The Announcement of Christ's Coming

Mark 1:2,3 The Announcement of Christ's Coming

A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick


Introduction:

    A. The Careful, Consistent, Consecutive Preaching from Mark

      1. Honors the written Word;

      2. Provides a balanced nourishing diet;

      3. Removes selection from our personal interests and likes;

      4. Avoids possibility of missing an important truth; and

      5. Is accompanied by full faith in the Spirit's ability to speak to us all.

    B. In the last message we learned about the writer, John Mark.

    C. Remember, according to verse 1, it is the Gospel, or the "Good News" concerning Jesus the Messiah; the person, work and teaching of the Son of God come in the flesh.

    D. In today's world there are so many announcements, a great many voices clamoring for our attention: In the market ("Attention K-Mart Shoppers"), on Billboards, the Radio, Telemarketing, TV, the Internet ("You Have New Mail") - from everywhere come important messages.

Notes:

    A. John's coming, and his announcement of the Messiah was in fulfillment of prophecy (Malachi 3:1 as well as Isaiah 40:3).

    B. It was part of God's plan, there's no surprise here, His people were notified. They had no reason not to know that Messiah was coming Notice was given by a "voice", a spoken message; "crying", which was not a sob in sorrow, but a loud call, a herald's announcement.

I. John's purpose was to prepare for Messiah's coming: Where?

    A. In the desert (the Judean wilderness, just west of the Dead Sea, near where the Jordan river empties into it - a rough, rocky, barren "wilderness".)

    B. The prophets were alluding to the return of the captives through the desert, "IN THE DESERT, PREPARE!" A way would need to be prepared for the pilgrims returning to Jerusalem.

      1. This return of the captives would constitute a trip similar to that made by Abraham. Although it was a major international route, it was just an unpaved dirt roadway.

      2. The route was northwest along the Euphrates, almost to the Mediterranean. then South (and a little west) through the Rift Valley to Judah

      3. The journey was a total of 1,000 miles. The most common mode was walking at 2-3 miles per hour (donkeys or ox carts would have been used for baggage), or a maximum of 20 miles per day. If there were no days for rest, it would take nearly 2 months of travel on foot; probably much longer because there were nearly 50,000 people in this troop.

II. Jesus sent His disciples to do the same, announce His coming. We are called to prepare the way for His coming, both in this life and in preparation for His Second Coming when He will lead His people back from Babylon to the New Jerusalem.

    A. We now live in, or travel through the desert in which preparations need to be made.

    B. Isaiah 40:4 - "Every Valley Raised Up, Mountain and Hill Brought Low, Rough Ground Made Level, Rugged Places a Plain.

      1. How did this apply to people in John's day?

        a. The "valleys being exalted" means that the poor and lowly would be raised up.

        b. The "mountains brought low" refers to the proud and self righteous who will be put down.

        c. The "crooked" are the dishonest.

        d. To prepare for Christ then was to preach repentance.

        e. "Prepare" - it's a message of holiness and righteousness.

      2. How does it apply for us today?

        a. Valleys would represent sadness, depression, sorrow, the low point in a person's life.

        b. Mountains are the obstacles and problems.

        c. The Rough Ground and Rugged Places are the daily struggles we all experience.

        d. The Lord will lead His people through the wilderness back to Jerusalem, i.e., back to God.

      3. There's a combination of the two - we must participate in the preparation by repentance, but then it is the Lord who lifts up valleys, removes mountains and smooths the rough ground.

Conclusion:

    The "voice" is still being heard today, are you listening? A voice calling for repentance, and a voice of hope.

    But also, Jesus is still looking for "voices", people who will announce His coming.

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