Good news is hard to come by these days. In a 30 minute report, there seems to be a lifetime of bad news. We all yearn for good news. Throughout human history, humanity longs for good news. Mark tells us some good news in his Gospel. It's good news that centers on Jesus. In Mark 1:1-8, we see several reasons that message of Jesus is truly good news.
1. Jesus is the subject of the gospel (literally "good news"). The message is about Jesus. The narrative focuses on his person and work.
2. Jesus is God's Anointed. The term "Christ" or "Messiah" means anointed. In the Old Testament, there were three offices to which people were anointed: prophet, priest, and king. Until Jesus, no one had been all three. Jesus is Prophet, Priest, and King. As Prophet he reveals God to his people, as Priest he sacrificed himself to redeem God's people, and as King he reigns over God's kingdom.
3. His is the Son of God. This term stresses the unique relationship Jesus has to the Father. It demonstrates his divinity.
4. He is the subject of prophecy. Most scholars point out two prophecies in Mark 1:2-3, they are Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3. The Scriptures that Mark quotes are of the Lord speaking of himself, but as Mark quotes them they are the Father speaking to the Son. These, too, point to Jesus' divinity.
5. Jesus brings the offer of forgiveness to the repentant. If the message of Jesus' forerunner, John, was a call to repentance with a promise of forgiveness, it is logical to conclude that Jesus provides that forgiveness to those who turn to him.
6. Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit. John's baptism was important, but not eternal. John couldn't change a person's heart with water. However, Jesus can and does change a person's heart through the indwelling of the Spirit.
The message of Christ is life changing. It has the power to transform anyone who receives it in faith. I hope this good news is transforming your life, too.
Showing posts with label Good News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Good News. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Good News of Great Joy
"And the angel said to them, 'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord'" (Luke 2:10-11, ESV).As we gather to celebrate the coming of Christ, we are proclaiming good news of great joy. We are sharing a message that has brought hope and transformation for nearly two thousand years. We are proclaiming that the long awaited hope of deliverance has come into the world. We are proclaiming that sin and death no longer have the right to reign over mankind. The rightful King as come, and in his coming he brought life.
The heart of the message of Christmas is that sinners no longer have to fear the wrath of God. The proclamation of Christmas is that God has sent his Lamb into the world, to be a substitutionary atonement, on behalf of fallen man. Christmas means that God is pleased to dwell among the image bearers, and has made it possible by reconciling all things to himself through Jesus Christ.
Christmas proclaims the reality of sin, and the truth that man needs a Savior. The angel says, "For unto you is born . . . a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." The fact that he was born to be the Savior indicates that Creation needed to be saved. Even the name Jesus means Salvation. The title Christ (Messiah) reminds us that he was "anointed" for this task. Thus, the anointed Savior came into the world to redeem mankind by offering up himself as a ransom.
So this Christmas, take time to consider if you have received the greatest gift of all, the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Savior. Savor the goodness of the message--Jesus saves. Rejoice with great joy that he has stilled your fears, and brought peace between you and God. And Remember, that Jesus has ascended on high, where he reigns over all of Creation, and that he still delights in saving those who don't yet know him.
Art work from: PicturesofJesus4You.com.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
And Now for the Good News
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--and raised us up with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:4-7, ESV).
These verses are so rich. They point us to the heart of the gospel message--God is not content with our destruction. Paul has just painted a bleak picture of what we were before Christ. We were sons of disobedience, servants of the prince of the power of the air, and spiritual corpses. We slavishly labored after our own fleshly desires without the slightest concern for the glory of God. Although he was the author of our life, we expended his gift in the service of a false god--ourselves.
"But God," Paul states. But God is rich in mercy. But God loved us with a great love. But God made us alive in Christ Jesus. But God shed his grace upon us. But God raised us up with Christ in the heavenly places. But God desired to showcase his glorious mercy in the coming age by extending his kindness toward us.
The word "but" is such a small word with such a powerful impact. It is the sun breaking through the darkness of our life before Christ. It turns the gloom of Paul's description of us into a breath of hope to sustain us. The simple expression "But God," shifts our attention to the "immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe" (Eph. 1:19, ESV). Paul explains that this power finds its greatest expression in the the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus Christ (see Eph. 1:19-23).
In Ephesians 2:4-7, he demonstrates the how that power has been worked out "toward us who believe." Just as God raised Christ from the dead (physically) and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places (physically/spiritually), he has also raised us from the dead (spiritually, and eventually physically) and seated us with Christ in the heavenly places (spiritually, and eventually physically). Thus, in Christ, we have life and standing before God.
Our life is not something that God begrudgingly gave us. No, it was something that sprang forth from his abundant stores of mercy. He is "rich in mercy." He is rich in mercy toward us. He loves us, but not with some puny, fickle, wishy-washy love. No, he loves us with a "great love." In all of this he shows immeasurable kindness toward us.
In the midst of this passage, Paul can't help but express the obvious. He states, "By grace you have been saved." We swim in a sea of God's grace from the moment of conception. It is amazing that he chose the exact pairing of chromosomes that make us up as individuals. He appointed their union, and brought us into existence. His grace extends to every facet of our life--heartbeat, breath, relationships, joy, pain, work, play, etc. His grace is immeasurable, in part, because of its constant presence in our lives.
His grace is also immeasurable for another reason. Beyond all of the general graces God bestows upon us, there is also particular graces. We see some of them in Paul's thanksgiving in Ephesians 1:3-15. We are chosen, predestined to be adopted as sons because God loves us, redeemed through the blood of Christ, and sealed until redemption is completed, just to name a few.
This grace has extended life to us through Jesus Christ. When we believed the gospel, we were made alive in Christ. We were seated with him in the heavenly places. That is to say, he has guaranteed our pardon and place with the Father. Such good news should make us continually praise the glorious God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These verses are so rich. They point us to the heart of the gospel message--God is not content with our destruction. Paul has just painted a bleak picture of what we were before Christ. We were sons of disobedience, servants of the prince of the power of the air, and spiritual corpses. We slavishly labored after our own fleshly desires without the slightest concern for the glory of God. Although he was the author of our life, we expended his gift in the service of a false god--ourselves.
"But God," Paul states. But God is rich in mercy. But God loved us with a great love. But God made us alive in Christ Jesus. But God shed his grace upon us. But God raised us up with Christ in the heavenly places. But God desired to showcase his glorious mercy in the coming age by extending his kindness toward us.
The word "but" is such a small word with such a powerful impact. It is the sun breaking through the darkness of our life before Christ. It turns the gloom of Paul's description of us into a breath of hope to sustain us. The simple expression "But God," shifts our attention to the "immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe" (Eph. 1:19, ESV). Paul explains that this power finds its greatest expression in the the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus Christ (see Eph. 1:19-23).
In Ephesians 2:4-7, he demonstrates the how that power has been worked out "toward us who believe." Just as God raised Christ from the dead (physically) and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places (physically/spiritually), he has also raised us from the dead (spiritually, and eventually physically) and seated us with Christ in the heavenly places (spiritually, and eventually physically). Thus, in Christ, we have life and standing before God.
Our life is not something that God begrudgingly gave us. No, it was something that sprang forth from his abundant stores of mercy. He is "rich in mercy." He is rich in mercy toward us. He loves us, but not with some puny, fickle, wishy-washy love. No, he loves us with a "great love." In all of this he shows immeasurable kindness toward us.
In the midst of this passage, Paul can't help but express the obvious. He states, "By grace you have been saved." We swim in a sea of God's grace from the moment of conception. It is amazing that he chose the exact pairing of chromosomes that make us up as individuals. He appointed their union, and brought us into existence. His grace extends to every facet of our life--heartbeat, breath, relationships, joy, pain, work, play, etc. His grace is immeasurable, in part, because of its constant presence in our lives.
His grace is also immeasurable for another reason. Beyond all of the general graces God bestows upon us, there is also particular graces. We see some of them in Paul's thanksgiving in Ephesians 1:3-15. We are chosen, predestined to be adopted as sons because God loves us, redeemed through the blood of Christ, and sealed until redemption is completed, just to name a few.
This grace has extended life to us through Jesus Christ. When we believed the gospel, we were made alive in Christ. We were seated with him in the heavenly places. That is to say, he has guaranteed our pardon and place with the Father. Such good news should make us continually praise the glorious God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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