The Kingdom of God – Mark 2025 Guide

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Sermon Episode Link: https://sermons.hornsbyanglican.org.au/episodes/the-first-christian-encounters

Transcription

Mark, chapter one, starting at verse one through to verse 15, and it’s on page 887.

I feel very weird standing over this side anyway.

Okay, so that’s Mark chapter one, verses one through to 15.

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, see, I am sending my messenger ahead of you.

He will prepare your way.

A voice of one crying out in the wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord, make his path straight.

John came baptising in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him and they were baptised by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

John wore a camel hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.

He proclaimed, One who is more powerful than I is coming after me.

I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals.

I baptise you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.

In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised in the Jordan by John.

As soon as he came up out of the water, 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.

Immediately, the Spirit drove him into the wilderness.

He was in the wilderness 40 days being tempted by Satan.

He was with the wild animals and the angels were serving him.

After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God.

The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God has come near.

Repent and believe the good news.

This is the word of the Lord.

We have a time of communion and sharing in the Lord’s Body and Blood.

Mark chapter one.

It’s on page 887.

This time of the year, we have a period called Epiphany.

It’s traditionally the time of Jesus’ birth, right?

Christmas, and then toward Easter, Jesus’ death.

So we have Epiphany.

So we have the life of Jesus.

And that’s why we’re going through Mark’s Gospel.

We’re gonna be going through Mark’s Gospel over the next coming weeks and seeing parts of Jesus’ life.

Maybe next year, Mark’s Gospel.

Well, now maybe next year, we’ll do Matthew’s Gospel during this period.

Maybe we’ll do John’s, maybe we’ll do all years.

We’ll see how we go.

But Mark’s Gospel, and Mark’s Gospel is all about action.

It’s primarily focused on what Jesus does.

Very little focus on teaching, but it’s all about what Jesus has done and what Jesus is doing.

And we therefore respond to what God has done and what God is doing actively.

It’s hard to be neutral after reading through Mark’s Gospel.

And Mark’s Gospel is primarily made up of two sections.

The first part, chapters one to eight, is about who Jesus is, his identity, showing who Jesus is.

And the second part, chapters nine to 16, is about what he has come to do.

So identity and action.

But this morning, there is one main point, and you’ll be happy to know, Mark one, I think, one main point.

And it’s about the Kingdom of God that has arrived and to start living differently.

That’s the main point this morning.

The Kingdom of God has come, live differently.

Have a look in verse 15.

The time has come, Jesus said.

The Kingdom of God has come near.

Kingdom of God.

What does that mean?

He keeps, he goes on to say, he’s proclaiming, notice it says at the end of 15, the good news, Kingdom of God, good news.

Have a look at chapter one, verse one, how it starts at the very beginning.

The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus.

Gospel.

Gospel, good news, Kingdom of God, it’s all the same thing.

Gospel and good news, same word, Kingdom of God, same concept.

It’s the idea, the idea that something has changed.

It’s news.

There’s earth shattering big news that something has changed.

There is essentially a new kingdom.

That’s why Jesus says, the time has come, the time’s now, the Kingdom of God is here.

The Kingdom of God is near.

It’s the news that there is a new kingdom and the new kingdom means, of course, there’s a new way to live.

There’s a new way to look at life.

There’s a new place for belonging.

That is in God’s Kingdom.

Now, if there’s a new kingdom, of course, of course, in every kingdom, there is a king.

And look at how he’s described in Chapter 1, verse 1.

Mark abruptly tells us the identity of Jesus.

Have a look over the next word is Jesus.

The beginning of the Gospel, Jesus Christ.

This is, of course, a title, not a surname.

It’s a title about Jesus, the King.

Christ means Royal Anointed One who is going to come and rule God’s rule on earth.

More than that, have a look.

Jesus Christ.

What’s the next one?

The next title, the Son of God.

Now, if you’re if you’re a Jewish person, you’re reading these scriptures, a Hebrew person, you’re thinking, Son of God, well, that means he’s divine.

But he could be divine, like like an angel, like many of many angels, because that’s what they were called, sons of God in the Hebrew scriptures.

So is this Jesus, the Christ, a divine being, just one of many?

Have a look at verse two.

Mark says this, It’s written in Isaiah, the prophet, I will send my messenger ahead of you.

He’s going to prepare your way.

That’s talking about John the Baptist.

He’ll prepare the way for who?

Have a look in the next verse, keep reading.

A voice of one calling out in the wilderness, that’s John.

Prepare the way for who?

The Lord, that’s the Old Testament, that’s Yahweh.

He’s talking about Jesus.

Mark is saying that Jesus is the fulfilment of all the prophets longings, all of the visions, all of the desires and the expectation that God is going to come and he’s going to put things right and he’s going to come and rule the earth.

He’s going to right every wrong.

He’s going to tick every box.

He’s going to execute justice.

Jesus, the Christ, the son of God, is God’s rule on earth.

There is a new kingdom, and this is the king of this new kingdom.

And this new kingdom, of course, has a new world order.

Mark could have used plenty of other words to describe what’s happening with Jesus.

He could have used Greek words such as illumination or knowledge, which gnosis comes from.

He could have used Jewish words like teaching or wisdom, but he doesn’t.

He chooses gospel.

Why does he choose gospel?

Because it’s news.

Because something has happened.

Because it’s news about what has happened in the world, and God has done something in the world.

And Mark chooses gospel to express this about faith.

Because just a couple of things about news, news means, news is the report that something has happened.

Okay?

It’s not instruction.

You can’t change what’s happened.

It’s news about what God has done, what God is doing.

And this is what Mark’s gospel is all about.

This is what gospel is all about.

It’s telling us this is God in the world, and this is what God is doing in the world, and this is what God is going to do in the world.

Notice how the titles in the first chapter have a look at the titles.

It’s like Jesus’ baptism, and then what happens next?

His temptation is taken out into the desert, and then you keep reading on, it just races through all of this work.

Gospel means news about what God has done in the world.

Jesus has turned up.

He is the King.

He is God.

And we see this in the face of Jesus.

I mean, there are a lot of people that, when I talk to people about Jesus, they say, oh, you know, well, he’s a good guy, at least.

Like, he’s a pretty good, there’s no one.

Not many Australians, you know, think, well, he’s not at least a decent guy.

Because we know everyone has this inkling, there’s this stuff that’s happened, and he was an amazing person who loved people, who did some pretty amazing things.

But when you read through the Gospels, you realize, it’s not just a good person, right?

He shows signs about God, God’s power.

But then he is loving and merciful.

He speaks to the Pharisees and he speaks about truth, and he castigates those who need to be told off, and he confronts those with truth who need to be confronted.

And then he speaks goodness to others.

Anybody who reads the Gospels truly and fully understands we’re talking about God, who has turned up in the world.

He lives the life we could never live, and then he ends up dying the death we deserve.

It’s news, not instruction.

You see the importance of this?

If it’s instruction, instruction is, well, in other religions or isms or philosophies, instructions are, this is what you need to do.

This is how you get to God.

These are the rules to follow.

These are the mantras to do.

These are the practices to do.

But this is saying, God has done it.

You see, it’s news.

God has changed the world.

It’s a new order.

He’s come into the world.

Jesus Christ, the anointed one.

But if it’s news, it’s also public for all people.

Have a look in verse four.

John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance or the forgiveness of sins.

Who goes to him?

Verse five, the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him.

In Jewish worship, if you’re a God’s person, you’re a Jew, you wash when you go into the temple.

You have to wash your hands because you have to get clean before God.

But you don’t get baptized.

No Jewish person gets baptized because they’re God’s person, because they’re born that way.

Who gets baptized?

Us, Gentiles.

Well, most of them, I’m presuming Gentiles, right?

Because we need to be made clean to become a new person.

If we were to convert to Judaism, if we become God’s person, we become baptized, clean and fit for the presence of God.

Jews are never baptized.

But look at what John’s saying in verses four and five.

He’s saying, you need to be baptized, repentance of the forgiveness of sins.

And who comes to him?

Verse five.

The whole Judean countryside is coming to him.

This is a call for all to turn to Jesus, for all to respond to him.

The point is, the gospel is news, not instruction, but because it’s news, it means it’s public, it means it’s open for everybody, it means all need to respond.

All need to respond to God.

This is unlike any other religion, because it’s not just about following teachings or doing particular rites or anything like that.

This is actually about responding to the King, the one who has come and lived for us, right?

And it’s done in history, it’s a public thing.

And so all need to respond to what God has done.

And this also, of course, means that our pedigree, our moral record doesn’t matter.

Everyone who’s going to be saved here has nothing to do with Judaism or Gentile or however good they are.

They all need to come, need to turn to repent and to be baptised.

The Gospel, The Kingdom of God is news, not instruction.

So what should we do?

We’ll have a look in verse 15.

Jesus says, The Kingdom of God has come so.

He says, Repent and believe.

What does repent mean?

It just means turn around and trust God.

That’s all it means.

It means there’s a new order.

We repent and we believe.

You know, every summer there are blockbuster movies that come out.

You know, all over the holidays, school holidays especially.

And sometimes they have advertisements like, you know, this summer, there’s a movie coming.

And if you do anything, whatever you do, make sure you see this movie.

You know, that this movie is going to change your life.

You know, it’s not going to change your life, but they have this deep voice about this summer.

And if you see any movie, make sure you see this one.

By the way, if you really want to annoy people in your house, go around talking like that about something really trivial, you know, this summer, I’ve just opened a jar of pickles or something like that.

It’s really annoying.

The gospel is earth shattering.

You see, unlike the movie thing, it genuinely is meant to interrupt what we’re doing.

And so the king has come.

We don’t fit our lives.

Sorry.

Yeah, we don’t fit the king around our lives.

We fit our lives around the king.

This is what it means to repent.

It means to turn around, to respond, to start trusting him, to start following him, because we want to run our own lives.

We know what’s best for them.

We think the way forward is our way, but the way forward, the way up is the way down.

It’s actually on our knees, admitting we are not worthy, admitting our sin, but trusting in him.

People thought that John was great, John the Baptist.

He was a man of God.

He was a prophet.

He was a messenger.

But look at what John says in verse 7.

After me comes one more powerful of whose sandals I’m not worthy to stoop down and untie.

You know, slaves in the Jewish idea cannot, when even they weren’t required to do such services, deal with people’s smelly feet.

But John doesn’t just say, I’m going to untie his sandals.

He says, I’m not even worthy to do that.

You see, this is what he’s saying.

He’s saying, Jesus is so much more greater than I.

He is the greatest.

He’s worthy of us repenting, turning and following him.

And lastly, what does Jesus do?

Look at verse eight.

I will baptise you with water.

This is John speaking, but he is going to baptise you with the Holy Spirit.

What is baptism of the Holy Spirit?

Keep reading verses 10 and 12.

Just as Jesus is coming out of the water, he sees heaven torn open, the spirit descending, a voice from heaven, you are my son I love.

With you I’m well pleased.

What is baptism of the Spirit?

It is the knowledge that you are loved by God and that you are pleasing to God.

This is the divine son.

Now in one sense, of course, Jesus is the divine son.

He’s the one that will go on to die on the cross.

He will live the life we could never win.

He will take on the sin of the world, he will conquer death itself.

And yet, we are told that we have the spirit of sonship that is to make us God’s children.

The spirit’s job is to remind us and to press into our hearts, the reality of the forgiveness of sins, of the baptism that we’re talking about, of what God has done for us, of his news, him living for us, him dying for us.

It says in Romans that we witness, the spirit witnesses to our spirit, just as it did to Jesus’ baptism.

And this is the secret of how the Holy Spirit brings us power.

It makes us God’s children and reminds us of the confidence we can have, of the purity and the joy and the wonder that we are loved and that we please God.

How could we do that?

Well, you know, that’s how it works with why the gospel is the news that this one who is baptized and says, You’re my son, I love you, you, I’m everything you do, I’m pleased with.

Notice it’s the negative thing, I love you as well, but also the positive, the positive, I’m pleased with you.

It’s the news of what God has done in Jesus.

If we know and trust that his death was for us, that we can be fully forgiven, now God looks at us in the same way he looks at Jesus, You are my son, you are my child.

With you, I’m well pleased.

This means so much.

For the gospel means news, not just instruction.

It’s news that is public.