The Jesus Who Comes to Judge and Save, Mark 1:1-13
The Jesus Who Comes to Judge and Save
Mark 1:1-13
Introduction
We need to see the glory of Jesus. It is our single greatest need. In the case of some of us, we are unbelieving and blind. “In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor 4:4). In the case of others we are believing, but our blindness still remains in part. “We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor 3:18). There is glorious light that emanates from the face of Jesus as he reveals himself in Scripture. Seeing that light means salvation, life, transformation. Blinding our eyes to it means damnation, death, and devolution. The single most important thing you can see in life is Jesus’ glory.
The gospels are for seeing Jesus’ glory uniquely. Other concerns easily tempt us. We want to know the details, so we spend time speculating about what is not stated. We want to know “real” history, so we attempt to reconstruct a single harmony of the events of Jesus life. We want to answer apologetic objections, so the stories of Jesus are either demythologized or become an apologetic manual. But, as good as these aims might be, they are not why the gospels are given to us. They are given so that we might see Jesus’ glory.
· Matthew reveals the glory of Jesus as he fulfills the prophecies of the OT. Particularly, Matthew reveals him as the triumphant king who reigns over the nations and fulfills all his promises to Israel. So, Matthew calls us to trust in Jesus as the one who we all have been waiting for who can bring all the promises to pass.
· Luke reveals the glory of Jesus as he is the Lord of all, both Jews and Gentiles, both men and women, both rich and poor. Particularly Luke reveals Jesus as the great climax of all historical events and calls us to faith in him as the Lord of all creation in both discipleship and in unity.
· John reveals the glory of Jesus as is God incarnate, the word made flesh and dwelling among us in the temple of his body. Thus, John calls us to faith in the divine Jesus, the Christ who has come, the Son of God who is God’s own presence with us.
But Mark reveals the glory of Jesus as the Messiah King, who comes as God’s own Son to save his people from their blindness and judge who persist in it. Jesus has come to his blind people. As we shall notice throughout Mark, nobody seems to know who Jesus is! We are told at the beginning: He is the Christ, the Son of God. Yet the characters in Mark are all seeking for Jesus and can yet never seem to find him.
Jesus’ revelation of himself in Mark is elusive. He speaks relatively little compared to the other gospels. He constantly admonishes those he heals to keep quiet about it. He silences the demons who cry out who he really is. In fact the only ones who see who Jesus is in the story are the demons, whom Jesus commands to be silent; then, for a brief and rare moment of clarity, Peter as he confesses Jesus as “the Christ” (Mark 8:29) (whom Jesus also commands not to tell anyone about him); and a Roman centurion who, upon Jesus death, says “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39). Of the thousands of other characters in the story, only these recognize Jesus for who Mark says he is at the beginning. And even while nobody seems to know who Jesus is, everyone is still searching for him. As Jesus himself says in Mark 4:23, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
This is why Mark reads the way he does. His style is short, quick, abbreviated, truncated. He leaves us wanting more information, more detail, more fullness. Yet, in his own deft style, he weaves together a thick picture of Jesus with copious allusions and references to the OT that we will miss if we are not listening. The glory of Jesus flashes through in an instant, and if you blink you’ll miss it.
Have you ever noticed how many people today seek for Jesus, yet can never seem to truly find him? Many search for Jesus with ferocity yet only seem to find the Jesus they see in the mirror. Thus, the Jesus of modern Americans is a political activist, or a hippie savior, or a social justice warrior, or a squishy sentimentalist, or an excellent moral counselor, or a clinical psychologist, or a miracle worker. There is a way of reading the gospels which miss the point of the gospels. We must heed Jesus’ warning: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, but it is they that bear witness to me, and yet you will not come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40).
Thus, there is an urgent message that we must hear from Mark: we must repent of our sinful, self-reliant pride and humbly submit ourselves to the revelation that Jesus gives of himself in the Bible. Our blindness must be cured. Our ears must be opened. Our hearts must be softened. We must turn to the Lord and be healed. And that is what Mark holds out to us: the Jesus who has come to judge and save. He offers to us the gospel! But the gospel is not just a message that “all’s well that ends well, water under the bridge, just as for forgiveness and you’re good.” It is the announcement of the fact that Jesus is Lord, the Messiah, the anointed King, the Son of God, promised in the Old Testament and bringing a kingdom of righteousness and justice, and that he will freely pardon any rebel who is willing to lay down arms and submit to his kind and gracious rule—attended with the promise that all those who refuse to do so will be severely punished.
Here is where Mark begins his Gospel: Jesus brings salvation, but his salvation will become judgment if rejected.
I. The Prologue (1:1)
In this title for Mark’s story, we already have the promise of salvation, for the book is the “gospel.” That is, Mark brings us good news, and that news is that Jesus is the “Christ”—Messiah—the Son of God.
Remember, the OT was filled with the gospel. Isaiah in particular:
· Isaiah 40:9 – the good news is that the Lord comes with might to rule, that he has both reward and recompense, and that he will be Israel’s shepherd-king.
· Isaiah 52:7 – The peace published is that “Your God reigns” and therefore has (v9) “comforted his people” and “redeemed Jerusalem.”
· Isaiah 60:6 – it is good news for all the peoples, and equivalent to the praises of the Lord
· Isaiah 61:1 – preached by the Spirit-anointed Savior who proclaims both the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of the vengeance of our God.
Already, Mark is tipping us off in his abbreviated way that this story is the beginning of that. God reigns over his people, he has come to rule, to give reward and recompense through one who is anointed with the Spirit of God and will give forgiveness and pardon and bring about the praises of the Lord.
That story centers around “Jesus.” In fact, Mark is obsessed with Jesus. He doesn’t waste any time with John the Baptist but almost gives him a passing glance and he moves on to Jesus. And he is only concerned with John the Baptist in so far as he points to Jesus and prepares his way.
And that Jesus is the “Christ”—meaning the Messiah. It is a name which means “the anointed one.” When God called someone to a unique role in the OT, he would anoint them with oil, which was a symbol of his power to do that task. Thus priests were anointed, prophets were anointed, and most prominently kings were anointed. King David is the best example of this, being anointed by Samuel.
And he is the Son of God—which could refer to his deity, but more likely refers to his role as the chosen son of David the King. 2 Samuel 7:12 says that God will “be to him a father and he shall be to me a son.” This is then reiterated in Psalm 2:7 by David himself, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.” The anointed one was always the Son of God in the OT, and he was set apart for this special work of bringing the salvation and the judgment of God to his people.
You now possess the key to understanding this entire book. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. And, you possess the key that none of the people in the story understand. You have been given the path to hearing and seeing and understanding Jesus. So, will you?
II. The Preparation (1:2-8)
Thus, he is here! And with him the gospel has arrived! Yet what does that mean? Mark clues us in by giving us a very complex citation from three separate Scriptures to set the stage for Jesus’ arrival, all to drive home the central point: prepare his way by repentance.
Mark says that his citation is from “Isaiah” (v2), yet he draws on not only Isaiah 40:3, but also Malachi 3:1 and Exodus 23:20. This should not worry us, because what Mark is intending to say is that Isaiah is his primary lens.
In order to get what he is saying, we need to go to these passages.
Malachi 3:1 (context: 2:17-3:5). In Malachi, God is arguing with his people. And they have accused him of injustice (2:17). Yet, their accusation is ironic, for they are a wicked people (3:5). So he promises “I will draw near to you for judgment.” Yet, he will only draw near to them for judgment after he has sent a messenger to them (3:1). That messenger will prepare the way by calling them to repentance. And then, only after the messenger has come will the Lord arrive to bring purification, for, as he asks, “But who can endure the day of his coming and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like a fuller’s soap” (Mal 3:2). So Malachi holds out primarily a judgment, a warning—God is coming to judge you! None can stand in his judgment! None will endure the day of his wrath! He will draw near and he will judge. Yet, I will send my messenger to you to prepare my way by calling you all to repentance.
The message of the gospel is not comfortable. It does not leave our consciences at peace. God is coming to judge. Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? Who will survive the judgement? Who can stand before the flame of his righteous judgment or endure the winepress of the fury of his wrath? Stand in fear and in awe of the God who comes to judge!
Yet the messenger is promised, and he is called in Mal 4:5, “Elijah the prophet.”
Exodus 23:20. (context: just out of the stipulations of the law). He promises an “angel” (i.e., a “messenger”) “before you” who will protect and guard them and bring them to the place that he has prepared. And Moses commands the people of Israel, “Pay attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.” The angel would lead them out of the wilderness and into the promised land, but only upon the condition that they would obey the Law they were given. If they refused to obey, they would not be pardoned, but if they did obey then he would defeat all their enemies.
You can see how Malachi (written afterward) is drawing from Exodus. Moses is saying, you face a great choice, Israel! You can obey and be saved or disobey and be judged. You can either listen and he will guard and protect, or you can stop up your ears and be treated as his enemy. And so the same applies to us.
Isaiah 40:3. (context: book of Comfort). The assumed context of Isaiah 40f is that of being in exile. Yet God still proclaims comfort to the people of God! And they way that the people of God know that comfort has come to them is that a voice is crying in the wilderness—in the midst of their exile—prepare the way of the Lord! It’s the same message! Not only has judgment arrived, but comfort for all those who prepare his way and humble themselves.
Mark deftly transitions directly from these grand realities to John, without even adding a period. “John appeared.” And John is baptizing—not the same as our baptism, but a symbolic way of being cleansed from sin and defilement, as Naaman in the Jordan river or as the Jews who would “Baptize” their hands before they ate to cleanse them. And John appears “in the wilderness”—the place of Israel’s exile, which they still are under! And he is proclaiming baptism of repentance—turning away from sin—for the forgiveness of sins—that they might be remitted, loosed, forgotten, and eliminated. He is preparing the way, so that when the king arrives, he will not judge, but he will save!
And Mark was fabulously popular (v5). All the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were coming out to him—some 300,000 people by some estimates. And they were being baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. It appears that the people are preparing themselves! Yet, as the history of the people had shown, only time will tell if their repentance is true.
Now, John was a weird guy (v6). But Mark includes these details not just to say that John was a weird guy, or that he was poor, or that he was a desert dweller, but first because this was the uniform of a prophet (Zech 13:4 – “He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive), but secondly because this was the distinctive uniform of Elijah. 2 Kings 1:8, after King Ahaziah asks what the prophet wore, his servants respond, “He wore a garment of hair, with a blet of leather about his waist.” And the king knew exactly who it was, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.” And remember Elijah’s last known location: the Jordan River. And remember that Elijah himself had sojourned in the wilderness to mount Horeb for 40 days. So, when a guy appears in the wilderness, eating the food of the wilderness, wearing the uniform of Elijah, at Elijah’s last known location, he might as well be screaming that Elijah has come, the Lord is about to return! Judgement is coming! Therefore repent and prepare the way!
We even get a sample of his preaching, which is exactly this: “After me comes he who is mightier than I”—which, in OT terms uniformly means God himself, the one coming to save with a mighty arm and an outstretched hand—“the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie”—his dignity far exceeds my own—“I have baptized you with water”—for repentance in preparation for that one’s coming”—“but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” IN other words, he comes with the power to transform the heart, to take out the heart of stone, to put in the heart of flesh.
And so the same reality confronts us. Though for them Jesus had not yet died, risen, and ascended, they were confronted by the imminent coming of the King. Yet we also await for his return. And we are confronted by the exact reality they were: Who can stand in his presence? Who can endure his judgment? Therefore, repent of your sins! Be stricken and mourn. Turn away from your sin.
Oh that the Lord would pour out the gift of godly repentance on us! Oh that he would open our eyes to see the sins which we so often still commit against him! Oh that we would be cut to the heart and again cry out, “What must I do to be saved?” We need the godly grief that produces a repentance that leads to salvation. We must grieve over our wrongs, be eager to clear ourselves from those sins, be indignant that would could have offended our Savior so, stand in fear and trembling before his holiness, long that we would please him, be zealous to pursue righteousness, and be willing to endure the indignation of the Lord until he pleads our cause and executes judgment on our behalf. Prepare the way!
III. The Presence (1:9-13)
And yet the gospel is not merely a call to repentance, but a call to a sufficient Savior, which is what these verses hold out for us. And we might summarize it like this: Yahweh himself has come to identify with his people and lead them into salvation.
“In those days” – in the very days when John was preaching repentance, when the people were preparing themselves, when the arrival of God was imminent, Jesus comes. Even that small word points back. John said that after him would “come” one mightier than I. Now Jesus “comes” from Nazareth in Galilee. The implication is crystal clear—Jesus himself is God come to his people to judge and save them. The angel of Exodus had the name of God in him. Isaiah’s voice in the wilderness prepared the way for Yahweh and proclaimed the good news that they must “Behold your God!” Malachi’s messenger prepares the way of God himself to come and judge his people. Even as Mark says, “In those days, Jesus came.” Jesus, in still a yet mysterious and almost indefinably way, is Yahweh’s own presence come to judge and save.
And he is baptized! What does this mean? Not that Jesus had sins of which he needed to repent, but rather that he was joining his people in identification with them. Just as Isarel was “baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea”—their leader, shepherd, and anointed prophet and ruler—so also Jesus comes to identify with the people of God by himself being baptized. Just as Isarel passed over the Jordan river before Joshua (a Hebrew name, which translated into Greek is “Jesus”) to conquer the land, now Jesus stands before his people in the midst of the Jordan river saying, “I am your promised king and leader.”
And in that moment, he saw the heavens “torn open.” This is very distinctive language for Mark, and again draws on the OT. Isaiah in Isaiah 64:1 is disturbed by the intractable problem of Israel’s sin, and so he cries out to the Lord to come to his people and resolve the problem: “Oh that you would tear open the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence.” So Jesus, upon being baptized in their baptism, he comes up out of the water and immediately sees the heavens being “torn open” and the Spirit of God “descending upon him.” God has come to deal with his people. The presence of God has arrived in Jesus.
Yet, this presence of God is complicated. For the Spirit descends on him. And immediately we remember the shoot from the stump of Jesse who possesses the 7-fold Spirit of God; the Spirit being poured out by God upon the wilderness and it becoming a fruitful field (Isaiah 32:9), the servant of God upon whom God sets his “Spirit” in Isaiah 42:1. This presence of God is endowed with God’s Spirit to rescue his people.
Yet, becomes even more complicated, because the voice from heaven speaks to him calling him his “Son” and saying the is “well-pleased” with him. God has come to judge and save his people in Jesus Christ, and Jesus is the Son of God, chosen for this special task.
Yet, this Spirit drives him immediately into the wilderness. Why? Just as he identified with them in his baptism, now he identifies with them in the wilderness. Remember, they had gone out to John “in the wilderness” and how Jesus goes out into the wilderness himself. Not only this but he is in the wilderness 40 days—like Noah in the flood, or Moses on the Mountain, of Elijah in the desert, or Israel’s 40 years in the desert. And he was being tempted by Satan, just as Israel was tempted in the wilderness to grumble and intermarry and sin. He was even with the wild animals—a common theme in Isaiah to refer to the animals of the wilderness.
That’s where Jesus goes. Why does Mark tell us this? He reports no content, no conversation, no victorious outcome, no mention of fasting or prayer. Mark is trying to tell us that Jesus is driven into the wilderness in order to lead his people out of the wilderness, in which they found themselves because of sin and rebellion. He has not only come to judge, but he has also come to save us as our representative—the presence of God come to deliver his people out of the wilderness and into the promised land.
He is our representative! Remember, Jesus was made “in the likeness of sinful flesh, yet without sin” (Rom 8:3). “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb 4:15). Surely, Isaiah says, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows (Is 53:4).
Conclusion
So, the opening presentation of Jesus in Mark’s gospel is very clear: Jesus has come to judge and save. We must hear these warnings in closing.
Jesus has come to judge. Who can stand in his presence? Who can abide the wrath of God? Who can endure the fire of his judgement? Who can survive the trampling of the winepress? And he is coming again: Jesus will be “revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all those who have believed” (2 Thess 1:7–10).
Therefore, repent! Flee from the wrath to come! And it is coming swiftly, at a time we do not know! Turn away from your sins. Turn away from your pride, your idolatry, your vanity. Turn away from your rebellion against authority, against your parents, against God’s established authorities! Repent of your sexual immorality, your thieving, your greed, your injustices. Turn, that you may be healed.
Jesus has come to save. The Lord is a God “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty” (Ex 34:6-7). He has come as God’s own presence—the fullness of God dwelling bodily among us—to represent us and lead us to salvation. He died to cancel the record of debt that stood against us and promises that if we trust him, if we throw ourselves on his mercy, that he will forgive us, save us, transform us, and glorify us.
Do not be as the characters in the story will prove to be. Have ears to hear. Jesus did not come with fanfare and trumpet. Nobody knew it was him except him and John. He came as one among thousands. The kingdom of God does not come in that way. But rather it comes quietly, unnoticed, unannounced, in the secret places of the heart, all preparing the coming of the Lord.