Matt 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matt 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight
Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
Mark 1:2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Mark 1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Mark 1:4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins...
Mark 1:7 ...And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.
Mark 1:8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
Mark 1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
Mark 1:10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
Matt 4:12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
Matt 4:13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali
Mark 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
Mark 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
There are 3 things I want us to take note of from these passages:
- Mark tells us the ministry of John is the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
- John baptized Jesus–Jesus came up out of the water, leaving John standing in the Jordan River
- Jesus began to preach after John was put in prison
- John, as the last prophet under the law, signifies the passing away of the Old Covenant
- Jesus, as the Son of God, is bringing in the New Covenant
- He baptized with water–this was an outward work which left them waiting for something more. (just as the Old Covenant did)
- He was a voice crying, “prepare ye the way of the Lord”– much in the same way the Old Testament provoked them to examine the sin in their lives (and they tried to cover it).
- He pointed to Jesus–John told the Pharisees & Sadducees (the religious elite) that there righteousness wasn’t good enough, that there was one coming after him whose fan was in His hand, and He would purge His floor and separate the wheat from the chaff.(Matt 3:11-12) Throughout the Old Testament, The Law and the Prophets reveal the sinful nature of man and man’s need of a Savior.
- He said He came to preach the gospel to the poor, heal the broken-hearted, preach deliverance to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18-19)
- He made the appeal--"come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."(Matt 11:28)
- And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.(Mark 1:17)
Heb 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect...10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins...10:9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all...10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.10:15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;10:17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more...10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching...
The work of Christ is:
- The shedding of His blood as the sacrifice for sinful man (the just for the unjust)
- The reconciliation of man to God through His sacrifice
- To change the nature of sinful man by putting His laws into our minds and hearts
The first two were done through His shed blood at Calvary, the third is done by the Holy Ghost. What John (Old Covenant) could not do through an outward work, Jesus does through an inward work. Jesus said, “except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John3:3) We must all be “born again”, this is not a natural, outward work that can be done by man, it can only be done by the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17-18:
5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
Paul also said we should covet earnestly the best gifts, but yet, he said, “I will show unto you a more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31). He then goes on to tell us in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 what that “more excellent way” is–it's charity (love). True charity (love) only comes from God through Jesus. Only the Spirit of God can change our selfish nature and cause us to care about others–even our enemies. We know this because it’s not in us to love those who don’t do good to us, only God has that kind of love– Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. John Burkett
No comments:
Post a Comment