<> (Download Audio) Mark's Presentation of Jesus Mark 1:2-8 Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 2 Study # 2 September 11, 2018 Moss Bluff, Louisiana 1901 ASV 2 Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way; 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight; 4 John came, who baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins. 5 And there went out unto him all the country of Judaea, and all they of Jerusalem; and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and [had] a leathern girdle about his loins, and did eat locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, There cometh after me he that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. 8 I baptized you in water; but he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit.

• I. Mark's Focus Upon Isaiah The Prophet.
  • A. It was in Isaiah that the prophecies of both aspects of "Jesus" and "Christ" were laid out in greater detail.
    • 1. This created a significant level of confusion in the minds of the students of the Word of God.
      • a. The theme of "Jesus", laid out by Isaiah in his prophecy of chapter 53, was a theme of consternation for the Jews because it emphasized all of that to which the sacrificial system pointed; an emphasis that has been "unpopular" from the beginning of time.
        • 1) In its earliest form, this "theme" laid the foundation for what people are now calling "the problem of evil".
        • 2) It "developed" over time into what the Scriptures call "a stumbling stone laid in Zion" and "a rock of offense" that Paul used to declare that the doctrine of the Cross was "unto the Jews a stumblingblock" (1 Corinthians 1:23).
      • b. The theme of "Christ", laid out by Isaiah in multiple contexts, but notable in the context of Isaiah 40, was a theme of victorious dominion by God's anointed King; a theme that has always been the more desirable of the two, but which steps past the nearer demand that sins be addressed before glory can be provided.
        • 1) The "glorious victory" is the desirable thesis, but it assumes that there will be some who get to participate in it.
        • 2) But participation in Messiah's victory means that actual human beings whose origins are corrupted by Sin can somehow be "qualified" to enter into the pure holiness of the Kingdom of God.
        • 3) In Messiah's "victory" all of the wicked are destroyed; but, since "all have sinned", all are characterized as "the wicked". To destroy them is to vacate the Kingdom so that there are no inhabitants.
    • 2. This created a faulty conclusion that there would be two "Messiahs" sent by God; a "Messiah ben Joseph" and a "Messiah ben Judah".
      • a. This false conclusion may well have been the foundation for John's question to Jesus, "Are You the One, or should we look for another?" (Matthew 11:2-3).
      • b. The New Testament conclusion was very far better: the is only one Messiah, but He had two related tasks and they were separated by Death and united by Resurrection.
        • 1) The "qualifying" of sinners for participation required the sacrificial death and burial of "Jesus".
        • 2) By resurrection out from the realm of Death, "Jesus" became the "Victorious Christ" Who is to come again to fulfill the desired theme.
      • c. The Jews had two Messiah's; Christians have One Messiah and two comings.
  • B. It is this "endurance" of the Word of God that is at issue in Isaiah 40:8.
• II. Mark's Actual Content is John As Fulfillment.
  • A. Legitimate prophecy will always be followed by fulfillment.
  • B. Mark's "beginning" argument is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is rooted in prophecy and established in history.