The Servant Savior

Involves was his turn with me if you would Mark chapter 10 and will be looking at verse 45 for even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. That with me as we go to our Lord in prayer.

Heavenly father we start a study today of Mark's gospel. The modern day church we been told that the Gospels and for unbelievers and new Christians that we found the meat of the word in Paul's epistles in the book of Revelation.

May we be driven from that lie we need direction from the Gospels every day. We need Jesus to show us had allele that allow that to serve or since we had to be like him. Mark wrote this gospel. Peter was his apostolic source, the Holy Spirit spoke his truth to both of them as we study Mark we want to better understand what the gospel is, we need the gospel for our salvation, but we need it day by day for life Lord today will go to focusing on the key verse of Mark's gospel Martin 45 the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. As we work our way through this gospel. Verse by verse my Martin 45 Bayer spotlight and is we think about that verse and meditate on it.

May we become more like our servant Savior 40 is in the precious and holy name of Jesus that we pray. Amen. You may be seated. Several years ago, Dr. Evi Ruth, a well-known scholar of the classics and a hardened agnostic translated Homer into the modern day English. It was published by the Penguin Classics series, and his translation was so good that they were so excited about it. They ask him if he would consider translating the four Gospels into a modern day English translation. It was 60 years old at that time and he decided to take the challenge. When Ruth's son found out about this they got very excited because Ruth's son was a strong Christian himself and he said this, it will be interesting to see what father will make of the four Gospels, but it will be more interesting to see what the four Gospels will make of my father didn't have to wait for very long for it wasn't but a few months into the translation that God turned him over with the gospel, turn them upside down. He came to see who Jesus Christ really was.

He came to understand that he was a sinner and a bout his heart to Christ, repented of his sins and became a very committed Christian. Listen the gospel changes everything.

Few weeks ago.

Will Ferris and I had the privilege of doing the interview and examination for Jeff Lytle and his wife Christine. We asked them to share their testimonies with us and Christine shared with us that she was born and reared in the Philippines and that she was reared in the Catholic Church. She said that as she grew up that she became more dissatisfied and more distrustful of the Catholic doctrine so when she came to the United States to start her work and and getting a doctorate.

She came to the states and she started thinking about where she had been as a Catholic and she finally just ditched her Catholicism and she became an agnostic. She became an agnostic one that doesn't even know for sure if there is a God if she believe that are not. While she was here she met Jeff Lytle. They begin to talk and Jeff ask her a question that shook her to her very foundation. Jeff said to her where you stand with God. She said gave me about a week and I'll let you know and Jeff at that point in time begin to share some things with her that she needed to hear. The first told her about the mercy and the grace of God just said mercy is God not giving you what you do deserve, but grace is God giving you what you don't deserve to Christine. You can't work your way into God's favor. They said you can't do enough for you can't be good enough in order to merit your salvation said you did not do anything for your salvation. You can't do anything for it.

Salvation is not what you do for Jesus, salvation is what Jesus does for you and she said this is as Jeff begin to share more and more Scripture with her that Jesus kept getting bigger and bigger and better and better until finally she couldn't stand it anymore. She she repented of her sand spell on her face trusted Jesus Christ as our Lord and as her Savior. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God I had the privilege of doing the Mayor premarital counseling for Jeff and Christine, and when I get to my third session in premarital counseling always asked the couple a question I say what has your future spouse done to benefit your life, and she didn't have to wait for a second.

She said this is what my future spouse is done for me. He led me to Jesus else and praise God. I think this marriage is going like it bugs the statement that made that just grabbed my heart that Christine made that night was this is Jeff shared the word of God with me. Jesus kept getting bigger and bigger and better and better.

That's what I want for everybody here at Grace Church.

I won't everybody here in this church to experience Jesus getting bigger and bigger and better and better and I believe that through the study of the Gospels. That's exactly what will happen. So today we start a study only a series on all from the gospel of Mark and today are not gonna really dig into the text will start with that next week, but I want to share with you an introduction to the gospel. I think this is important Mark is the shortest gospel that was written and it was the first gospel. It was written. Now who was Mark. He is often referred to as John Mark in the Scripture, what, when Jesus was ministering here on earth those three years that he did his ministry. Mark was a young teenage boy Martin lived in the center of the city of Jerusalem. In acts chapter 2 verses one through two. We are told that John Mark's mother had a house they are right in the middle of the city of Jerusalem now and in acts chapter 12.

We are told that on this particular night there have been a prayer meeting of the believers are meeting there at the house and what are they praying for their praying for Peter because Peter has been through thrown in prison for preaching the gospel any schedule be executed on the next day, and their praying that God will will since an angel or do something to get Peter out of prison. You remember the story, the angel shows up in Peter's prison sale God puts a deep sleep on all the guards. Angel says the word and the change in the fetters fall off of of Peter's hands and feet and then all of a sudden the angel says another word, the sale door opens up and the Peter walks out of the sale door and then the big iron gate opens up. Peter walks out of the prison.

He is absolutely set free and where it is a gun the first place he goes is to the home of John Mark's mother and he goes there because there is where the people are praying that he might be released from prison always get, tickled when I read the story for Peter because he knocks on the door and a young lady named Rhoda comes to the door she opens the door and there's Peter, she gets so excited she slams the door in his face, and she runs back, leaving him on the porch.

She she goes in with the believers or pray in Jesus, God's peers here and they should be quiet Rhoda were praying for Peter's release. She said you don't have to pray anymore. Peter's fear then they be in great people of faith.

I said oh no, Peter must've died. They even met. He must've been executed and now his death angel is come to take him back to glory, and she said no it's not Peter's angel. It's Peter, and she goes opens the door let's Peter in Peter walks into the house and they rejoice together. No, many scholars believe that John Mark's mother's house was the house where the upper room was where Jesus met together with the disciples on the night before the crucifixion and that he met together with them in order that he might eat the Passover with them and that he might institute the Lord's supper. If that is so, then there's a good chance that Mark probably a 13 or 14-year-old boy at that time was down on the bottom floor and he was in bed and is he is in bed, he can hear what's going on right above them is Jesus is eating the Passover with his with his disciples as he is instituting the Lord's supper and has he spoken with them about what's going to happen in the very near future.

I.e. if that's true then that explains a passage of Scripture in Mark chapter 14 verse 49 through 52 Jesus and the disciples left that upper room that night and I went to the Mount of olives with the garden of Gethsemane is Jesus was arrested and taken to trial. Jesus speaks to the authorities who arrested him and then Mark records an incident that we don't have recorded in any of the other three Gospels owner read this to you.

This is an and in Mark chapter 14 verses 49 3052 Jesus said to the high priest into the guards, day after day I was with you in the temple teaching and you did not seize me, but let the scriptures be fulfilled and they all left him and fled, and a young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth about his body and they seized him, but he left a linen cloth and he ran away naked was that unnamed young man. I believe that it was a very good possibility that that young man was Mark I want you to picture this, Mark's line there in his bed there upper room is abutting. He's probably not wearing any clothes at all.

That's why they slip back into that pajamas and so His line they are in and he hears what's going on above Jesus and the disciples eat the Passover meal together. Jesus institutes the Lord's supper. Jesus begins to tell them about one who will train Jesus begins to share with them about these crucifixion that's coming on that very next day and then they that they get ready to to leave. They walk out the door headed to the Mount of olives going to the garden of Gethsemane and he decides I've got to hear what's going on. I got to see this so he jumps out and have Tom put his clothes on grabs a sheet and put surrounding and he takes off out of the door after Jesus and the disciples they get there to the to the Mount of olives are there in the garden of Gethsemane there talking together and and didn't Jesus is pray and then he's watching him from a distance. All of a sudden the soldiers come in to arrest Jesus when that happens. What happens the disciples man, I get scared and they take off running like a bunch of scared rabbits and and Mark says to himself, I better get out here to answer. Mark takes off a soldier's easy riches over grabs the sheet and refried off loving and he takes off he runs all the way back to his house naked as a jaybird now.

No other gospel writer mentions this, but Mark gives us vivid detail about what happened here. So, as Mark wrote this this piece in this incident if he wrote us and told us all about it, then quantity uses unnamed would you have.

I don't think I would have. I think I'm embarrassed to death and I think probably he was to so I cannot absolutely prove from Scripture that that Mark was the one in that story, but I think it just logically fits well what do we know about Mark. We know that Mark is the cousin of Barnabas and we know that when Paul and Barnabas took off on the first missionary journey they took Mark with the and so Mark was with them. He was a young man they thought he could do. Probably a lot of the physical work pack in and carrying stuff in doing that kind of stuff and so there their head around on that first missionary journey they get halfway around and Mark decides to bail out.

He just jumped. She up. He says I'm going back home and he takes off for home. And why did he do that we don't know. My got homesick might have a girlfriend back home, we were not sure, but he takes off her home and he leaves them in the lurch and BK.

This was a good punch for both mom. Barnabas and Paul, he just did it with. He did something that just hurt them deeply. Later on, when Mark Paul and Barnabas are getting ready to go on the second missionary journey. Barnabas who is kind, compassionate, loving, sweet, wonderful man says. I think I'm a give Mark another chance. Mark is apologize for what he is done and I wanting to go with us. He's done a lot of maturing in the faith, and I think you'll really help us out this time and he'll do well and pauses Wo oh wait a minute that's not gonna happen marks a man that cannot be trusted. He's a man that that is not a man of his word. You can forget that he's not gonna make a fool out of me again and Paul and Barnabas get in this huge argument and neither one of them will back off. Finally they say will.

This is the way we work this out Barnabas you take Mark and you go one way and I'll take solace in I'll go another way. And that's what they ended up doing while church fights a church like in the early church. I don't know about you but I'm I'm glad that this was reported for us forts a situation where two strong Christian leaders are in argument.

Both of these leaders have legitimate concerns and neither one will budge, and yet the Lord continues the work of God. Barnabas gave Mark a second chance and Mark did extremely well. He stayed the course with Barnabas. He didn't let Paul's rebuke of him, devastate him, and he didn't get mad at Paul did did God honor that. Did God honor him not getting bitter against Paul God most certainly did honor it for later, when Paul was in prison years and years later he and and Paul and and and Mark reconcile and they became dear friends. What did Mark do for Paul imprisoning probably brawling stuff probably brought him of opinions and in books and paper to write on.

Maybe a Krispy Kreme doughnut just did all these things, he would just informing Mark would not allow himself to get angry and bitter at Paul but all the way through those years he treated him with the greatest love and the greatest respect. So Paul is in prison, and his attitude toward Mark really begins to change. He writes a letter to Philemon in verse 24 the Coliseum's fellow worker. He writes that the letter to Colossae and Zeni chapter 4 verse 10 he says this Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you and Mark the cousin of Barnabas concerning whom you have received instructions.

If he comes to you welcome him and then in second Timothy chapter 4 verse 11.

The apostle Paul's get ready to be executed. He knows that they can take them out, decapitate him to cut his head off. He knows that's coming.

And was he thinking about one of the things he think about is John Mark exist. Timothy, when you see John Mark bringing back to me.

John Barth was profitable to me in the ministry. Paul's get ready for heaven.

He thinks back to his harshness toward John Mark.

He thinks back to the fact that he would not forgiving and he would not give him a second chance.

He sees that Mark now has matured into a very strong Christian and I think Paul wants to apologize to Wayne face-to-face. So they had a spat, but God heal that spat and they became genuine, genuine friends marks mentor was not Paul.

Mark had another mentor his his name was Peter he was his disciple, or he was his Christian teacher he was. His example how close were they first Peter chapter 5 verse 13. Peter refers to Mark as his own son. While Peter was in prison. Mark would come to him and they would sit down together and and Peter were teaching about Jesus, about his life about his ministry about his teaching about the gospel the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, he would teach him all of these things. So Mark is the one who wrote the gospel that were getting ready to get into, but Peter was his apostolic source. So, Mark's gospel is the oldest gospel we have. It's also the shortest that now most of what you have in the gospel of Mark, you're also going to fail find in the Gospel of Matthew in the Gospel of Luke. What is the date for the writing of the gospel of Mark. Educated guesses go all the way back to 50 a day and go all the way up to 69 A.D. I have a personal feeling that that he wrote it probably in the mid 60s. Now what do I think that because that was the time when Peter was in prison in Rome in 66 A.D. was the debt date that that Peter was taken out and he was executed.

I took him to a hill outside of Rome, and they crucified him. Peter said when you crucify me, crucify me upside down from not worthy to be crucified like Jesus. I think Mark wrote his gospel before Peter died in maybe Peter had the privilege and honor of reading that gospel of which he was the source. What do we know that Mark wrote the gospel of Mark. Yes we do know that in all the early church fathers are in agreement that it was Mark that wrote it.

Pappy is who is the Bishop of our obelisk said this, Mark McKay, Peter's interpreter and wrote accurately, all that he remembered not in date in order of the things said or done by the Lord, for he had not heard the Lord, nor had followed him. But later on as I said, he followed Peter used to give teaching as nests necessity demanded but not making as it were an arrangement of the Lord's articles so single-point as he remembered them for to one thing he gave attention to lead out nothing of what he had heard and to make no false statements in them so they ask you this.

Is there a lesson for us today in the life of John Mark, and I believe there absolutely is and here it is. Don't let your past failures lead you to quit. John Mark wrote his gospel 2 1/2 decades later is when he wrote the gospel to the death to have decades earlier, is when he committed the great sin of quitting and leaving at Barnabas and Paul in the lurch. It was a horrible terrible thing he did. It was a heinous and it was a very costly sin and then here is the. The apostle Paul, one of the greatest Christians to ever walk the face of the earth and what is he doing he is shunning Mark P's rebuke and he him. He refuses to have anything to do with him. So what should Mark do Jenny just quit should have just given up. If you ever been there. I've been there.

I've been in the situation. Raquel, I'm just too sinful to try to minister to anybody I and if you ever been there when you felt like this quitting because you're too sinful. I met maybe it was a burst of outbursts of anger met.

Maybe it was just a feeling of of of not being what you should be that you want walking with the Lord. Maybe you were getting slothful like it was lustful fault that you Have an and you thought will only just give up all the just quit my hands in and just give up when you get to that point. Remember Mark remember Mark Paul's indictment of him did not destroy him. It didn't devastate him. What did he do it motivated him. And then one part Barnabas get began to give them encouragement. It lit a fire under Mark. Mark said I will not let Satan destroy me. I will receive the mercy of God. I will revel in the grace of God and the rest of my life is going account for Christ's sake and Mark became a missionary, he became an aide to Peter.

He became an aide to Paul and he was the first human billion to write a gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ after he wrote that gospel he went to Alexandria, Egypt, and when he got there he planted a church that church begin to grow like wildfire. There are some very wicked people in Alexandria I found out where Martin Leo. They went to his house. They grabbed him jerked him out of his house. They tied them up to a horse where he was back behind the horse and tied with the rope that hit the horse horse begin to run down the road just tossing his body back and forth on the road until he was not completely unconscious. While he was unconscious.

They threw him into a fire and he was burned to death. Let me take this about Mark his ministry and his life and his death glorified the Lord Jesus Christ use Mark is an example of our need to persevere. Mark refused to quit and God used him in his gospel to bless the children of God.

The last 2000 years. We mention a few things are important for us to know about Mark's gospel is a said before, Mark's gospel was the first gospel be written, and it's the shortest gospel you will find fewer parables in the gospel of Mark, and you will and all the other Gospels, but you will find more miracles in Mark than you'll find in the other Gospels. Mark is an action book the words that you see over and over again and Mark is the word immediately immediately immediately is almost like Jesus and the disciples were running through the gospel of Mark. You can almost just feeling, huffing and puffing is going that fast. Mark is a man of action were like Matthew was a very contemplative man.

So when we read the Gospel of Matthew we read about Jesus teaching we read the sermon on the mount. We read all these parables one after another after another after another, but when you read the Gospel of Mark.

You read about what Jesus did books. That's why we have four Gospels by reading the four Gospels, which you'll you'll find is you get the whole picture of Jesus.

Remember a a few you couple years ago when we were went to a study on the book of Revelation. I shared with you that in the book of Revelation there is a a tool that is a great tool to use to help you understand what the book of revelations all about is called progressive parallelism and any progressive parallelism. It breaks to the book of Revelation down into seven sections.

They are broken down by in chapter divisions they like.

Chapters 1 through three chapters 4 through as a four through seven chapters 8 to 11.

Then he goes right on in every one of those sections in the book of Revelation. Every one of them is a picture of the church age.

From the first coming of Christ to the second coming of Christ and each one of those sections you'll see the same church age, which you'll see it from a different perspective.

You'll see it from a different angle, you get a different take on it, watching NFL football game and and there's a play in their not sure exactly what happened on the play so they do a replay of it and assure you all these different angles you get angle from behind the quarterback and I go from the right side of the line angle from the left side line. I go from the back of the defense and then an aerial shot and when you take it all together you get the whole picture of what that play was in the understand so it is with the Gospels. We have four Gospels that were written by four different authors, they wrote to for different audiences and they give us four different perspectives and you put it all together and you have exactly what God wants us to know that Jesus and his ministry. Matthews writing to the Jews.

Matthew is portrays Jesus Christ as the King of Kings and Lord of lords.

He tells us about them that Jesus is coming he is the Messiah. He is the fulfillment of all these Old Testament prophecies. There are more Old Testament Scriptures that are quoted in the Gospel of Matthew than any of the other four Gospels loop is of a Gentile. He wrote to the Greeks and he portray Jesus as the perfect man. Hey EA, he is a beautiful description of who Jesus is. He tells us he is the Son of Man and just beautifully describes his perfect humanity.

John wrote his gospel 30 years after the others wrote layers and he wrote it, not just to one group of people, but to everybody in general.

John is portray an Jesus Christ is God. He is the son of God. You see all these IM verses in the Gospel of John. I am the good Shepherd.

I am the door.

The sheep I am the resurrection and the life I am the way the truth and the life there in John chapter 20 verse 31. He tells us what his purpose in writing that gospel was and he said, but these are written since she may believe that Jesus is.

This is the Christ the son of God, and that by believing you might have have life in his name within Mark is Mark writing to Mark was writing primarily to the Romans and you realize that the Roman and population in the Roman Empire at that particular time. 66% of those people were slaves to out of every three Romans were slaves and so when Mark portrays Jesus people tracing him as the perfect servant the servant Savior, and the key verse the theme verse of the gospel of Mark is Mark chapter 10 verse 45. I want you to study that verse I want you to memorize that verse in every sermon I preached on the gospel of Mark I want you to think about that verse because that verse Souls who Jesus Christ is.

Martin 45 says this for even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. So what is the context of Mark chapter 10 verse 45 is the story of James and John to Jesus disciples who came to Jesus with the request.

I will read you that request. Mark 1035 to 45 says in James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. And he said to them what you want me to do for you and they said to him, grant us to see at want your right hand, one at your left in your glory. And Jesus said to them, either not know which are asking are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism which I am baptized. They said to him, we are able. Jesus said to them, the cup that I drink you will drink the baptism with which I'm baptized, you will be baptized but to sit at my right hand or my left is not mine to grant that is for those for whom it is been prepared and when the 10 heard it, they began to be indignant. James and John. Jesus called them to him and said to them, you know that those are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be used among you but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for meaning. Please don't listen to the us and roll your eyes at the blatantly ungodly materialistic selfishness of James and John folks what we see in James and John is an godliness materialism and an absolute selfishness that was bad of them. But you know what, that's just like us. The lesson here is not to get snarky at James and John.

The purpose of this passage is to humble us and to show us that we are not like Jesus were like James and John, and the only hope we have a change is that Jesus becomes Lord of our life and does the changing. So what's happening here. James and John come to Jesus with this request. I said Lord we want to sit on your right hand in your left hand in your kingdom and what were they asking for our sin. We won't preeminence we want to be made much of we will people looking up to us.

We like, to be worshiped. We like the idea of people admiring us and paying attention to us. That's what we want for our sales and the Scripture says in verse 41 that the 10 other disciples were indignant. I understand that first time I read that passage I was indignant to about me and they shouldn't of done that. That's a horrible thing to do. I should not have done it but we don't like to see pride and others.

Do we CS CS Lewis said this pride is a sin that we very seldom see in our own sales. But when we see it in others. We hate it. We do, don't wait for monies hungering after attention.

Somebody's thirsting after admiration, makes us sick. So in Jesus all the other 10 disciples get huffy and he saw them getting indignant over James and John asking for such a thing.

He uses it for a glorious teaching moment first to the disciples and second us here Grace Church every single one of us and what is he saying to us, go back and read couple verses, Jesus called them to him and said to them, you know that those were considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you, whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.

Was Jesus saying he's preaching the gospel, he's explaining what the gospel will do to the human heart. What is the gospel Gospels. This Jesus Christ left his throne in glory. He came down to this wicked earth. He lives a totally selfless existence. He spent his life serving others and then he went to the cross he went to the cross in order that he might shed his precious blood, in order that he might die as our substitute in order that he might purchase our salvation in order that he might be a substitutionary atonement for us that he would take RCN and give us his righteousness. We would take our hail and give us his heaven. So what did we do to deserve that. What can we do to deserve us sitting at the right hand of Jesus on his throne. What we deserve to enjoy the benefits of of Christ. What did we do for Jesus. We tell you what we did for Jesus. We gave them RCN and we gave them our hail. We did nothing for him, brothers and sisters. Jesus paid it all. All the him sealers left a crimson stain, he he washed it white as snow is truly been saved.

What is happened to you. Verse 43 and 44, but it shall not be so among you, whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. As we study through the gospel of Mark. Keep your mind on Mark's theme verse Mark 1045 the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Why did Jesus die did Jesus die just to get you into heaven. Jesus did not get you into heaven that Jesus also died that you might be his servant's servant. That's what it's all about. That's what the gospel of Mark is calling us to do. He was a servant Savior to us and we have the responsibility before God to be a servant to others and glorify him through that service the spray heavenly father we confess to you today that we are much more like the arrogant disciples James and John, then we are like you. It's our nature.

It's our bid to be prideful and desired to be served rather than serve as our only hope of changes you. You come to serve and give your life a ransom for many. It was your will to die for undeserving sinners. It was your will to suffer. Our hail on a cruel cross. It was your will to stand that our places are substitutionary atonement, help us to so love you, that we would despise our sin of self-righteousness in our spiritual pride that we would get dead serious about loving you and serving others, Lord, break us with your gospel boards in Jesus name we pray. Amen