The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness...the Wayfarer 1 Feb 13

1 Feb 13

“The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness”

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;

As it is written in the prophets, Behold I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”

(Mark 1:1-3)

Today, we go to the book of Mark for our message. Mark opens with the statement that the beginning of the gospel may be found with the prophecy of Isaiah 40: 3 being fulfilled.

This is the same gospel passed to us through the centuries, and the same gospel that needs to be taught today!

Mark continues with his narrative of the beginning of our Lord’s ministry by telling us of that prophet that had been promised, and his eventual imprisonment for preaching that very gospel.

“John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

And there went out unto him all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

(Mark 1:4&5)

John baptized and preached in the wilderness, this is also where he chose to abide. Those who came to him, did so voluntarily, first to hear what this prophet had to say, then to accept the fact that they were sinners and therefore needed cleansing before being able to receive the redemption offered by God.

Something noteworthy is that those who accepted this prophet for who he was were common people, searching for something not offered by their scribes Pharisees and lawyers of the time.

What they heard from this preacher was recognized as truth despite the prophet’s lack of long robes, and submission to the laws dictating what was considered righteousness by this other class of people who had utterly failed to prepare them for the coming of the Lord.

“And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;

And preached saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

I have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized of John in Jordan.

And straightway coming out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

(Mark 1:6-11)

John’s diet and manner of dress demeaned him in the eyes of the leaders of that day, and a great deal was made of it at the time. Still they could not deny the gift of prophecy that was given this “wild man”, nor could they discredit that very prophecy!

John stressed the importance of the baptism given, not by him, but by Jesus, whose baptism imbues the Holy Spirit within the heart of those baptized by him.

John asked no tithe of those to whom he preached. He sought no glorification or fame for his preaching. He had no great cathedral from which he could teach his simple message of repentance. His pulpit was the one given him by God himself, as was the simple message required to be preached before the people were ready to receive the gospel as given by our Lord.

All those gathered heard the actual voice of God that day. Those there took this back to others to tell of this event, and this was the beginning of the gospel (good news) (truth) that was given us starting at that time and that is still given us now when we are willing to listen to that  gospel as it was given by Christ himself throughout his earthly ministry.

Next mark tells us of Jesus’ further preparation of that ministry with the following:

“And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.

And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

(Mark 1:12-15)

Jesus did not return to the cities for further preparation, but to the wilderness with all of its dangers, and moreover its closeness to his Father by not having been polluted by mankind.

It was in this wilderness that he proved himself worthy to be the savior of mankind by overcoming the temptations set before him by that old enemy, Satan.

Once he had overcome these temptations and having pushed Satan out of his way, he began his ministry, by preaching REPENTANCE, and that the kingdom of God was at hand for all who heard this message from that time forward.

Meanwhile, John was cast into prison and eventually beheaded for having prepared the way by preaching the truth of Christ Jesus, and the necessity to turn from sin by all up to and including the rulers of the time and the so called upper class of the religious leaders of the day.

This brings me to the meat of today’s message.

The purpose of all preachers from the coming of John until now is to make straight His path!

The wilderness in which we find ourselves is even more dangerous than that which John inhabited. It is the wilderness of a world, that knowing the truth, refuses to accept it, and that is why the voice must be loud enough to be heard in this vast wilderness we call civilization today.

The function given us by the great commission is to teach all nations and to baptize in the name of Christ Jesus!

It is the function of all who claim belief in Jesus, and their duty, to know the teachings that comprise this gospel we have been given. It is our most precious and valuable given ability to perform that function. It is a gift! It is up to us to pass on that gospel, not only through preaching about the things taught us by our Savior, but by living them as well.

Like John, the only compensation that should be sought for the performance of that duty and gift is that which has already been paid by HIM!

I encourage the reader to delve deeply into the teachings of Jesus; to talk to each other about them; to use the available guidance of those more knowledgeable that are available to them; to memorize, not merely the words associated with those teachings, but to memorize their content and intent; and most importantly to live by those teachings, beginning with the very first one given in the gospel, that of repentance; then progressing to living up to the standards of those teachings while teaching others the same.

I do so with the knowledge that the kingdom of God is indeed at hand, and that we will be judged by our ability to have not only comprehended those teachings delivered by Jesus, but by our true acceptance of Him as Savior, and our true and meaningful attempt to live in accordance with those teachings.

I close with the same salutation of love as always, given by this simple sinner saved by the grace of God through the faith in His son Jesus looking to the day when I may be perfected by that faith through Him alone.

2 Timothy 1:12King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

       


AMEN AND AMEN
the Wayfarer