country where you just love it is nothing like being in downtown Chicago during the Christmas season and see all of the commercial celebrations it's all wow that's good you know you see people being nice to each other you know really you something it's almost like oh yeah we got to because this is the season and so the commercial aspect of it did it permeates all parts of of of the culture that that we see it on television we see it in our news feeds all of these things that tell us that Christmas and and you'll hear this Christmas Christmas is for kids why because the parents have to buy so with the now here's an interesting combination of the cultural and the commercial where does Santa Claus fit into all of this he's both he's both I don't know if you grew up believing in Santa Claus or teaching your children in Santa Claus but understand it's if there's a place for that and it's okay hell is not for people who believe in Santa Claus that's not what it's for you can believe in Santa Claus if you want I mean that's that's it's not the first fantasy that we've been given that served a particular purpose and so there is a commercial element to it and Santa Claus captures both the cultural as well as the commercial then there's a Christian celebration and the Christian celebration what we are celebrating is very clear we're not celebrating peace on earth in the sense that men stop going to war with each other we're not celebrating people being nice to one another what we celebrate in the Christian celebration of Christmas is the birth of Jesus now understand that in celebrating the birth of Jesus it has nothing to do with Christmas decorations it has nothing to do with wish lists has nothing to do with all of the commercial things and by the way Christmas if you understand it from a Christian perspective has nothing to do with your planish or cultural traditions in other words you can have all of those things or remove all of those things but if what is not at the colonel and core of our celebration is the birth of Jesus then we can change all of those things and put them on the calendar for any other time of the year or extract them and we're not made the better or the worst there is a cultural celebration of Christmas and I pray that all of you celebrate however you are planned and culture celebrate enjoy the season enjoy it don't don't be don't be a killjoy when you go to your your unbelieving family members house and you see a tree and start telling them that it's not about a tree shut up shut up don't be a killjoy when you go to a family members house and you see pictures of Santa Claus don't tell them you know Santa Claus doesn't exist shut up let it slide let it slide don't be upset because you see all the commercials and don't be one of those Christians that say oh they just pushing it back no sooner than then Halloween is over they're celebrating Christmas no they're not celebrating Christmas they're celebrating a commercial idea and what is it that we can what where can we go where we're not being sold something commercially and by the way Christmas does not begin and end with Mary Christmas so don't think that anybody trying to rain on your parade when a Christian says happy holidays by the way there are four holidays celebrated in there Christmas Eve Christmas New Year's Eve and New Year's so when a Christian says happy holidays don't they all where you become in worldly now let's fight another battle let's fight another battle and understand this that the commercial is the commercial because we live in a capitalist society and that's okay and understand that the culture is the culture so we don't we don't start trying to find Bible verses that say Christmas trees are demonic because nobody is worshiping the tree but let's be clear that when we celebrate Christmas as Christians what we're celebrating is the birth of Jesus we will do it with family members and friends who have no idea of what we're celebrating but we're celebrating the birth of Jesus when we're celebrating we use our culture and and our family activities and and we enjoy those for what they are we understand that we are big we're part of a bigger community and we understand all of that but let us not forget what we're celebrating and with that in mind what I want to do is look at four things from these verses that tell us what the birth of Jesus is all about and what we're celebrating when we celebrate the birth of Jesus in the season of Christmas the first thing is this the birth of Jesus is a gospel event the birth of Jesus is a gospel event there's one the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ now it's interesting because you say well he's already grown man you've already said then we'll we'll talk about that but just look at that statement what what what Christmas is all about is it's it's really is about the gospel now here's why this is important when we when we say gospel I'm not just talking about the facts of the gospel which is which we are the facts of the gospel are is that that that God sent his son to live for our righteousness to die for our sins to be raised for our justification who is ascended to the right hand of the father interceding on our behalf those are the facts of the gospel but here's the part of it that we don't want to lose in this season because oftentimes we say well the spirit of the season is giving no it isn't if Christmas the birth of Jesus is a gospel event then the spirit of the season is receiving because in the gospel the only one who is at work is the one who's giving the gift and therefore it is the beginning of the gospel and it's interesting that Mark begins here because it's not that Jesus what Jesus did up until this point is not important it is important every moment of his existence as a human being is important but what Mark says here's what really puts it on the map here is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus and it's at this point that he begins with this public baptism and with his baptism the father publicly affirms Jesus not just the time that is to come but he affirms his life and he says this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased and you know what that includes that includes his teenage years that includes his pre adolescence it includes the terrible tools and kind of terrible threes it includes all of that toddler phase that this is my beloved son from in whom I am well pleased and what is the father well pleased in in his beloved son every moment that he has drawn breath the birth of Jesus is a gospel event because in the birth of Jesus it is only God at work there is nothing that we are doing and could have done to deserve God sending his son and there's nothing that we have done or that we could have done that would course the sun to take on flesh in our place the birth of Jesus is first of all a gospel event and by gospel we don't just mean the content of the gospel but it is a gospel event because God is the sole power at work in that event here's the second thing we see the birth of Jesus is a promised event notice what Mark says he says as it is written in Isaiah the prophet now here's the beauty of this he mentions Isaiah the prophet and he's really conflating three particular passages Isaiah chapter 40 verse 3 Exodus chapter 23 and more particularly Malachi chapter 3 verse 1 and so what and and from all of these places from Moses to Malachi to Isaiah here's the point that what God gives in the gift of Jesus he's promised a long time ago Jesus doesn't just show up for too much asleep that the birth of Jesus I love the way Paul expresses it in Galatians where he says that in the fullness of time which means that the time in which Jesus was born was designated by God the Father this is a promised and a planned event Jesus doesn't show up just because I was in fact I was in barbershop the other day and and and and one of the brothers pointed out it was right after shooting on on one of the military bases and you're talking about the shooting and said man why is all this going on and someone say yeah because Jesus is on his way and I just didn't say anything
we look at the wrong things to determine what time it is you see brothers and sisters this not up yep the Bible says it's going to get yeah but really come on let's let's let's not do that let's not try to read the newspapers and determine what God is doing here's what God is done when Jesus was born I can imagine somebody say yep it's by time yep yep look it was going on here's what happened God in Genesis 3 15 looked at his sinful image bearers and he made a promise he promised that he would send the seed of the woman to crush the head of the serpent he promised that and then so and then through that he says that the enemy would be crushed because the seed of the woman would crush his head then all of a sudden Adam lives these what 7 800 years and and look by the way you notice that the promise is made in Genesis 3 15 and in Genesis 4 verse 1 Eve has a child and it's a male child and the the Hebrew is a little vague there because she says behold I have begotten the man from the Lord meaning that she thought she had given birth to the promise from verse 15 of chapter 3 but she could not have been further from the truth she didn't give birth to the Savior she gave birth to the first murderer so you say where where then how does God keep his word remember Abraham Abraham took his son because the Lord told him to take his son and and offering him up as a sacrifice the son that you love and he got ready to go and the writer of Hebrew says that by faith Abraham offered up his son but as he was about to really bring down the knife on the son the Lord says and remember the words by the way of Isaac he says he he looks around because he's a young man he's not a boy he's a young man and he looks around and he sees he says father I see the wood I see all of the trappings of sacrifice now here's my question where's the lamb and as Abraham is sharpening his knife he says well Lord we'll provide and Isaac willingly stayed on the altar laid on the altar ready to give his life and God tells Abraham through through an angel to stay your hand and James boys had a great message where he takes that up he says Isaac asked the question where is the lamb and and and then he goes on to trace the pages of Old Testament history and he says that the lamb that's that's not the lamb the Passover is not the lamb and low and behold he doesn't show up until John is baptizing by the river Jordan this is a promised event here's what what I mean by promise God made a promise in Genesis 315 and he rearticulated that promise through all of the prophets so you notice that you have these three phases of revelation that's represented in what Mark says here when he ascribes this to John you have or when he ascribes this to to to Isaiah you have God's word to Moses Exodus 23 you have God's word to Isaiah Isaiah chapter 40 before the overthrow of the southern tribes then you have the word of God to Malachi after the Babylonian exile and here's what he says I I'm going to send a messenger the birth of Jesus is a promised event God promises we've been looking at messianic prophecies in our Wednesday night study God promised to send the branch God promised to bring up a shoot from the stump of Jesse and the birth of Jesus is a matter of God keeping his promise begun in Genesis 315 and the rest of scriptures are progressively moving towards the fulfillment of that promise the Christmas or the birth of Jesus is a gospel event because God is the only one at work but it's a promised event because God promised and prophesied it as early as Genesis 315 but we see also thirdly that the birth of Jesus is a phenomenal and miraculous event the birth of Jesus is a phenomenal and a miraculous event notice the way that that mark describes Jesus and he does it the same way that John does but he uses less words John in his prologue in John chapter 1 goes on to tell us about the word that created the heavens and the earth and there was nothing made that was not made by him and then it reaches his climactic point and here's all of the the nativity that John gives us and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and so here's what John makes clear in his prologue that the word is person and not a thing the word is eternal the word is divine the word is source of all things that are created and then that word became flesh there's your nativity well here's the way Mark expresses it in verse 1 this is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ and then he gives us this simple statement the Son of God the Son of God now understand he's moving forward and he's telling us that the one who is to be baptized the one who is going and facing Satan in the wilderness who is it it's the Son of God here is the miracle here is the phenomenon of Christmas that the eternal Son of God the eternal second person of the Trinity the God who neither slumbers nor sleeps the God who as as it says in in Psalms 50 if I were hungry I wouldn't tell you here's the miracle of Christmas that the eternal God condescended and became flesh that's the miracle of Christmas brothers and sisters when long lost loved ones come out of the work works during Christmas it's nice but today it ain't a miracle when long standing feuds are ended and they end during Christmas it's nice but it's not a miracle brothers and sisters the miracle of this season is that the God who is beyond human passion in other words he's not like us condescends and limits himself in human flesh we always celebrate the ones who go from rags to riches and we look with shame at those who go from riches to rags they become fodder for late night television whatever happened to and here's the miracle of the season and when what we are celebrating in the birth of Jesus is the holy God who created the world ex-neelo out of nothing who needs no one as Paul says he is the eternally blessed God he became flesh and contained his glory and the essence wrapped the essence of his deity in flesh needed nothing from the angels needed nothing from anything that he's created but allowed himself to need his mother's breast that's the miracle of Christmas it's a miraculous event that he would condescend and take on flesh for us and then not only take on flesh but that in that flesh he would suffer can you imagine how many of us would we look at people that we've been around say well that was a mistake right you grow out of that relationship can you imagine being around knuckleheads even when you know all thing you already knew they were knuckleheads when you started hanging out with them and you know that when you leave they'll still do knucklehead things how many of us would have invited Judas into our company knowing everything to know about Judas how many of us would endure Peter knowing everything that we know about Peter the miracle of this season and the birth of Jesus is that the eternal all knowing God wrapped himself in human flesh and endured the indignity of people questioning him all he did was try to speak truth and then what did some people say I know where he's from it's out demons and people say oh you don't need doing it by tricks and and using the devil do you think he knew that before he came there are some places he said well if I had known this before I probably wouldn't have made that choice Jesus is the all knowing God and he knew what he was getting into when he put on human flesh and yet he put on human flesh the birth of Jesus is a gospel event because only God is the one at work in it and the birth of Jesus is it is a promised event because it doesn't just sneak up us a sneak up on us God has planned this thing out and set Jesus at the right time and so therefore when he began it's the promise that's remember God has already said he's coming and I will sin one as a voice crying in the wilderness to let you know when he's arrived but the birth of Jesus is a miraculous event because the birth of Jesus is really the son of God taking on human flesh and all of the limitations of human flesh everything except sin and here is the irony of ironies we are outraged when bad things happen to what we declare as good people but we are saved by a terrible thing happening to the only one good person that's the miracle of Christmas that the word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us and we beheld his glory as the glory of the only begotten of God mark says the beginning of the gospel of Jesus who is the son of God and never stopped being the son of God here's the fourth and final thing the birth of Jesus is also a redemptive act or a redemptive event notice again what he says he's quoting actually from malachi 31 a voice crying in the wilderness I'm not going to get into what this attaches itself to because really it's an announcement of the the coming prophet that would precede the coming of the Messiah but here's what stands out notice two things he will cry from the wilderness and it's the wilderness that helps us to understand what's taking place here God didn't create a wilderness here's what we see in Genesis 1 that God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was without void without form and it was void and the spirit of God hovered over the waters and then from that God said let there be light and let there be this and he created and what he did is he brought order by very definition a wilderness is a wasteland it is a desert a deserted and desolate place and sometimes we forget we live in a wilderness because we have nicer huts than we used to have and we forget as war said the world is a ghetto a good friend Michael Gordon helped me understand this in in in categorical ways he said that Adam was in paradise and sin and it became a wilderness and here is what the birth of Jesus is about it is about redemption it is redemption of the human life that took paradise and turned it into a wilderness and it's the redemption of the wilderness that it will once again become paradise one of the problems that I have with the song I'll fly away is that it acts as if we're not coming back you see in other words the idea that's couched in that song is that I'm just gonna leave this world behind and I'll fly away to the morning by and by and somewhere in the clouds and stuff but no here's what Paul actually says that when Christ returns those who are alive will meet him in the air but what are we meeting him in the air for to join his victory celebration on the earth because he's gonna come to the earth and he's gonna cleanse it of everything that defiles it and so here's what I see that stands out is that that he the voice our our voice the voice of John crying from the wilderness yes it is talking about prepare the way because here's what's taken place in the earth the earth the paradise has become a wilderness and in that wilderness that means it's under a curse and so because it's under a curse what Jesus has done and so it's it's portrayed here as John the Baptist crying from the wilderness and isn't that the case isn't that us crying from the wilderness and God hears our cries and God is the one who comes and restores the earth and he does so by sending his son the son of God Jesus comes to redeem humanity but he also comes to redeem creation I like the way Paul expresses it in Romans 8 he says the whole creation is groaning like a woman in labor waiting for the revelation of the sons and daughters of God the birth of Jesus is redemptive because what if what it redeems is it redeems us and he redeems the earth when the Lord came the first time he came to us to assure our the redemption of our souls the redemption of human life which he does with his perfect life but when he comes again he will redeem the earth and we will no longer think that our huts no matter what side of the sweat part of the city it's in we will never no longer think that our place is better than some other place what he will do is that he will purge everything that defiles it and give it back to us you know where you see this you see it in the flood in the flood we are told that how wicked the times were at the time of Noah and the Lord puts him in this great arc and and then he builds on the arc for years and then finally when it's when it's complete the Lord brings the waters of destruction on the ark so that those who are on the inside can be purge or can be kept safe from the wrath of God which was falling upon the ark and then when they get out of the ark there is no more sin or there is no more defilement on the earth brothers and sisters that is typological the birth of Jesus means that we have been redeemed because he becomes like our ark the wrath of God fell upon him so that it would not come upon us and when we are set free out of that ark we will step on an earth that has been purged of everything that is vile and everything that is corrupt and corrupting the birth of Jesus is a redemptive event where mankind and creation are redeemed for the glory that was intended brothers and sisters you notice the book ends of Genesis and Revelation before the fall Genesis is a paradise but in Revelation after the fall we have corruption and the world becomes a wilderness and then the closing chapters of Revelation tells us that there will be the lion will lay down with the lamb and the heavens will and God will come down from the heaven and a new earth and the new Jerusalem will come down and we will be at one on the earth because God intended it that way and I know we say I'm just going to get away from here no we don't have to and God is not going to burn up the earth and start all over God is not a start over God he will accomplish what he has attended and the birth of Jesus is the guarantee that your soul your body and the earth itself will be redeemed for the eternal glory of God our God made a promise and Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise and what we celebrate is the good news that surrounds it and that is contained in it and God's integrity and keeping his promise and the guarantee of our redemption amen