“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” — Mark 1:15 (CSB – Read the chapter)
Jesus said a lot of things. At the end of John’s Gospel, the apostle includes a note that he only presented a sampling of what Jesus did and said. Speaking only somewhat hyperbolically, he observed that if he had written down everything, it would have filled several books. But, Jesus was a teacher. That was His primary mission and goal. For all of the things He said, though, there was one big idea that beat at the heart of all of His messages.
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)
One of my favorite songs from one of my favorite musicals of all time starts like this: “Let’s start at the very beginning; a very good place to start. When you read you begin with A-B-C; when you sing you begin with…” Can you finish that? Do-re-mi. That, of course, is from The Sound of Music and Julie Andrews’ truly iconic voice. I’ve been thinking a lot about beginnings lately. Specifically, as I have been leading my church through the first part of the book of Acts, I have been thinking about the beginning of the Gospel. How did it start and how does it start in our lives? That’s a very good question to ask and one we are going to be asking together here in our next journey together. I hope you’ll come along with me.
This week as we continue in our series, Telling Our Story, we come upon one of the most powerful stories of the journey. Who exactly is the Gospel for? In the first church, early on in their story, in spite of what Jesus had told them, they thought the Gospel was just for them and the people who were like them. What we see today, though, was the time when God intervened to help them understand that it was entirely bigger than that. Let’s talk about just how big.
For Everybody
Have you ever run into someone you didn’t expect in a place you wouldn’t have imagined? When I was 12, my parents planned a surprise party for me. The plan was for my dad to take me out to run an errand, but “forget” his wallet at home. While we were gone, a whole bunch of my buddies invaded the house. When we got back to get the wallet, I ran inside as fast as I could because I was 12 and that’s what 12-year-old boys do. Right as I got to the room where the wallet was supposedly sitting, they all jumped out at me. I’m pretty sure I defied some laws of physics as I changed directions in mid-air and crumpled to the ground in a little ball figuring that I was toast. One of my buddies had even thrown on a Wolf-Man mask for good measure. I’m just grateful I didn’t have to suffer the embarrassment of making a mess of myself from the shock. It wound up being a great evening, but I just about didn’t survive the shock of seeing all those guys in that place at that time.
“As my life was fading away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, to your holy temple.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
There’s something about good things happening at the last second that inspires us. Bottom of the ninth home runs in baseball or buzzer beaters in basketball are the most exciting ways for a team to achieve victory. I think there’s a very good reason for this and we see a hint of it right here in Jonah’s prayer from the belly of the fish.
“He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
When you get into the meat of the theology behind the Gospel, you eventually find yourself having to slog through some big words whose definitions are not at all clear to most people. The reason is simply that we don’t use words like that very often anymore; at least, not in the way they were understood in previous generations or by the various New Testament authors. At the same time, they’re really important words whose ideas are central to grasping the nature of the salvation made available in Christ. One of the most important of these is the word “righteousness.” Let’s talk for a minute about what it means and why it makes Christmas so important.
The Nexus 