Get Real || Mark 1:1-12

In the last year or so, Mark has become my favorite of the gospels. It used to be John and I think that's because it had a little more of a mystical element to it (and the fantasy nerd in me connected). So when my Bible study wanted to start checking out a gospel, I quickly volunteered Mark and it was accepted. I think my affinity for Mark can be summed up right here in the beginning of his writing:

"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." And...ACTION! (Mark 1:1)

We immediately jump into a prophecy-fulfilling scene with John the Baptist. My purpose isn't to be ultra-theological as much as just writing out a few thoughts in reaction to this passage. When I look at this description of John, I see a man who's not into arguing methodology or going to church council meetings - I see a man who just wants to do the work of Jesus. John was NOT NORMAL. He certainly wasn't your usual pastor-type. He didn't care about putting on a fancy robe or suit. He did a couple things that weren't exactly the norm (locusts and honey?!?). But he just preached. And lives were changing - by the count of ALL THE COUNTRY of Judea and ALL Jerusalem. (Mark 1: 4-7)

Think about how often, as a church, we lean towards doing the things that are acceptable. I've been in vision sessions before where we have an idea on the table that's CRAZY, and we talk ourselves out of it because it's not normal. How often as pastors do we tailor our messages and ministries to be "politically correct" as to not offend anyone. In fact, sometimes we put more energy into keeping things standard and normal than we do in trying to reach people for Jesus!

Imagine if John came up out of the wilderness and when he saw the crowds (and all the men with ties and women with hats - if baptist) and started worrying about being underdressed. What if he decided to hold off on doing baptisms until the church voted on whether it was okay to sprinkle or dunk. John could care less about that - all he wanted to do was serve God and help people meet Jesus.

Forgive the buzzword, but I think the key to John's authenticity was that he had a healthy dose of humility. Don't get me wrong - it takes a special kind of courage to step up and start doing the things he did. The truth is, though, that John did everything with an eye on Jesus and pointed people towards him. He knew that he wasn't going to get the glory for his work. Still, he was PUMPED about meeting his Savior. Can you imagine how excited and freaked John must have been when Jesus showed up to be baptized? My hope is that I can be as focused on what really matters and as excited about preparing the way for Jesus in my own life and ministry.

Speaking of Jesus - how did he feel the moment he came out of the water? I was at a wedding last weekend where the bride's father got a chance to share during the ceremony. At one point, stopping in mid-sentence and with eyes welling up, told her how proud of her he was. Next to "I love you," that's gotta be the single best sentence a child can hear from a parent - right? So Jesus (Savior of the freakin' world!) comes up out of water and God shouts out, "I love you. I'm so proud of you."

Wow. I have to think that Jesus wet his pants in that moment. Is that sacrilegious? Whatever he did, he was jacked enough to go off into the wilderness for a hot minute (which is a good story in itself). Jesus comes back after dishing it with Satan and getting ministered to BY ANGELS and he's ready to do work.

Jesus is pretty awesome.

Created almost 4 years ago