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15/3/06 Year B Lent Mark 1:9-15

9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 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." 12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13 and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. 14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

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Mark 1:9-15 illustrates sermon below

A little girl was busy drawing and colouring for some time so her mother asked her what she was doing. "It is a picture of God" came the reply. "But no-one knows what God looks like" said the mother. The girl responded, "Well they will when I'm finished."

What picture do you have of God? Many people have the idea of an old, kindly man with a beard in the clouds. But we have a God who is not distant. Today's gospel shows we have a God who is with us, who draws alongside people in three ways... In Jesus' baptism. In Jesus' temptation. In Jesus preaching and presence.

In Jesus' baptism.

Many people were coming to John to be baptised. They wanted to make a new start with God, perhaps convicted of their sins by John's teaching. Non-Jews had to submit to baptism if they were to be admitted to the Jewish faith. So, those being baptised were admitting that their sins cut them off from God so they were no longer God's people. This was one of the reasons the Jewish religious leaders would not come to John and be baptised.

Jesus wasn't coming to John because he wanted to make a new start with God. Jesus never sinned. Aware of this John tried to dissuade Jesus from being baptised, something Mark does not record. Jesus went ahead and submitted to baptism to show that he identified with humanity and especially those who admit their sins and want to make anew start with God.

The baptism of Jesus also heralded the start of his public ministry. In the Old Testament people were anointed with the Holy Spirit by God for particular tasks. The Spirit anoints Jesus as he embarks on his role as the Messiah. The one who will deliver God's people from sin and death, restoring them to God's kingdom.

The Spirit appears like a dove from heaven. A bird that symbolises gentleness and purity. It was also the symbol to Noah of God's rescue from the flood, perhaps pointing to the deliverance that Jesus would bring.

God the Father is also involved in affirming His love for and relationship with Jesus. He is also pleased with what he is doing in commencing his public ministry.

God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are all involved to bring God to us. Emmanuel means God with us.

In his baptism Jesus humbled himself. He did not need to be baptised but did so to identify with sinful human beings who want to turn to God. We have a God who loves us so much that he became one of us. Leaving the glory of heaven to be born in a stable to a normal family. First revealed to shepherds who were irreligious social outcasts. Living and ministering in the unfashionable North. Humbling himself even to death on a cross. This is the true picture of our God. One that should lead us to humility, love, wonder, gratitude, praise, thanksgiving and devotion. Our response should be to offer our whole selves to him as "living sacrifices", Romans 12:1.

When we are baptised we respond to God and identify with Jesus. For those baptised as infants that response my be through Confirmation. Confirming the baptismal promises made on our behalf by our parents and godparents. Paul uses the picture of going under the waters of baptism then emerging as a picture of how we die to our old life and rise to new life with Jesus.

We have a God who is with us

[ In Jesus' baptism. ] In Jesus' temptation.

At once Jesus was led by God the Holy Spirit into the desert to be tempted for forty days and nights. Satan, literally "the accuser" was there to deflect Jesus from God's way. Wild animals, which would have included lions, then, added to the danger.

Why should God want Jesus to go to the desert to be tempted or tested?

So that Jesus could set the pattern for his ministry which was to successfully stand up against Satan and his followers.

Heb. 2 17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus was tempted in a way that we could never imagine. We give in to sin too easily for it to be the kind of struggle Jesus faced. Therefore he can empathise with and help us as we are tempted. There is no suggestion that we can say that God in Jesus has not experienced anything that we have, except one. He was "tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin" (Heb 4:15).

Our temptations are likely to be different in that many of them will come from within us, generated by our sinful nature. Jesus' temptations were from outside, the devil, but were about deserting God's ways. We can follow the pattern of Jesus in resisting temptation that is found in Matthew 4. Again and again he replied to temptation by using the Scriptures, usually prefaced by "It is written..." If we want to know God's ways and resist temptation we should know Scripture to the point of being able to quote it.

This victory of Jesus over Satan is at the start of his public ministry. As his life ebbed away on the cross he achieved another, decisive victory. If Jesus had sinned and accepted one of the temptations offered him by the devil he would not have been able to go to the cross as a sinless sacrifice and pay the price for the sins of the world. Jesus identified with humankind as he paid the price for our sin on the cross.

[ In Jesus' baptism. In Jesus' temptation. ] In Jesus preaching and presence

14b Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

Jesus went out to people to proclaim that the kingdom or rule of God was near. He invited them to respond by repenting and believing. The Greek word repent, matanoia, literally means to change ones mind. The word for belief is a word that involves trusting something or someone.

God is near in the teaching of Jesus and in his presence. As we discovered last week when we looked at the Transfiguration that revealed the glory of Jesus to the three disciples on the mountain. If we want to know what God's will is like we listen to the teaching of Jesus. If we want to know how God wants us to live we imitate Jesus.. If we want to know what God is like we get to know Jesus.

We can know the preaching and presence of Jesus by studying the Bible. We can know the preaching and presence of Jesus by knowing him as our friend and Saviour. That is the revolutionary thing about the Christian faith. The kingdom or rule of God is near. If you have invited Jesus to be our friend and Saviour it is within you. If you haven' done that, why not? God lives in every believer by His Spirit. His Spirit is waiting to invade the hearts of people in Knebworth and beyond. The amazing thing is that there is enough Spirit to go round for everyone, and more!

Our 2006 Scripture cards feature Ephesians 3 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!

The church, including this church, is the means by which God in His grace, mercy and sovereign power, is to reveal himself. Mind blowing isn't it? !If we rely upon his Spirit, and be resolute like Jesus when he was tempted, then God can and will do great things. More than we ask or imagine. It doesn't mean, of course that we shouldn't ask or imagine! We should pray. It just means that when we do God will exceed our expectations.

Let us imagine a church where people come to it and meet the living Lord Jesus in it's members and it's worship. May that vision be realised in St. Martin's and the other churches of Knebworth.

9/3/03 Year B Lent 1 Mark 1:9-15 ( 1 Peter 3:18-22 )

PRAY

Franklin P. Adams 1881-1960, American Journalist, Humorist: "Elections are won by men and women chiefly because most people vote against somebody rather than for somebody."

There is an element of truth in that statement, isn't there?

John F. Kennedy 1917-1963, Thirty-fifth President of the USA: "I have just received the following wire from my generous Daddy. It says, ''Dear Jack: Don't buy a single vote more than is necessary. I'll be damned if I am going to pay for a landslide.''

Jay Leno, American TV Show Host: " If God had wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates."

In today's gospel reading we have the election of Jesus. However, there is only one candidate, and only one vote. God the Father votes for Jesus the Son.

Jesus does the will of God in being baptized, and in resisting Satan. God's will for people is for them to repent and believe the good news found in Jesus. This brief passage is about faithfulness in following the will of God.

Jesus' Baptism.

God the Father wanted Jesus to be baptized. Why ? Jesus did not need to be baptized because he had committed no sins that he needed to repent of. He was baptized to identify with sinful human beings who had come to John wanting to repent. To make a fresh start with God. This is at the start of Jesus' public, earthly, ministry. At the end of his ministry he associates with sinful humanity by identifying with them on the cross. He who was perfect took the punishment for imperfect humanity, separation from God the Father.

10 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."

The anointing of the Spirit was to equip Jesus for the start of his earthly ministry. Jesus already had the Holy Spirit living within him, but this was a special giving of the Spirit. In the Old Testament God anoints individuals to serve him in certain ministries, for example kings and prophets. This is a reminder that every Christian has the Holy Spirit but we all need a regular 'top-up' !

John baptized with water. The water symbolized the cleansing coming from a declaration of repentance, but it had no power of itself to make people more clean, more holy. In verse 8 John declared that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. God's endorsement of Jesus shows that this man will immerse people in the Holy Spirit, giving them the power to live for God.

God said, 'You are my Son.' This confirmed the special relationship between Jesus and God the Father. It fulfilled the promises of the Old Testament about the Son of God.

'Whom I love'. God loves everyone, but this declaration shows that Jesus was uniquely chosen by God to carry out the work of redeeming sinful mankind. The love of God is linked to his election, of Jesus and of people.

'With you I am well pleased.' God was confirming that Jesus was doing the right thing. Following the right way of identifying with sinful humanity to the cross, and giving the power of the Holy Spirit to all who trust in Jesus.

Former prime minister Herbert Asquith once spent a weekend at the Waddesdon estate of the 19th-century Rothschild family. One day, as Asquith was being waited on at teatime by the butler, the following conversation occurred:

"Tea, coffee, or a peach from off the wall, sir?"
"Tea, please," answered Asquith.
"China, India, or Ceylon, sir?" asked the butler.
"China, please."
"Lemon, milk, or cream, sir?"
"Milk, please," replied Asquith.
"Jersey, Hereford, or Shorthorn, sir?" asked the butler.

Sometimes people come to a crossroads in their life and they have to make one, important decision. Maybe there is a crisis, an important decision needs to be made and they show what they are truly like. The temptation of Jesus was such a time. It confronted him with choices, and showed his true character.

Following his baptism Jesus was immediately led by the Holy Spirit to the desert to be tempted for forty days. Why should God the Holy Spirit lead God the Son into such an hostile environment ? There are times when a difficult experience forces us to confront issues that we would rather not. For example illness or infirmity, bereavement, unemployment, a difficult relationship, unhappiness, and so on. But God can use these situations to develop our character and make us more like Jesus.

James 1: 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James's call for joy in the face of trials may seem shocking or even insensitive at first. A close reading, though, makes clear that James finds joy in the results of the trials, not in the trials themselves. Even difficult times can produce good qualities, such as perseverance. This positive, or "redemptive," approach to suffering surfaces throughout the New Testament. As Christians we can have a different approach when things are difficult and ask how God can use our circumstances to make us more like Jesus.

"Forty days", verse 13 recalls Israel's 40 years in the "wilderness"; it echoes the 40 days of testing Moses endured when the covenant was renewed after the gold calf incident (Exodus 34:28). Elijah too spent "forty days" on Mount Sinai (1 Kings 19:8).

Last week we saw some of the inks between Jesus, Moses and Elijah.

'Satan' tempts Jesus. Jesus was perfect so any temptation had to come from outside. This is different to us. We have sin within us, so we can be tempted by the sin that is within us, as well as being tempted by Satan. We should not be fooled into thinking that all temptation is from Satan. Neither should we be fooled into thinking that Satan is inactive. We need to pray against him in the power of Jesus. Pray against temptation as Jesus taught us in his pattern prayer. Pray against Satan in blinding people to the grace of God in Jesus.

Satan is a Hebrew word meaning 'adversary' or 'enemy'. Satan is a rebellious angel who is opposed to God and is consistently engaged in activities against people, especially God's people. Satan can be subtle. We know from the other gospels how Satan tempted Jesus. He tried to undermine Jesus' identity and his relationship with God He encouraged Jesus to fulfil his own needs and go against God's will, to take the short cut of grabbing power through false worship.

Jesus resisted these temptations. He is the second Adam. The first Adam was not hungry but was inspired to eat the prohibited fruit out of curiosity, encouraged by Satan.

Jesus was hungry after forty days fasting but decided to trust in God's provision rather than his own power.

Jesus, the second Adam , undid the effects of the first Adam who brought death and disruption into the world through his sin. If Jesus had given in to just one of the temptations of the devil God's plan for the salvation of the world would have failed.

Just as Adam opened the flood gates of sin to death so Jesus opened the flood gates of grace to eternal life.

This is the first of many victorious rounds where Jesus defeats Satan. Not all of them are as obvious as this one, but again and again Satan tries to deflect Jesus from his mission to save the world. Again and again Jesus is victorious, even on an instrument of defeat, degradation an death. The cross.

The Baptism of Jesus confirms who he is. The temptation of Jesus shows his commitment to God's ways. The temptation of Jesus also points to the road of faithfulness and dependence upon God that his disciples are to follow.

This is not a road that is untrod, that God expects of us but is not prepared to undergo himself. It is a way God, in Jesus has followed. Because Jesus lived life God's way the temptations he endured would be greater than we can imagine. We give in to sin too easily for it to be a struggle. And who of us has ever fasted for four days, let alone forty ? Jesus has endured temptation like us and won.

We can receive his power, the Holy Spirit, to help us to resist temptation and to put God first.

We can also know the mercy and grace of Jesus when we are tempted.

Hebrews 4:15, 'For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.'

My son Joshua has a birthday later this month. When he comes downstairs on that morning we will not need to encourage or persuade him to open his present.

Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

The good news of Jesus has to be received, opened, acted upon.

Repent in the Greek literally means a change of mind. For repentance to effect someone's life more is needed than a declaration and some water. If you are going to repent you are changing direction. And it's no use changing direction unless you know where you are going. Jesus shows us the way to go through his teaching, his life, his death and his resurrection. Water can wash dirt away but it cannot wash away the effects of sin. Only God's Holy Spirit can do that in Jesus. The Holy Spirit enables us to respond to Jesus' death for us, and he gives us the power to live for God and resist temptation. We are not alone in our Christian lives. We have God the Son who can sympathise with us and who prays for us. We have God the Holy Spirit who gives us power to live for God, fruit to make us more like Jesus and gifts to equip us to serve God in the church and the world.

Jesus said the kingdom of God is near. We need to repent and believe. Not just once but every day, every hour! We have to continually renounce the way of the world and follow the way of God. Not merely during Lent, but all of the year.

The kingdom, or rule of God is here in Jesus. Good news is for sharing. We can share it as we live for God and as we tell others about what he has done for us and the transformation this can bring to people's lives today.

Today, let us thank God for the faithfulness of Jesus in coming to earth, resisting temptation, and going to the cross for us. Let us resolve to rely upon his Spirit to help us to be faithful. Let us rely on his Spirit to give us the opportunities and the words to tell others about his love.

PRAY

12.3.00 6 p.m. Mark 1:9-15 ( 1 Peter 3:18-22 )

PRAY

This week we have seen the end of the first stage of the American elections and the emergence of two candidates to become the next President. I don't know if you are like me and don't really understand the U.S. electoral system. For example, what is the difference between a Democrat and a Republican ? Mind you, Americans may not know the difference Labour and the Conservatives. Come to think of it, many people in this country may also be unsure of the differences !

The U.S. system appears strange to us. It appears that in some states you can vote for the election of a candidate for the opposing political party ! The equivalent over here would be a Labour Party member voting for the leader of the Conservatives ! Mind you, it would have the same effect at the moment, because I can imagine that most Labour supporters are quite happy with William Hague leading the Conservatives !

In today's gospel reading we have the election of Jesus. However, there is only one candidate, and only one vote. God the Father votes for Jesus the Son.

This brief passage is about faithfulness in following the will of God.

Jesus does the will of God in being baptized, and in resisting Satan. God's will for people is for them to repent and believe the good news found in Jesus.

Jesus' Baptism.

God said, 'You are my Son.' This confirmed the special relationship between Jesus and God the Father. It fulfilled the promises of the Old Testament about the Son of God.

'Whom I love'. This shows that Jesus was uniquely chosen by God to carry out the work of redeeming sinful mankind. The love of God is linked to his election, of Jesus and of people.

Sometimes people come to a crossroads in their life. Maybe there is a crisis, an important decision needs to be made and they show what they are truly like. The temptation of Jesus was such a time. It confronted him with choices, and showed his true character.

Last week we saw some of the inks between Jesus, Moses and Elijah.

Jesus resisted these temptations. He is the second Adam. The first Adam was not hungry but was inspired to eat the prohibited fruit out of curiosity, encouraged by Satan.

Jesus was hungry after forty days fasting but decided to trust in God's provision rather than his own power.

Just as Adam opened the flood gates of sin to death so Jesus opened the flood gates of grace to eternal life.

We can receive his power, the Holy Spirit, to help us to resist temptation and to put God first.

We can also know the mercy and grace of Jesus when we are tempted.

Can you remember that there used to be a chocolate selection called 'Good News'. It's nice to receive chocolates sometimes isn't it? It's good to give them as well isn't it? Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

The good news of Jesus is to be received. For repentance to effect someone's life more is needed than a declaration and some water. If you are going to repent you are changing direction. It's no use changing direction unless you know where you are going. Jesus shows us the way to go through his teaching, his life, his death and his resurrection. Water can wash dirt away but it cannot wash away the effects of sin. Only God's Holy Spirit can do that in Jesus. The Holy Spirit enables us to respond to Jesus' death for us, and he gives us the power to live for God and resist temptation.

Jesus said the kingdom of God is near. The kingdom, or rule of God is here in Jesus. Good news is for sharing. We can share it as we live for God and as we tell others about what he has done for us and the transformation this can bring to people's lives today.

PRAY