Dig Deeper - Sunday 22nd February
Sermon Reflection Questions - Lent: Journey to the Cross: Into the Wilderness
Mark 1:9-15
As we had a guest speaker - Gavin Calver CEO of Evangelical Alliance at our 10:30 am service, this week's Dig Deeper notes are based on the 9 am sermon, which unfortunately isn't livestreamed. If you'd like to listen to Gavin’s sermon from the 10:30 am service, you'll find the link below.
Dig Deeper notes from Sunday 22nd February service:
The Journey to the cross in Lent begins with Jesus’ examples of the need for identity, for testing and for trust : Mark 1: 9-15
Mark’s gospel begins with a description of a remarkable spiritual awakening that had broken out in Israel. Verse 5 describes crowds of people leaving their homes and streaming out of the city down into the desert to listen to this strange man John the Baptist, saying things that touched the core of the souls of people, and spoke to their need. They were coming out to him because they felt the torment of their guilt, their inadequacy, their lack of a sense of acceptance before God. John was offering a way out. John baptized all who repented, acknowledged their guilt, and sought forgiveness of sins. He granted baptism as a sign of the cleansing of God but only to those who genuinely acknowledged their need before God by confessing their sins. So when Jesus came out of Galilee to John to be baptized, John protested. Matthew’s gospel tells us that when Jesus came, John said to him, "Why do you come to me? I have need to be baptized by you," (Matthew 3:14). He knew there was nothing in Jesus' life that John had seen which required repentance and confession of sins because he was sinless. Jesus answered John in a most remarkable way, recorded in Matthew 3:15: "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness."
So why was Jesus baptized by John the Baptist? Mark suggest three things which will help us answer that question:
First, Jesus' being baptized was an act of identification. Jesus was associating Himself with us. He took our place but He began with His baptism, not the cross. This was the first step leading to that relationship in which He was ultimately to be made sin for us, i.e., actually become what we are. This was the first sign of His intention to do so, when He took the place of a sinner, and was baptized with a baptism of repentance and confession of sin, alongside all the sinners who had come to be baptised.
But second it was, an empowering moment: "And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove..." It is very significant that the moment Jesus begins to take our place, the Father gives Him the gift of the Holy Spirit. There is no greater gift God can give to us. There is no greater need that we have as individuals than to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is by the Holy Spirit that we are able to live as He wants us to live, and longs for us to live, and is able to overcome the power of sin and guilt and fear within us. Thus, when Jesus began to take our place, there was immediately given to Him the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was anointed by the Spirit at this point. In Old Testament times they anointed kings and priests by pouring oil upon their heads, committing them to the function and office in which they were to serve. Jesus is now being anointed by God through the Spirit with power -- power to meet the demands of the ministry upon which He is about to launch. Some weeks later, in the synagogue at Nazareth, Luke tells us, Jesus quoted a passage in Isaiah 61 which dealt with this, and applied the words to himself:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovering the sight of the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19)
These were the ministries that were his during the next three and a half years, and now his public ministry begins with the anointing by the Holy Spirit with power.
And all these things that happened to Jesus can happen, and, indeed, must happen to us. That is the whole thrust of this teaching. He was taking our place; therefore what happened to him must happen to us. That is why Jesus, standing with his disciples after the resurrection, said to them, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth," (Acts 1:8). The Spirit of God must come upon us. The gift of the Holy Spirit must be given to us, so that we might have the power to live as God wants us to live. This is not so that we can perform dramatic acts, but, rather, is a new quality of life with the power of love. l. This is not so that we can perform dramatic acts, but, rather, is a new quality of life which is beautiful and resistless, and yet quiet and gentle. Notice the symbol of the kind of power that is given here -- it is a dove. A symbol of gentleness rather than aggression, a non-threatening bird, one that does not resist and does not fight back. Yet this is the power that Jesus is describing -- the power of love, of course -- love, that can be beaten, and battered down, and put to death, and yet can rise again, until it wins the day -- that amazing love Jesus released. It is the kind of power that does not threaten or break apart or destroy; it gathers and heals. It is rejected, turned aside, and beaten down; yet it rises again and again. So the dove is an apt symbol of the new life our Lord came to teach.
It is clear that today – as ever - in the world we are taught that life is lived by the principle of the survival of the strongest. Might makes it right. But Jesus came to introduce another way, in fact, the only way that truly works. You could describe it as the survival of the humblest. "If any one would be first, let them become the servant of all," said Jesus (Matthew 23:11). Humility brings all of the power of God into our lives, whereas pride makes Him our enemy,
Then thirdly Jesus’ baptism is also a sign of assurance for Jesus. There came a voice from heaven: "You are my son whom I love; with you I am well pleased." It is addressed directly to Jesus as a ground of assurance and security for Him. We must not think of Jesus as being automatically empowered against all obstacles and threats and fears. After all He was made man. He became like us. He was assaulted with every pernicious threat that humans ever feel. He felt like us, and He needed to be treated as we need to be treated. He needed the assurance of the Father's recognition of who He was. This is what God has given to Jesus, the security of knowing that He is His beloved son.
And let’s always remember – especially in our darkest moments – that this is exactly what He says to us. The glory of this gospel message is that God is ready to treat us exactly as He treated Jesus. So we can say to ourselves "This is what my Father is saying to me: 'You are my beloved son, or daughter, in whom I am well pleased.'" That is what gives us a sense of security and identity
But Mark wanted believers to know that Jesus triumphed completely over the enemy-and that they can triumph too when they are tempted. Jesus immediately went willingly into the wilderness, but the Spirit is pictured as moving Him to battle Satan’s temptations. All of us have wilderness experiences from time to time. These experiences often force us to confront the negative experiences of our lives. They force us to strip away our pride and worldly resources and come to God in faith. Often the wilderness experiences are related to health issues – our own or loved ones. They can be tough times when our faith can be challenged but also strengthened as we turn the situation over to God.
Some people believe that if you follow God’s will, you will have a life of ease. Nothing could be further from the truth. The way of God often involves circumstances where we must trust in God alone and draw on His truth and strength. God tests us to help us grow, to show us that we have the faith and ability to stand up to the testing, that we will trust God in difficult times and to strengthen our faith and Christian character. Satan and much of human society want to make us do the wrong thing. Jesus was the son of God, but His earthly life was full of challenges that He had to endure. God sometimes uses the devil to test people. His purpose is to strengthen our faith, but Satan wants to destroy our faith. We will face the trials of life, but we can endure if we draw strength from Jesus.
After the temptation in the wilderness we read that Jesus started His mission of preaching the good news of salvation (v 14). Jesus announced the kingdom’s arrival by saying that it was time for the kingdom to come. It includes the good news of hope, peace, promise and eternal life with the restoration of all creation.
The arrival of the kingdom comes with a sense of urgency, and this sense of urgency is often portrayed in Mark’s Gospel. And the arrival of the kingdom requires an urgent response. God controls the timing, not us. So in effect every sermon that is preached or heard, and every witness we give must have an urgent tone – it might be the last one! These verses show us that the good news is decisive. The call to repent is urgent. Jesus calls on us to turn around and trust in God. It is a theme that is repeated again and again throughout the Bible. Repentance loosens our hold on the world and strengthens our hold on the good news. It calls on us to trust God.
Time for reflection:
Lent is a good time to make decisions about our lives and how we are going to live them. Not so much about giving up chocolate for the six weeks but Lent is a time for us to think things over, to reconsider, and to be more aware of our limitations, our mortality and our need for God and the transforming grace He offers us through Jesus. Even as we look at our own broken, sin-filled lives, we can take comfort in the knowledge that Jesus has preceded us in this journey. Jesus identified with us by coming into our dark, sin-filled world in order to be joined to our brokenness and redeem it. When we find ourselves in the wilderness of disease, loneliness, joblessness, depression or any other things that challenge us, Jesus has been there before. He meets us in our wilderness to bear our burdens with us and for us. And Lent is a time for us to loosen our grip on the ways of the world and draw nearer to and trust in God’s grace.
Prayer:
Lord we thank you for the gift of your Holy word. As we reflect on this during Lent whatever the challenges we face may it be lantern to our feet, a light to our paths and a strength to our lives, Amen
