Mark 1:4-8
Feb 21st, 2010 by David
Today was a ‘swap Sunday’ where the guys at our two sites swap pulpits. The same rules apply – My notes on his sermon; mistakes are attributable to me by default; no comments today.
Intro:
A vacation in 2002 took in South Dakota and was much enjoyed. All the usual suspects were there; Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, even Wall Drug and, of course, the Badlands. The Badlands looked like a scifi movie set. Harsh, rugged, sweeping canyons and soaring mesas with shades of red and burnt orange. Still, despite the hostility of the landscape, it was strangely beautiful. But despite the beauty it was still called the ‘Bad Lands’ for a reason, it was hostile to life. Bad lands, indeed.
Hendrikson, in his commentary on Mark, says words to the effect that “John was preaching in rolling badlands.” The imagry is one of desolation, hostile, snake-filled, ruined country – just like the South Dakota badlands.
Part I:
Mark continues to camp in the wilderness in these next verses of his introduction. In fact, he uses the term wilderness 4 times in the opening 13 verses that introduce the gospel. The word he uses is <greek> and means desert. In ancient near eastern speak, desert means not only a lack of water, but carries the sense of something derelict. A ruin. A place where hunmanity has withdrawn, leaving behind demons. In Scripture, however, wilderness caries a two-fold aspect: A place of moral disolution, but also a place of spiritual renewal.
The wilderness tests and strengthens those in it. (Hos 13:4-5; Gal 1:17; Heb 11:37-40)
In Mark we see this dualism. John is bringing, or proclaiming, spiritual renewal in the desert and John the Baptist climaxes in spiritual revival as we see in John 5.
There are still hints of the desolation. John is a wild guy, a peculiar guy. His wardrobe is odd and points to his prophetic office. The leather belt (cf 2 Kings 1:8) and the camel hair robe (cf Zech 13:4) point to the prophetic nature of his ministry. His diet, too, was odd eating locusts and wild honey. Leviticus 11:22 tells us that locusts were ‘clean’ and ok to eat but still they cannot have been preferable to eat. Wild honey was a gift from God for dealing with eating locusts.
Part II
Verses 7-8 are the main topic of JtB’s preaching and extol the ‘one to come’. John does not focus on himself but the king who is coming. For John, it is not the preaching or the baptism that is primary – but the one yet to come. John was not the ‘groom’ but the ‘best man’; not the star but servant. Imagine a matron of honor who stops a wedding to complain that the bride is getting too much attention and it is, after all, the matron’s special day too! Imagine a best man who gave the speech at the reception and extolled his own virtues and did not speak of the groom at all.
JtB realizes his role as ‘best man’ to the groom, Jesus. We, too, often make it about ‘us’ and not about ‘Him.’
John says the baptism of Jesus is greater than his own, John is a big, strong, tough, guy (you don’t live in the desert eating bugs and wearing camel hair and be a wuss) but tells us the coming one is even more mighty.
Again, in the ancient near eastern world of that time, the job of unlatching sandals was for the lowest of the low. Contemporary proverbs point to the difference between a slave and a disciple being none. They were identical in every way – save one. A disciple was not to undo a master’s sandals.
And yet, JtB puts himself below even the most menial, lowly slave. Even less than the scumiest servant is JtB compared to Jesus. John goes out of his way to raise Christ and lower himself.
Wilderness living then:
- Lowers dependance on self
If the land is too poor to farm, to lousy to sustain animals, too miserable to hunt ad you don’t even have a box for your camel hair robe – you increase your reliance on God.
- Lowers reliance on stuff
And increases reliance on the provider of stuff. And don’t we get bored with stuff? To a rich man, water is boring. The thirst is for soda or milk or beer or wine. He sneers at water. Yet, in the desert, water is a delight and bountiful provision from God.
- Heightens the Emptiness of Earth
And instills a greater longing for heaven. In the Badlands, you don’t mistake earth for heaven. Hard living …
- Emphasises the Lustre of heaven
And brings an appropriate awe of the divine. Who reads Revelation 22 with greater awe – a king used to being surrounded by jewels and gold and luxury – or a pauper? We live in the middle of luxury and protest that this luxury does not affect our spiritual walk. The spirituality of the United States tells us a different story.
The lights of the city dim the brilliance of the stars – and the lights of this world dim the glory of heaven. Life in the wilderness shows us heaven in new glory. And not even new – in true glory.
- Focuses our eyes more clearly on Jesus
And brings about a life lived with Christ at its center. John’s whole existance was Jesus-focused. He was there to increase Christ and decrease himself. Moses and David had wilderness experiences before they entered into their ministry – but for John the Baptist, the wilderness WAS the ministry! Life for John was wilderness & his view of the wilderness day in and day out focused his eyes more and more on Christ.
Part III
A). Consider that earth for the unregenerate is as close as they ever get to heaven. It’s heaven on earth for them. For the saint, then, earth is as close as they ever get to Hell. Earth can be hell on earth.
What is our wilderness? Are we called to a wild place? Not all are. But what is it if we are? Identify your wilderness.
B). Then accept it. Let God use it to focus dependance on Him, bring Jesus into sharp view and let Him highlight our need for a saviour.
C). Now – embrace it. Let the badlands be our good lands. John accepted where God had him. The wilderness was all around him and the wilderness can be a gift. CS Lewis in the ‘reverse view’ of faith in his Screwtape letters makes the point that God relies on the troughs to shape his people far more than the peaks. There is nothing so dangerous to the enemy as a believer in a pit who, despite having lost sight of God, continues to obey anyway.
Is all going well? Is life a breezy song? Beware of self-pride and self-reliance rather than reliance on Jesus. Whatever you think the ‘needle’s eye’ is in Scripture, the point is that it is easy for those who are rich, in money or ease, to not see their need for salvation by another and ascribe it to themselves. It is correspondingly hard, then, for them to enter the kingdom.
Thank God for the locusts.
