Prepare                                   Mark 1:1-8

Today is the last Sunday of Advent before Christmas. And since we are almost through our season of preparation for the birth of Christ, I thought it would be proper to look at the one whose whole existence was for the preparation for the coming Messiah; John the Baptist.

Verses 2 & 3, “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way – a voice of one calling in the wilderness. Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.”

In the very beginning of his gospel Mark tells us who Jesus is, he’s the Lord. Also, Mark immediately takes us to Jewish texts and prophecy. First by referring to the prophet Malachi chapter 3, verse 1, where it talks about the coming Messiah. “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.” Then he switches to Isaiah chapter 40, verse 3; which introduces John the Baptist; “A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare for the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

Mark establishes two things right away. One, John is himself the fulfillment of ancient prophecy. Second, John is preparing the way for the coming Messiah. So, the question now becomes, how will John prepare the way? Will he simply announce, “the Messiah is coming!” Will he call officials together to prepare a warm welcome? Mark gives us the answer in the next two verses; “And so, John appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” (Mark 1:4-5) John prepares the way by preaching repentance and baptizing.

Baptism isn’t a practice prescribed in the Old Testament, yet by John’s day it was familiar to the people. In towns of the day there were ritual baths. If one became unclean, they would immerse themselves in the purification bath. Baptism was also an initiation right. If a Gentile desired to become Jewish, they would be baptized as part of their entrance into the faith. Their baptism symbolically washed away their old life. In a purification baptism one is saying, “I want to be cleansed so I will be acceptable to God.” In an initiation baptism one is saying, “I want to belong to this group or faith.” But in a repentance baptism, the individual is stating, “I want to turn to God so he will make me acceptable to him.” It’s this difference that our modern baptism turns on.

If a child is baptized, it’s the parents who show to the world and to God, their promise to teach their child about God, sin, and savior so that child can grow to turn to God. As an adult, it is the individual who has seen the truth and repented and is baptized as their outward demonstration of their inward turn to God.

Verse 5, “Confessing their sins, they were baptized…” John wasn’t preaching that it was the ceremony that gained your acceptance by God, rather baptism was your visible demonstration of the change you were making by turning to God. It is not the act of baptism that saves us, it is the repentance in our hearts. Baptism is symbolic of the cleansing of our soul by God’s grace. It is the representation of our death, burial, and resurrection with Christ.

Verse 6, “John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.”

John is in the wilderness and God is with him there. I’m not saying you can’t be born in comfort and have a life of ease and not have God, of course one can have God. But by starting his gospel in the wilderness, mark exhibits through John that the good news of salvation doesn’t always start with angels proclaiming God’s peace. For many, the good news of salvation is born in a dry, desolate, and dangerous place. For many, salvation is birthed by personal trial and hardship. God takes what appears to be a negative in our lives and uses it as a vehicle to lead you to Christ. Many times, a difficult and messy situation in our life is an opportunity for a miracle, a chance to turn to God and share in Christ’s victory.

And John, by his person, shows us another truth of our Lord. John has known Jesus since before he was born. Luke tells how a pregnant Mary visited her pregnant cousin, Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s mother. Luke 1:41; “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb…” Now John was in the wilderness with sparce clothing, eating simple (perhaps disgusting) food. Yet nowhere does scripture record him complaining. He doesn’t cry out, “God, I’m doing what you want. Why am I out here in the dirt eating bugs?” John shows us, when you’re doing God’s work, it doesn’t matter if you’re in a church in the Bahamas, or in a hut in a dusty village in Burkina Faso; wherever you are, you already have everything you need. You have a purpose, God’s work. You have a proclamation, God’s Word. You have God’s presence. Whatever else you have or don’t have doesn’t matter.

And last, notice the similarities between this scene and another. Jesus’ life begins in a dusty manger, visited by the outcast shepherds. Jesus’ ministry begins in a dusty desert                   where sinners come to repent. Once again God uses the history of living people to open our eyes to spiritual truth. Whatever is happening in one’s life, whatever condition one is in, whether one is broken or addicted, or diseased or pained; whatever dusty manger or desert wilderness one is in, God comes to you in that condition, and in that place.

In this final week of preparation, I ask anyone outside the family of God to look to the one who prepares, look to John. See how Jesus is the Messiah. See how you need God’s salvation. Know wherever you are, whatever you’re going through, God comes to you.

And for those who follow the cross, know that whether you’re in a palace or a hut, when you do God’s work, you are blessed.

We are about to celebrate the birth of our Savior Christ Jesus. Glory and praise to God.

Amen.