The Promised Savior Is Coming

Who Is this Man?

Week 3 — The Promised Savior Is Coming

  1. God promised His coming.

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus [Ἰησοῦς (ē-ā-soos)] Christ , the Son of God. (Mark 1:1)
2 This is how it is written [γράφω (gra-phō)] in the prophet Isaiah: Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare the way [ὁδός (hō-dōs)] for you. 3 A voice of one calling out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.” (Mk 1:2–3)

Because God ___________ him, the messenger speaks with God's __________________. He carries God's ________________. He has _______ God-given assignment: prepare the way for the Lord.

A voice is calling out: In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord [יהוה (YHWH)]. In the wasteland make a level highway for our God. (Is 40:3)
A voice of one calling out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight the paths of our God. (Is 40:3, LXX)
3 A voice is calling out: In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord [יהוה (YHWH)]. In the wasteland [wilderness] make a level highway for our God. 4 Every valley will be raised up, and every mountain and hill will be made low. The rugged ground will become level, and the rough places will become a plain. (Is 40:3–4)

  1. God _________________ sinners for His coming.

4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Mk 1:4)
So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ. (Ro 10:17)
No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Co 12:3b)

The Law:

  • God's Law ___________ me my _______.

  • It _____________ away my _______________.

  • It _________________ me.

  • It shows me God's _________________ against my _______.

  • It can strike _____________ into my ___________.

  • But the Law _____________ give me _______________________.

  • The Law ______________ create ___________.

  • The Law ______________ turn my terrified heart toward God in _____________________.

The Gospel tells me:

  • What God has _________ about my _______.

  • Jesus has _____________ in my ___________.

  • Jesus has _________________ my _____________________.

  • Jesus has _________ for my _______.

  • God _________________ me because of ___________.

Through that Gospel, the Holy Spirit ________________ faith in our hearts—faith that _____________ what God says: Because of ___________, your sins are ________________.

The Five C’s of Repentance:

The sacrifices God wants are a broken spirit. A broken and crushed heart, O God, you will not despise. (Ps 51:17)

_____________________— heartfelt sorrow over sin, including fear of God's judgment.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 Jn 1:9)

_______________________— acknowledging before God how we have violated His commands.

So then, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Ro 8:1)

_____________________— trusting God's promise that He forgives us for Jesus' sake.

Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I am going to give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone out of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” (Lk 19:8)

_____________________— where possible, seeking to repair what our sin has damaged.

Let the one who has been stealing steal no longer. Instead, let him work hard doing what is good with his own hands, so that he has something to share with a person who is in need. (Eph 4:28)

______________— with God's help, turning from the sin and seeking not to repeat it.

Correction and Change are _____________ of _____________________.

The _________________________ of your sins may _____________ for the _________ of your life.

I don't correct and change _____ that God will forgive me. I correct and change _______________ God has forgiven me.

Correction asks: Because Christ has forgiven me, what can I _______ do to _____________ what my sin damaged?

Change asks: Because Christ has forgiven me, how can I now _________ differently according to God's _________?

Points to Ponder

  1. According to Mark 1:2–3, what was the God-given assignment of the promised messenger?
  2. According to Mark 1:4, what two things characterize John's ministry?
  3. What does the phrase “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” teach us about the relationship between repentance and Baptism?
  4. Why is it important to distinguish what the Law does from what the Gospel does in repentance?
  5. Why is “feeling sorry” by itself not the same thing as biblical repentance?
  6. Why is it spiritually dangerous to make correction or change conditions that must be satisfied before God forgives us?
  7. When you become aware of a particular sin, which part of repentance do you personally find most difficult: admitting the sin, trusting Christ's forgiveness, correcting damage, or changing the sinful behavior?
  8. What difference does it make to say, “I want to change because I am forgiven,” rather than, “I need to change so that I can be forgiven”? …

Homework: Mark 1