Big Idea - Most of us have experienced the long line at immigration when we arrive in a foreign country by airplane. You cannot just walk into the country. There are entry requirements. Either you have to prove you are a citizen of that country by having the proper passport, or you have to obtain a visa that gives you permission to enter. The Kingdom of God also has its entry requirements. But, the Kingdom of God is, first of all, a spiritual Kingdom. One day, the Kingdom will come in all its fullness and glory, but until that day, we enter into the Kingdom of God not so much as a place but as a power and not as residents of a country as we are subjects of the King. What, then, are the entry requirements of such a unique Kingdom? How does one obtain a visa, or better yet, how do we become citizens of this Kingdom?

The parable of the sower and the soils is a parable about the Kingdom of God. Jesus tells us that understanding this parable is the key to unlocking all the parables. Consequently, all the parables teach us about the Kingdom. The most important characteristic of the Kingdom of Christ is that it arrives by proclamation - the sower sows the word. The word, or logos, is the only message Jesus came proclaiming. "Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:14-15. It is clear, then, that the Kingdom comes by preaching the Word, the Gospel. If you want to enter this Kingdom, you must hear the message announcing the kingdom. In the Christian faith, we put a great deal of emphasis on preaching the Word, not so much because we love the Bible, which we do. But more than that, right now, preaching is the way the Kingdom comes. When the final version of the Kingdom arrives, it is only those who have known the kingdom through the preaching of the "word" who will find themselves citizens in that great Kingdom.

If the Kingdom comes by preaching, then hearing that message is everything! Jesus urges those listening to Him to "Listen!" And again, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." There are serious obstacles to hearing the message, and it is not enough to simply hear the words. The parables of the sower and the soil illustrate how a person can hear but not really hear. Jesus also explains clearly what it takes to really hear, to have the right kind of ears that hear and understand, and thereby enter the Kingdom. The first group who hear the message but fail to really hear are those by the footpath. They do not really hear because Satan comes and snatches away the message. You could say it falls on deaf ears because they are immediately resistant to the message. The Scribes and Priests fell into this category. So then, Satan is the first great enemy of the Gospel message who seeks to make everyone spiritually deaf. The second type of soil are those who hear and actually receive the message, but it is temporary because they have no root. When trouble and persecution arise, they fall away as quickly as they sprouted up. This is the person who picks and chooses the part of the message they like but do not really pay attention to the whole story. The rock buried just beneath the surface is their own flesh that can live only for itself, for comfort, pleasure, and ease. If the flesh is not destroyed, the message cannot grow, and they will fall away at the first sign of hardship. The third type of soil are those who hear the word, but their lives are full of thorns. They love the world and desire it more than they love Jesus and desire His kingdom. The third enemy, then, is the cares of this world and love for this life. For these three kinds of soil, they hear, but they don't understand, and they miss the kingdom.

The good news is that the message also falls on good soil. These are the ones who hear the message and receive it. But, they do not receive it like the rocky soil. Those who were the rocky soil only received it as an idea they liked and approved of. But those who are the good soil receive it as a treasure. It is for them an inheritance and Kingdom they take possession of! They receive it to the very depths of heart and soul. Robert Gundry summarizes it this way "the good hearers welcome the word immediately, so that Satan cannot snatch it away. They welcome it deeply so that persecution because of it cannot induce them to fall away. They welcome it exclusively so that other concerns do not stifle it. The understanding that results from this kind of reception goes beyond the intellectual to touch conduct, commitment, and devotion." The result is that the message produces fruit. It is multiplied many times over. This can be understood first as an increase in understanding and in receiving more instruction. But, it also implies that the word makes an eternal, life changing impact. The very life and nature of the Kingdom is in you and you become a very different kind of person.

There are a couple of important things we can do to apply these truths. The first is to understand that we cannot overcome Satan, the flesh, or the world by our own willpower or resolve. It is significant that even the twelve whom Jesus chose all fell away at Jesus' arrest and crucifixion. They all proved to be bad soil before the cross. But, it was a very different story after the resurrection and after Pentecost. They became bold witnesses for Christ and joyfully suffered and died for their faith. It is the power of the cross applied to our life through the Holy Spirit that alone can overcome Satan, the flesh, and the world. The Gospel of the Kingdom is the Gospel of the King who died on the cross to make us good soil! Second, parables are good at painting a clear picture of truth, but the picture always breaks down at some point. There is only one kind of seed, the Gospel message, but we need to hear it over and over in all its wonder and in all the breadth of its meaning. By the power of the cross, we are good soil, but we all are in danger of letting these obstacles creep in and make the word ineffective in our life. The battle against Satan, the flesh, and the world is a daily battle. We must constantly be turning to the cross, the Word, and the Holy Spirit to overcome so that the Word is powerful and effective in our lives!

Big Idea - Mark puts these two accounts together to show the important contrast or difference between the crowd who is seeking Jesus and flocking after Him and the twelve who Jesus calls. This passage raises several important questions that relate to our lives today. Why isn't it enough to seek Jesus? Or, put another way, why is my religious pursuit inadequate to reach God? What was the crowd missing in their pursuit of Jesus? This passage also raises questions about who God calls and why. Why does God get to choose, and who does He pick? How is it fair if God chooses some but not others? Finally, we need to ask to what Jesus is calling us? Is He calling the twelve (and us) simply to receive the gift of salvation, or is there more to it? In the end, the question we must honestly ask ourselves is which group do we belong to, the crowd or the called?

Taking each question in turn, we first must answer the question, what was the crowd missing? They were seeking Jesus, coming from every corner of the region to encounter Him. But why did they come? They came because they heard what He was doing. They came because they believed Jesus could do something for them, that He could meet a need in their life. In fact, Jesus ministers to them, healing the sick and casting evil spirits out of many. But they failed to understand what it meant. They were interested in what Jesus could do, but they never sought to answer the question, who is He? Jesus' mission was not simply to provide a temporary cure for sickness and disease. Rather, "Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14–15). He was the long-promised King, and he announced that the kingdom had arrived for those who would enter. The crowd came to see the power of the kingdom at work, restoring life to health and peace. But that is not the same thing as entering the kingdom. To enter the kingdom, you must pledge allegiance to the king, leave behind the ways of the kingdom of darkness, and follow the king. But, the crowd has very little interest in who Jesus is, and they do not comprehend the message of the Kingdom.

In contrast to the crowd, Jesus chooses twelve. The scene shifts from the seashore, which perfectly accommodates a massive crowd of people, to a mountain top, which intentionally thins the crowd down to a small handful of people. The image of Jesus calling the twelve to come up on the mountain where He is, reminds us of God calling Moses to meet Him on Mt Sinai, where God calls and instructs Moses as the leader of Israel in the wilderness. How is it fair that Jesus gets to pick who He wants? In the democratic West, we have built an entire worldview on the idea that it is our individual right to choose our path. That we get to be in control of our own destiny! Not to mention, many of us have had the humiliating experience of getting picked last or not at all and the pain of feeling rejected and unwanted. In picking the twelve, does it mean Jesus is rejecting the crowd and doesn't care about them? This is not what it means. In fact, it is the very opposite. The crowd continues to grow as the word of Jesus' miracles spreads farther and farther. Jesus, even as the Messiah, Son of God, cannot meet all the needs of the crowd. He is already at risk of being crushed to death by the crowd. If Jesus is going to continue loving and caring for the crowd, He needs to empower and equip others for the work. His decision to choose some and train them up to do the work is the only way He can meet all the needs of the growing crowd. But this also raises the question of why He picks these twelve men. Is it because they submitted the most impressive resume? Is it because of their great intelligence, previous training, experience, or abilities? Was it because these men had demonstrated more spiritual zeal or faith than the crowd? The amazing and extremely important truth about God's call is that it is not based on anything in us or about us. He chooses according to His desire or free will quite apart from anything we have done to compel Him to pick us. In other words, God's election is the only way grace can work. As the Gospel of Mark moves forward, it will be clear that the twelve aren't really any different than the crowd. They don't really understand who Jesus is any better than the rest. They do not have any more faith. They are not any more spiritual. They are very ordinary fishermen and even a hated tax collector. It is all a matter of God's grace that He calls any. No one deserves to be called. If God were only concerned about being fair, He would call no one!

The third question is, what does Jesus call them to? Does the call of the twelve relate in any way to what God is doing in our lives? Jesus calls them so that He can appoint them as Apostles. As Apostles, Jesus appoints them to do two things. The first was simply to be with Him. By spending all their time with Jesus, they would come to know who He really was and is - the Messiah, Son of God. It would take until after the resurrection for the full knowledge of who Jesus was to fully sink in, but the only way to really know Him was to spend significant time with Him. And that was their first calling - to be with Him! As they come to understand who Jesus was and the message He was proclaiming, they would then be equipped and prepared to do the same work that Jesus was doing, the work of proclaiming the Kingdom. This meant, first of all, proclaiming Christ, and, second, demonstrating the power of the Kingdom by doing the same miracles that Jesus was doing. The twelve Apostles served a unique role as the first-hand eyewitnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The entire New Testament, the Church, and, in fact, all of Christianity is based on their testimony as those who were with Jesus every day. Jesus may be the cornerstone, but their testimony about Him is the very foundation of the Church. In that respect, the call of the twelve was unique. No one in our day is called to be an Apostle in that sense because we cannot be first-hand witnesses to Jesus as lived and walked on earth. So, does Jesus calling the twelve have any application to us? Yes, more certainly. We may not be called to the unique role of Apostles, but we are called to the same path of discipleship. In the book of Mark, the twelve are also called disciples, and Mark focuses on the discipleship journey of the twelve almost exclusively. We know from the other Gospel that there were many true disciples beyond the twelve, but Mark describes the journey of a disciple through the lives of these twelve. What is a disciple, then? It is one who is called to be with Jesus, to know who He is, and to follow Him as Lord and King. Only the true disciples are in the kingdom. The seeking crowd is not. The call of the disciples is to be with Jesus and to do His ministry. Like Jesus, and the Apostles, we are to proclaim the Kingdom to the crowd and demonstrate its power by meeting real needs and caring for them. Remember, Jesus did not call the twelve to bless them and ignore the crowd. Rather, He called and appointed them in order to equip them to love the crowd just as He did!

So we come to the last question. Which group do you find yourself in? Are you in the crowd seeking Jesus, maybe full of religious interest and even a deeply spiritual pursuit of God? Or, are you here today because you know God has called you? Called you first and foremost to be with Him! And as you spend time with Him, to take Jesu to a world lost in darkness.

Big Idea - Human beings are funny creatures. On the one hand, we don't like being told what to do. We don't like rules and regulations. On the other hand, we can't stop making rules. Our organizations and institutions are full of laws, regulations, and policies which are all made by people. Religion does not escape this problem. All religions are full of rules and laws. In the Old Testament, there are reported to be 613 laws and regulations that the Jewish people were to follow. But, if 613 laws were not enough, the Rabbis made countless more rules intended to help the Jewish people keep the rules! New Testament writers have a very different take on the law. In fact, the Apostle Paul teaches that "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Romans 10:4), and that "We are now released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:6). Jesus coming to earth, bringing the Kingdom of God, and death on the cross all dramatically changed the way things work. But what exactly does it all mean? The Sabbath is a good test case for understanding our relationship to the law and the commandments. It seems that we no longer keep the Sabbath. Only Seventh-Day Adventists still set apart Saturday as a day of rest. Other Churches have kept most of the rules about the Sabbath, they have just moved it all to a different day. Then there are those who have completely abandoned any notion of a day of rest or Sabbath keeping. How are we to think rightly about the Sabbath? How are we to think rightly about all the laws and commands of God? What does Jesus teach about these things?

The Pharisees, who followed the law in the most strict and rigid way, accused Jesus' disciples of breaking the Sabbath because they were harvesting grain on the Sabbath. In this passage, it seems like Jesus is saying it is okay to break the law if it is for the right cause. It is the idea that the end justifies the means. It was ok to break the law in order to meet a human need. It gives the idea that rules are necessary but flawed. So, it is ok to ignore the rules and break them if they get in the way of helping people. But this is not what Jesus teaches here. Jesus' explanation for the Disciple's behavior unfolds in three steps that follow a clear logical progression. First, Jesus says that keeping the law is not an end in itself. The law is not the goal, rather the law is given for a higher purpose. The law has a purpose, but when the law cannot accomplish that purpose, the higher purpose takes precedence over the law. So, must ask the question, what is the goal or purpose of the law? Jesus' second point is to argue that the law was given as a means to care for people. The goal of the law is to care for and protect those under the law. So, the law is good and serves a fundamental purpose. In this case, the Sabbath is a gift from God intended to provide rest for people. The law was not about holding back from us something good, rather it was given as a means of helping us walk in what was good and best for our wellbeing and health! This goal must be set before us when we interpret the law. If the goal of the law is to provide for the well-being of people, then picking a few heads of grain to snack on is not breaking the law, it is actually keeping the law in its true purpose. Jesus defends the disciples' actions, not because they were breaking the law, but because they were keeping it in line with its true purpose. The real problem is not the law but a flawed way of understanding and interpreting the law. When keeping the law becomes the end goal, and we put too many fences around the law for its own sake, it no longer functions according to its purpose. That is the problem and weakness with laws and rules. They must be applied and used by people who twist and distort the law according to their own sinful purpose and thinking. Laws and policies become a way to control people, or justify our behavior, or make us feel that we are better than we are. Rulers can and do abuse their power, so we put laws in place to keep them in check. We want the law to be king, but the law is heartless and impersonal. Instead of fulfilling its purpose to care for people, it crushes people. But a ruler who is not under the law can be even worse. They crush even more! So, what is the answer? Well, Jesus' final point is that He is the answer. He is the King who has come, a good and loving king who is lord and master over the Sabbath. That is, He alone has the authority to interpret and apply the law according to its good and perfect purpose. He is not teaching that it is ok to break the law for convenience's sake nor to keep the law for its own sake. What He is saying is that we need the right person to help us keep the true purpose of the law for our protection and care, and He is that person. He has the right and authority to apply the law for our good. But even more than that, Jesus is saying that He is a King who accomplishes the true purpose of the law. He is the one who cares for us and protects us and therefore makes the law obsolete - not because the law is bad, but because He is so much better. The Sabbath, rightly applied, can give us rest, but not perfect rest. Jesus, on the other hand, gives complete and perfect rest. He can care for us and restore us to a level of well-being, health, and peace that the law can never do.

How do we apply this? First, this does not mean that in the OT, people had to obey, but in the NT, obedience is no longer important or necessary. Living a life of obedience is every bit as important now as it was then. What has changed is what we are obedient to. The law was a guardian caring for people until something better came along. Jesus has come, and now we obey Him, not the written code. Second, that we no longer keep the Sabbath laws of the OT does not mean we no longer need rest! The purpose and goal of the law is no less true or necessary. Jesus has replaced the law only because He is better at fulfilling its true purpose. Jesus commands us not to control us or to limit our freedom but to care for our best health and well-being. His commands are personal and fit our situation, they are not fixed and rigid like the impersonal written code. All those who really trust in His loving care and goodness with obey Him completely! Thirdly, we should follow the pattern of Christ in the way we set up our families, organizations, ministries, and Christian institutions. They should primarily be led by Christ not by rigid regulations that are cold and impersonal. Maybe we need policies, but we should always keep before us the true purpose of rules - to care for people and protect them. When our policies hurt people and put an excessive burden on them, we need to care for people and set aside the policy! Most of all, we need to admit that we do need someone to rule over us. But, what we need is not the law but a Lord. We need a ruler, not to wreck our lives and take away our freedom, but to take care of His and keep us out of danger and trouble! Let Jesus be our rest. May we find every need met in Him. May we find the care, well-being, peace, and joy we all so desperately need to be met in Christ alone!

Big Idea - One way to get an idea of what life is like for someone in a profession, or life situation is to follow them around for a day - A day in the life of . . . It gives us a picture of what their life is like, but it also tells us a great deal about what is important to them, what their priorities are, and what motivates them. What would the typical day in your life tell us about you? In Mark chapter 1, we get an amazing glimpse into the typical day in the life of Jesus, and what it reveals about Jesus gives us a clear picture of the extraordinary life that He lived. More importantly, it reveals the heart and mission of Jesus. So, what can we learn about His purpose and mission by this look at a day in the life of Jesus?

First, and most significantly, we learn what Jesus meant when He proclaimed, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15). The arrival of the Kingdom of God in Christ meant that the kingdom of darkness was being defeated and brought under the dominion of Jesus the King. We see this in-breaking of the kingdom in two ways. First, in the casting out of demons. The demons must do as Jesus commands. Until now, they had free reign and could wreak havoc in the lives of many people, but Jesus is now driving them back, and they can no longer oppress and destroy people's lives. Secondly, Jesus heals every kind of sickness and disease. The kingdom of darkness brings brokenness into every realm of life, but the kingdom of God is a kingdom where life is restored to health and wholeness as God intended in the original creation before sin entered and wrecked everything.

Casting out demons and healing the sick form a major part of Jesus' ministry, so much so that a day in the life of Jesus was a day spent healing many. This may raise the question in our mind: if the kingdom arrived with Jesus and the kingdom of darkness has been pushed back, why is there still so much sickness and evil in the world? Was the kingdom only temporary? Do we need to wait for His return to experience the deliverance from sickness, disease, and brokenness that people experienced for the brief time Jesus walked on earth? Jesus did not take the kingdom with Him when he returned to heaven. He offers it freely to all who will enter by faith. But, the kingdom begun is not the kingdom completed. Jesus did not heal everyone, and everyone He healed eventually died. He drove demons out of people, He did not drive Satan and his army out of the world. When Jesus said the time is fulfilled for the Kingdom to come, He was declaring the inauguration of His kingdom, not its final and complete victory where all of creation would be made new and every evil banished to the lake of fire for eternity. What does this mean for us as we seek deliverance from our own brokenness? Will God heal us? Will God deliver us from demons and spiritual enemies? The good news is that those who enter the kingdom have access to the power to overcome sin and all its consequences. But, in this life, we only experience the beginning of healing and deliverance. For Full and final deliverance, we must wait for the second coming of Christ when He brings the full and final kingdom. We are already in the kingdom and are already being restored and made new, but it is a work in progress, and the work God has begun in us will not be completed until Jesus returns.

A day in the life of Jesus reveals a second fact about Jesus that is of vital importance, and that is the source of Jesus' power to live His life with such power to heal and overcome all the spiritual forces of darkness. Jesus rose long before daybreak and went into the wilderness to pray. He got away from the crowds and the distractions to meet with His Father, and in that place, God taught Him what to teach and showed Him what He was to do that day. It was there Jesus, the man who had set aside His glory and eternal power, received power from God to heal. Later, when Jesus sent out the twelve to heal and cast out demons, they ran into a demon who would not leave. They asked Jesus what was the cause of their failure, and He told them, "This kind comes out only by prayer." Jesus understood that the power to overcome the kingdom of darkness begins by seeking God in times of earnest prayer. The kind of prayer Jesus is talking about is wilderness prayer. That is the prayer that 1) puts away every distraction, 2) puts oneself under the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit, 3) determines to depend on God and not our own strength, and 3) does battle with Satan to overcome every temptation.

Finally, we see in the day in the life of Jesus that He was driven by the mission of God, not the mission of men. He knew God's call on His life, and He would not be distracted by the aims and ambitions of men. His primary purpose was to preach the kingdom. The arrival of the kingdom, on the one hand, meant healing the brokenness caused by sin, but it also meant proclaiming the new life that God was calling people to in Christ. In other words, Jesus didn't come just to do miracles; He ultimately came to proclaim a message, and that message is that the King has come, and we can have life in Him, and not just temporary healing but eternal life!

What are some things we can take away from a day in the life of Jesus? First, the message Jesus proclaimed is far more important than the miracles He performed. The crowd was in awe of what Jesus did, but what they really needed was to pay attention to what He was saying! We all want healing, but what we need more desperately is the saving that comes through the Gospel message! Second, the power to live life well and to overcome sin, evil, and our brokenness requires going into the wilderness to pray and meet God! God has not promised to heal every sickness, but it may well be we are not experiencing the deliverance from our brokenness that God intends because of our failure to meet God in the wilderness! Thirdly, we should always pray for healing, along with seeking medical help. Both are a gift from God, and we should take advantage of both!

Absolute Authority

1. Authority to compel

2. Authority to teach

3. Authority over demons

4. Jesus is LORD!

Big Idea - Jesus appears on the scene in the Gospel of Mark at the Jordan River and is baptized by John, then He is immediately driven into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. When we compare Mark's account with Matthew and Luke, it is extremely brief - 16 verses in Matthew compared with 5 in Mark. The main reason for this is that Mark keeps a laser-sharp focus on Jesus and only reveals details that tell us specific things about Jesus - who He is and by what power He is able to do so many extraordinary things. Mark introduces Jesus in this way in order to give us a key to understanding Jesus' life and ministry in the rest of the book. So, what does Mark want us to know and understand about Jesus before we dive into the rest of the book?

First, Mark wants us to understand that Jesus is God's dearly loved Son upon whom God has poured out the Holy Spirit in order to come down and do the mighty work of salvation that He promised long ago. Jesus' ministry is greater than John's. He will do mighty works of healing and will teach with great power by the power of the Holy Spirit. He will baptize His followers with the Holy Spirit because He himself has been baptized with the Holy Spirit. Secondly, Jesus will be effective and powerful in ministry, not only because the Spirit is in Him, but also because He is fully submitted to the leading and control of the Spirit in is life. The Spirit is of no benefit if He is not in control and Jesus is fully obedient to the Spirit in every way. The Spirit drives Jesus into the wilderness to be tested by Satan. Why does Jesus need to be tested by Satan in the wilderness? Aren't there just as many temptations in the city or at home? The wilderness is a special place for testing because Jesus loses all control over His life in the wilderness. He is with the wild animals - wild because they are untamed, beyond human control. Jesus has nothing and is in control of nothing when He is in the wilderness. He has only God to care for Him and protect Him - so He waits on God and trusts in Him alone for 40 days. And God proves faithful in caring for His dearly loved Son, sending angels to minister to Him. Adam and Eve had everything in the garden and were given dominion over all the earth, but they fell into temptation over the one thing that was off-limits. By giving into that temptation, they gave Satan control over their lives and control over all humanity from that day onward. Now Jesus faces the same test over who will have control over His life, God or Satan. He faces the test without anything and with control over nothing. He proves to be much different than Adam and Eve and submits fully to God alone.

After this time of testing, Jesus came to Galilee and began to announce that the time was fulfilled and God's kingdom had drawn near. This is indeed good news, the Gospel of God. But what did He mean by the kingdom, and how close is it? Has it truly arrived, or is it just close and coming soon? In terms of the movie theater - is it "coming soon" or is it "now showing?" It is best to understand Jesus announcing that the Kingdom is now showing - it has indeed arrived. But what exactly does that mean? What is the kingdom of God? It is the rule of God over the hearts of people. When Adam and Eve gave in to temptation, they gave Satan and sin control over their lives, and God no longer ruled over their hearts. All humanity has inherited the same rebellious heart, and even the best of the OT characters failed to follow God wholeheartedly. The history of Israel is proof that people will not submit to God's rule. Jesus is announcing that the time is fulfilled when God will rule over the hearts of people because they will submit fully to His rule and authority. Jesus has just demonstrated that the rule of God, the kingdom, has arrived in Him because the rule of God is perfect and complete over His own life - even to the point of driving Him off into a barren and hostile wilderness! This is possible, as Jesus demonstrates by the power of the Holy Spirit, but also because Jesus does not have the same rebellious heart as Adam. Jesus has a very different nature and a very different heart. But it that all it means - that the Kingdom has arrived in Jesus, but it ends there - a very small kingdom of one? No, the truth is that the kingdom is now showing. It is here, and the option to live fully under God's rule will be available to any who seek it. This is possible because the ministry of Jesus, who will baptize His followers with the Holy Spirit, a result made possible by His death and resurrection, will give us a new heart and a new nature, fulfilling the promise of Ezekiel 36:26-27. Now, we can live under the rule of God in a way that has not been possible since the fall in the Garden of Eden! Like a movie theater, all you need to enter in to see what is now showing. The kingdom is now showing for all those who will enter in by repenting and believing!

Big Idea - We live in a city that knows how to prepare for a royal visitor. If you have lived here long, you know when preparations are being made for a royal visit - flags appear along the highway, roads are repaired, ribbons and banners are carefully hung, and police dressed in their best uniforms are stationed all along the route. The Gospel of Mark begins not with an account of Jesus' birth but with making preparations for His arrival when He will break onto the scene to begin His ministry. John the Baptist is the one given the charge to prepare the way. How does John prepare the way for Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God? Even more importantly, what are we doing to prepare for Jesus to break into our life and our world?

Long before John, God prepared for the coming of Jesus the Messiah through the prophets, like Isaiah, who told of a forerunner who would announce the Messiah. He would be a voice crying in the wilderness. These scriptures build the expectation of a great work of God on the scale of the exodus from Egypt, bringing both salvation and judgment on the Great Day of the Lord. John appeared to fulfill this prophecy by appearing in the wilderness and preparing for the arrival of the Messiah first by preaching a Baptism of repentance. The people were to prepare the way by a change of heart, turning away from their sin and seeking God with all their heart. Baptism pictured washing and making one clean. It was also a rite of passage for a Gentile proselyte. Likewise, this was a step to becoming the new people of God, which the Messiah would bring about through a new saving work, a great second exodus. Thus, the baptism of John did not bring about the forgiveness of sins as much as it anticipated the cross, which would bring true and complete forgiveness and cleansing from all sin. The second way that John prepares the way is by proclaiming the greatness of the one who was coming after him. He would be mightier than John, meaning He would come with even greater spiritual authority than John. He would be much greater than John in honor and glory, John wasn't even worthy to be the slave of His slave! Finally, His ministry would be far more powerful and effective because it would not be with water but with the Holy Spirit. Jesus would accomplish what John's baptism could only picture symbolically. He would bring complete cleansing and would give those who believe the right to be called children of God!

We can take away three ways we can prepare for the coming of Jesus in our own lives. First, we need to take a journey into the wilderness - that is, away from the noise and false hopes of the world to a place where we must depend totally on God alone to save us and to help us. Second, we prepare our hearts for the Gospel and its work in our lives through confession. Jesus made it clear that those who think themselves healthy will never seek the help of the Doctor. Likewise, it is only those who know they are sinful and under the wrath of God who will seek the washing and forgiveness that Jesus made possible by His blood. Finally, we need to trust in Jesus, who wants to baptize us with the Holy Spirit to bring about a new saving work of God, a new birth, and a greater exodus by His death and resurrection. By this work, we are washed clean and have the right to be God's children!

(1) Mary was poor, and young

(2) Mary’s submission

(3) A virgin conceives

(4) Mary’s disgrace

(5) Mary’s journey

(6) Gifts and words that prophecy

Big Idea - If we grew up celebrating Christmas at home and at Church, we probably have a very clear image in our mind of what the birth of Jesus, captured in the nativity, is supposed to look like - baby Jesus in the manger, Mary and Joseph attending to Jesus, with the animals of the stable looking on. The shepherds are there with a few sheep, and the Magi are bringing their gifts, with their camels standing in the background. Overhead is the star, sometimes as an angel shedding light on the entire nighttime scene. Even if we accept that the Magi and the shepherds did not arrive at the same time, this scene seems to capture the story of Jesus's birth. But something is missing from this scene. It only captures part of the story. There are several other important parts of the story that our traditional nativity scene overlooks! A more accurate nativity might be one with Mary and Joseph fleeing the scene with baby Jesus in their arms! This is also an important part of the story but one we easily overlook. What does Jesus' journey to Egypt mean and how does it add to our understanding of who Jesus is and why He came? How does Jesus fulfill the prophet's words, "Out of Egypt I called my son?"

Joseph and Mary's sojourn in Egypt with Jesus reminds us that from the very beginning of His life, not everyone wanted to worship Jesus. He had enemies from the very start of His life, which will be a theme throughout the Gospel until His enemies finally succeed in killing Him. Jesus is the newborn King, but in the end, He is a King who gave His life to save us. But, in this account, we see God's hand of protection over Jesus until His hour has come. We also see, once again, the faithful obedience of Joseph who does what he is told without question and without delay. But, the main point of this story is that it is one more example of how Jesus' life fulfills prophecy, both the predictions about Him in the Old Testament and the many "types" or pictures that point to Him and give us a clear vision of His purpose and mission. How is Jesus "my son called out of Egypt?" First, He is the true son and the greater Israel who glorifies God in the world. Indeed, all the earth will be blessed through Him! Secondly, He is the truer and greater Moses who is rescued from those who want to kill Him so that He can lead His people out of exile, not from Egypt but from the bondage of sin and death!

Big Idea - We begin this advent season with a focus on the Prophetic Inauguration of Christ. The prophets all looked for the coming of a Messiah, and they all found their fulfillment in Jesus. Daniel is no exception. He also points to the coming of the Messiah and we see this most clearly in Daniel chapter 7 where Daniel speaks of the Son of Man. This was Jesus' favorite title for Himself. He was the Son of God, but this title He uses for Himself only a couple of times, and only indirectly. But, He calls Himself Son of Man dozens of times. Why did Jesus pick this name for Himself, and what was its significance? It was not an obvious title, like Son of God, and it left people confused by what it meant - John 12:34 (ESV) — 34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” The title, Son of Man, can only make sense as we see what it means in Daniel 7. Who is the Son of Man, and what was Jesus claiming by using this title?

This is the second vision in the book of Daniel and it is very similar to the first vision in chapter 2 - the vision of Nebuchadnezzar's giant statue. It has many similarities to his final vision in chapters 10-12. These visions all look to a future where four successive kingdoms will dominate the world. In each vision, special focus is given to the final kingdom which will be especially devil and oppressive for God's people. In the vision of chapter 7, what can be said of these kingdoms is that they are beastly. They are monsters. It pictures men, kings, who have turned into beasts devouring flesh, dreadful, terrifying, breaking in pieces, and stamping into the ground what is left. In Genesis 1-2 God created man and gave him dominion over creation to care for it and to shepherd God's creation. But, instead of being shepherds who care for God's gift, we have become wolves that devour and destroy. This is true of all humanity, but the higher one climbs in rank and power the more that power can be used for harm and evil. Daniel paints a bleak picture that the kingdoms, governments, and rulers of the world will not get better, and we will not usher in a time of world peace. Instead, it will reach a climax with a ruler who is the most beastly of all. But, then the scene changes to a courtroom and the judge who will bring an end to all the beasts. In their place will rule the Son of Man, and His kingdom will never end. This kingdom will be the eternal possession of the Saints of God, who were targets of the beasts. Jesus adopts this title as a cryptic way of saying that He is the promised one who is coming to set up a kingdom that will never end for all those who belong to Him.

At first glance, this vision looks like a bunch of power-hungry beasts being overthrown by one who is even more powerful. Those who use power to dominate are conquered by one with even greater power. But how is this any better? Is God, and the Son of Man, just like them? Why is His kingdom any better, just because no one can overthrow Him? The Son of Man is not only the one who will set up a never-ending Kingdom, but we see in this passage that He is worthy to receive such dominion and power to rule and reign. First, we see that God is not a monster but a righteous judge who overthrows the beast on the basis of wisdom, and righteousness. Second, the Son of Man is coronated as King, and He is worthy because He is also God, one in nature and being with the Ancient of Days. He is God who rides on the clouds and will be worshiped by every people, nation, and language. But, He is not the Ancient of Day, pointing to the trinity. Third, He does not grab power to crush people underfoot but rather gives His people a kingdom for their joy and benefit. This Kingdom is not only His kingdom, but it is their Kingdom, and it is their dominion. Fourth, He is called the Son of Man because He is God but also fully human, an obvious OT reference to the incarnation. But why is that important? How does being a man make Him worthy to receive the Kingdom? First, because this dominion was given to man in creation. Therefore, it is the rightful possession of humanity, and He is the ultimate human being who fulfilled God's intended design and purpose in creation. Secondly, HE took on human flesh and blood to redeem fallen and broken humanity. We are the saints, the sanctified ones of the Most High, but His blood. Therefore, He alone is worthy to reign!