Lessons 5-8

Lesson 5 – Mark 1:2

Mark 1:2 "As it is written in the prophets..."

"As it is written" - How would we ever know very much about God and His wonderful Son, Jesus, if He hadn't had His Words written down for us? He chose over 40 different people to write 66 books, containing just what He told them. He even had the printing press invented here, so that you and I could have our own copies of the Bible to study.

"As it is written in the prophets..."

The Old Testament of the Bible is full of God's statements that revealed what would happen in the future. Those messages were called prophecies. People, like Samuel, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Daniel, were God's messengers and were called prophets. Sometimes the messages contained encouragement, sometimes warnings and sometimes information about future things.

The Old Testament is full of prophetic hints as to the coming of the Messiah, Jesus. I have recently been studying those clues. God wanted the people to be able to recognize the Messiah, when He appeared. Mark 1:2 is a quote from the prophet Isaiah giving a clue as to a messenger who would announce that the Messiah was coming soon. As we read in later verses, this messenger was known as John (verse 4), and from Matt 3:1-3 we see that he was called John the Baptist, because of his practice of baptizing those who repented and confessed their sins (Mark 1:4-5).

Lesson 6 – Mark 1:2 cont.

I want you to read these next 2 verses and compare what they say.

Mark 1:2

As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

Who is speaking? To Whom is He speaking? About whom is He speaking? God the Father is speaking to God the Son. He is speaking about John the Baptist.

Malachi 3:1

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me.

Who is speaking? To whom is He speaking? About whom is He speaking? This is God the Son speaking to the prophet Malachi about John the Baptist.

Both God the Father and God the Son say that They will send a messenger. They always act in harmony and in unity. The Father authorizes the plan of sending the messenger and the Son of God carries out the plan.

You can see this same principle, called the chain of authority, operating in the sending of the Holy Spirit to earth. The Father authorizes it and Jesus carries out the plan. Read John 14:26 and John 15:26 In the first one, the Father sends... in the second one, the Son sends...

Principle: Jesus always did the will of His Father. He said, "I delight to do Your will, O God." (Psalm 40:8) That's what our attitude should be too.

Lesson 7 – Mark 1:2 cont.

Still on Mark 1:2 - Who was John the Baptist and what do we know about him?

His parents, whose names were Zacharias and Elizabeth, were very old when their son, John, was born. (Luke 1:7: "And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years".) Through a miracle, God gave them a son and told them to name him John. You can read the whole story in Luke 1. John was raised in the desert wilderness as he was growing up. (Luke 1:80 “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.") One day, when John was about 30 years old, The Word of God came to him in the wilderness. (Luke 3:2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.) In other words, God spoke to John.

Principle: If God spoke to John, He can speak to you. In fact, God speaks to us every day. Hebrews 3:7 "Wherefore as the Holy Ghost says, Today if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts..." Ask Him to help you learn to hear Him and to follow Him. In the gospel of John, Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." (John10:27)

Evidently, God told John that he was the messenger chosen to announce the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah. God gave John a message to preach.

Luke 3:3 "And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission (forgiveness) of sins." John did what God told him to do, including baptizing people.

Lesson 8 – Mark 1:2 cont.

From the last lesson's application, did you ask God to help you hear His voice? What God tells you will never contradict His Word, so that's why it's important for you to know the Word of God.

The summary so far: The good news, the gospel, was that the Messiah was coming. God told John the Baptist to start announcing it to everyone. John did. The people wanted the Messiah to come. Look at the repeated word in verses 2 and 3: "prepare."

2As it is written in the Prophets:

"Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,

Who will prepare Your way before You."

3 "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord;

Make His paths straight.’ "

In verse 2 John is to prepare the way of the Lord. In verse 3 the people are to prepare the way of the Lord. John is the preacher crying in the wilderness, that is, proclaiming the message that God has given him. Yet the people have a responsibility, too. How are they to get ready for the coming of the Lord? Verse 4 tells what John preached. Verse 5 tells what the people had to do.

4John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

Principle: There seem to be 2 parts to bringing about good changes in our lives: God's part and our part. God always does His part perfectly and without fail. You can depend on Him to do all that is needed to help you, but you and I also have a part to do...a part that only we can do...and that is to prepare our hearts to respond to what God says and to obey Him.

Although each person has different things to contend with in life, we are all being given the same opportunity ... from what happens every day ...to learn the lessons and principles of God...trusting God, believing Him, developing a deeper relationship with Him, letting Him become the Lord of your thinking, your talking, your actions. He knows you and loves you, and wants you to feel the same about Him. He's with you every day.