The Gospel
Account of Mark
The book
of Mark is a rapid-fire account of Jesus’ life.
It almost reads like a bullet list of events because Mark doesn’t waste
any time. He doesn’t usually bother elaborating
on the basic details of a story. He doesn’t
look to record extended sermons of Jesus or lengthy conversations that the Lord
had. Mark is mainly concerned about what
Jesus did. The miracles he performed, the activities he
was involved with, the visible acts of love and mercy and power that he displayed
throughout his life. And so when the
author Mark writes about the baptism of Jesus, he doesn’t say anything about
the conversation that Jesus had with John the Baptist leading up to that event
like the book of Matthew does. And when
Mark tells us about the story of Jesus being led into the desert to be tempted
by the devil, he doesn’t spend thirteen verses on that battle like Luke does -
instead Mark describes that confrontation in just two verses. No matter what Mark writes about he always seems
to want to get to the point as quickly as possible and move on. And you can see that from the very first
chapter of his book.
At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in
Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open
and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I
am well pleased.” At once the Spirit sent
him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by
Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. That’s as much as Mark tells us about these
two monumental events in Jesus’ life.
Short and sweet and to the point.
But even though he doesn’t say a lot, what he does tell us is enough to
make us sit up and notice at least two things: 1) how soon Jesus got to work
for our salvation the moment he began his public ministry and 2) his
willingness to do it. For the first 30
years of Jesus’ life he wasn’t involved with preaching and teaching in a public
capacity. But from the moment he was
baptized and the Father spoke from heaven claiming him as his Son and the Holy
Spirit physically came down in the form of a dove, his public service
officially began. And once it started he
jumped into action and never looked back.
What Moved Him?
Notice
that Jesus didn’t bask in the glow of that baptismal event for any length of
time. He didn’t go to Jerusalem and look
for a part time job to generate some income.
He didn’t try to ease his way into this new preaching and teaching gig
by taking his time. No, Mark clearly
says that right after Jesus was baptized “At once the Spirit sent him out into
the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan.” There was no pause. There was no down time. Jesus went right into the desert to be
harassed and harangued by the devil himself for over a month straight! And if we were to read on in the book of Mark,
the very next couple verses after this showdown in the desert talk about Jesus
going on a preaching tour among the people; the next three verses speak about the
calling of Andrew and Peter as his original disciples; and the next two verses after
that describe the calling of James and John.
And so within the span of 11 verses in the middle of Mark’s very first
chapter, Jesus goes from a man no one knows to a well-known leader with 4 of
his 12 disciples already in tow. Now there
were certainly other things that happened in between these events recorded for
us in the book of Mark. But when you
read through his account you can start to clearly see all of the things that
Jesus did for the good of our salvation and how tireless he was in that
pursuit. He did not let up. He did not hold back. He forged ahead at a frantic pace, pushing
his human body to the extremes every single day.
But
why? Why would God himself, for whom the
skies ripped open when he was baptized, about whom the Father audibly spoke
from heaven for all to hear, upon whom the Holy Spirit physically rested in
visible form… why would this almighty God do the things that he did on this
earth? What moved him to allow himself
to be lead into the desert just to be tormented by the angel he had kicked out
of heaven? What moved him to immediately
begin preaching the gospel to a people who did not want to hear it? What moved him to soon after pick disciples
who would end up letting him down on a number of occasions and actually run
away from him at the end of his life? That
which moved Jesus to do everything that Mark tells us he did was you.
You were
Jesus’ motivation. You were the reason
he instantly threw himself into the gauntlet of temptation and persecution. You were the goal. You were the prize. You were the person always on his mind as he
suffered and agonized and endured everything that he had to undergo. Because your life was at stake. Your forgiveness was on the line. Your eternity was hanging in the balance and
so Jesus did not hesitate to sacrifice every ounce of energy and every minute
of his time to win it for you. From the
Jordan River to the desert to Capernaum to the villages throughout Galilee and
beyond, Jesus instantly dedicated every waking moment to your salvation. And he did not stop until it was finished.
A Lack of
Dedication
Do you
know the story behind the race that we now call the “marathon”? It is said that this 26.2 mile contest came
into existence in commemoration of a man named Phidippides who ran 26 miles from
the plains of Marathon to the Greek city of Athens in order to announce a great
victory over the Persian army. But
because Phidippides had been called on to run several hundred miles just before
the battle began to gather support from the Spartans, this final 26 mile run
was his last. Because he ran so hard and
so fervently from Marathon to Athens, after he delivered his message to the
anxious citizens of Athens he collapsed and died from exhaustion.
Phidippides
had undoubtedly ran with a single-minded purpose. He was intent on doing what needed to be done
and he was not going to let anything keep him from it. He did not stop. He did not get distracted. He spent himself; he drained himself of
everything he had, moved by the message he carried.
We as
Christians should have a
single-minded purpose as well. We should
be absolutely intent on doing everything that the Lord has asked us to do and
carrying out everything that the Lord wants us to carry out. We should be so focused on our God and his
Word that we do not stop, that we do not get distracted by things around
us. We should be so moved by our desire
to thank our Lord that we spend ourselves, completely drain ourselves of
everything we have. As Christians, we
should be none other than a spiritual Phidippides on this 26.2 mile course of
life.
But I sure
can’t claim that kind of dedication. I
can’t in good conscience brag that I have completely spent myself and fully drained
myself for the Lord throughout my life.
In fact, the only claim I could make is to have done the opposite. The Lord hasn’t always been the motivation
for the things I have done. His Word has
not always been the reason behind the words I’ve said. His wishes have not always inspired the
things I have thought. I’ve slowed my pace
at times so that I could have some energy left for what I want and what I like. I’ve stopped at times because something on
the side of the road seemed a little more interesting than the course I was
on. I’ve sat down and rested at times
because being a Christian isn’t easy and it’s hard to constantly be on top of
everything that the Lord says all the time.
It’s exhausting. It’s tiring. It’s time consuming. But it’s no excuse.
He is Still
Moved by Us
At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in
Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open
and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I
am well pleased.” At once the Spirit
sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being
tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. Jesus didn’t come to this earth and undergo
everything that Mark talks about because the Lord expected that we would return
the favor. He didn’t go out into the
desert to fight the devil because he thought we would always fight for him. Jesus didn’t tirelessly continue on towards
hatred and abandonment and unjust punishment because we would be able to somehow
pay him back in some way. Jesus did what
he did because that’s what we needed him to do.
That’s it. He was moved by us. He was moved by our helplessness. He was moved by our hopelessness. He was moved by what he wanted for us. He was so moved that he gave up his own life
for us! But Jesus wasn’t just moved by
us in the past. He still is.
Jesus
still is moved by our situation. And so
as he sits on his throne next to his Father, he continues to act and control
and guide and steer and shape things that happen in this world for your
benefit. You could even go as far to say
that, according to what the Bible says about our Lord, everything single thing
he does is with you on his mind. He
places the stars in the skies and directs the planets in their orbits for
you. He sends the rains and makes the
sun shine for you. He opens different
doors and provides various opportunities for you. He preserves his Word and announces his
forgiveness and clarifies the effects of his cross for you. He truly is moved by you. And as far as we know: there is nothing else
he thinks about other than you.
He is Our
Motivation
How can we not be moved by this kind of love? How can we not be motivated by our Lord’s dedication to us and to his constant care and attention? His devotion to us is so overwhelming - especially since we don’t deserve a second of his time or an ounce of his affection. And yet he gives it to us every day in thousands of ways and he always will.
I would
hope that Jesus was your motivation for coming here today - for singing loudly,
for listening intently, for praying passionately. But as you go back home this afternoon, don’t
let that motivation slip away. Keep
Jesus as the reason you say the words that you say to that family member who
gets on your nerves. Keep Jesus as the
motivation for how you are going to do the things you do this evening. Keep Jesus as the source of what you want to
think about. And it doesn’t have to be
something extraordinary! You can cook a
meal with Jesus as your motivation! You
can fix a doorknob with Jesus as your motivation! You can walk the dog with Jesus as your
motivation! The simple everyday things
that you do and say can and should be moved by your Lord. Enjoy it!
Work on it! Consciously think
about it today: “How can I thank my Lord by what I do? How can I thank my Lord by what I say? How can I thank my Lord by how I act?” Because just as you are his motivation, he is
yours. What other motivation do you
need? What better motivation could there
be?
Phidippides
was certainly motivated. He ran and he
ran hard. But he didn’t run for
himself. There was something bigger,
something greater he was running for. We
have something bigger and greater to run for us well. But we don’t run to get to heaven, we run
because Jesus has already promised us that prize when we reach the finish
line. And so we run in thanks, in
praise, in a deep gratitude for what our Lord has done. And so run hard. Enjoy it!
But run hard. Run as Christ has
already run for you.
Amen.
“May the Lord
Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us
eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you
in every good deed and word.” - 2 Thess.
2:16-17
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