Title: Jesus Christ Testified by John the Baptist
Today's text shows what kind of Messiah John the Baptist is witnessing as he prepares the way for the coming of Jesus Christ. The reason why the evidence of John the Baptist is treated as important here is that he was a sign of the coming of the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament.
Therefore, it should be understood that the text does not show interest in John the Baptist in order to tell us that by showing us the ministry of John the Baptist, we should imitate him like John the Baptist and we should do the same. First of all, you should know that if these stories are not properly organized, they may tell stories that have absolutely nothing to do with the purpose of the Bible's writing.
We are God's servants. They can be called disciples of Jesus. To put it simply, we are not people who do things our way. They are people who follow orders from their masters. It is called the life of faith. As directed by the master's work order, the servant is responsible for completing his/her duties under any circumstances.
The same is true. We must have the principle that we must obey only the intent of the word recorded by the Lord God. So, we need to figure out exactly what the Lord, the Lord, intends to show through the text we want to examine. We must not deny this and, first of all, change and falsify work orders to suit our own needs. That behavior will certainly be rebuked by the owner. You will even have to endure the pain of being expelled.
1. Why does the prophet Isaiah appear?
In the first line of Mark 1:1, it is said that this is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and immediately referring to the writings of Isaiah, John the Baptist is mentioned. That is, the writings of Isaiah and John the Baptist are ultimately the means to explain the gospel of Jesus Christ.
All focus is on Jesus Christ. This is the Bible. The Bible is not an autobiography of John the Baptist. We are witnessing the gospel of Jesus Christ through John the Baptist. Are we at the center of this history? Are you Jesus? Are we the protagonists of a new history? no. We are not the protagonist, but the gospel of Jesus Christ is the protagonist. It is the driving force to create a new history. We are just extras. So we need to know that we shouldn't have all eyes focused on us.
This is the scene of the sacrifice that God answered with Gideon. Where is the fire said to come from when the angel of the Lord puts the staff in his hand to the sacrifice placed on the rock? Did the stick come out on fire? Did you come out of the rock?
We think the fire must have come from the staff, but the fire came from the rock. A staff does not have the ability to become fire because it has power. The staff is responsible for directing the gaze to the rock. The rock represents Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:4 says, “And they all drank the same spiritual drink, and drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ.”
We have to act as sticks. All you have to do is focus on Jesus Christ. For that purpose, John the Baptist appears and the book of Isaiah appears. It confirms the validity of the gospel that John the Baptist is witnessing through the writings of the prophet Isaiah. How do we ensure that John the Baptist's testimony of Jesus is true and true?
It is already said that the ministry of John the Baptist was a sign of the coming of the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament. As a sign of the coming of the Messiah, it is said that John the Baptist will appear first to make the way for the Messiah to be smooth. This was already predicted 700-800 years ago through the prophet Isaiah.
When Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark, quoting the words of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, John the Baptist appeared first and prepared the way for Jesus Christ as the prophet Isaiah prophesied, so it is the fact that Jesus was the Son of God and the Christ. The reason Jesus came after prophesied about Jesus through the prophet Isaiah in advance is to believe because this Jesus is the Son of God.
In John 13:19, Jesus tells the reason why he did it after foretelling it in advance. “From now on, before things come to pass, I am giving this name to you, so that when things come to pass, you may believe that I am he.” Do you understand? that makes you believe. Don't doubt, believe. It is the believers who are being persecuted by the persecution in Rome to believe in this Jesus. Because Jesus is our Lord, the Roman emperor is not our Lord. You must not change the Lord to be Roman emperor because of persecution. And then it comforts you.
Dear brothers and sisters, who is the Lord to you? What kind of person do you really believe in Jesus? Aren't you just mistaken for an adult gentleman? He is truly the Son of God. It was an ambassador of love that God sent for the punishment we deserve for our sins.
2. What did John the Baptist testify? (Content of the sermon)
First, they testified of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Verse 4 says, “John the Baptist came and preached in the wilderness a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” Where is John the Baptist carrying out his calling mission? I cried in the wilderness. What does it mean to cry in the wilderness? He did not go to a crowded place, but to a desert where there were no people, in order to fulfill the prophecy that he would make his way straight in the wilderness.
However, without thinking about the meaning of that baptism, they keep asking who was baptized, and sects arise. That was the case with the early church at Corinth.
1 Corinthians 1:17 says, “Christ did not send me for baptism, but to preach the gospel, not in the wisdom of words, that the cross of Christ might not be in vain.”
1 Corinthians 12:13 “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”
Second, Jesus testified that He was more powerful than Himself.
Mark 1:7 “And he preached, saying, One who is mightier than me is coming after me; I am not worthy to bend down and untie his sandals.”
John the Baptist did not reveal himself, but only Jesus testified.
Acts 3:12 “When Peter saw this, he said to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you marveling at this?
Third, we testified as the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
Mark 1:8 “I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
John the Baptist was the one who baptized with water, but Jesus testified by baptizing with the Holy Spirit.
3. Consequences of Evidence (Response of Sermons)
Mark 1:5 says, “And all the people of Judea and Jerusalem went out, confessing their sins, and being baptized by him in the Jordan River.”
When they witnessed the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, all Judea and Jerusalem people came to John the Baptist, crying out in the wilderness. They came and confessed their sins. He was also baptized by John in the Jordan River.
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
If you repent and confess your sins, you will be forgiven. That's salvation.
4. Context of John the Witness (Appearance of John the Preacher)
Mark 1:6 “John wore camel hair, and had a leather belt around his waist, and ate locusts and locusts.”
The background of this situation is not how poor John lived. As “the one who cries in the wilderness,” the prophecy was fulfilled because of John the Baptist, and this is the passage that testifies of the Messiah.
invitation to the word
What kind of person is Jesus, whom we have come to know through the Word? Do I believe in the Jesus that John the Baptist is witnessing? How should we also bear witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ? I pray that the evangelist can realize what kind of joy, peace, and assurance he must live and live diligently as a disciple of Jesus.