Second in a series on the Gospel of Mark by Pastor Craig Diestelkamp
Scripture: Mark 1:2-12
Notice how Mark emphasizes the theme of the wilderness in these opening verses. John the Baptist lives in the wilderness. He ministers in the wilderness. Those who are baptized by John went out into the wilderness. Jesus himself comes to the wilderness to be baptized by John and immediately following He was driven into the wilderness by the Spirit. And so there is something about the “wilderness” that God wants us to learn. I think Mark is telling us that if we we want to meet the King, we must be willing to find Him in the wilderness.
Wilderness is a major theme throughout the Bible
- Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3)
- Jacob wrestles with God in the wilderness (Genesis 32)
- David finds God’s presence in the wilderness (Psalm 63)
- Israel meets with God at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19)
The wilderness represents our absolute need for God
“Most people if they really learned how look into their own hearts, would know that they do want and want acutely something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never keep their promise… There is always something that we grasp at in that first moment of longing that always fades away in the reality… what we were really looking for has evaded us.” – C.S. Lewis
John the Baptist, a true wilderness man
- Bare essentials (diet and dress)
- Prophetic in nature (authentic and anointed)
- Baptism of repentance unto forgiveness (not self-applied religion)
“My hearing him preach gave me a heart wound and by God’s grace my old foundation was broken up and saw that my own righteousness could not save me.” – Nathan Cole
Meeting the King in the wilderness
- Preparing the “way” for the King
- Following the King’s pathway – the Cross
- Receiving the Spirit’s power
- Knowing the Father’s love
