As we are closing out the second week of Advent, our Gospel reading for this week is the opening verses of the Gospel of Mark. Mark is one Gospel that does not contain any type of nativity account. In Luke we find the traditional account of the birth of Jesus, with His birth in the manger, the shepherds, and the angels. In Matthew we read about the magi, or wise men’s visit to the baby Jesus. In the first chapter of John’s Gospel, he shows us how Jesus existed from all time as part of the Trinity, long before His physical birth here on earth. Mark, though, doesn’t contain any such account. He begins his Gospel at the time when Jesus begins His ministry. However, as we’ll see, Mark’s opening verses do fit in with this Christian season of Advent.
Advent is the time in the Christian calendar for spiritual preparation and anticipation of the coming Christmas season, when Jesus came to earth as our Savior, and also looking forward to His imminent second coming. Our Scripture passage for today is the opening verses from Mark’s Gospel, and give the account of John the Baptist, and his announcing of the coming of the Messiah, which is what Advent is about.
John the Baptist was the divinely promised messenger, sent to prepare the way for the Messiah. Mark quoted from both Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1, as he knew John was the fulfillment of these prophecies (vs. 2-3). Just like an ancient royal envoy, who went ahead of the king to see that all was ready and in order, John the Baptist came ahead of Jesus the Messiah and Son of God. John the Baptist was the culmination of Old Testament history and prophecy. He was also the beginning of the historical record of the Gospels. Though the prophets had foretold the coming of the Messiah for many generations, very few people were seriously anticipating or even thinking of His forthcoming arrival.
When John the Baptist appeared on the scene, he came to the Jordan River, just a short distance outside of Jerusalem, which was nearby to the west of the river. John was different from the other religious leaders of his day. He preached from the banks of the river, rather than indoors in a synagogue or at the Temple in Jerusalem. John’s messages were strong and cutting, and to the point. He definitely did not soften his message to please his audience. John the Baptist differed in other ways from the other religious leaders of his day. They lived in comfortable homes, many in luxury in Jerusalem and other nice villages. He lived in the wilderness. They had comfortable and expensive clothes. John the Baptist’s clothes were made from camel’s hair and were rough (vs. 6). They dined well, whereas John’s diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. His values were not in physical or material luxuries, but in spiritual matters.
As John the Baptist began his ministry, he called for the people to prepare for the soon arrival of the Messiah (vs. 4). He urged the people to give up their selfish way of living and renounce their sins. Knowing that the Messiah was soon to come, he preached that people needed to seek God’s forgiveness and establish a relationship with Him by believing and obeying His Word.
John the Baptist called for the people to repent and turn to God in preparation for the coming Messiah. His baptism would be a sign of repentance, a sign that a person had decided to change their life, giving up a sinful and selfish way of living, and turning to God. Baptism did not produce repentance, but was its result. Repentance is more than a change of mind or remorse. It involves turning from sin to God, and results in righteous living. True repentance is a work of God in the human heart.
John the Baptist’s ministry was to prepare people for the coming Messiah. Many people are preparing for Christmas with all of the outward ways of shopping, decorating their houses, etc. Have you prepared your heart for Jesus? Does He already reside there, or do you need to ask Him to be your Savior? Are you prepared for when He will return a second time? That could be any day, at any moment. Are you ready for His arrival?
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