The Gospel according to Mark (Part 1)

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The Gospel according to Mark

(Part 1)

Welcome to Jesus Church here and online

Today we start a journey through the life and ministry of Jesus

• What better way to start 2023 than to follow Jesus though his life
  • Whats sorta cool is in 1 month Michelle and I will be there
  • So definitely will be some personal experience in this from that
• Many people refer to Mark as the ADD gospel
  • Because you start and really hit the ground running
  • From one story to the next – It’s the shortest of the gospels by far
• But the real reason is because writing on paper was super expensive
  • They used something called papyrus…
  • So you would want to get as many words on a page as possible
  • Because each and every letter would count
    • So every word (especially if you’re poor) was so important
    • No Table of Contents / No Preface / No Nothing

And the most important of all the words were the 1st ones used (enkipid)

• The Enkipid was basically a summary of entire book in one sentence
  • So they would set the tone for everything that would follow
  • Which means… all Mark says is crammed into this 1 sentence
• And if you could wrap your head around that line
  • You could understand everything that came after
  • So lets read this opening line and unpack it for the next 4 months

Mark 1:1

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah the Son of God.

[PRAY]

Story

Anyone here like tacos – like carne asada with a good marinade – Salsa

• First time I had carne asada was on a missions trip to Tajuana
  • I was just obsessed after that
  • They were making fun of me because I was eating so much
  • I love steak… I love cilantro… I love little corn tortillas
    • Its literally a match made in heaven
• I’m making some of you hungry right now huh? Nachos after service
  • We used to live in Colorado Springs – Friend made insane tacos
  • It was basically like I was back in Tajuana
  • “Wanna come over for dinner? YES MAKE TACOS”
• So I’m always searching for somewhere that makes amazing tacos
  • We go to Tacos Calafia (Bell & 16^th st / Thunderbird & 83^rd)
  • And I don’t know… but I think its amazing
  • And I would eat there every day if I could
    • Why – Because I absolutely love Carne Asada Tacos
    • So you should eat there too… life is too short
    • Go eat tacos

Now why am I talking so much about Carne Asada tacos… I’m serious here

• I’m talking about something that I love… and you should love too
  • And we can all relate to that
  • Ben/Dom can talk about the Buffalo Bills
  • Tim can talk about hunting
  • Joshua can talk about building tractors
• Its fine b/c who doesn’t like someone that’s excited about something
  • There just a natural overflow when you love something
  • And you’ll talk about it… defend it… try and clarify about it…
  • And you’ll want to by nature know what others think about it too
    • And then once you hear what others have to say
    • You give them your perspective… why you agree or disagree
    • Why – Because those tacos have changed your life

And of course the relates really well when talking about Jesus

• Because when Mark starts his gospel… he does it out of his passion
  • With a goal to present story after story (no commentary) of Jesus
  • And allow you to wrestle with who you think Jesus is
  • Believing if you read these stories you’ll see Jesus as Mark does
• So what is the goal here… read these stories
  • Why – Believing that by the end we’ll see Jesus as Mark does
  • And as we wrestle through the stories… we will grown in faith

Mark 1:1-3 (So again… this is how Mark chooses to start the story)

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah the Son of God…

• Here “The Beginning” is not Genesis like in Matthew… its Arche
  • Which means the activating cause of the Good News (Gospel)

Don’t know about you… Seems the words Good/News are like oil & water

• Studies will tell you that around 90% of news stories are negative
  • In fact on News site posted only positive stories for one day
  • Lost 2/3rds of their readers from it
• We use words like Apocalypse… Bombshell… Career Ending… Scandal
  • Because headlines cause you to look, read and to click
  • And honestly it’s the best way to get eyes on what you’re writing
• But its also destroying our minds and those of our children
  • The emotional trigger of NEG stories always be stronger than POS
  • Because our brains actually respond quicker to fear than peace
  • Which makes sense from a survival perspective

So when Mark says “GOOD NEWS”… we need to soak that in

• Because to many of us… this is a foreign concept
  • Maybe it’s a bitter concept – Because you received bad news
  • Maybe it’s a mythical concept – Because you waited for so long
• But to Mark… these words mean something very different than to us
  • Gospel to Mark was the word: Euengellion
  • While the phrase today is very Christian… then it was very secular
  • In fact it was a politically charged word used by Rome
• Gospel was an announcement that would be sent all over Rome
  • And it would only happen (rarely) when 1 of 2 things took place
    • 1: There was a new Caesar born or put on the throne
    • 2: There was a large victory won for the Roman Empire

But Marks Gospel isn’t about Rome… its about Jesus

• Mark knows the expectation of what GOSPEL would make you think
  • 1: There is a new King who has been put on the throne
  • 2: There is a victory that has been won
• And then Mark after just saying this is the beginning
  • Brings us back to a story before the story of Jesus

“…the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet (so way back 100’s of years before) “I will prepare your way, a voice of one calling in the wilderness ‘ prepare the way of the Lord, make straight paths for him”.

But I thought this was the beginning of the story

• It is the beginning of this story… but its also part of a bigger story
  • Its a story that starts within another story
  • Sorta like LOTR – story starts… all know that’s not the beginning
• So its a story within a story… about what Mark calls “Good News”
  • So if we get this first line we can get the whole thing
  • And this sentence revoles around the good news “OF” Jesus
  • But what actually is this good news

Marks gonna keep using this phrase

Mark 1:14-15

After John (the Baptist) was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good new of God…

• So if you ever want to hear what the Good News is from the source
  • And what does Jesus say it is (Verse 15)
    • The time has come… something has come near
    • And that something is… Kingdom of God

… “the time has come”, he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

There’s the word again… but now with more context on what it means

• Repent and believe the good news (Which is what?)
  • The Kingdom of God has come near
• Which is interesting because most people think the Good News
  • Is us leaving this place and going to heaven
  • But are we going to that kingdom or is that kingdom coming to us
    • According to Jesus… Put aside tradition
    • Its that the good news is The Kingdom is coming to us

Remember: If you love something: Make sure people understand it

• Like you need to understand Taco’s Calafia is awesome
  • Mark loves Jesus… Mark loves the Gospel
  • And he is presenting the Gospel to us from the very beginning
• DIAGRAM – Standard cultural understanding of Good New (Draw Pic)
  • Good news is God made Earth here… heaven/hell at the end
  • We are on this timeline walking towards the end of a destination
• Now in the creation story… what does God create – Heaven/Earth
  • Does it say that God creates Heaven/Earth/Hell

So whatever Hell is – It comes at a later time

• Do I believe in Hell: Yes… Bible says it’s prepared for devil/demons
  • However the Bible doesn’t have a narrow view of what hell is
  • It isn’t just a location

Matt 16:18

The gates of hell will not prevail against the church

• So clearly that isn’t a destination… its something else that’s here
  • Hell is on the earth and fighting against Gods people
  • Rev. 20 – Death and Hell will be cast into the Lake of Fire
• And then the Bible even says Hell is something that we create
  • Like our decision to rebel against God and become independent
  • Or look at what Jesus’ brother says about Hell
  • And he references the tongue which we control

James 3:6

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

• So what are the implications – Hell isn’t just the endgame
  • Hell is a reality that is present now
  • And it’s a reality that humans unleash on each other
• Hell is something that we bring to Earth
  • And God hates hell
  • The story of the entire Bible is God wanting to heal his creation
  • And get the Hell OUT of earth

So Jesus comes on the scene with these words: The Good News

• And now is finally the time for God’s kingdom to make things right
  • And throughout Mark you will see story after story of Jesus
  • Confronting Hell and its devastating effects on God’s creation
  • So God wants to get the hell out of our world… hell out of you
• Diagram: So its more like Earth on the left… Heaven on the right
  • Sin is all over the earth… but
  • Jesus comes with the Good News (New King/Win War)
  • And he says the good news is the Kingdom has come to earth
• To do what… win the war against hell on earth
  • And to give authority to the new king in Jesus
  • Story Mark starts with is God coming here… not us going there

And this is GREAT NEWS… but its sorta a double edged sword

• Because we like God getting hell out – But don’t take me out
  • If I’m the reason hell is in world… Thats sorta scary
  • It can be bad news // It can also be good news
  • Because who is bringing… creating the hell on Earth (raise hand)
• If someone with a M-16 see’s me as the enemy – Very bad news
  • But if a surgeon comes with a knife and needs to cut you open
  • To take out some life threatening thing
  • Well that’s good news – Even if its painful

So how does Jesus (great physician) come to save us

Mark presents us with a Jesus we will wrestle with

• Today I’m telling you why he came… set up for the story
  • Next week we start building a story around what we think of Him
  • But know that His very reason for coming
  • Is to rid the world of sin and shame
• He does that by being the only person to live a sinless life
  • In a sin filled world
  • You just know this caused disturbances in the spiritual realm
• Until finally Jesus allowed that sin to overtake him… to kill him
  • And sin exhausted its power on him
  • Jesus literally had capacity in his perfection to swallow sin whole
    • And this is what we call the moment of the cross
    • Which brought the death/resurrection of Jesus
    • Also brought the death/resurrection of all creation

So this morning think again through the GOOD NEWS and stories of Jesus

• Remember in your world… in your situation… in your pain/suffering
  • God has Good News for you
  • And not just for someday when you get to heaven
  • But his desire (if you will let him) is to destroy hell in your life now

[PRAY]