Unexpected King’s Path
Text: Mark 1:9-13
Core Idea: The King’s path was unexpected. He came from a place of nowhere, He humbled Himself to be baptized, and He faithfully endured the wilderness for God’s glory and our salvation. But as always, God’s ways are good.
INTRODUCTION
Good afternoon, Lighthouse. It’s really wonderful to be together. I pray that all our eyes will be opened to see the beauty of Jesus Christ – and that it will move us to worship Him, adore Him with all our hearts today. Last week, we started a new sermon series on the Gospel of Mark. If you missed the first message, I encourage you to visit our website to access it. In fact, one word about our website. We believe that the Word of God is powerful. It’s what informs our minds, shapes our character, affects our emotions, renews our hearts, and transforms our lives, which is why we will faithfully dig into the Word as a church every Sunday. It’s my responsibility to preach the Word with clarity, conviction, and passion – helping you to apply the truth to your lives. But you have a responsibility as well: to prepare your hearts to hear the truth. So, to help you do that better, I wanted to share two things regarding the “Worship” page on our website. First, under the heading, “This Sunday,” earlier in the week, we’ll provide you with the text that I’ll be preaching from on the coming Sunday. This way, you’ll have an opportunity to meditate on the text before you join us on Sunday. Wrestle with the Word yourself. Read it over with your children. And prepare yourself to hear how God will speak to you through this truth. Second, if you scroll down, under the heading, “Last Sunday,” we’ll provide you with two reflection questions along with the link to our previous service. This way, you’ll have an opportunity to meditate on the text after you join us on Sunday. Wrestle with the Word again throughout the week. Work out a personal application for yourself – then share with others, challenge others, encourage others, and pray for one another that the truth will take root in your lives. Why do we do this? Because the Word has the power to transform us. Let us continue to be in the Word. Back to the Gospel of Mark.
One of the things that I personally love about this book is that it’s packed with action. It doesn’t read like a dry history. It’s not your typical biography, which is why it’s not necessarily chronological in its order. It’s intentionally written in the present tense to give off this feeling that these stories are taking place right now. It’s fast-paced, which is why Mark constantly uses the word “immediately” throughout the book. Then why did Mark write this way? Because he wanted to show that Jesus wasn’t just a historical figure, who came and went – he wanted to show that Jesus is someone who is actively working, interacting with us even now, which is why Mark will continue to invite his readers not to remain inactive, but actively, intentionally respond to the good news of Jesus Christ. Mark wanted to give us the real Jesus – are we ready to receive Him?
From the first few verses, we learned that the gospel is not good advice, but the good news about Jesus Christ – and that just as John the Baptist was an unlikely messenger for the King of kings, Jesus Himself was going to be an unlikely King but the One we desperately need. He doesn’t come to fulfill our dreams or to remove all our suffering and pain; He doesn’t come to bring us victory and safety from our enemies; He doesn’t come to make us rich and give us a comfortable life – Jesus comes to cleanse us, transform us inside out, and to bring us the very presence of God. As we move further into the story, we’ll continue to see this theme played out. Today, we’ll see that Mark introduces Jesus, the Savior King. But the path He took was again not something we would expect for the King of kings. So, if you have your Bibles, please turn to Mark 1:9-13. Let me read for us.
9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, He saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” 12 At once the Spirit sent Him out into the wilderness, 13 and He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended Him.
Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
I want to talk about the three paths that Jesus took in this passage:
NAZARETH
BAPTISM
WILDERNESS
1) NAZARETH
Let’s turn to verse 9. “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee.” You may be wondering, “So what? Isn’t Mark just indicating where Jesus came from? What’s so special about that?” But this would’ve been incredibly shocking to the original audience, because Nazareth was a forgotten place, and no significant figure, let alone the Messiah, the King of kings, would come from such an insignificant place. You would expect the Savior of the world to come from places like Jerusalem, the city of God – somewhere prominent, distinguished. But to their surprise, Jesus comes from an unknown town called Nazareth. In fact, it’s so obscure that the OT never mentions it – not once. And even when it’s mentioned in the NT, it had to be explained – “Jesus came from Nazareth – and just in case you’re not sure where that is, it’s located in Galilee.” John 1:45 tells us how people in Jesus’ days thought about Nazareth, “Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’” Listen to Nathanael’s response in verse 46: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nothing good comes out of Nazareth, which is why when Jesus was identified as “Jesus of Nazareth,” it was used mostly by those who didn’t know Him or weren’t fond of Him, and had this belittling feel to it – as a way to mock Him.
But this was no accident. In His sovereign wisdom, God ordained it so that Jesus came from a place of nowhere called Nazareth. Why? Why couldn’t God orchestrate things so that Jesus is from a more recognized place? Let me share from Isaiah 55:8-9, where God says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways… As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” When it comes to understanding what’s important, what’s significant, how things should be, we have our own definitions. Whether they’re shaped by our surroundings or deep-seated desires, we define what’s valuable, meaningful, and beautiful – we define what a good life, a successful life looks like. So, we begin to see the world through that lens and run hard after it. We pursue certain types of careers, lifestyle; we put ourselves close to certain people while avoiding others – all because we believe that this would bring us meaning and beauty to our lives. And of course, we would do absolutely anything and everything to avoid pain, suffering, and being insignificant, because we believe that they take away meaning and beauty from our lives. We think that comfort, safety, convenience are the signs that tell us we’re on the right path. Then no wonder we are perplexed to see Jesus, the King of kings, the Savior of the world come from such a forgotten, insignificant place. But God’s ways are not our ways. What He values is not what we value. He doesn’t define a good life, a successful life the way we do. Then in Jesus Christ, our self-centred, lowly expectations are completely shattered in every way. But this is what we need if we want to receive this King.
If you’re having a difficult time recognizing and receiving Jesus as your Lord and Savior, maybe it’s because you’re still waiting for, expecting a king who will come to give you what you think is important, valuable. Just as the Jews are still looking for this King who will re-establish David’s throne, are you possibly looking for a god who will promise you wealth, comfort, safety, and pain-free, suffering-free life? Mark may be inviting you to let go of your expectations – the definition of what is good, valuable, meaningful – and have them shattered so that you would receive the real King, have those things redefined by the King. Friends, Jesus Christ may not give you everything you want, but He has died for you, conquered the grave so that you may have life and life to the full. He’s here for you. Are you ready to receive Him today?
But this message is also for the Christians. We must guard our hearts so that we don’t set our minds on the things of this world rather than the things of God. Our values, meaning, and beauty must not be defined by this world, but by the Word. Until then, this powerful truth from Romans 8:28 won’t make sense, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” You see, our walk as disciples will not be all sunshine and rainbows. But left to our own ways and assumptions, we would never see Nazareth as a place of hope and significance; we would never see our darkest day as an invitation for us to learn humble dependence on God; we would never see the wilderness as a training ground – a place of sanctification; we would never see in our heaviness the opportunities to rejoice and be thankful. But God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours, which is why no matter how much we feel threatened now, we will see our enemies run; no matter how defeated we may feel, we will be victorious in Christ; no matter how much we have failed and feel like no one could redeem us, Jesus will never give up on us because our value, significance isn’t found in our achievements, but in His work on the cross – He will restore us and use us for His glory. Pastor Garrett Kell says, “Our Father often acts unconventionally. He likes to choose the unseen path for His people to walk. But… God is trustworthy, and He’s marvellously creative in the way He cares for us. He delights in bringing us home by way of the sea so that after we’ve set our feet on the dry land of our destination, the only thing we can say is ‘God did this.’ In the end, He charts His way through the sea so that He will get glory, and all will know that He is the Lord.” Jesus is from Nazareth. He shatters all our expectations. But it’s for His glory.
2) BAPTISM
Let’s go back to verse 9. “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just 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.’” Jesus comes to John to get baptized. Again, this scene is puzzling to us because we learned last week that baptism symbolized cleansing of our sins (dying to our old patterns of sin and being born again to live righteously for God). But passages like 2 Corinthians 5:21 tell us that Jesus had no sin. He had no sin to repent of. Then why did Jesus get baptized?
Let me just share three reasons why Jesus chose to get baptized. First, Jesus’ baptism represents His total identification with the people He came to save. You see, everyone needed to be baptized because they had no way of dealing with their own sins. Baptism was an act of repentance – turning away from their sins and turning to God. This was God’s ordained means of saving His people. Then knowing this, Jesus deliberately engaged in an action that was so unnatural to Him in order to be in solidarity with us, the sinners, the broken and hopeless ones. He acted for us, not Himself. He was basically saying, “I will be where they are. I will go through what they’re called to go through. I will not be above them. I will be with them. I will take the cleansing waters as one of them. I will be on the side of sinners.” He will never ask us to do something that He hasn’t done Himself. This is why He was baptized: for us and as one of us.
Second, Jesus’ baptism is a picture of salvation. Jesus knew that His baptism would portray His future death and resurrection. Being immersed in the water foreshadowed His impending death but coming out of the water also foreshadowed His coming out of the grave. One pastor says it this way, “The baptism encapsulates and anticipates Christ’s living, dying, and rising for us.” And now, every Christian is called to be baptized with water as a picture of our dying to sin and rising to new life in Christ. We would die with Christ but also rise with Christ. In other words, Jesus’ baptism reminds us of the meaning of our salvation.
Lastly, Jesus’ baptism reveals the Triune God. Here, all the persons of the Godhead are present. God the Son is baptized, God the Father speaks from heaven, and God the Spirit descends on the Son like a dove. This is important because Jesus’ identity as the Son of God is affirmed by God Himself. This wasn’t just self-proclaimed; it has been validated by the voice from heaven. Who’s going to question His identity? In other words, Jesus’ baptism shows that Jesus truly is the Son of God – the chosen One to save the world.
Now, it’s true that Trinity is an extremely hard concept to comprehend. The doctrine of the Trinity says that God is one in nature but three in persons. Some have tried to explain this by sharing that there’s one God who takes different forms at various times. They say that God is the Father in the OT, then He takes the form of the Son in the NT, and at other times He takes the form of the Spirit. They argue that God exists in modes – which is false. In our passage, it’s clear that all three persons exist at the same time. Now, others have argued that one is somehow inferior to others. For example, they argue that Jesus is less than the Father. Or they tell us that the Spirit is a force rather than a person. But they’re not true. Each person of the Godhead is fully and eternally God. It’s not perfect; but what helped me understand the doctrine of the Trinity is what Abdu Murray shared. He said, “Nature represents the ‘what-ness’ whereas person represents the ‘who-ness.’ For example, my what-ness shows that I’m human. In contrast, my who-ness shows that I’m Abdu. Following this logic, God is one in nature (God) and three in persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).” This was the best explanation that helped me; but it’s still difficult to wrap our mind around it. But that’s a good thing in a sense that it keeps us humble. If we could completely comprehend God, then He would not be God; we would be. It’s an opportunity to submit to His wisdom and trust Him. But we must understand that the Trinity is not meant to confuse us or cause us to stumble in our faith; it’s to bring delight to our hearts by showing us the ultimate reality of our life.
What’s the ultimate reality of life? This is how Pastor Tim Keller describes it. I know it’s a little long, but I have to share the whole thing. It radically changed me, and I hope it changes you too. He says, “The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are pouring love and joy and adoration into the other, each one serving the other. They are infinitely seeking one another’s glory, and so God is infinitely happy… No person in the Trinity insists that the others revolve around Him; rather each of them voluntarily circles and orbits around the others… Then why would a triune God create a world? If He were a unipersonal God, you might say, ‘Well, He created the world so He can have beings who give Him worshipful love, and that would give Him joy.’ But the triune God already had that – and He received love within Himself in a far purer, more powerful form than we human beings can ever give Him. So why would He create us? There’s only one answer: He must have created us not to get joy but to give it.” The Trinity tells us that God created us not to get love from us but to give love to us. In other words, you and I are created to be loved. And that’s not all. Christians, we are loved even more in a special way in that He loves us as our Father. When God sees us, He sees Jesus because we have been united with Him through faith. The implication is this: the words that God spoke to Jesus here are also for us. Because of Christ, when God sees us, just as He said it to Jesus, He will now say to us, “You are my child, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Brothers and sisters, God is delighted over us. He is pleased with you. He is proud of us. He no longer sees our sin and failures, our selfish desires and lusts. He sees us as we are in Jesus Christ.
Then there you have it. The three reasons why Jesus was baptized: to identify with us, to show us the picture of salvation, and to affirm Jesus as God’s beloved Son. Another unexpected path for the King of kings; but it was a necessary step to affirm His identity and foreshadow His mission.
3) WILDERNESS
Let’s go back to verse 12. “At once the Spirit sent Him out into the wilderness, and He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended Him.” At once, Jesus gets sent out into the wilderness. Again, it’s not what we would expect to see after hearing the voice from heaven affirming His identity as the Son of God. We would expect some kind of celebration or multitudes of people flocking to Him; but instead, we see the Spirit leading Him to the wilderness, to be alone for 40 days. Again, this was no accident; this was exactly what God intended for Jesus. Then we can’t help but to ask, “Why? Why did Jesus get sent out to the wilderness of all places to be tempted by Satan?” An answer could be quite simple: to show us that the beginning of discipleship is the beginning of a new war. In other words, following Christ is to enter a spiritual warfare that is unique to Christians. The world is not fighting this battle. Satan stands against Jesus and he’s doing everything to destroy and devour not only Christ Himself but His followers as well. This means that putting our trust in Jesus doesn’t end our battle against temptation. If anything, the intensity of his threat and attack will get even more fierce as our faith in Christ deepens and matures.
One of the things that I really want to emphasize is that we must recognize that the temptation we experience isn’t impersonal (it doesn’t just happen by chance); there’s an actual enemy actively, persistently tempting you away from the path. Doesn’t this just change the way you view your temptation? The temptation you might be battling right now – the temptation to be self-preserving, comfortable, lazy, discouraged; the temptation to compromise, lust after something, ignore those in need, judge, give up, and more is not just because our hearts are sinful and broken (though it is), they come because the enemy is prompting these things through His lies. “Did God really say (fill in the blank – don’t do this or that)? But you’re hurting, you’re in pain; He’ll understand. Does God really (fill in the blank – love you, care for you)? ‘If you really are a child of God, then why are you doing (fill in the blank)’ – he’ll crush you with guilt and shame. ‘It’s okay if you just (fill in the blank – cheat a little, gossip a little, hoard a little, and so on).’” These are all lies that the enemy is planting in your minds to lead you astray. Brothers and sisters, don’t be fooled: it’s true that sometimes passive drifting of our faith happens but the war is also real – the evil one is relentlessly, deliberately, but often subtly plotting to entice us with sin, convince us to give up, and ultimately to bring destruction upon our souls.
That’s what Satan must have been doing with Jesus. Here’s Jesus who clearly understands His identity (as the Son of God) and His mission (to die in order to bring salvation to His people). Satan must have been trying to take Jesus off of the path – to seek His own pleasure, safety, and glory. There’s a reason why Mark is the only account that mentions that Jesus was “with the wild animals.” At the time Mark was writing his Gospel, Christians were being thrown to the wild animals. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote, “[Christians] were covered with the hides of wild beasts and torn to pieces by dogs,” which is why the early Christians associated wild animals with adversity, suffering, and persecution. Not surprisingly, many surviving Christians were tempted to doubt their beliefs, tempted to renounce their commitment to God because of the danger. You see, it’s always easier to give into temptations when we’re suffering, when we’re in pain. So, when Mark mentions the wild animals, he was showing us that Jesus was suffering, in pain. But He came out victorious. He overcame Satan. He remained sinless.
Then an important question we must ask is “Why did Mark write this for us? What can we learn from this text?” We can conclude that Mark is calling the believers to be awake – to guard our hearts. The path of discipleship requires us to actively, intentionally move away from our sins and move towards our Savior as we root ourselves in the truth of the gospel. We cannot be passive; we must be on alert. But listen to what Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile says, “Our Lord didn’t endure this so we would have a model to follow. He did this so we would have mercy when falling.” In other words, as much as we must guard our hearts, the primary application of this text isn’t to “stand firm like Jesus” when you’re tempted, but it’s to “run to Jesus; trust Jesus; flee to Jesus.” Listen to Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Brothers and sisters, when we’re tempted, the best thing we can do and must do is to desperately and humbly run to Jesus. He is our strength. He is our shield. He’s praying for us, interceding for us. He is our victory and our confidence – and we will stand not because we’re strong, but because we stand in Him who has overcome our enemy.
One of the things that I love is swimming. I’m not good at it; but I just love being in the water. So, naturally, I would take Eli for swimming – and thankfully, he loves it. Now, when we were in the water, he would instinctively grab my hand, my arms. And I could feel his grip getting tighter as the water got deeper. But let’s be honest; his grip isn’t that strong, which means that it wasn’t really him holding me, but it was me holding him to keep him above the waters. Left to his own strength, he will certainly let go of my hand at one point. But as long as I’m determined to do so, he is secure. He can’t get away from me even if he tried. So, it is with Christ. It’s true that we cling to Him. But our grip on God is like that of Eli’s grip on me. The reason we’ll be secure isn’t because our grip is strong, but because He is holding onto us. And He will never let us go. Psalm 63:8 says, “I cling to You; Your right hand upholds me.” Brothers and sisters, turn to Christ; run to Christ. We will be safe against the storms of this life and the threats from our enemies because He is strong – He will hold us fast.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, God’s ways are not our ways – and that was no exception to the path that Jesus took. He came from a place of nowhere, He humbled Himself to be baptized, and He faithfully endured the wilderness so that we may experience victory through Him. This is how God works – but as always, His ways are good – for Jesus and for us as well. So, trust Him. You are on the right path.