For a few weeks, we wanted to
look at the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark. We have already
looked at the first four verses. Today, we want to look at verses
5 to 8. I will read them to you. John appeared, baptizing in the
desert, and preaching the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness
of sins. All the land of Judah, and all
the inhabitants of Jerusalem went to him. And, confessing
their sin, he was baptized by him into the waters of the Jordan.
John had a garment of camel hair and a belt of leather around
the kidneys. He was nourished with wild sorrel and honey. He
preached, saying, He comes after me, the one who is more powerful
than me, and I am not worthy of disconnecting myself by lowering
the chain of these bondmen. I have baptized you with water. He will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit." In this passage, it is a question of John the
Baptist. Let us first look at the man
himself. Who was this John the Baptist?
According to the passages of the New Testament which speak
of him, we can see that he was a very humble man. We see it in this passage that
we read earlier. He was humble in his clothes. He wore, we read, in verse 6,
a camel fur garment and a leather belt around the kidneys. John
the Baptist gives us an example that we must follow, an example
of humility. An example is that one should
not be too attached to material goods. If there is one thing
that is evident in this world more than others, it is materialism. Men seem ready to spend most
of their time, or spend most of their energy, looking for
material things. And spiritual things do not interest
them. Yet, material things will pass,
life will come to an end, and after that comes judgment. Listen
carefully to this warning, taken from the example of John the
Baptist. Do not attach too much importance to material things,
but attach yourself above all to the things of God, which last
for all eternity. In second place, let us look
at the ministry of John the Baptist. What was his ministry? We see in verse 4 that he appeared. This is all that Mark says. Of
course, Luke will tell us more about the birth of John the Baptist,
but Mark is content to say that he appeared, because he was sent
by God, at the moment chosen by God. The plan of God is perfect. He has a moment for everything. This is what we must understand,
because we have many questions that we could ask ourselves today
about the plan of God. There are people who ask the
question, why does he not intervene in the affairs of the world to
stop wars? The answer to this question is
simple. He will do it one day when Christ comes back, but it
is not yet the time. But then you say, why does Christ
not come back now to stop all these wars and remove the suffering
of the world? And once again, the answer is
the same, it is not yet the moment desired by God. God has a moment
for everything. But also notice, as far as the
ministry of John the Baptist is concerned, that he had success.
In verse 5 we read, All the land of Judah and all the inhabitants
of Jerusalem went to him, and, confessing their sins, they were
baptized by him in the waters of the Jordan. What a success
it was to see the people of the city and the countryside come
in great crowds, not only to listen to the message, but to
answer and be baptized. When God is at work, there is
success. He alone can convince men of
sin and lead them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. We
are sometimes obsessed with a desire to have success in our ministry,
and so we try to use all kinds of means to provoke results. But, you know, these results
will not last, for they will be superficial. The Spirit of
God must manifest itself and do a profound work, otherwise
it will not last. In third place, let us look at
the message of John the Baptist. Come, let us read verse 4, preaching
the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Mark
has written his Gospel in Greek, and we have before us a translation
of Greek. However, when we look at Greek,
we see that what Mark writes is not quite what we have in
the French translation. There is a word that changes,
and it is important. It is the word for. Mark uses a little Greek word,
ais. and we find this little word
371 times in the New Testaments, and it is translated by the word
« dans » and not by « pour », as we have it in this passage
of Mark 1. Thus, we can as well read in
this passage, and we should do so, Jean appeared baptizing in
the desert and preaching the baptism of repentance in the
forgiveness of sins. The baptism followed the confession
of sins and forgiveness. It is not baptism that brought
forgiveness. And today it is the same thing.
It is not baptism that saves man. Baptism must follow the
confession of his sin to God, and the forgiveness that God
gives to those who do it. But look again at what this passage
tells us about the ministry of John the Baptist. During John's
time, crowds were used to great Roman shows, arenas, crowds,
and everything that went with it. But we read that John was
alone, and alone in the desert. What a contrast! Why did he go
into the desert all alone while the crowds were in the big cities? He went into the desert because
God sent him. Perhaps I am speaking to someone
now who thinks that his ministry cannot be effective because he
is alone in his little corner, perhaps even sick in a room that
he cannot get out of. Know this, dear friend, that
if God has placed you there, then you can be effective if
you are faithful to the message that God has entrusted to you. God has his plan, and his plan
is not the same for all. He sent others before the crowds,
like Peter at the yoke of Pentecost, but John the Baptist, he sent
in the desert. and the crowds came to Him. And
the message that we have to present to you is the same that was preached
by John the Baptist, by Peter, and by the other disciples. It
is that we are all sinners before God, that we need the forgiveness
of God, and that this forgiveness is found only in Jesus Christ,
who died for our sins. So come in repentance and faith
to Jesus Christ today. We are always very happy to receive
letters from our listeners. If you have a problem, or if
you think that we can help you, write to us and we will be very
happy to answer you. Here is the address to which
you must write. Listen to the truth, Postal Box
505 71322 Chalon-sur-Saône It's written C-H-A-L-O-N France I
repeat this address Echo of the truth Postal Box 505 71 322, Chalon-sur-Saône, France. J'ai du sang pour l'aujourd'hui
Jusque par-delà les mers J'ai du sang pour l'aujourd'hui Que
d'accord de l'autre côté Ouvre-là chaque parole He will never be
no star, Jesus of all the world