Note from Jesus
Dear Servant of God,
I love the way Mark begins his good news story about Me:
This is the beginning of the good news of Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King, the Son of God. Isaiah the prophet told us what would happen before He came:
Watch, I will send My messenger in front of You to prepare Your way and make it clear and straight…
That messenger was John the Baptist…
(Mark 1:1-2; Mark 1:4)
This introduction is Mark’s way of saying that My ministry, My whole story, begins with a servant — and this servant’s name is John the Baptist. There are no birth stories about Me in Mark. Nothing about My childhood is written in Mark. There are no genealogies that tell about My ancestry. Mark is clear, purposeful, and to the point: for people to hear and believe the good news about Me, God most frequently uses those who offer themselves to Me to be servants so others can believe. That’s why in My Kingdom, the greatest is always a servant. As I said during My earthly ministry:
If you are recognized at all, let it be for your service. Delight in the one Who calls you servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
(Matthew 23:11-12)
Just as John the Baptist was a servant who prepared the hearts of others to know Me, please know that you are to have that same role in the lives of your friends and family. For the good news about Me to reach the hearts of your friends, associates, and family, they must know that you do what you do for them because of your love for Me as well as for them.
Verses to Live
Let’s return to how Mark begins his good news story of My life:
This is the beginning of the good news of Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King, the Son of God. Isaiah the prophet told us what would happen before He came:
Watch, I will send My messenger in front of You to prepare Your way and make it clear and straight. You’ll hear him, a voice crying in the wilderness,
“Prepare the way of the Eternal One, a straight way in the wandering desert, a highway for our God.”That messenger was John the Baptist, who appeared in the desert near the Jordan River preaching that people should be ritually cleansed through baptism with water as a sign of both their changed hearts and God’s forgiveness of their sins. People from across the countryside of Judea and from the city of Jerusalem came to him and confessed that they were deeply flawed and needed help, so he cleansed them with the waters of the Jordan. John dressed as some of the Hebrew prophets had, in clothes made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. He made his meals in the desert from locusts and wild honey. He preached a message in the wilderness.
John the Baptist:
Someone is coming Who is a lot more powerful than I am — One Whose sandals I’m not worthy to bend down and untie. I’ve washed you here through baptism with water; but when He gets here, He will wash you in the Spirit of God.
(Mark 1:1-8)John’s life was a preparation for My own life. Just as John the Baptist was a servant to Me, I am a servant to you:
Jesus:
Even the Son of Man came not to be served but to be a servant — to offer His life as a ransom for others.
(Mark 10:45)
Response in Prayer
O Father in heaven, bless me as I seek to show Your love and serve those close to me — my family, my friends, my co-workers, and my neighbors. Holy Spirit, I ask that You fill my heart with love so others can see this love in what I do and be drawn to Jesus, in Whose name I pray. Amen.
‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware.
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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.