SERMON ON MARK 1:1-8 & ISAIAH 40:1-11

SERMON ON MARK 1:1-8 & ISAIAH 40:1-11 “WHO SPEAKS FOR GOD?”

In this sermon, I want to show you something that I believe God wants us to see and invite you to something that I believe God wants us to do:

The first thing actually has to do with both the Old and New Testament readings for this evening: Let’s look at the Mark passage first: [Mark 1:1-3]. Look at that again. Mark begins his announcement of the “Good News of Jesus Christ” (the Gospel) by focusing on another “announcer”—John the Baptist. “Mark” announces the good news of Jesus by announcing the announcer.

And to make the beginning of his story even more interesting (and complicated), the writer of the book of Mark begins announcing John the Baptist by quoting another announcer through whom God had spoken hundreds of years before either John the Baptist or Jesus was born—the prophet Isaiah. So Mark starts telling the reader about Jesus by first telling the reader about Isaiah who tells the reader about John the Baptist.

Of course, the account of the Gospel in the book of Mark isn’t about John the Baptist or Isaiah. It’s about Jesus, the Christ. But for just a brief moment—right at the beginning of his account—the writer shines the spotlight on two other men who used their voices, too, to tell the good news.

Why? Why spend even a sentence of a very short Gospel (compared to Matthew, Luke, and John) telling about other announcers and messengers—who merely prepared the way for the Lord? Why not get to the real Subject immediately?

Let’s see if the Isaiah passage can help us with that: [Isaiah 40:1-2a, 3a, 9]. In eleven brief verses, the prophet Isaiah—the spokesman of God Himself—over and over calls attention to the voices of those who speak for God.

New Testament Scripture describes the gifts that God’s Holy Spirit gives to those who accept Jesus as Savior and become his disciples. As far as I can tell, there are nineteen “spiritual gifts” listed (depending on how you count them). Most commentators I’ve read acknowledge that the list isn’t meant to be complete. But of the gifts listed, which the Holy Spirit gives to God’s people so that we can build the Church in unity and spiritual maturity, over half of those spiritual gifts have directly to do with speaking: uttering wisdom, uttering knowledge, prophesying (edifying and exhorting), discerning spirits, speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, proclaiming the Gospel (being an apostle), evangelizing, preaching, and teaching. God certainly seems concerned that His people be able to speak. But what does He want us to say?

Look at what those who speak for God are saying in Isaiah:

Verses 1 and 2: “Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid.” COMFORT. TENDER COMFORT. THE COMFORT OF MERCY AND FORGIVENESS. Have you ever spoken a word of comfort? Have you ever told anyone that his or her sins are forgiven? It’s an amazing feeling! If you have, and the words you spoke were based on God’s word, you have been God’s messenger. You have spoken for God. This is the word the prophet Isaiah was given to speak: Come back to God. He has forgiven you. The writer of 2 Corinthians says it this way: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our afflictions, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God” (2 Cor. 1:4). Speak for God. Speak comfort.

And verse 3: “A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’” A WORD OF INSTRUCTION. A MORAL WORD. A reminder of what God desires and demands. Have you—as a parent, a teacher, an employer, a friend—ever spoken a word of truth to instruct or remind someone of the will of God? Have you ever said, “You know, honey, when you wear your skirts that short, did you ever think that you might just be tempting someone to impure thoughts and desires?” Or to a co-worker or friend, “You know, I don’t think we ought to be talking like this. I’m not sure that everything we’re saying is true, but I know everything we’re saying isn’t kind.” Have you ever spoken a word like either of those? I know, we worry about being judgmental, or seeming judgmental. But there’s a key difference between speaking the truth and condemning someone. But I’m not talking about substituting Law for Gospel. God never gives us license to condemn, but he wants us to know the truth and to speak it when he tells us to. Use the authority and influence that God gives you to speak the words Jesus spoke, “If you love me, you will obey my commandments.” Acknowledging that God’ does have a will for His people and reminding ourselves and others of that will is another way of speaking for God.

Finally, thirdly, the most beautiful of all—verse 9: “Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Here is your God!’” Or, as it so beautifully reads in the King James translation: “O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain; lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’” A WORD OF ANNUNCIATION. AN INTRODUCTION—to the God who loves and forgives. When have you lifted up your voice to announce and introduce an unbeliever to God? Behold the Christ who died and lives for you! Can you imagine a greater thrill?!

But, you know, people don’t always listen to God’s word, especially when it comes through a human being. People didn’t always listen to Isaiah (or any of God’s prophets), and King Herod certainly didn’t want to hear what John the Baptist had to say. (If you don’t know what happened to him, I suggest that you read the fourteenth chapter of Matthew.) So, I wouldn’t dream of suggesting that we should be messengers of God so that we will win friends and influence people. God promises us that, when his word goes forth, it will accomplish the purpose for which he sent it (Isaiah 55:11).

So we don’t have to worry about outcomes or success. All we have to do is revel in the experience, the privilege, the sacred trust of speaking for God. The Old Testaments prophets and psalmists describe the Word of God as tasting like honey—one of my favorite foods!

When I was younger, for twenty years I sang second alto with a chorus of hundreds of people who performed only once year—to sing Handel’s Messiah. People differ on how important a composer Handel was, but I love the wedding of words and music in that oratorio. All the lyrics are Scripture, so when we were singing them, we were truly singing the words of God. One of the absolutely most beautiful and difficult parts for altos to sing is my favorite. It involves an octave interval that moves like this [G below middle C to G just above]: “Behold the Lamb of God.” What a privilege—to be able to use your own voice to announce the Savior of the world.

The Bible does tell us about specific passions and abilities that the Holy Spirit gives to specific individuals: Not everyone can work miracles or interpret tongues. But there are also general gifts that all disciples of Christ receive—general privileges that we all can share. And speaking for God is one of those wonderful gifts that is yours to open up and use whenever God prompts. Take the gift God has given you and pass it on!

When some of the Pharisees in the crowd on Palm Sunday asked Jesus to order his disciples to shop praising Him, JESUS REPLIED, “I TELL YOU, IF THESE WERE SILENT, THE STONES WOULD CRY OUT” (Luke 19:40). Amen.