Mark 1:1-8
The Old Testament prophesied that before the coming of the Messiah, the savior of the world, a messenger would be sent ahead to prepare the way of the Lord. This messenger was often referred to as “Elijah” but we now know that John the Baptist would play this role.
The last words of God that had been spoken through a prophet were through the words of Malachi, some 400 years prior – Malachi 4:5-6:
“Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.“
With 400 years of no communication from God, people were starting to worry that God had rejected Israel. So, when John arrived and was recognized as a prophet, people were eager to go see him and to listen to what God had to say through him. John proclaimed the need for baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People reacted positively to his message and were baptized in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
John then announced that the Messiah was coming who was more powerful and who would baptize with the Holy Spirit, instead of water.
Although the people are told that the Messiah is coming, at this point in time, they do not know the identity of the Savior. We, of course, know – The Savior of the World is Jesus of Nazareth. Even though Mark’s gospel does not have a Christmas story, we know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem to the virgin Mary.
Although most Jews expected that when the Messiah came, he would defeat the Romans, would sit on the throne of David, and re-establish the golden era of the nation of Israel for eternity. We know that Jesus was an unexpected Messiah, in that He would give up His life as an atonement for our sins. He would be arrested, tortured, executed on the cross, and then rise again on the third day. Anyone who would accept Him as Lord and Savior would be forgiven their sins and be saved, having assurance that their eternity would be spent with Him and His followers.
We also know that Jesus will come again, this time as king of kings and lord of lords and will establish His eternal kingdom. When that will happen is unknown to us – It could be hundreds or thousands of years in the future, or it could be today or tomorrow.
John’s job was to prepare the way of the Lord. Instead of getting ready to receive and welcome a conquering king, John preached repentance for the forgiveness of sins – The required step to receive Jesus’ saving grace is the repentance of sins. So, it seems that John had some knowledge as to what the nature of Jesus’ ministry was going to be the first time around.
There are three sets of actions in this morning’s narrative – John preaches and baptizes, the hearers sin and repent, and God forgives.
If any of us have not accepted Jesus our Lord and Savior, the message to us is the same one that John proclaimed. We are sinners and we need to repent of our sins. God will forgive us, through the work of Christ on the cross.
If we are believers, then we have a similar role to play as John the Baptist – To prepare the way of the Lord for those who do not know Him yet.
Sometimes when we are called to do work for the Lord, we feel the weight of responsibility of doing God’s work. It is important to remember that we cannot do God’s work – only God can. We cannot get people to repent of their sins or accept the good news of Jesus Christ. What we are to do is to pave the way for the Lord to do His work. We can teach the need for repentance, we can share the Gospel, we can give testimonies of how great the Lord is, we can show love, kindness, grace to others, even to our enemies. This will prepare the way for the Holy Spirit to speak to the people’s hearts.
It is like in the parable of the sower. When God tells us to sow the seeds, we sow the seeds. Do not worry about the condition of the ground or the likelihood of successful growth or the interfering weeds – Just sow the seeds and let God take care of the rest. Sowing the seeds will not guarantee growth, but not sowing the seeds guarantees no growth.
So, this Advent season, let us be guided by the Holy Spirit and prepare the way of the Lord.
(the above is a summary of the message shared by Shun Takano during our worship of December 10, 2023)
Japanese Congregational Church 