The identity of Jesus is a big deal. As C.S. Lewis put it in Mere Christianity, we don’t have the option of labeling Jesus Christ as simply a good teacher. We must reckon with the fact that he claimed to be the eternal God, and either worship him or reject him.

The Gospel of Mark presents the good news of God’s Son – the Anointed One, the Christ. Mark seems intent on presenting Jesus as the unique Son of God, who was foretold by the prophets, who fulfilled God’s promises to Israel, and who perfectly reveals God to us. Only the Beloved Son of God could do the things he did and say the things he said. Though it’s not as explicit as John’s gospel, I believe Mark does have a definite objective in writing: that the reader may believe Jesus is the Son of God and have life in his name.

Branch Life Church is embarking on a 3 to 4 month sermon series on Mark’s gospel, and there are a few reasons/hopes for choosing this book:

• To grow deeper in our knowledge of God’s Son, that we may better know ourselves, our sin, and how Jesus works in the lives of people
• To be set free from ourselves and join the Son of God in His mission on earth
• To have our unbelief exposed
• To strengthen our belief in the gospel so we may share it with others boldly and joyfully

Not everyone believes Jesus is the Christ. Not everyone believes Jesus is God’s Son, fully God and fully man. I am personally excited to take this journey through Mark because I expect God to change my own heart, leading me to deeper obedience and submission to his Word. I want to have real affections for the Son of God, and I am praying the same for all who attend our church.

in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…

JDW

{Readings from Isaiah 53:3-12, Hebrews 9:22, John 8:28, 1 Peter 2:24a)

Jesus’ Crucifixion involved the following:

-       scourging or flogging of the victim’s back with a whip containing pieces of bone and metal

-       skin was ripped from the back, exposing a bloody mass of tissue and bone.

-       Extreme blood loss occurred, often causing unconsciousness.

-       the plucking of His beard and the piercing of His scalp with a crown of thorns.

-       the victim was often forced to carry his own crossbar, or patibulum, to the execution site., which could be 100lbs.

-       victims lay down on the cross and 7-inch spikes were drive into the wrists

-       shocks of pain the shoulder and neck

-       Already standing at the crucifixion site would be the 7-foot-tall post, with a crude seat meant to support the victim

-       Crossbar was then lifted on to the post, and the victim’s body was turned on the seat so that the feet could be nailed to the post.

-       Causing extreme pain in the wrists, arms and shoudlers, resulting in dislocation of shoulder and elbow joints

-       Impossible to take a full breath or exhale

-       loss of blood and lack of oxygen would cause severe cramps, spasmodic contractions and probably unconsciousness

-       victim forced to push up on feet to let air into the lungs, causing lungs to eventually collapse

-       increased strain on the heart; fluid built up in lungs; heart failure

Jesus, the man who never sinned,  suffered numerous hours of horrible and sustained torture on the cross of Calvary.

The man Jesus Christ stood condemned in our place. Our guilt, our shame, our punishment…every sin on him was laid. The only innocent and good person who ever lived died a criminal’s death on behalf of his enemies. The righteous for the unrighteous. Jesus Christ endured horrific, excruciating pain and humiliation to pay for my record of debt and for yours. Our sins were upon Jesus’ shoulders. We killed the Author of life.

The perfect spotless Lamb was led to the slaughter, and there he made atonement for the sins we committed against a holy God. On that tree, Jesus Christ not only took the punishment for our sin, but became sin for us. Cursed is any man who hangs on a tree; Jesus Christ became that curse for us.

Why the cross? To show us the depth, seriousness, and costliness of sin. To display God’s hatred against it. But also, to showcase God’s mercy, by crushing his sinless Son instead of you and me. In this is Love! In God’s wrath, he has remembered mercy. His holiness requires that sin be paid for in full. He provided the payment by coming to earth, living a sinless life, being rejected by men, enduring the scandal and shame of the cross, and satisfying that payment with his broken body and spilled blood. Jesus – God in the flesh – was crucified, dead, and buried in a tomb. The darkest day in the history of the world. Never was such a price paid in all of history to ransom sinners.

Jesus died. However, the death of Jesus is not the last word.

- JDW

He did such a thing for the disciples in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:43, Jesus declares, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies…” What they’ve heard is actually only half true. If they searched the Scriptures, they wouldn’t find the command to hate their enemies, and neither would we. Actually, we find the opposite in Scripture:

Proverbs 24:17 “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles…”

Exodus 23:4-5 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.”

What Jesus gives his disciples, and us, is proper Enemy Theology. Instead of cursing their enemies or despising the ones that persecute them, the disciples are to pray for these people and seek to bless them. To seek their good. The God of our salvation is patient toward those who hate you and hate him, even blessing them with sun, rain, breath, and other daily provisions each new day.

If we say we belong to the Father, we must love this way. We must look at our enemies not with disdain or hatred, but look and see them as people that Jesus wants to save. As those whom God wants a relationship with. But how? How can I forgive what they’ve done and the harm they’ve caused me? How I make an enemy a friend?

Loving this way is only possible by looking at the cross, where the Lord Jesus prays for his enemies even as they are murdering him. There, the Lord Jesus died at just the right time for us, when we were weak, ungodly, unrighteous enemies. Enemy Theology flows out of the cross. There, we find all the grace we need to love this way.

Pray, bless, and seek reconciliation with those you are at odds with. It is clear from Scripture that Christians are not content to be at war with others. Nor do they seek to get even. Nor do they want to make enemies, though we’re told we may have them. The one who follows Jesus desires peace and pursues it, as much as it depends on them.

When we seek to welcome All people as Christ has welcomed us – even our enemies – we show the perfect love of the Father to a lost world. The reward? Enemies become friends. Friends with us, but most importantly, friends with God.

-JDW

1. We want to see lost people reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. This is the point! There is no more important message than the message of the cross, where the Son of God died for sinners. The cross tells us who we are and who Jesus died to make us. Our prayer and our hope must be to see our neighbors meet Jesus and come into a real relationship with the God of the universe.
2. We want to see believers connected to a Community of faith – the local church. People are saved individually but are automatically grafted into a body, the body of Christ. We desire to see believers in Jesus actively participating in the life of the church, serving fellow brothers and sisters, worshiping together, sharing burdens, and building up the church in love. In the community, we are bound together by the Spirit and are sent as One to live out the gospel.
3. As the sent-out people of God, we have an obligation to pour ourselves out for our Neighbor. The community (church) exists for the glory of God and all believers must take the form of a servant, welcoming all people as Christ has welcomed us, and considering our neighbors as more important than ourselves. We want to live out our faith in word and deed, seeking the welfare of all those around us, in the hopes that our neighbors will be blessed by the good news of redemption in Christ.

May God teach us, change us, rebuke us, and equip us to be a city on a hill, for his glory alone.

- JD Wilson

Audio files from the corresponding sermon series can be found here.

Christians in the middle ages started focusing on three aspects of Advent: Christ’s birth, his presence with us now, and his return. I think this is essential. For most, Jesus’ birth is the focal point of Christmas. The Nativity Scene. The star, the wise men, the manger, and the shepherds. These are all part of the grand, marvelous story of the night Jesus was born.

What I like about Advent is the widescreen panorama focus on the story. Not just that Baby Jesus was born in a manger when there was no room in the inn, but that he was the long-awaited Messiah. He is the Son, the child Isaiah prophesied about, who would sit on the throne of David forever with the world as his footstool. He is the Prince of Peace and Wonderful Counselor. Israel longed like a woman in labor for the Deliverer, the Redeemer – the one who would bear up their sins and sorrow. They waited in darkness for the coming of the light God promised.

Christ Jesus is that Light. Into the darkness of sin and rebellion, God said “Let there be light!” And this is the great hope of Advent, that Jesus came into the world and overcame darkness. His coming means triumph over the works of the serpent. Into my darkness, my sin, and my rebellion, he shined his blinding light, exposing me for who I am, and bringing me near to God. I can no longer hide. I can no longer cower in the trees, as Adam and Eve did. And I don’t want to. His coming means the forgiveness of my sins. I come into the light with my shame and guilt and find refuge instead of condemnation. And into the darkness of your anger, your lust, your envy, your pride, and your self-love, Jesus has shined. Embrace him, the hope of Advent.

Hallelujah! He has come, He is with us, and he will come again.