Mark #1 - Prepare The Way
Sean Davidson
January 29, 2023

The Call

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I 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,’”
(Mark 1:1-3)

This is the one place where Mark declares Jesus’ identity outright.

Mark could not be more clear. To Him, Jesus is the Christ. He is the Messiah. He is the Son of God. And more than that, He is God Himself.

“A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Yahweh make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
(Isaiah 40:3)

The title Lord isn’t just some generic reference to someone with power.

Lord is a respectful way of referring to God’s personal covenant name, Yahweh.

“John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
(Mark 1:4)

“And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”
(Mark 1:5)

After generations of covenant unfaithfulness, the people of Judea and Jerusalem are pouring out of the city in droves. Ready to admit their failures and turn back to the Lord, everybody is headed to see this wild man in the wilderness.

“Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.”
(Mark 1:6)

“He preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
(Mark 1:7-8)

John knows that he is a supporting actor.

“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.””
(Mark 1:9-11)

When Jesus shows up, he makes no confession of sins. He has nothing to repent from.

God’s proclamation and the Spirit’s anointing prove that Jesus is the greater one that John prophesied.

His baptism is a public display confirming His identity as God’s beloved Son.

“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.”
(Isaiah 42:1-4)

At Christ’s baptism, the heavens have torn open because the Kingdom of God is breaking through. At Christ’s baptism, heaven invaded earth.

The Kingdom of God is present when God’s rule is honored, and He is worshiped and obeyed.

“The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.”
(Mark 1:12-13)

The Spirit is moving in power.

The word “drove out” is from a strong verb (ekballō) meaning “drive out, expel, send away.”

Mark uses the word here to communicate the Spirit’s strength. Anointed with the Holy Spirit, Jesus is a force to be reckoned with.

“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
(Mark 1:14-15)

When we hear the word “gospel”, we have been conditioned to immediately think about how Jesus’ death and resurrection have made it possible for us to receive forgiveness of sins.

And that is a central aspect of the gospel that we have the privilege of declaring to the world this side of the cross.

But the gospel, the good news here that Jesus is proclaiming in Mark 1, is not that Jesus died for the forgiveness of sins. That event hasn’t happened yet. The good news is that the Kingdom of God is at hand.

“Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.”
(Mark 1:16-20)

Jesus’ first disciples were ordinary men. They worked blue-collar jobs. They aren’t a part of the intellectual elite. They aren’t government administrators or experts in religious law. They are middle-class merchants running a family business. But following Jesus gives these ordinary men an extraordinary role in God’s plans.

God in Christ calls the disciples to follow him, and he promises to make them fishers of men. Given what little they know, their response is incredible. They drop their nets and follow him.

The Cost

Following Jesus is going to cost these men far more than their fishing business. They, too, will be betrayed, given over to the authorities, and killed.

Mark is telling us that the way of Jesus is the way of the cross. Death is the cost of Kingdom life. But death is not the end of the story.

There’s beauty in lonely places. Promise in the sadness. Hope in the pain. The hope of the Gospel is that out of the grave springs new life.

In choosing to accept the call and the cost of God’s Kingdom, we have chosen to set aside our own kingdom agendas out of a belief that God has something better for us.

The Challenge

Prepare the way of the Lord.