IBCD Sermon Weekly

Some people like new things. New shoes, a new car, etc. Some like the things they are familiar with, like well-worn shoes and a reliable, albeit old, car. Jesus came bringing a lot of “newness” in how faith was expressed toward God and in the name of God. Some received this with joy, others felt something was being lost and resented it.

Jesus changes our lives. Do we embrace the new of Christ or do we resent it?

Mark 2:21-22 21 "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins."

Who did Jesus come for? Some people do not think they need Jesus. Their opinion is, life is fine without God.

Others feel a need but do not believe they can come to God.

Many just don’t think about it much at all.

The Pharisees were lost but didn’t know it. They were in the middle of the world’s party, and their souls were in terrible danger.

So, it is with a deep sense of irony that Jesus says:

Mark 2:17 17 "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

As we celebrate the upcoming baptisms of people today, we are going to look at the place of Baptism in one’s obedience to their following of Christ.

Now, I want those of you who are a valued part of the family of IBCD who have not taken this step, often because of your church background in the state churches, both of which teach and practice infant baptism, that I love you and am not attacking you.

However, it is both my duty and privilege to share with you why I think it is an important aspect of one’s obedience to following Jesus as Lord.

Matthew 28:18-20 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

In today’s passage we have a story about a group of friends who decide to take a chance for the sake of their sick friend.

They are going to be quite rude in the process and even damage another person’s property!

However, they are determined to take whatever consequences come their way for the sake of their friend.

As a result, their friend gets much more than he anticipated.

Mark 2:5-7 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." 6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Jesus and his crew hit the road. They begin to travel throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. The way Mark presents this transition from local ministry to a wider one is very positive. It becomes more complicated as Jesus exposes to the people who he really is, but those days are yet to come. For now, it is an exciting and fresh time for Jesus and his early followers.

Mark 1:38 38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”

Jesus was a man on a mission. His mission was going to challenge the authority of his religious traditions. He knew he was going to be facing a lot of opposition from those who felt control slipping from their hands so, early in his ministry, Jesus established his authority.

Mark 1:22 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

The Gospel of Mark has Jesus calling his disciples “without delay” and disciples following “at once”. This calling becomes iconic within the church. The Gospel of Mark is the first writing to include the clever line from Jesus: 17 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men.”

Mark presents the open of Jesus’ ministry by pointing to three actions:

1. Jesus’ baptism.

Hardly any details are given to fill out these passages. As we read this passage, instead of comparing it to the other gospels try and think about the Old Testament passages to which Mark’s gospel points.

Mark 1:12-13 12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13 and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

In the Gospel of Mark, the motif of the wilderness is one which the author goes back to again and again when describing the ministry of Jesus. The wilderness is a place of reckoning. It is where we consider our past and prepare for the future.

Mark 1:4 4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Today we are going to be looking at one of the four Gospels, and that is the gospel of Mark. While it is the shortest gospel, it is deep and revealing in its own way. Today we are going to be looking at a brief introduction to the author, his writing style, and the message of the gospel before getting into the text itself which will then take us several weeks, probably into next year.