Mark 1:1-3

Most New Testament scholars agree that the Book of Mark is the earliest written account of Yeshua's life and ministry. It was composed between 60 and 70 AD, and it likely served as the basis of the books of Matthew and Luke.

Mark was not one of the 12 apostles, but he was an early Messianic Jewish leader who was closely associated with them. Acts 12:12 records that the prayer meeting for Simon Peter, when he was in prison and about to be executed, was held in the home of John, who was also called Mark.

Mark was also a cousin of that wonderful man, the apostle Barnabas (Col. 4:10). Not only was Mark related to Barnabas, but he is linked to two of the most prominent apostles, the leading apostle to the Jews -- Simon Peter, and the leading apostle to the Gentiles -- Rabbi Paul. He was a companion of Peter (1 Peter 5:13), who this great apostle calls "his son." He was also a companion of Rabbi Paul, and accompanied him on his first great missionary journey. Mark left that journey before it was over (Acts 13:13). This led to a falling out between Paul and Mark, but the two were later reconciled, so that Paul could write to Timothy and instruct him to pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service (2 Tim. 4:11). Not only did Mark once again become useful to Paul, but also to the Lord. What an amazing honor to be chosen to write one of the books of the Bible! Mark's life proves that one failure in life does not mean the end of one's usefulness (Ryrie).

For most of human history, most of humanity has lived under the rule of kings -- not in a democracy like ours. Even today this is still true. For good or evil, kings and emperors greatly influenced their people's daily life. When a new king comes to power, it is natural that people wonder: What will the new king be like? Will he be kind and compassionate, or selfish and ruthless? Will he be wise and just, or a corrupt, unrighteous fool? Will he uses his power to serve his own selfish ends, or will he seek the welfare of all his subjects?

The Jewish people of Yeshua's day, who had been oppressed for a long time by foreign rulers, yearned for a new king, a Jewish king -- one whom God would send and anoint and use to establish the rule of justice and peace, not only over Israel, but also over all the nations of the Earth. Yeshua of Nazareth was that king. And yet, as Yeshua entered into His ministry, He met a growing wave of opposition. Even though many of the common Jewish people liked Yeshua, not everyone was pleased with who He proclaimed Himself to be, or the kind of kingdom He proclaimed. Many of the religious and political leaders of Israel opposed Him.

Mark tells the story of the greatest king of all. He relates those events that were part of the most remarkable life that was ever lived. There was much to record about the amazing life of Yeshua. But, is seems that Mark chose specific incidents to counteract some dangerous distortions that were infiltrating the community of believers. Apparently, some early Messianic Jews and Christians were so focusing on Yeshua's deity and glorious resurrection that they began to ignore His humanity and His suffering. As a result they expected to be spared suffering in this life and to quickly join Yeshua in the glories of Heaven. You can well imagine how their faith may have been shaken when the emperor Nero started using some of them as human torches, and as snack food for his animals.

Matthew emphasizes that Yeshua is the great rabbi from whom we should learn. Luke focuses on Yeshua as the ideal human being that needs to be emulated. John focuses on Yeshua as the Son of God in whom we should believe. Mark emphasized that Yeshua is the suffering king that we must follow. If we are to enjoy the glories of the kingdom of God, like King Messiah, we too must follow the way of suffering and service.

Many modern day Christians and Messianic Jews also need to hear this same message. That the cross must come before the crown; that suffering in this life is normal and will take place before we can experience the glories of Heaven; and the pleasures of the New Jerusalem.

Mark starts off this amazing, divinely inspired book, whose every word is faithful, true, accurate and reliable, by telling us that this is the beginning of the Good News of Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of God.

And, we are in the most desperate need of some Good News, because mankind is in such a horrible condition. Our greatest problem is sin. That is the root cause of all other problems. We are fallen, sinful, alienated from God, who is the Source of life, joy, peace, being, existence and meaning. Since we are alienated from the One who is the Source of all good, we are also alienated from life. All of us will die. We are alienated from ourselves. That's why so many people are so unhappy so much of the time, and don't like themselves, and are bored, or have mental problems or emotional illnesses, and wind up full of despair, and engage in self-destructive behavior, like drug and alcohol abuse and suicide. We are alienated from each other. We often have a very hard time getting along with each other. We argue with each other, hurt each other. We engage in crimes against one another. There is so much injustice, so much inhumanity, so many wars. We are alienated from nature. That's why life is so difficult at times, and why it is a struggle to survive. We find it so easy to abuse the environment.

We sense this alienation but may not know the reason for it. Very early in human history, our first parents rebelled against God, and sin, death, confusion, alienation and chaos took control of humanity. From the moment that Adam and Eve (who were very real people) rebelled against our wonderful Creator, everything changed. Their sin and rebellion affected every aspect of their nature. Their body, their soul, their will, their mind, their spirit, their love for God, their relationship to God -- all became corrupted. Instead of drawing nearer to God, Adam and Eve ran away from Him. They became alienated from God, from Heaven (which is a very real place) and from eternal life. As a result of their sin and alienation from the Lord, Adam and Eve were exiled from the Garden of Eden, and forbidden to eat from the Tree of Life. They were headed toward death -- the First Death -- physical death, and the Second Death -- Gehenna, Hell, which is the Lake of Fire (also a very real place).

The consequences resulting from the rebellion of our first parents have been transmitted to all of their descendants, spreading like a deadly virus. That corruption of body, soul, will, mind, spirit, relationship to God, and the loss of eternal life -- all of it was passed on like a horrible disease, infecting all of their descendants -- you and me.

Just as we are incapable of saving ourselves from the First Death -- physical death, so we are totally incapable of saving ourselves from the Second Death. Sin has so alienated us from God, and so corrupted our nature, that we are in a state of spiritual death. We are dead in our trespasses and sins. Dead people are incapable of giving themselves life!

Salvation cannot come from anything having to do with human effort or how good a person we are. We can never be good enough, or righteous enough, or religious enough. There are not enough good things that we can do, not enough money we can give, not enough good deeds that we can do, or merits that we can earn that will enable us to avoid the First Death or the Second Death. All human efforts will prove inadequate.

We need help. We need rescuing. We need salvation! We need Good News! And there is Good News! What we are utterly incapable of doing, God is completely capable of accomplishing! God had a plan to make salvation and redemption possible! The good and merciful Creator did not leave us in that horrible and hopeless condition.

The infinite and almighty God, who is good and beautiful and wise beyond description, so loved this fallen world of sinful men and women that He sent His Son, who shares the Father's name and nature, deity and essence. God the Father sent the eternal Son of God from Heaven to Earth. The Son of God willingly took on this great mission. He left Heaven, came to Earth, and became a human being. Not just any human being, but part of the Chosen People, and a member of King David's royal family.

Not just His death, burial and resurrection, which is the heart of the Good News, but everything about Yeshua is Good News!

His Heavenly origin is Good News!
His divine nature is Good News!
His relationship to God is Good News!
His arrival on Planet Earth is Good News!
His love for us is Good News!
His willingness to sacrifice Himself for us is Good News!
His amazing teaching is Good News!
His miracles, and what they mean to us, are Good News!
His death, burial and resurrection are very Good News!

After His death, burial and resurrection, the continuation of His mission, first by His specially chosen men, and then by the rest of us, is Good News!

This whole book, and everything about Yeshua, is Good News that we so desperately need! We must believe the Good News!

Mark boldly asserts from the beginning that Yeshua is the long awaited Messiah. He is the Anointed One, the One on whom God would pour out His Holy Spirit and His Divine Presence. He is the One who would fulfill the three offices in Israel in which lesser men were anointed -- the offices of prophet, priest and king.

Not only is Yeshua the anointed Prophet, and the greatest of all the prophets, who would speak most clearly about God; and not only is He the Anointed Priest, who brings a new priesthood that is better than the priesthood of sons of Aaron, the Highest of all High Priests, who brings us closer to God, and brings God closer to us; not only is He the Anointed King, the final and ultimate ruler over Israel and the nations from David's family, endowed with salvation, girded with righteousness and faithfulness, who will rule over us with justice, and bring about peace on Earth; not only is He the Messiah, but He is also the Son of God. He is fully man, and He is fully God. Just as a son shares his father's nature, so Messiah Yeshua shares the same divine nature and the essence of deity as does His Father. He is the Son of God, and He is God the Son. He is one with His Father as far as His nature, and yet distinct from His Father as far as His Person.

Next we are introduced to Messiah's forerunner: a unique individual known as John the Baptist -- Yochanan HaMatbil -- John the Immerser, or John the Dipper.

Yochanan's name means "God is gracious." John's name tells us something -- that God was graciously sending us this amazing prophet to prepare us for the coming of King Messiah! John was a priest on his father's side, and a relative of the Messiah on his mother's side.

John was very special. Yeshua said that among those born of women, there is no one greater than John. He was the greatest man who ever lived -- greater than father Abraham. Greater than Moses, more excellent than faithful Noah or righteous Daniel. Greater than godly Joseph or the prophets Isaiah or Jeremiah. Greater than Israel's greatest king, David. That's high praise indeed.

John was special because his life was a demarcation point in history. A whole age, an entire dispensation came to an end, and another one began, with the coming of John. All the prophets and the Torah prophesied until JohnYeshua stated (Matthew 11:13). That is very special.

John ended the longest interval between prophets. He was the first prophet to appear in Israel in 400 years. He ended the 400 silent years in which we were without a prophet who spoke to us.

Other than the Messiah, he was the only prophet whose coming was predicted. The coming of Moses wasn't predicted. The coming of Isaiah, or Jeremiah, David or Abraham, wasn't predicted. But both the prophets Malachi and Isaiah predicted the coming of this great and unique prophet.

John had a very special birth. Like some of the other great figures in Jewish history -- Isaac, Samuel, and Samson, and like the Lord Himself, John had a supernatural conception. His mother Elizabeth was beyond her time for childbearing, and yet the Lord enabled her to conceive.

The other prophets prophesied when the Spirit of God came upon them after they were born. John was the only prophet who was filled with the Spirit from the time he was in his mother's womb, even before he was born. This also teaches us that he was fully alive and fully human while still in the womb. Of course, that means that abortion is murder -- the illegal killing of a fully human life.

John was special because the other prophets only prophesied the coming of the Messiah. But John was the prophet who was chosen to directly prepare the Jewish people in his own lifetime for the immediate arrival of the Son of God, and then be there to lead them to Him. He was the prophet who was blessed to actually see with his own eyes the One that the others only predicted was coming.

Next Mark tells us about John's mission: It is written in the prophet Yesha'yahu (Isaiah, whose name means "the Lord is Salvation"), "See, I am sending My messenger ahead of You; he will prepare the way before You. The voice of someone crying out: 'In the desert prepare the way for Adonai! Make straight paths for Him!'"

This is a combined quote from two prophets -- Isaiah and Malachi. The prophets form a very special category of human beings. These are men who were specially chosen by God, who were enabled to hear from God in a very clear and special way, and then clearly speak the words of God to the rest of us.

By quoting from the prophets Isaiah and Malachi, Mark is teaching us that the New Covenant doesn't contradict the Older Covenants. By quoting from the prophets, Mark is teaching us that the Old Testament prophets are inspired by God. By quoting from the prophets, Mark is teaching us that the Old Testament is authoritative. By quoting from the prophets, Mark is teaching us that the New Testament is the natural and necessary extension of the Older Testaments. Is the penthouse at the top of the high rise not part of the building? Are the lower floors of the high rise not necessary for the penthouse? The New Testament is the extension of the same building. It is the fulfillment of the authoritative and inspired Old Testament. It is the continuation of the same story. It is the capstone, the crown, the peak, the pinnacle, of what came before.

Mark quotes two prophecies, from Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1, seamlessly merging the two together. How could Mark merge the quotes from the two prophets together, if the message of the prophets didn't come from a common source; if they didn't have the same Divine Spirit inspiring them both? It might be the words of Malachi and the words of Isaiah, but behind them was the same Divine Author writing to us!

Malachi wrote more than 400 years before the coming of Yeshua, and Isaiah wrote almost 400 years before Malachi. That tells us that the Good News about the Messiah, and the coming of His forerunner, are deeply rooted in Holy Scriptures and in history. That tells us that God was thinking about helping us, and planning on rescuing us, hundreds of years before the actual events of the Goods News about the life of the Messiah happened. He was involved in history, and working in history, to bring about our salvation. Actually, the eternal God He had been planning these things before the creation of the universe! That is the kind of powerful and good and merciful and loving and wise God that He is!

"See, I am sending My messenger ahead of You; he will prepare the way before You. The voice of someone crying out: 'In the desert prepare the way for Adonai! Make straight paths for Him!'"

See! Pay attention! This is very important! The Lord is speaking to us about something that is very important! But, Mark makes it clear that God the Father is also speaking to God the Son. Mark seems to changing the original quote in Malachi so that God is not just addressing Israel, but addressing the Leader of Israel. The Father is telling His Son that He won't be on His own, that He will have His Father's help, that God will be using all of His vast resources to help His Son accomplish His mission. God the Father assures His Son that He was making special preparations, prior to the coming of the Messiah into this world. God the Father was preparing the greatest of the prophets, who would be God's special messenger. John would bring us God's message. John would help prepare the Jewish people for the coming of the King, the Messiah, the Savior, so that we would be more receptive, more ready, when the Son of God arrived. John, Messiah is told, will come before Yeshua, and prepare the way for Yeshua.

He will be in the wilderness, and cry out in the wilderness, which is appropriate, because far too much of the spiritual life of the Jewish people was like a desert, spiritually dry, infertile, unable to sustain much spiritual life. You know what? Truth be told, we are still very much a spiritual desert!

John came to cry out the truth, to be like a heavy rain in the desert, which makes life grow and flourish, so that when the King came, He would have life to work with -- men and women who were alive to God, and ready to follow the King.

How are men and women prepared to encounter Adonai? By a voice, and by crying out! Not by silence. The voice speaks in a normal tone, and the voice cries out with passion. Those who know the Lord must speak -- speak up to those and around them, talking, telling, declaring the truth about sin, salvation, God and Messiah, Heaven and Hell. Yes, they must speak, and they must also cry out with passion. They must cry out because there is great danger! They must cry out because there is such need! They must cry out because the world is in pain! They must cry out to prevent further suffering! They must cry out, fearing the judgment of God upon sin and those who won't obey!

They must cry out because there is help! They must cry out because God has supplied us with the help that we need! He has give us the Savior. He has made salvation possible! There is an answer! We must cry out!

John's mission was to come first, and prepare the way for the arrival of Adonai, and make straight paths for Him. In the ancient world, if the king was coming to visit your city, you would do all you could to prepare for his arrival. The people of the city might go out and fix the road leading to the city, so that the king would have an easy ride into town. They might clear and clean the streets, to make sure that there were no obstructions, so the king would have a pleasant journey in the town. In our day, cities that are hosting the Republican or Democratic conventions will fix up their city, so that the city will look its best when the convention comes to town.

Just as the men of a city prepared the way for the coming of an earthly king, John was sent to prepare the Jewish people for the coming of the King of kings, so that the Lord's coming might be easier. It wasn't just anybody who was coming. It was Adonai, the Lord, the Creator of the universe, the One who has life and being inherent in Himself. It is the One who Everything else derives its being from Him. The Lord is the source of all life, being, and existence. It is the Eternal One, who is without beginning and without end because He always was, He is, and He always will be. It is He who is coming! But, He is coming as a man, a vulnerable human being, and He is coming to a people who thought they were close to God, but in actuality were far from Him.

John's came to call us to repent -- to genuinely turn to God and His ways, and away from our own selfish and godless ways, with our veneer of religion. John asked us to level the mountains of pride and ignorance, thinking we were close to God when we weren't, knowledgeable about God when we weren't, understood the Torah when we didn't, acceptable to God when we weren't. But, he also came to raise up the valleys, and fill in the potholes of discouragement, getting us encouraged that God was still active! God was still speaking! God was still at work! God was still helping us, and was about to help us in the greatest way! God was still coming!

John came to soften our hardened hearts, and call us people to repentance, and raise up our Messianic expectations, so that when King Messiah came, we would be ready, receptive, able and willing to hear and learn and believe and receive and follow the Son of God.

May I suggest that each one of us has been entrusted with the same ministry as John? That the Almighty is looking for men and women who will have the same ministry as John, to be forerunners of the Messiah? Yes, He has come already, and He is coming again, but He wants to come deep into the hearts, the minds, the souls, of millions of His own Jewish people, and millions from every nation in the world?

Won't you be a John? Won't you speak, cry out, so that the Lord will be better able to come, into the hearts of your family? Your friends? Your neighbors? Your co-workers?