Turn to Mark chapter 1. Lord willing, I want to go through
this book over the next few months. It says the gospel according to Saint Mark. A few years ago, well, some years
ago, a young lady took issue with calling anyone a saint here
on this earth. She did not think that we were
saints, and she wasn't Catholic either. She didn't think that
we were saints until we died And we were in heaven. And that's
not so. If you're not a saint here, you
won't be one there. Saint is to be sanctified, isn't it? It's
to be set apart. It's to be chosen of God, set
apart, and made holy. We have been set apart, believers,
all God's children have been set apart Chosen in Christ before
the foundation of the world and made holy in Christ. Saints. I'm looking at some saints. Some sanctified sinners. Saved by the grace of God. Saint Mark. Now who was Mark? Matthew. was an apostle. John was an apostle. Luke was a physician. He wrote
the book of Acts. But Mark, who's Mark? First thing that hit my mind
when I started reading, I read this first chapter the last couple
of days or so, and the first thing that hit my mind was Mark.
This one's a little unusual. This one's unusual. He was Barnabas's
nephew. And for a while he traveled with
Barnabas and Paul in the ministry. But he decided one day to leave. And he knew, he said, he did
not like to serve. He left the ministry. He left the service. of God and
he went back home. I want you to turn to Acts chapter
15. In Acts chapter 15, look at this. In Acts 15, look in verse 36. Let me see if I've got the right
one, Acts 15, 36. Yeah, here it is. And some days, in verse 36,
and some days after Paul said it to Barnabas, let us go again
and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the
word of the Lord and see how they do. And Barnabas determined
to take with him John, that is John Mark, who was surnamed Mark. But Paul thought not good to
take him with them, who departed from them, from Pamphylia, and
went not with them to the work. He knew, he said, he did not
like to serve. So he did not go with them. He
went back to Jerusalem. He left Paul. And Paul and Barabbas,
look here, and the contention was so sharp between Paul and
Barabbas that they departed asunder one from the other, and so Barnabas
took Mark and sailed unto Cyprus, and Paul chose Silas and departed,
being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God." They
had a strong, a strong falling out over Mark. Paul said, he's
not going. He left us. That young man left
us in the heat of the battle, and he's not going with us. And
their contention was so sharp that it separated Paul and Barnabas,
the two brethren. But they separated over this.
But time goes by, doesn't it? And grace is always at work.
In God's people, grace is always at work. Turn over to 2 Timothy. This is what just stood out to
me, is the grace of God. In 2 Timothy chapter 4, look in verse 10. For Demas hath forsaken
me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica,
Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia, Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, John Mark, the one
they had such sharp contentions over, and bring him with thee,
for he is profitable to me for the ministry." That's grace. Look over at Colossians chapter
four. Colossians chapter four. In Colossians chapter 4, hook
in verse 10, there's Marcus, my fellow prisoner, salutes you,
and Marcus, that's John Mark, that's who he's talking about,
sister and son to Barnabas, touching whom he received commandments.
If he come to you, you receive him. This is the one that has
such strong contentions over who wrote the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. One of the writers of the Gospel.
Now, why did I bring all this up? Why is this important? I'll tell you why it's important
to this man. I'll tell you why. God uses sinners to preach to
sinners. We shouldn't be so quick to put
a checkmark on somebody and write them off. We would have marked,
and Paul did there at one time. Paul didn't want him around.
And then Paul said, no, you bring him. He's profitable to me in
a minute. Whatever happened between that space and time there, the
Lord was at work. His grace was at work and he
brought this young man around. And Paul says, now he's profitable
to me in the ministry. Profitable to me. God uses sinners
to preach to sinners. God's preachers, and you remember
this, are not flawless men. They are not flawless men. They're just men saved by God's
grace. given the gift to preach, to
communicate the gospel, but they're still just men. They're still
just men. They are sinners like everyone
else. Now, in the book of Mark, and you'll see this as we go
through it, Mark mainly focuses on the mighty works of our Lord
more than what our Lord said. You know, you go through Matthew
and John and Luke. They have a lot to say about
what our Lord said. And Mark quotes what our Lord said, He
speaks more often about what he did, about what he did, his
person, his work. Now let's look in verse 1. And
verse 1 is the one I'm going to deal with tonight. So we might
get through this real quick. I just talk real slow. But verse
1 sets the tone for all that follows. Look at it. The beginning of the gospel of
Jesus Christ the Son of God. That sets the tone for the whole,
everything else he has to write. And this is Mark's telling of
the gospel of Christ. But we know this, we know this,
this is not the beginning of the gospel. Two thousand years
ago and Mark not writing, his writings are not the beginnings.
The gospel began before the world did. Look over in Revelation
chapter 14. Look in verse 6. And I saw another angel fly in
the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that
dwell on the earth and to every nation and kindred and tongue
and people. But he had the everlasting gospel. The gospel, the gospel
had its beginning before creation. The good news started before
creation. It started before God created
the first thing. And then in time, in the Garden
of Eden, after Adam fell, God said to Satan, the seed of the
woman is going to bruise your head. You are going to bruise
his heel. And you can get over that. You
can get a bruised heel and get over that, can't you? You can't get
over a crushed head. But he's going to crush your
head. The seed of the woman. Later he told Abraham that his
seed, through his seed, all the all the families of the earth
would be blessed. Who is that seed? Look over in Galatians
chapter 3. Galatians chapter 3. In verse 16. Now to Abraham and
his seed were the promises made. Galatians 3.16. He saith not
unto seed as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed which
is Christ." The gospel was given in the Garden
of Eden, the seed of the woman. The gospel was given to Abraham,
that same seed. He's speaking of the same seed.
And that seed is Christ. See, the gospel was back in eternity
before the world began. The gospel was in the Garden.
And the gospel is all throughout the Old Testament. When God told
Noah to build an ark, He preached the gospel to him.
I tell you what, every time Noah drove a spike or a nail, whichever
one he had, every time he drove it, he was preaching the gospel.
Every board, every plank that was laid on that ark and fastened
to that ark, the gospel was being preached. This is the ark. Those
on this ark are the ones who are going to be saved. Those
who are outside of this ark are going to perish. Noah preached to them for, it
says, 120 years. A preacher of righteousness. That
Passover lamb, it screams the gospel. When I see the blood, I will
pass over you. Those who were under the blood
were safe. Those who were not under the
blood, the firstborn died. Or the gospel has been preached
since the beginning. Since the beginning. The priesthood. There's too many types for me
to even start mentioning. I mean, I can go through, you
know, frankly through the tabernacle here and not too long ago, all
that speaks of Christ. You can just take book after
book after book of the Old Testament and it's Christ, Christ, Christ. So even though Mark calls it
the beginning, it's the beginning of him writing about it. And
I'll tell you what else it's the beginning of. It's the beginning
of the gospel going throughout the world. Because until Christ
died and rose again and sent it back to the Father, Everything
was contained pretty much right there with that one little nation.
Boy, after that, he said, you go preach the gospel to all the
world. To all the world. Now, we can read it like this.
Turn back there. To Mark chapter one. The beginning
of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can read it like this. The
beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Look over in
Luke chapter 2. The gospel is good news. That's
what it is. It's good news for the guilty, if you're not guilty.
And I guess it's not good news. There's not any kind of news
to you. But if you're a guilty sinner, you need mercy, it's
good news. He says in Luke chapter 2, in
verse 10, And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. All people, the beginning of
good news. to all people, not just a little
nation, but to all people in Africa, America, China, Mexico,
you name it. It's good news to all people
because God has a people out of every kindred, tribe, tongue,
and nation under heaven. Fear not. Behold, I bring you
good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. Jesus Christ is the good news
of the gospel. He is the good news. He's the
good news. Well, what's the good news about?
What's it all about? If he's the good news, then what's
it all about? Well, it's about, first of all, grace for the guilty. It's about righteousness for
those who need it and don't have it. It's about redemption. It's about pardon. It's about
forgiveness. It's good news. But the good
news here, the good news that we have in the gospel, I say
it is Jesus Christ. The good news is found in his
name. Jesus Christ. The son of God. Look over in Matthew chapter
1. In Matthew chapter 1, look in verse 21. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus. Over in the margin, what's
it say? Savior. Savior. For He shall save His people
from their sins. Nobody else can do that. No one
can save me from my sins but the Lord Jesus Christ. And He
can do it. He can do it. His name means
Savior. And what He saves us from is our sins. Our sins. When sin is conceived,
it brings forth, the scripture says, death. That's what he has
saved us from. He saved us from our sins. He
has saved us from death. He has saved us from the wrath
of God. That's what he has saved us from. All the good news is found in
his name, Savior. Does anyone need a Savior from
sins? Do you have any sins? Oh, I know
you've got them. Do you want to get rid of them?
There's the question. It's not whether or not you've
got them. Do you want to get rid of them? Lord, cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I mean, is there a hunger and
a thirst after His righteousness? Is there a real desire to be
cleansed of God? that all my sins are gone, or
does it really not matter? He's a Savior from sin. It says in the Scriptures that He
bore our sins in His body on the tree. And if He did that
for me, if He bore my sins in His body on the tree, I don't
have to bear them. They are gone. I know I sinned. I know I have sinned in this
body of flesh. I know I've got it. But as far
as God's concerned, they're gone. He's put them away. He shall
save His people, which, like I said, He has a
people out of every kindred, tongue, tribe, and nation on
earth. He shall save His people from their sin. I said to a man
years ago, I talked to him about salvation and sins, and he made
fun of it. He made fun of it. Oh, the Lord
is going to say, what do I need to be saved from? He was making
fun of the word salvation and being saved. He was making fun
of it. God worked with him. He won't make fun of it
when it's over. Sin and sins are very serious. There are people in hell right
now forever and ever and ever because of sin. And he put that
away. He put my sins away. Is that
good news? Is that the good news of Jesus
Christ? That's real good news. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. Healed. Now, here's the second part of
His name. Christ. Christ. Jesus, Savior. If God has not appointed him,
he can't be a savior. No more than I can be a preacher
if God hasn't called me to preach. But his name is Jesus Christ,
the anointed. It means anointed and it means
appointed. That's what it means. He is the
anointed. He is the appointed Savior. He
is the anointed. He is the appointed mediator
between God and men. Not man, men. He's the only mediator there
is between God and men. And God appointed him. God anointed
him to that office. He's the only appointed and anointed
advocate. We have an advocate with the
Father. Well, who made Him the advocate?
God made Him the advocate. God the Father made Him my advocate,
your advocate. We have one who stands between
us and God. We have an umpire. That's what we have. We have one to plead our case.
We have one who stands there and answers every demand of the
law that's against me, and he answers it. He is the appointed and anointed
prophet. He's the prophet of the prophets.
Moses said that God would call and raise up a prophet like unto
him, him shall you hear. Christ is that prophet. A prophet
is one who represents God to the people. As I hear, he said,
I speak. No man knows the Father save
the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him. He's
that prophet who takes the things of God and reveals them to us. But not only is the anointed
appointed prophet, he is the anointed and appointed Priest. Now what is the priest's job?
What's his responsibility? It's to represent me to God. Turn over to Hebrews chapter
9. Hebrews chapter 9, verse 11 and 12. Let me get over here. But Christ,
the anointed, the appointed Savior, being come a high priest of good
things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not
made with hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither
by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered
in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption
for us. Now look over in verse 24. For
Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands,
which are the figures of the truth, but into heaven itself,
now to appear in the presence of God for us. Now to appear in the presence
of God and represent us. Do you find that to be good news? I don't want to represent me.
I don't want to do that at all. He has entered into heaven itself. This man has entered into heaven
itself. He's taken possession of heaven
itself, the Holy of Holies. He's gone where no man ever went
before. And he's taken possession of
it. He's not there. He has taken possession of it.
And He's there representing us. Our representative is seated
at the right hand of God in the Holy of Holies. And then He is the anointed and
the appointed King. King of kings and Lord of lords. He reigns over our enemies. He reigns, our Lord reigns right
now over all things. He rules and reigns in the hearts
of His people. He rules and reigns over the
universe. He rules and reigns over all
principalities and powers. He rules and reigns over this
whole world. He rules and He's reigning right
now. He is the anointed and the appointed
king and he cannot be dethroned. All other kings you can dethrone.
They can be dethroned. Not this one. Not this one. Right now, this world, this world,
all creation in heaven and earth, all creation is under the theocracy
of Jesus Christ. That's good news. That's real
good news. And then last of all, we'll go back to Mark. The beginning of the gospel of
Jesus Christ. And here's the third part of
that good news. The Son of God. The Son of God. Not a mere man,
though He is a man now. He is a very real man. A man
without sin, but a very real man. But this man is the Son
of God incarnate. God in human flesh. If Jesus
Christ is not Almighty God, then He's not a Savior. He's not a
Savior. There have been enough men who've
lived, if that was the case, they could have got the job done.
And if He's not God, He would have fallen right there in the
wilderness just like Adam did in the Garden of Eden. He would have fallen. But He's
God. He's God. The salvation that
we need is such that only God can produce. Is that not right? Only God can produce the salvation
that you and I need. The righteousness that we need,
that we so desperately need and that God demands, only God can
produce it. Only the God-man can produce
it. The blood that we need for atonement
for our sins, to satisfy God's law, only God can produce it. It says over in the book of Acts,
which God purchased with His own blood. It's called the blood
of God over in the book of Acts. I think it's 20 or 28. Acts 20,
I think it is. 20, 28 or somewhere in there.
It's in Acts. But the blood that we need, so
desperately need, only God can produce it. The
satisfaction, the law of demands, only God can produce it. the
righteousness that God demands, only God can produce it. The
only obedience that the law can be satisfied with is one that
only God can produce. The beginning of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God. the Son of the living God, God
incarnate. Now, brethren, that's good news.
That's a salvation that we cannot lose. If God produced it, we
can't lose it. We cannot lose it. I will close
with Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2. Look at verse 9, For in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality
and power. You're complete in him because
of who he is. I tell you what, you take away
the deity of Christ. You just read it like this, the
beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You take away his deity and it
all falls. It absolutely all falls. It all hinges on this. Who is
this man? Mark tells us. He's the Son of
God. And that's good news. Because
it says in Isaiah 42, he will not fail. As God, he cannot fail. Cannot do it.