Sunday, September 28, 2025 PM

Well, it's good to see everybody. I invite you all to turn to Mark 1. We'll be reading the first 15 verses of Mark 1 tonight. Mark 1, beginning in verse 1. This is God's Word. The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send My Messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the region of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem, and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

And John was clothed with camel's hair, and wore a leather belt around his waist, and was eating locusts and wild honey. And he was preaching, saying, After me one is coming, who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals.

I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Now it happened in those days, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him.

And a voice came out of the heavens, You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased. And immediately the Spirit drove him to go out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness 40 days being tempted by Satan.

And he was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to him. Now after John had been delivered up into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent and believe in the gospel. This is God's word. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for tonight. We thank you for your goodness and for your grace towards us in your beloved Son. We thank you for this wondrous gospel, Lord.

And we ask that Jesus Christ would ever have our hearts' attention, that our hearts would ever be in wonderment at the Son of God. May we walk away marveling at him, his power, his authority, his compassion, his gentleness, his strength.

May we ever be amazed at our Christ. And we ask, Lord, as we think through your text and various other scriptures, that you would help us to see Jesus tonight with the eyes of faith. And we thank you, Lord, for the promise that one day we will see him with physical eyes.

We will see him as he is, and we'll be with him forever. We thank you for this, Lord. And it's in Christ's name we pray.

Amen.

The Identity of Mark in the New Testament

We come to the first part of Mark's gospel. And a good question to begin with when we come to the first part of this gospel is, who is Mark? We know of Matthew and John. They were apostles of Jesus. They were right there with him as he was ministering.

They were apostles, eyewitnesses, directly to his earthly ministry. We know Luke was the beloved physician who collected several historical eyewitness accounts and inspired by the Holy Spirit, compiled all of these into his own account.

But who is this Mark? Well, his gospel doesn't record his story. And just like the other gospel writers, the focus is not on the human writer, but the focus is upon Jesus Christ. We read in John's account how John described himself as the apostle whom Jesus loved.

And when we read that, we might kind of consider, wow, that's kind of a haughty and prideful thing to say, John. But really, John is describing himself with a sense of humility. He's not saying, I, John, the super apostle.

He's saying, I, someone who was a son of thunder, is loved by the Lord Jesus Christ. This is my identity. I find my identity in him. And all my worth is in Jesus Christ. Mark doesn't talk about himself in his gospel because he wants to keep the focus upon Jesus Christ.

But the rest of the New Testament gives us insight into who this brother in Christ was. And we see him active in the ministry of the book of Acts. In Acts 13, five, it says of Paul and Barnabas, as they're going about ministering in the synagogues of the Jews, that John Mark was with them as their assistant.

Mark was not a preacher. He was not a minister in that sense, as Paul and Barnabas. He was simply a helper, an assistant. And oh, what a joy that must have been to be right alongside the apostle Paul, to see him preach and teach with the power of the spirit, to see the history of the book of Acts unfold, to see the gospel go forth, nations change, and sinners drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Just to be there as an assistant, what a wondrous and glorious thing that must have been. What a joy. And yet, though John Mark was the assistant to Paul and Barnabas, he did not always continue with them.

For at one point in the book of Acts, chapter 13, verse 13, it says, now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga and Panphilia. And John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.

You have Paul and Barnabas ministering the gospel to the nations, and John is with them, John Mark. But at one point, for whatever reason, John Mark decides to up and leave, to desert his post, to walk away from the work of the ministry.

And several years go by, until eventually, Paul and Barnabas want to go back to the other churches and strengthen the brethren. And Barnabas, as the son of encouragement, says, let's take John Mark with us.

Let's have him return to the work of the ministry. And the apostle Paul, knowing the importance of the ministry, does not want to take Mark along with them. In Acts chapter 15, it says, then after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.

Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark, but Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Panphilia and had not gone with them to the work.

Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus and Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.

And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. Because of how he deserted his post, John Mark caused a division between Paul and Barnabas. These two gospel ministers, these two brothers in Christ, there was a division over this man.

And wouldn't it be a hard thing to be in John Mark's shoes? He up and leaves the work of the ministry, he comes back ready to rejoin the work and he causes this division. And the apostle Paul, it's Paul here we're talking about.

He says, I don't want you to come with us. You're only be a hindrance to us. What a hard thing it must have been for John Mark. Yet we do know that God causes all things to work together for good. And though these two gospel workers separated, we see that the gospel spreads even faster to them, doubling the ministry going out.

So who is Mark? He was a helper and assistant to gospel ministry, but he deserted the work. He was a man who walked away and he was the catalyst for the division of two gospel ministers. But by the grace of God, Mark's story does not end there.

We see that he continues in the work of the ministry. He partners back up with Barnabas and he continues to help him as he ministers to the churches as he brings the gospel to others. Mark continues on in the ministry.

He returns to his work and he continues to assist his cousin in encouraging the brethren and spreading the gospel. The relationship with Barnabas and Mark was restored by the Lord Jesus Christ. And isn't that what Jesus does?

He restores relationships among his church, among his people. And the relationship between Paul, who said at one point, John Mark, you will only be a hindrance to us, that relationship was restored as well.

Several years go by and we find the Apostle Paul in Rome writing to the Colossians. And he writes to the Colossians in chapter four and he says this, Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you with Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, about whom you received instructions.

If he comes to you, welcome him. The Apostle Paul is in prison. He's continuing the work of the ministry. And there's John Mark several years later alongside the Apostle. The relationship is restored.

And Paul even writes to other believers and says, if John Mark comes to you, welcome this man as a brother, as someone who helps in the ministry, as a faithful assistant. And it doesn't stop there for the Lord continues to make this relationship even better.

Years later, near the end of the Apostle's life, Paul finds himself in prison yet again. And he writes to his son in the faith, Timothy. Second Timothy is Paul's last inspired letter. And he faces the end of his ministry, the end of his life.

And he writes to Timothy, encouraging, strengthening, exhorting him to continue in the work of the ministry. He writes to Timothy, preach the word, be ready in season and out of season. And near the end of this letter, the Apostle writes this in second Timothy four, be diligent to come to me quickly.

For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world and has departed for Thessalonica. Cretans for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you. For he is useful to me for ministry.

At the close of his ministry and at the very end of his life, who does Paul call for? His son in the faith, Timothy. And he also says, John Mark, get him and bring him to me. For he's not a hindrance, but he's a help to me in gospel ministry.

So we see that John Mark was one who was restored by the Lord Jesus Christ to come alongside Paul and Barnabas and have a close relationship with them. But these were not the only two church leaders who John Mark had a relationship with.

He also had a relationship, a close one, with the apostle Peter. Earlier in the book of Acts, Peter, after he's released from prison by an angel, he enters into the house of the mother of John Mark. This might've been their first meeting, the apostle Peter coming to meet John Mark.

And by the grace of God, many more meetings between the two occurred and a deep relationship grew to the point where Peter writes this at the very end of first Peter. The apostle writes, by Silvanus, our faithful brother, as I consider him, I have written to you briefly exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.

She who is in Babylon elect together with you, greets you. And so does Mark, my son. Peter refers to Mark as a son in the faith, just as Paul writes to Timothy, calling him his son in the faith. So Peter, the apostle, calls Mark his son in the faith.

John Mark was one who walked away but was restored to ministry by the Lord Jesus Christ. And here comes the apostle Peter, who at one point in his life denied the Lord three times and not just walked away, but he ran away from Jesus Christ.

The Lord comforts all of us in all of our afflictions through his people. For as the Lord comforts us, he equips us to comfort others. And Jesus comforted Peter and equipped him to strengthen and encourage John Mark.

Someone who walked away from ministry, Peter was able to come alongside that young man and help him and equip them for further ministry. The kind shepherd of the soul came to the apostle Peter after the resurrection, and with three questions for three denials, restored Peter to ministry.

And Peter once said, or Jesus said once of Peter, when you've returned to me, strengthen the brethren. Strengthen the brethren. And here's the apostle Peter strengthening John Mark. Many of the early church writers considers that the gospel according to Mark, as one early church writer said, Justin Martyr, he called the gospel of Mark, the memoirs of Peter.

And there is a large consensus of early church writers that Mark, still inspired by the Holy Spirit, got this eyewitness account from Peter of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. How did Mark know all of this stuff?

As he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, Peter came along and told him these stories. He told him of the life, death, resurrection, and ministry of Jesus Christ. So who is Mark? He's a believer who at one point walked away from his work, but by the grace of God, the deserter was restored to ministry.

His relationship with Barnabas and Paul was greatly restored. He became a spiritual son of the apostle Peter, and he was even used by God to write one of the four gospel accounts of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

He wasn't a preacher, he wasn't a minister, he was simply a helper, an assistant, but one who was still greatly used by God to manifest the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And Mark made sure not to put the emphasis on himself, but he made sure to put the emphasis on the gospel of Jesus Christ, the person and work of who the Lord is.

This teaches us that our Lord is in the business of restoring people who walk away. To those who have begun work and walked away, Jesus is ready and able to restore you. He is ready to restore you and make you capable of doing the work he would have you do.

Jesus will make sure that his people will come alongside, help, teach you, and encourage you, and he'll send you those people who have gone before you and walk similar paths, who are equipped to comfort and help you and make you useful unto the master.

Don't isolate yourself from the people of God. Seek discipleship, seek help from the church to be restored and to serve Christ faithfully. To those who walk away, I can see that they might struggle with the shame of coming back.

They might say, how can I come back after what I've done? How could I ever face my brothers and sisters who I have failed? How can I face God after walking away from him? Dear soul that is overshadowed by uncertainties and fears, look to Jesus Christ.

He is full of grace and truth, providing for those who believe in him, grace upon grace upon grace. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us. A believer might ask, how can I face God after what I have done?

The Lord responds that he provides you forgiveness and he calls out, come and find rest in me that you might take my yoke upon yourself and work alongside me. How can I come back to the work after what I have done?

The Lord restored Jonah after he ran away. The Lord restored Peter after he ran away. The Lord restored Mark after he walked away. And the Lord can restore you as well. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity. If we were to sum all of that up, we can say, blessed is the man who believes in Jesus Christ. And Jesus not only restores people to himself and the work he calls them to, the Savior also reconciles his people with each other.

He reconciles his people to each other. We see this with Mark, Barnabas and Paul. We see this also with Philemon and Onesimus, his runaway slave. After the gospel came into that situation, these two, master and slave, were reconciled in brand new fellowship.

We see reconciliation happened between Jew and Gentile for Jesus has broken down the wall of separation for he himself is our peace. So a believer might ask, how can I face my brothers and sisters after what I have done?

Know that Jesus restores relationship among his people. Trust in the Lord as he restores you, and you be faithful to seek to love your brothers and sisters in the church. And oh, what a joy it is to know that ultimately, our main goal, our ambition, is not to please our brothers and our sisters.

We seek to please the audience of one. We seek to please him, whether at home in the body or absent from the body and at home with the Lord. What is our aim? What is our ambition in all of life? To please the Lord Jesus Christ.

Out of fear of God and out of the love of Jesus Christ, which compels, controls, guides us, we please him. And that frees us to rightly love our brothers and sisters. Don't forsake the gathering of the saints.

Come back. Come back. Trust and obey the Lord. It might be a difficult path back to being restored with others in the household of God, but with God, all things are possible. Look at the situation with Mark and Paul.

Paul went from saying, you are a hindrance, to at the very end of his life saying, you are a great help in gospel ministry. If the Lord can restore that, can he also restore relationships in our lives with other brothers and sisters in Christ?

And let's look to a better reconciliation. Let's look to how Jesus Christ reconciles us to the Holy Father. If he has done that, can he not also do much, much more? If the situation calls for it, seek forgiveness.

If you have wronged a brother or sister, go seek to be reconciled. And as his people are reconciled with the Lord, they become reconciled with each other. As we all become focused upon the Lord of glory, becoming more like him.

And perhaps there's a believer on the opposite side of the situation, who might tend to have a hard heart towards that believer who walked away. And they might say, I will not forgive him. He was unfaithful and failed in his work.

He will never change. But the Lord says to that believer, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Instead of having a hard heart toward your brother or sister, be one who is used by the Lord to help restore that believer in coming back to the work Jesus has for them.

Perhaps the Lord has comforted you in such a way that you are equipped in a very unique and special way to help comfort your brother or your sister who is being restored. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the work of reconciliation that your son has done for us.

You have reconciled us to yourself in Jesus Christ. And Lord, we thank you for the wonder of reconciliation, not just with you, but with our family, Lord, in Christ. We thank you, Lord, for restoring us to your service.

And we are in a continual state of being restored by the Lord Jesus Christ. We are his workmanship created for good works. And Lord, we thank you for this, this work of wonder, this work of restoration that is only done in forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

We thank you and we praise you for tonight. And it's in Christ's name we pray, amen.