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MARKed by Jesus: Mark 1:1-13 — 8/29/2025 10:00 AM
Today's speaker is Dr. Thomas White, President of Cedarville University. Dr. White begins his series, "MARKed by Jesus", preaching from Mark 1:1-13. In this text we meet Jesus, the Son of God and the adversary of Satan.
Notes
Who is Jesus? The answer to that question should change everything. The way we think, speak, and act should reflect what we actually believe about who He is. In Mark 1:1鈥13, He is introduced as the Son of God and the adversary of Satan.
The Beginning
In vv. 1鈥8, John the Baptist lived his life in a way that reminded the Israelites of their history and called them to repent because the Messiah was coming. Everyone was talking about him. John could have gotten prideful because of his fame, but instead, he was humble, saying he was not even worthy to untie Jesus鈥檚 shoes. He firmly believed that he was only preparing the way for Someone far greater.
Just like John, we should be a voice crying in the wilderness of our generation. Rather than trying to be popular, we should focus on making Jesus popular, realizing that our lives are not all about ourselves 鈥 they are all about Him.
The Baptism
In vv. 9鈥11, Jesus came to be baptized in order to identify with humanity and be an example of obedience to God. When He came out of the water, the heavens were immediately torn open, and the Spirit descended on Him. A voice came out of heaven from the Father testified that Jesus was His beloved Son. This supports Mark鈥檚 thesis that Jesus is indeed the Son of God.
The Battle
In vv. 12鈥13, Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, starting with the phrase, 鈥淚f You are really the Son of God.鈥 He appealed to Jesus鈥檚 hunger. We are guilty of satisfying our physical pleasures in many sinful ways, but Jesus resisted the temptation.
Satan also went after Jesus鈥檚 ego when he tempted Him to test God. We are guilty of fostering pride and exalting ourselves at the expense of other people, but again, Jesus resisted.
When Satan told Jesus to bow down to him and promised the whole world as a reward, he was tempting Jesus to take the easy shortcut, getting the crown without having to go through all the pain of the cross. We are guilty of taking shortcuts to get the reward without the work. We don鈥檛 want to do things the right way at the right time, but Jesus resisted this temptation too.
Who Is Jesus?
Some of us are living like Jesus doesn鈥檛 exist. We need to ask ourselves the question, 鈥淚f Jesus is the Son of God and a real battle exists between good and evil, then how should that impact my thoughts, words, and actions in day-to-day life?鈥 We should be passionate about the Gospel, meditating on Scripture, telling others about Jesus, and resisting sin.
This is real. If you have confessed, repented of your sins, and turned to Jesus, you are a beloved child of the King. There is a cosmic war taking place, and you need to be ready for that. It鈥檚 time to get in the game.