A Word about the Coming of Christmas

Today I want to share a word about the Coming of Christmas, as I comment on Mark 1:1-11.

It's hard to believe, but Christmas is fast approaching. Soon we'll all be shopping, and wrapping presents, and singing Christmas carols. Remember the carol: "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"? Well, John the Baptist was singing a similar tune as he preached in the wilderness. As we look forward to Christmas this day, let's look how John the Baptist about preached the coming of Christ in Mark 1:1-11 

This Scripture reads: 

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You. The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.’ ” John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

THE ORIGIN OF THE GOSPEL:

When you tell a story it is best to begin at the beginning. It is hard to figure out what is going on when you start in the middle and it is disappointing you if you begin at end, because you already know what happened!

Mark wanted to make this story clear and so in he began at one of only two possible places to begin, the start of Jesus's work on earth. The only other place to begin would be at manger. Otherwise, Jesus, who is eternal, has no beginning or ending. Mark’s focus was on telling the good news, not writing a biography.

So, what is this Good News that Mark talked about in Verse 1?

• It is that God loves each of us, and wants a relationship to us.
• It is that God made a way for that to happen.
• It is that we can enjoy our lives after receiving that blessing.

Whenever someone says to me, “I have good news and bad news for you, which do you want first?” I always ask for the bad news first because I want to end on a positive note. The bad news is that our human sin separates us from God, but the good news was that Jesus came to us to solve that problem!

PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL:

Every major work needs preparation for it to be a success. The ground needs preparing by the farmer before planting. Marketing surveys must be done before a company makes a new product. A manufacturer must amass raw materials before building a ship or airplane.

Even unseen preparation is important to success of a new work. Some of my family members had trouble for years with their home because the lot was not properly prepared by the builder. Their foundation settled and they had to have material pumped into the ground underneath it before the house was level again

 In Verses 2 and 3, we see that God prepared for Jesus to come in a couple of different ways. 

First, He gave us His Word in the Old Testament which contains dozens of different prophecies concerning Jesus. Josh McDowell has said that the chance of any one man satisfying just eight of the these prophecies would be about the same as if you filled the borders of the state of Texas two feet deed with silver dollars and then asked a blindfolded man to pick out the one you had marked with an “x”. Needless to say, the chances of that happening are astronomical!

Second, God also sent John the Baptist to tell people to repent. In many ways, John was like Jonah, only he didn’t try to shirk his assignment!

God prepared the people in the Old Testament and in the 1st Century to receive the Gospel, but does God prepare us today to receive the Gospel?

Yes, He does, by using our life circumstances, either good or bad: A man who was a life-long agnostic was convinced that God exists after witnessing the birth of their baby girl

 Yes, He does, by the wooing of the Holy Spirit: Ever since Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has been drawing people to Christ. It is a major portion of His work.

Yes, He does by the sending us friends to tell us  the plan of salvation: God has called all His people to be witnesses for Him as we negotiate our daily lives

Not only does God sow the seeds, but He also prepares the ground!

FORERUNNER OF THE GOSPEL:

Preachers are stereotyped in many people's minds: All preachers are supposed to like fried chicken, they should dress, walk, and talk certain ways. and they might even be expected to drive a certain type of car. Because preachers are considered to be different, people must act differently around them, so they feel that they must apologize to preachers when rude language is used in their presence.

John the Baptist broke all of those stereotypes. He didn't preach in a church, but in the wilderness. He dressed and looked rough, and spoke plainly and he ate funny food. John was not was not the normal rabbi, nor the ordinary prophet.

Maybe we should put aside our stereotypes of ministers? 

We can't deny the effectiveness of John's ministry, and it might change our mind about who can be called into ministry. We might also change our mind about methods we use in ministry, and who we can reach with them!

THE PERSON OF THE GOSPEL:

Although John certainly gained a great deal of notice, the goal of his work was to make him unemployed!  His preaching was not about himself, but about Jesus. His job was to prepare the way for Jesus, and then fade away.

Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf was a leader of the Moravian movement in Europe in the 18th Century. He would tell the young ministers that he trained, “Preach the gospel, die and be forgotten.” John would have agreed with such sentiments.

John tells us in Verses 7-11 that Christmas is about the Person of The Gospel.  It isn't about toys, parties, or family reunions. It is about the coming of the Prince of Peace.  And he would want us to remember the character of the Prince: 

• He is more worthy than John, and all the prophets.
• He has spiritual power.
• He is the Son of God.
• He pleases God, and through Him we can please God.

CONCLUSION:

If John could be with us this Christmas season, he would probably ask us some very probing questions:

• Are we making a way for The Savior in our hearts and lives?
• Are we helping make a way for The Savior in our friends’ hearts and lives?
• Are we preparing for the return of The Savior?
• Are we taking this seriously? 

John certainly did all these things! And so should we!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt