The Good News: The New Exodus

Sermon Summary:

This message explores the profound connections between Jesus’ baptism and temptation in the wilderness with the story of Israel’s exodus. Just as God delivered the Israelites from captivity in Egypt, He has now sent Jesus as the ultimate deliverer for all humanity. The wilderness symbolizes a place of testing, revelation and recreation. Jesus’ time in the wilderness, empowered by the Spirit, represents His victory over evil and the dawn of a new era in God’s redemptive plan. As we reflect on these events, we are reminded that our lives too are part of a grand cosmic battle between good and evil. Yet we can take heart, knowing that in Christ, the final victory is assured.

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Sermon Points:

• The Good News is . . . Jesus! 
• CONTEXT FOR THE MINISTRY OF JESUS: Jesus entered the world at a definite point in human history. His ministry was connected to and contextualized by the cosmic battle between evil (Satan) and good (God) and the revelation of God through the life of Israel. Wilderness – Jesus begins his ministry in the wilderness – evoking so many Old Testament images.
•  CONSIDER THE BAPTISM OF JESUS AND THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS IN CONTEXT:
  • Wilderness – Jesus begins his ministry in the wilderness – evoking so many Old Testament images. 
  • The Glory of God – this is a cosmic story, and His ministry will be accompanied by heavenly signs. Moses was used by God for the parting of the Red Sea – Jesus’ ministry will be bracketed by the parting of the heavens and the parting of the veil of the Temple.
  • The Spirit of God – God’s Spirit was present at creation, in the deliverance of Israel, and remains present in the story of re-creation.
  • God heard the cry of the Israelites in Egypt and sent Moses to deliver them. He now has responded to the desperate condition of all humanity by sending Jesus to deliver us all! 

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Key Takeaways:

• Jesus’ life and ministry are contextualized by the cosmic battle between good and evil, and God’s revelation through Israel
• The story of the Exodus and the wilderness experience of Israel serve as a backdrop for understanding Jesus’ baptism and temptation
• The presence of the Spirit of God at Jesus’ baptism signifies a new creation and the beginning of a new work of God
• Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness mirrors Israel’s experience and demonstrates his victory over evil
• God’s response to humanity’s desperate condition is sending Jesus as the ultimate deliverer, just as he sent Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt

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Scripture References:

• Mark 1:9-13

Stories:

• The sermon does not mention any specific stories or parables, but it does reference the biblical narratives of the Exodus and Israel’s wilderness experience as context for understanding Jesus’ life and ministry.

Transcript

Well, as you know, our theme for this year is together. And we have been exploring what that means all year long. Our theme for the summer is together in the gospel. And, you know, we’re going to be studying together, reading together the gospel of Mark. I shared with you last Sunday morning, and I’ll remind you again today, that the summer to me is a great time to be reminded of our calling as a church to what I would call evangelistic sensitivity. In other words, be sensitive to those opportunities where you can share the gospel with someone. You find yourself in different rhythms in the summer. Some of the things that we normally do during the school year changes because of our routines. For many of us, even those of us who don’t have kids in school, it’s just a different time of the year. And you find yourself. And maybe in other circles of conversation that may not normally happen during the regular part of the year. So I hope that this summer, you’ll think about the fact that we as a church family, we are together in the gospel. And it’s an opportunity to share with people what that means. What is the gospel? What is the good news about Jesus? And you remember that we have provided for you a new devotional guide. I hope you’ve gotten yours already. And you’ll discover that there’s guidance. And this devotional guide for you. One of the things that we suggest every week is we have a narrative reading. That’s put at the very top of each week. And that is a reading for that week. And if you do that every week during June and July, you will have read through the entire gospel of Mark. There’s also a together in word passage. That’s our focal passage for the week. We want you to explore a little bit more deeply. And then together in deed, our staff has put some instructions together. Some suggestions. Suggestions about ways that you can take these lessons that we’re learning and actually put them into action in your everyday life. So I’m grateful for our staff for putting that together for us. And then always we explored a little more deeply in our podcast every week, Tell Me More. And those of you that may be new to us, you can find wherever you find your podcast. You can go and look at First Baptist Arlington Tell Me More. As I said, Sunday night, June 23rd at five o’clock, we plan to have a business conference. Our quarterly business conference. That if you’d like to stay at six o’clock, we’re going to do our hundredth podcast, hundredth episode podcast of Tell Me More. So I’m looking forward to that. So I’m excited about it and it’s hard to believe it’s been two years now, but we’re enjoying doing that together. So with all of that said, let’s look at our text today as we think about the good news. When Mark pins this gospel, there’s a certain backdrop for Mark. That shouldn’t surprise us. And Mark has been heavily influenced by both Simon Peter and the apostle Paul. We know that he accompanied Paul at least on one of the journeys. But most of the ancient references we have to Mark outside of the scripture connect Mark to Simon Peter. In fact, there are a number of scholars that the earliest references we have to Mark seem to be the most important. And they seem to imply that the gospel of Mark actually finds its origins in the preaching of Simon Peter in Rome. And so there’s a strong connection to him. And so as you might imagine, both Paul and Peter were thoroughly Jewish in their understanding of reality and the stories of Israel were so much a part of who they were. And so Mark’s gospel reflects that. And so we’ve just finished studying the book of Exodus in the spring. And so I just wanted to make these connections for you that the good news is also connected to that story. I would call it the new Exodus. So our text today is found in Mark 1. We’re going to begin in verse 9. And you know it’s our custom to stand in honor of the Lord Jesus when the gospel is read. So let’s hear this reading of the gospel. I invite you to stand with me if you’re able. And let’s just hear this from the opening page of Mark’s gospel. Verse 9 of chapter 1.

Mark Chapter 1:9-13

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’m well pleased. At once the Spirit sent him out in the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness for 40 days being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals and the angels attended him. Thank you. You can be seated.

Well, this morning I have to begin my message with a little shout out to Children’s Camp. One of the things that we did at Children’s Camp was we learned the definitions of some very important words. The children learned about the fruit of the Spirit. But to encourage them in understanding words and why words matter, we also had a vocabulary lesson every time I was with the children. Showing them the words that have just been added to our dictionary. Because every year words get added to the English dictionary. So I tested them to see if they know any of these words. So I’m only going to do one today. We used it in camp. I’ll just see if any of y’all know what the meaning of this word is. Mount Weasel. Anybody have a guess? The kids had all kinds of guesses as you might imagine. Mountains full of weasels. Weasels who like to climb mountains. Anybody know what Mount Weasel means?

Okay. Let me just. I’m going to read it to you. I’ll do what I did with them. Let me give you the definition. It’s very easy. I can’t believe y’all don’t know this. It’s a decoy entry in a reference work such as a dictionary and encyclopedia secretly planted among the genuine entries to catch other publishers in the act of copying content.

So for those of you who have to check material to see whether or not it’s been plagiarized, there are those who put Mount Weasels in so that you can find out whether the material’s been plagiarized. Because if you don’t know what Mount Weasel is, you’re not going to know what Mount Weasel is. Because as y’all might imagine right now, people are using artificial intelligence to do all their work for them. Isn’t that something? I’m actually. I’ve gotten several invitations to join an AI sermon group where they are. You can just type in a topic and it will write a sermon for y’all. You know, for you. And I’m good. I actually like the way I do it. So I’m going to go and keep doing it the way I do it. But anyway, it’s fascinating. But as you might imagine, I know some of y’all are college professors, high school teachers, or whatever. You’re having to figure out whether or not people are actually doing their real research or not. And so Mount Weasels are used to help you figure that out. So it’s kind of interesting. All right, so with that said, let’s move on. So last Sunday, we talked about the introduction of the good news. And the good news is Jesus. When you read the New Testament, the good news is focused on a person. And you and I are followers of Jesus. So at the very heart of our understanding of the good news, and that’s what the word gospel means, is Jesus. It’s the story of Jesus. It’s focused on the person of Jesus and what Jesus came to do and who he is and his work and his ministry. Mark’s gospel is about Jesus. He tells us that. Remember, we think the opening statement of Mark’s gospel, we think, perhaps, is actually a title where Mark says the beginning of the good news of the gospel about Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God. So the good news is about Jesus. Now, Mark, as you know, his gospel is quick-hitting. That’s just the way Mark’s gospel is. He doesn’t give us a whole lot of extra information. For example, Mark does not tell us about the human descent of Jesus. He doesn’t give us any chronology. He doesn’t tell us where Jesus was raised. He doesn’t give us all that background information. He tells most of these stories very quickly with an economy of language. So, consequently, his is the shortest gospel. And not only that, if you happen to have a red-letter edition of the New Testament, which I have, when you look through Mark’s gospel, you’ll find very little use of red ink. You’ll find several sections where there are some teachings from Jesus, but Mark moves from one story to the other. Remember, I shared with y’all last week that little Greek word, euthus. The actual meaning of the word euthus is immediately. Mark uses it about 39 or 40 times. Now, the NIV changes the translation because they just didn’t want the word immediately to appear 40 times in the text. So, sometimes they’ll say, and then, or come up with another way to translate that word. But basically, Mark moves you very quickly through the life of Jesus. But Mark also knows that there is a context to the life and ministry of Jesus. And he lets you in on that. At the very beginning of his gospel. And he doesn’t tell you about it. You’ve just got to be paying attention. He just assumes that you know some of this so that you can make these connections yourself. So, for example, the context for the ministry of Jesus. Here’s what I would say about it. Jesus entered the world at a definite point in human history. In other words, he actually lived on this earth during a period in history. And his ministry was connected to and contextualized by a cosmic battle. Between evil, Satan, and good, God. And the revelation of God through the life of Israel. So, when Mark pens his gospel, he has that understanding of context in his mind. On the one hand, you’re going to read in Mark’s gospel the perspective that something cosmic is afoot here. There’s something going on here beyond just what you see in the earthly life of Jesus. But he also wants you to know that Jesus is walking into history as a Jew. And the whole story of Israel, it contextualizes the very life and ministry of Jesus. And he lets you in on that as he begins this gospel. As he walks you through this gospel. So, for example, he tells us what we read last week. If you go back, if you still have your Bibles with you, go back in verse 2. He lets you know that God actually prepared the world. Earth. For his son. He prepared the way. He made sure that everything was just right. And then, if you’ll look at verses 2 and 3 of Mark 1. He actually sent a messenger. He prepared a way. So that you would recognize it was time for the Messiah. But God had a relationship with Israel. And the entire Old Testament is that story. It’s the unfolding revelation of who God is. Both God’s revelation to Israel and through Israel. And all that sets the stage for the coming of the Messiah. All the way back to the Garden of Eden. Where God promises that one day the seed of the woman is going to crush the head of the seed of the serpent. Or the serpent rather. Also, you see the calling of Abraham. Abraham’s family is going to bless every family on planet Earth. Bless all the nations. But the riveting story of the Old Testament. The story that captured the imagination of Jewish poets. Jewish theologians. Jewish prophets. Is the story of the Exodus. Is the story of Israel in captivity being delivered by God miraculously. So the story of the Exodus. The giving of the law. The building of the tabernacle. The development of the entire sacrificial system. All of that pointed to something greater. Something beyond what was happening to Israel. And Mark alludes to all of that as he begins his gospel. As he begins to tell the story. To tell this story about Jesus. And he also is going to connect the story of Jesus to the context of the cosmic story. And so you should not be surprised when we see that all through Mark’s gospel. So just keep that in your mind as you’re reading. John is telling us. I mean Mark is telling the story on a cosmic scale. So Jesus goes to John the Baptist. And John the Baptist is out in the wilderness. Remember we’ve already met him. He’s an unusual character. He wears unusual clothes. He eats unusual food. And he’s engaged in an unusual practice. He’s baptizing Jews. You remember we talked about that last week. Jewish people did not get baptized. That was not something you had to do as a Jew. But Jews were flocking to John to get baptized. Jesus joins them. Mark tells the story very quickly. But when Jesus gets baptized. All of a sudden. The evidence of the cosmic nature of the story appears. What happens when Jesus is baptized? Heaven. John uses. I mean Mark uses a particular word. Heaven is ripped open. He says. Heaven is torn apart. He says. And all of a sudden you hear the voice of God. So there’s this cosmic connection to what’s happening here. And then the spirit of God descends on Jesus. Well how did he descend on Jesus? I don’t know. Do you? did that happen? What does that mean? The spirit of God descended on Jesus. Well you know what the gospel writers say? They say. Well it was like a dove.

Okay. What does that mean? Have you all ever seen a dove descend? What is. What is. What are these gospel writers trying to tell us? Well there’s been a. As you might imagine. A whole lot of thought given to that. Just the presence of peace if you will. This. Just this sense of some type of anointing. It wasn’t like an eagle swooping in. It was more like a. Like a dove. I don’t think that means that a dove landed on the shoulders of Jesus. They’re describing how it happened. The spirit of God just came. And we just knew it. And we heard the voice of God. Jesus did. And then. If you want to understand just how this is going to play out. Mark says. And then that spirit. The spirit of God. Pushed Jesus. Into the wilderness. And guess who he meets in the wilderness?

The enemy. Satan. And now there’s this battle. For 40 days. In the wilderness. And then. Angels show up. And so here I am. I’m just. I’m just on page one. And I’ve got to realize. Something bigger is happening than just a baby being born in Bethlehem. Something. Is afoot. It’s otherworldly. And I’m going to read that in the Gospel of Mark. As I make my way through it. There are angels and demons and God’s voice. And miraculous interventions. And apocalyptic prophecies. So I’m just encouraging you while you’re reading Mark this summer. Pay attention to the fact that this is a cosmic story. And what I want to make sure you and I understand is. The cosmic story. The cosmic drama does not end in Mark 16. You’re still in it. And sometimes we forget that. We get so. We get so captured. By what’s happening in our world in front of us. It’s almost as if we get drawn down to where we. Start to think that this is all. There is. And here’s what I would tell you all this morning. There are some. Terrible battles taking place on planet earth right now. And there are atrocities being committed across our world. And there are some challenging wars. That we’re. Facing. And world leaders are trying to figure out. But what I want you all to know is. All of that is being done in the context of a much greater war. It is a battle. That is being fought. On a cosmic stage. And it’s. It’s being played out in a human drama. But good and evil. Are still opposed to each other. And Satan is still doing battle. And there’s something else going on. Than just what we see. Because can you imagine. If this world. Were really. All there was. And if you. Can you imagine if this really is it. This is all you get. How would we contextualize all the. Suffering of. Particularly of Christians. And persecution. And those who’ve given their lives for the gospel. There’s something more going on here y’all. Not just in the gospel of Mark. But in our day in 2024. So let’s keep our eyes open. John Stott used to say. Christians every morning ought to get up. And read the newspaper in one hand. And the Bible in the other. And see what’s happening in the world. Through the lens of a Christian. We have to recognize that God’s at work in this world. And. There are forces at work in this world. That if we don’t see them with the eyes of faith. We’ll miss out. Now with that said. I want us to look at two famous stories in the life of Jesus. I want us to consider the baptism of Jesus. And the temptation of Jesus in context. How does Mark paint the picture for us? What does he tell us about the baptism. And the temptation of Jesus. These are two very famous stories in the life of Jesus. First of all. He starts in the wilderness. That’s where. Jesus begins his ministry in the wilderness. And y’all. That just evokes so many Old Testament images. Don’t just read past it rough shot. Why the wilderness? Of all the places. For Jesus to start his ministry. He didn’t start it in Jerusalem. He didn’t start it in Rome. He starts it in the wilderness. Now the Jews. The Jewish readers of Mark. They immediately recognize the wilderness. And all the connections. That call to mind for them. The wilderness. And. That’s why. You know. I think sometimes. When we read the New Testament. We miss. So much of what’s being said. Because we don’t know our Old Testament well enough. We. Many of us have struggled with the Old Testament. And yet the Old Testament. Is the story of God in the life of Israel. That sets the stage for the New Testament. Without it. We would not understand. So much of the New Testament. And that’s certainly true. When you start telling the story of Jesus. When Mark tells us that Jesus is the Messiah. Well if I didn’t have my Old Testament. I would have no idea what a Messiah is. Why would I even be expecting one? What would I know? How would I know anything about a promised one. If I didn’t know about all the promises. Why would I think we needed a Savior. If I didn’t understand the whole impact of sin. And the brokenness of the world. And Jesus is going to be referred to as the Lamb of God. Well what sense would that make. If I don’t know anything about the Old Testament. So. You and I. Need to be as the people of God. Immerse in the full word of God. I can promise you. These Jewish readers. When they hear. Well Jesus began his ministry in the wilderness. They would have gone. Huh. Isn’t that interesting. The wilderness. Think about the wilderness. To the Jews. It’s the margin of civilization. But it was so familiar. To them. Just like there are so many things in our culture. That are familiar to you. You know. There are so many things that Americans. Just instantly recognize. Because it’s just a part of our culture. I mean. If I. If you were to hear me. Walking down the street. Doing this.

What would be on my mind. Just a little tune. What would be on my mind. Of course. And you recognize it. Just like that. Just because you know. It’s just. It’s just something that’s in our culture. There are so many other things. That you hear it. You see it. And you just automatically know. Well. These people are the same way. Wilderness. The wilderness. Well you know what. The wilderness. The wilderness. Is where we started. I mean. The wilderness. Is where the nation of Israel. Really began. That’s where we were. We were delivered. By God. We had. As Jews. We had this miraculous intervention. And we sojourned with God. God walked with us. God taught our fathers. And our mothers. Where was Jesus baptized? The Jordan River. The Jordan. Of all. Of all. The Jordan River. That’s the river we crossed. To come into the promised land. We know all about the Jordan River. The. The wilderness. Was a place. Of cleansing. Was a place of God’s ultimate victory. Do you know what the Jews believed? The Jews taught about. They taught about eschatology. A kind of a final battle. That was going to take place. In the wilderness. It had eschatological implications. It was connected to the. The presence of God. The revelation of God. The giving of the law. The presence of God. With his people. The. The pillar of fire at night. The. The cloud by day. It was a place of God’s ultimate victory. And how long were they in the wilderness? For 40 years. How long was Jesus in the wilderness? With the devil? 40 days. I mean. All of this imagery. Just comes to mind immediately. So John is. I mean. Why do I keep saying John? Mark is saying. Pay attention. This. This story of Jesus. Didn’t just come out of nowhere. The story of Jesus is connected to everything that’s already happened. Look for these images. Look for this context. If you will. And then. The glory of God. When you think about the wilderness. The glory of God. This is a context. This is a cosmic story. And his ministry is going to be accompanied by heavenly signs. You remember Moses was used by God for the parting of the Red Sea. Jesus’ ministry will be bracketed by the parting of the heavens and the parting of the veil of the temple. God was at work in the Old Testament. All these appearances. The voice of God. The thunder on the mountain. The glory of God filling the tabernacle. The power of God. The presence of God. The provision of manna. Bread. Jesus is going to talk about being the bread of heaven. Well the Messiah. When he comes. When he’s baptized. The heavens are. And Mark uses a particular word. Ripped open. Now that particular word in Greek where it says the heavens were torn open. It’ll appear one more time in Mark’s gospel. Mark 15 verse 38. When the veil of the temple is ripped open from top to bottom. And so. Mark is helping you understand. That the ministry of Jesus. Is going to change everything. It comes with a heavenly announcement. And then once Jesus dies on the cross. He fulfills the law. And there’s no longer a need for the holy of holies. It is exposed for everybody to see. In other words. The sacrificial system is over. He has filled it. The voice of God. The spirit of God. Descending. All of these point to the beginning of a new world. If you will. A new work of God. A new day is dawning. And so. Just like the glory of God was present. Present. When Israel came. When the whole world was really birth. Out in that wilderness. The spirit of God is present now. Speaking of the spirit of God. Mark. Paints the picture of the presence of the spirit of God. Remember the spirit of God was present in creation. He was present in the deliverance of Israel. He’s present in this story. This is the story of recreation. That’s what the gospel is. You know the Bible opens in darkness. When the Bible opens. As God is creating the heavens in the earth. The Bible says that darkness covered the surface of the deep. And the spirit of God was held in the heavens. hovering. So, in the very beginning, the Spirit of God is present. And then the Spirit of God guides Israel through the wilderness. So, I shouldn’t be surprised in Mark 1 that when the Messiah finally comes, the Spirit of God descends. And He is now present as the heavens are opening. He’s anointing. He’s blessing. Just like He was there for creation, He’s there for this new creation. So, the Spirit of God is there for recreation. And then notice the Spirit of God immediately introduces the cosmic battle. The very first thing that happens, if you look at verse 12, there’s the first appearance of the Greek word euthus. Here’s how the NIV translates it, at once. Immediately after baptism, the Spirit sent Jesus to do battle with the devil. Isn’t it interesting? Mark doesn’t tell us anything about it. He doesn’t tell us what happened. Doesn’t tell us what Jesus was tempted to do. He just says He went. He was tempted by the devil. Wild animals were there. He was tempted by the devil. And angels came and attended to Him. And the implication is Jesus emerged victorious because of God’s Spirit. Well, all of that said, here’s how I would just sum it up this morning for us. God heard the cry of the Israelites in Egypt, and He sent Moses to deliver them. He now has responded to the desperate condition of all humanity by sending Jesus to deliver us all. That’s really the heart of it, y’all. That’s the message Mark is sending. Mark is writing this in the New Testament. He’s writing this in the context of everything that’s happened already in history. He’s calling to mind these images of what God has done in the past. But at the end of the day, what Mark is basically teaching us in this gospel, just like God heard the cry of the Israelites, He responded. He sent a deliverer. Now God is