The Gospel of Mark – Part 1
By Rev. Dr. Brent Russett – Asbury Free Methodist
May 11, 2025
Mark 1:1-15
I am excited about starting a new series titled “The Good News about Jesus.” Between now and the beginning of August we are going to walk through the first eight chapters of Mark. In it, we will see Jesus revealing who he is to both the crowds and his disciples. I am praying that Jesus will reveal himself to you in new and fresh ways.
Let me give you a little background to the Gospel of Mark. Mark, or John Mark as he is referred to in the book of Acts, was a disciple of and a secretary to the apostle Peter. Mark is a recording of Peter’s memories. We also believe Mark to be scripture, so that means that it was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Mark was written about 70 A.D., about 40 years after the death of Christ. It emphasizes what Jesus did as opposed to what he said. Mark wants us to see who Jesus was through his actions. It was written to the Gentile church, probably in Rome. The early church thought that this gospel was so important that it was what you had to learn to be baptized. Because in it we see Jesus. With that, let’s get right into the text.
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Imagine – “You are sound asleep and dreaming when suddenly the door bursts open and a bright light shines full in your face. A voice, breaking in on your dream world, shouts, ‘Wake up! Get up! You’ll be late!’ And without more ado, the speaker splashes your face with cold water to make the point. Time to stop dreaming and face the most important day of your life. That’s what the opening of Mark’s gospel is like[1]
Mark 1:1 (NIV)
The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,
This book is about the good news of Jesus. Or, as another translation put it.
Mark 1:1
This is where the good news starts—the good news of Jesus the Messiah, God’s son.[2]
I know that for some of us, when we hear the phrase the good news about Jesus, we think that this is the old news about Jesus. But remember that Mark is writing to people who have been in the faith for a long time. He is writing to a church that has seen miracles in the name of Jesus. He is writing to a church that has put their faith in Jesus to such an extent that they are willing to suffer and die for him. Yet even in that context, he says this is the good news about Jesus. If they needed to hear the good news about Jesus, then we probably do as well.
Then he adds Jesus’ title. Jesus the Messiah. When Jesus was on earth, the Jewish people expected the Messiah to come and deliver them from the Romans. But when Mark uses this title “Messiah,” it has come to take on a new meaning for the people who were listening. Jesus has come, not to deliver the nation of Israel from the oppression of the Romans, but to deliver them from sin and evil and death. When Mark writes, “Jesus the Messiah,” he is writing it in a personal manner. Jesus has come to deliver you. That is good news.
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Mark then quotes from the Old Testament.
Mark 1:2–4 (NIV)
2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way” —
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’ ”
4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
I want you to notice what he misses. Unlike Matthew or Luke, we hear nothing of the Christmas story. We hear nothing of the genealogy of Jesus. Mark wants to get to the heart of the matter — who Jesus is and what has he done? So, he tells us a little bit about John the Baptist.
Mark 1:5–6 (NIV)
5 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. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
Everyone has their own idiosyncrasies. John, it seems, has more than most. Here you have this wild-haired prophet dressed as unstylishly as possible. He was probably sporting a few welts from bee stings. After all, how do you retrieve wild honey? This guy is living in the middle of the wilderness, a place where nobody lives, and he is preaching.
The surprising thing is that people show up. That sometimes happens when God is in it. So, what do you do when you have a wild hair, camel-shirted man preaching in the middle of the wilderness, and he says, “REPENT.” You repent. Multitudes of people were baptized, indicating that they had indeed repented.
Other gospels report that a lot of the people in the city of Jerusalem came out to see him. It became a thing. It had been a long time since the country had seen a move of God. But John turns to the crowd and says you think this is a thing,
Mark 1:7–8 (NIV)
… “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
The first thing that Mark tells us about Jesus through the words of John the Baptist is that he is worthy of all honour And that he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
John says I’m not even worthy to be a servant and untie his sandals. But the good news is that he is coming to baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
The “you” he is referring to is not just the crowd that John was talking to or the audience that Mark was writing to. This is the good news about Jesus the Messiah. He was the Messiah when he went to the cross. He was the Messiah when he was resurrected from the dead. He was the Messiah to the 1st-century Christians. He is our Messiah in the 21st century. And he is worthy of all honour and glory and praise. And he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
I don’t have time to get into all of what that means. But just let me say that Jesus makes it possible for the Holy Spirit to be at work not only around you but in you. He makes it possible for you to be immersed in the Spirit like the people who came to John were immersed in water. If you want more of the spirit, talk to Jesus.
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Now, Mark takes us to meet Jesus in person. This is our first glimpse of Jesus through the eyes of Mark – through the eyes of Peter.
Mark 1:9–11 (NIV)
9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 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. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
In some ways, we are introduced to Jesus with very little fanfare. Mark doesn’t tell us, like the gospel of John, that John the Baptist pointed Jesus out and said, “Behold that Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” Mark does not record, like the gospel of Luke, the argument between John the Baptist and Jesus. Jesus asked John to baptize him, but John says I am not worthy to baptize you. But Jesus says, you need to do it anyway. Mark doesn’t tell us any of that.
But what he does tell us is this. First, it tells us that Jesus was baptized. Jesus also commanded his followers to be baptized. If you have never followed Jesus into the waters of baptism – then that needs to happen. We will be having a baptismal service either in late June or early July. If you want to follow Jesus like this, then talk to me.
But the next thing that happened after Jesus was baptized is that he came up out of the water and saw the heavens torn open.
This does not mean that Jesus saw a little door open up about 30,000 feet above him. “Heaven”, in the Bible, often means God’s dimension behind ordinary reality. It was more like an invisible curtain right in front of Jesus was suddenly pulled back. Instead of being knee-deep in water, surrounded by the wilderness, he saw a different reality altogether.
He saw into the spiritual dimension. He saw the heavens being torn open. He was looking into the God’s dimension. The Spiritual dimension. He was seeing the kingdom of God. From there the Holy Spirt descended upon him.
Much of the Christian faith is learning to live, keeping the reality of the spiritual realm in mind. For most of our lives, we walk by faith that this reality exists, even when we don’t perceive it. But there are times when God speaks, or answers prayers, or gives us a sense of his presence, where the curtain is drawn back.
All the way through the gospel of Mark, we are going to see that curtain drawn back. You will see it when Jesus heals. You will see it when Jesus calms the storm. You will see it when he feeds a multitude of people. You will see the curtain of heaven drawn back just a little.
One of the things that Mark wants to say to us through his gospel is that he wants followers of Jesus to understand that the heavenly realm is close by. He wants us to live in light of this reality. He is saying, learn to see, learn to hear from the heavenly realms. Let the fact that it is close by change you. Discover the God dimension of this world.
Look at verse 15. These are the first words out of Jesus’ mouth in the gospel of Mark.
Mark 1:15 (NIV)
15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
The kingdom of God has come near. The reality of the heavenly realm is close at hand. The curtain between this realm and God’s realm is thin. The kingdom of God has never been so close.
But when the kingdom of God comes near, it requires a response. Here is the response Jesus wants us to have. Repent and believe the good news — that the kingdom of God is close.
Repentance means to turn around and walk towards God. You have been walking away from God with how you have lived and what you have done and with the state of your heart. Jesus says let your lives, your actions your thoughts move in God’s direction. That is what repentance is.
Then he says, “Believe the good news.” The good news is that the Kingdom of God is near. The good news is that the spiritual dimension is at hand. The good news is that God is near. The good news is that God is not remote or distant, but that he has come close.
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I believe that this message is just as relevant and maybe more relevant than it was when Jesus spoke it.
You see, if the kingdom of God is near, then your prayers don’t have to travel all that far to reach the ears of God – because God and his kingdom are near. You are just required to believe that it is near.
If the kingdom of God is near, then though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death – you don’t have to be afraid – because God is near. Believe the good news.
If the kingdom of God is near, then help is close at hand. Believe the good news.
If the kingdom of God is near, you can walk into this amazing relationship with the God of the universe. He is closer than your next breath. He is going to show up in your life.
Repent – turn around and move towards God. Believe the good news – even if you don’t see it at this moment.
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Back to Jesus’ baptism.
Mark 1:10 (NIV)
10 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.
We saw a little earlier that Jesus was going to baptize us in the Spirit. But so that we know he has the authority of the Spirit, we see the Spirit descending on him. Again, this is a manifestation of the spiritual realm. We are seeing in our natural world what is going on in the heavenly realm. Then, a voice comes from this spiritual dimension. God’s dimension.
Mark 1:11 (NIV)
11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
A voice of God coming from the heavenly realm. “You are my Son, whom I love. With you I am well pleased.” Mark started off his book telling us about Jesus the Son of God.
Mark 1:1 (NIV)
The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,
Mark is saying this is the good news. The good news about Jesus. He is the Messiah, and he is here for you. That matters because he is the Son of God. It is confirmed by what he said and what he did. But it is also confirmed by the Father himself.
At Jesus baptism, you see the Trinity in action. You see the Spirit of God descending on Jesus. You see the Father talking and affirming Jesus. You see, the Son of God receive the affirmation of the Father and the Spirit.
Mark writes this so that you will know who Jesus is. That is the reason that he is writing this: so that you will know the good news about Jesus.
Here is why this matters to you. Jesus is the one who brings the kingdom of heaven near. As we travel through the book of Mark, you are going to see darkness flee when Jesus comes near. You are going to see wrong made right when Jesus comes near. You are going to the resources of heaven brought to bear on everyday life when Jesus is present.
The kingdom of heaven is able to come near because of Jesus.
We sometimes live as if this world is all there is. Reality, to us, is what we can see, hear, smell, taste,and touch. If we could see what Jesus saw in his baptism – the heavens being torn open. If you can extend your faith to believe what Jesus says, that the Kingdom of God is near. Then you would know that God is in this room right now. If you could see through that thin veil, you would see angels around us. You would see the Holy Spirit ministering to us. You will see spiritual battles going on. You will see that Christ is Lord of all.
If you could see into the heart of the Kingdom, you would see the love that God has for you. You would see him cheering you on. You would see him calling you forward. He is saying don’t walk away from me. Repent. Turn around and walk towards me. I offer you life. I want you to experience real life. You will do so as you learn that the Kingdom of God is near.
His invitation is for everyone. If you were here and you’d never given your life to Jesus. I would encourage you to say, Jesus, forgive me of my sin. Come into my heart. I am going to follow you. When you pray a prayer like that, it opens up the door to the Kingdom of God. You are going to get glimpses of the Kingdom of God as prayers are answered. As peace is given. As strength is renewed. As hope is restored.
For those of you who have been walking with Jesus for a long time. I want to remind you that the Kingdom of God is near. If you have lost sight of that, repent and believe the good news. Walk back towards Jesus. Open up your heart to Jesus to say, show me your Kingdom again.
My prayer is that we would see the heavens torn open and catch glimpses of the Kingdom of God.
Let’s pray.
[1] Tom Wright, Mark for Everyone (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 1.
[2] Tom Wright, Mark for Everyone (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 1.