Shabbat Shalom. Let's open our Bibles to the Gospel of Marcos, Mark chapter 1. We are reading the first 11 verses in this ministry meeting. We'll move along in the study of this wonderful gospel that presents before us Yeshua, our Messiah, as the servant of Jehovah, the servant of the Lord. And I'm reading Mark 1 verse 1, the beginning of the gospel of Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God, Ben Elohim. As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his path straight.

John did baptize in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, and they went unto him all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins, And John, Yohanan, was clothed with camel's hair and with girdle of a skin about his loyens, and he did eat locusts and wild honey, and preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I, after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

And it came to pass in those days that Yeshua came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized of Yohanan, of John in the Jordan, and straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens open and a spirit like a dove descending upon him. And there came a voice from heaven saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And I'll stop here with these first 11 verses of this beautiful chapter in the Gospel of Mark. When we continue in our study together, dear brothers and sisters of the Gospel of Mark, In our previous meeting together, we gave an introduction to this very interesting gospel.

I've emphasized the fact that there are fourfold gospels, records about Yeshua, Jesus, the promised Messiah of Israel, and the Savior of this world, whom these men, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John recorded for us by divine inspiration to zero in on that one single person namely Yeshua from Nazareth the Mashiach the Messiah the one that came from heaven in order to redeem people for himself for Matthew looks at him as the Messiah of Israel the king of the Jews The Gospel of Luke, look at him as the perfect man who came to save mankind. And then John, look at him as the eternal Son of God who came from heaven.

And here we are studying the Gospel of Mark. Mark presents before us our Lord Jesus the Messiah as the servant of the Lord, the servant of Jehovah. And I think it is so precious for us because in service, in being a servant, a minister, a slave for God, Yeshua gave us a great example that if we want to serve God, we need to learn from our master. He was the one that submitted to the authority of God and gave us an example as to how to live and how to serve God in this sad world that needed so much help from God. So here is our chapter in which we are studying today.

And here we find out, dear brothers and sisters, in these 11 verses, we have in a sense, you might say the introduction not only to the whole book not only to the one who wrote the gospel even not immediately the introduction to the person of Jesus of Yeshua the Messiah but we have an introduction to the one that is called really the messenger the one who is going to introduce the messiah so we read if you remember previously we read the beginning of the gospel of jesus christ yeshua hamashiach the son of god that's how verse one began this is really the beginning just the start you might say where these men by the name

of mark introduced before israel and before the nations of the world number one yeshua he is the mashiach the anointed one but more than just that he is the son of god god the son ben elohim and if you remember i mentioned that this john mark yohanan marcus was much influenced by shimon petros in a sense you might almost say that Simon Peter and John Mark wrote this gospel together because Mark did not have much information about Yeshua the Messiah he received much of it from Simon Peter who gave him much information and by divine inspiration he wrote about Jesus the Messiah the Son of God But you notice now immediately in verse 2 and

3, as Mark introduced before us the whole gospel, the whole Besorah about the Messiah coming, he began with a record that is found in the Tanakh, in the Old Testament.

and I'm reading the next two verses, verse 2 and 3, he's quoting, it is so interesting, that Mark is quoting the prophets of Israel, and he said, as it is written, just pause with me for a moment, that expression, as it is written, it's a Hebrew expression that is found many, many places, in many places in the word of God. The word is kakatuv. Yes, it is written. Yes, it is written. Yes, it is written. In other words, Mark is saying to us, I'm not introducing something on my own. I'm not telling you about this Messiah, this the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, something that I am thinking only about this person.

I'm introducing him to you and the messenger that is going to speak about him on the basis of the hebrew scriptures that's why he's immediately in verses 2 and 3 says as it is written kakatuv in the prophets behold i send my messenger before thy face which shall prepare thy way before thee the voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord make his path straight now immediately he's quoting to us the Tanakh the King James used the word prophets many other translations use the word the prophet Isaiah while in Mark here we have a quotation from Malachi Malachi and Isaiah both prophets yet in many translations in some of the manuscripts apparently the usage of the word the prophet isaiah is mentioned rather than the prophets in plurality why because isaiah was a major prophet many times when you quote the prophets you kind of mention this is what isaiah said because he was a very major prophet in the history of judah in the history of israel and therefore many manuscripts use the word Yeshayahu Hanaviyah, Isaiah the prophet.

But apparently Mark is quoting two passages from the Old Testament, one of them from the book of Malachi, the other one from the book of Isaiah. I'm going to go to them in a moment, but I want you to just visualize, brothers and sisters, Isaiah wrote about 700, 750 years before Yeshua was born. Malachi, Malachi, he wrote about 400 years before the birth of the Messiah. Something happened between the time that Malachi wrote and the time that the Messiah came on earth. what happened is that God was silent to our own nation Israel for about 400 years 430 years or so there was silence there were not prophets speaking God in a sense waited for the time that he's going to introduce the Messiah in the fullness of time as Galatians 4.4 says in the fullness of time God sent forth his son made of a woman made under the law in order to redeem them that were under the law so can you imagine beloved brothers and sisters about 400 years passed by and no message from God no prophet had been risen to speak to the people of Israel what happened in the meantime if you remember when Israel came back to the land of Israel after the Babylonian captivity.

The Middle Persian allowed, Cyrus allowed our Jewish people to come back to the land of Israel. They came back to the land of Israel after 70 years in Babylon. Then they began to rebuild the temple in Yerushalayim. Then they took some time and God raised Haggai. He raised Zechariah and he raised the prophet of Malachi to preach to the remnant of israel who returned from babel but you see what happened sadly there was already a departure again of our own nation israel the worship in the temple was no longer the same way as it used to be when they early came back from babel from babylon again there was a departure and so god used malachi malachi to say listen you tell our people tell the people of israel that One day I'm going to send the messenger, the one that will be a voice on my behalf, and he will be the one who will present before our people, Israel, the Messiah himself.

So Mark, being from the nation of Israel, immediately goes back to the so-called Bible. Kakatuv, as it is written. If you want to talk to anybody from Israel about the Messiah, you've got to show it to him that it is written. If you're going to preach to the world about the coming Redeemer and a Savior, you've got to base it upon the Word of God. That's why when we gather together, we always open the Word of God. We always search the Scripture. We read a passage. We make a commentary. We learn from that. We grow as we are studying the Word of God. Why?

because everything must be based upon the written word of god and so notice this verse two it is written in the prophets and then he says behold and now if you turn with me to malachi chapter three for a moment go back to the old testament in malachi chapter three and actually malachi in the Hebrew text in the Tanakh you don't have Malachi 4 you only have Malachi chapter 3 that's it in the English we have chapter 4 but it's really one chapter and in chapter 3 and verse 1 God through the prophet Malachi said behold behold I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me now notice that's so interesting

beloved brothers and sisters god is speaking to israel and he says i will send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me notice i me and my that means that god is speaking through malachi malachi to the jewish remnant who is already in the land about 400 BC and he says one day I'm going to send my messenger we do not know at that time who is actually this messenger and we do not know what his name yet but I will send my messenger he will prepare the way before me God is speaking about himself he will come back to the land he will be the one that is going to appear before

the nation of Israel and he will have a messenger that will go before him well if you go back now to the gospel of mark in chapter one notice mark doesn't use the word my and me but is changing the words for my and me to thy and thee in other words what we find out that while malachi the voice of the lord spoke to malachi about the coming of God to the people of Israel now and Mark quoting what Malachi said he's quoting in the subtergent in the Greek translation of the Hebrew text and it says as it is written in the prophets behold I this is God saying will send my messenger before

thy face not before my faith And he shall prepare thy way before thee.

In other words, you remember how we started the Gospel of Mark? The God who spoke to Malachi 400 years before the coming of the Messiah is the one that is coming to earth in the person of our Lord Jesus the Messiah. That's why Mark began the whole Gospel. the beginning of the gospel of yeshua the messiah the son of god you see yeshua is not only a mere man the lord jesus is not only a mere man that was born as a sinner here into this world no he is the sinless one the undefiled one that is the son of god so malachi promised that the messiah will come.

And it will be God himself. Mark is quoting, and it's interesting how, because he was also by divinely inspired. He doesn't write his own thought. He's quoting the scripture, but he knows when he's speaking about Yeshua, Jesus, the Lord Jesus, the Lord Yeshua, he's more than just another man.

And that's why he says, as it is written in the prophets, behold, I send my messenger before thy face which shall prepare thy way before thee while in Malachi in Malachi it says before me here it says before thee but the me of Malachi chapter 3 verse 1 is God and the thee here in Mark 1 verse 2 it is none else but the Messiah himself who is God the Son same person really but it's the one that is going to be the messenger to introduce the messiah but then he continues now notice that in verse three he's quoting another verse and i would like you to turn to the prophet isaiah again if he's

going to speak about the coming messiah the coming redeemer to save this world and to redeem mankind to himself he must base it upon the promises of god in the hebrew scriptures so in isaiah chapter 40 look what god has said to israel this time it is 700 years before the messiah came it's about 300 years earlier than when malachi spoke and so we read it says here in verse 1 2 and 3 says comfort ye comfort ye my people say yes your god speak comfortably unto Jerusalem and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished her iniquity is pardoned for she has received of the Lord's hand the double for all her sins and

then here's the verse that Mark is quoting the voice of him that cries in the wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord here's the word lord l-o-r-d capital l-o-r-d this is none else but god himself yehovah jehovah the lord himself makes straight in the desert a highway for our god he's coming he's coming god is coming to deliver israel from bondage and to restore them back to the land and so indeed that lord the one that he's speaking about in Isaiah 40 verse 3 is the one of whom Mark is speaking the voice the voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord make his path straight now John

which we're going to talk about him in a moment his name is Yohanan never wanted to set the attention to himself he always direct the attention to the person of the Mashiach, the Messiah.

And really, he became like a voice. Kol koreh bamidbar. The voice crying in the wilderness. He's crying and he desired to prepare the way for the Lord, for the Messiah who would come right now to restore Israel, to establish redemption for all humanity. And he became like a voice. A voice. He was just a messenger of the Lord. And you notice what he's crying. Where does he cry? He cried in the wilderness. Not only that he was living in the wilderness of Judea, there below by the Dead Sea, by the Jordan River, but the condition of humanity was dry as in the wilderness. In a weary, dry and weary land.

We know very well, brothers and sisters, The spiritual condition both of Israel in those days and in general in the whole world today is dry. It's like in a wilderness. It's no thirst for the things of God. I don't know who was telling me. I think last night we talked a little bit and we were talking about the fact that wherever we go outside of our meeting halls and we go out to the world, hardly anyone want to talk about God. Hardly anyone want to open the Bible. It's not that we accuse anybody, but it's the condition that existed in a world in which we live in.

And it's still today. It's like a wilderness where the cry, prepare because God is coming, the Mashiach is coming, the Messiah is coming. And you and I can admit that a time in our very own hearts, we are like dry. There is no fresh, you might say, thirst for the things of God. We, a time when we are away from the Lord, are like wilderness. The voice of one, where does he cry? He cry in the wilderness. What does he say? He says, get ready. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. He's coming. The Mashiach is coming. The Messiah is coming. You know, when Isaiah quoted that, our Jewish people were just going to be taken to captivity in Babylon, 700 years before the Messiah came.

And as far as Isaiah was concerned, he was preaching to the Jewish people saying, listen, get ready because you are going to be restored back to the land. But it was a far-reaching message beyond even the time of 700 or so BC. It was speaking about the coming of the Messiah, The Messiah is coming. The Messiah, get ready. The Mashiach is coming. The Messiah is coming. And so the voice, the one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his path straight. Now, if we are going to preach today to someone about the Lord, he or she need also to prepare their hearts.

Because the hearts of men by nature is dry. We spoke yesterday also in our conversation that the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God because there are foolishness unto him or unto her. He cannot unless the Spirit of God is stirring them up. And a person needs to be ready to repent before the Lord, to get ready to confess and to say, God, I need you in my life. And so that was the message of the, number one, the messenger in verse two. number two the voice notice he's called the messenger and the voice that's the one that was promised to come and lo and behold beloved brothers and sisters when the time have arrived this messenger came and this messenger was none else but Yohanan Hamadbil John the baptizer in fact the next verse notice in verse 4 we find out the first time the name of that messenger what is his name is Yohanan John now it is interesting because the Hebrew meaning of the word Yohanan means Jehovah had mercy had grace his name give a message to mankind I am a messenger I am a voice for God on behalf of the coming Messiah.

Even my name suggests that God is willing to extend grace to all humanity, to Israel and to all the people of the world. Wherever they are, God is stretching up his arm. He's introducing the Messiah, the Redeemer, who is going to come to serve and to ultimately become a sacrifice for mankind. So, notice his name. You notice that it says in verse 4, the name of this messenger, this voice, his name is Yohanan, John in English, Yohanan in Hebrew. And what was he doing? According to verse 4, it says, John did baptize in the wilderness and preached. What was he preaching? He was preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

See, John, you see, he was down in the wilderness. It is very interesting. He was not preaching in Jerusalem, in the temple, because in the temple in Jerusalem, what happened? The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians have took over, and they were the ones who were the leaders of the people of Israel. But apparently because they have deviated from that which was spoken about by the prophets of Israel, they did not lead our own nation, the Jewish people, in the right direction, spiritually speaking, to the God who had promised to send the Messiah. So by that time, John, instead of being up there in Jerusalem, you would think he would preach, hey, in Jerusalem, right in the temple area.

But what does he do? He's not going to preach there. He went all the way down from Jerusalem all the way down to the area of the Dead Sea, there by the Jordan River where it was desert. In that desert place, there are all those people who were living, you might say, not staying in Jerusalem. They are there like a nomad. He was there like a bedoui, we say in Hebrew, living there by the desert area. And there we find out that he was preaching. He was speaking the word of God.

he was preaching and not only that he preached and he baptized and it's called the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins and the hebrew word of course is come from the word he was not called john the baptist because he was not a baptist he was called yohanan john the baptizer because his activity was to immerse people notice it says immerse people baptizing or immersing them for those who have confessed their sins for the forgiveness of sins in a sense the ministry of that messenger or that voice that we read about in those two verses malachi malachi 3 1 and isaiah 40 verse 3 those two expression about him is what that he

was simply one that is presenting god and god's word to the nation of israel getting them ready for the coming of the messiah and i think it is so beautiful to see notice he said he was baptizing in them in the wilderness preaching the baptism of repentance what is to repent to repent is to turn around to take side with God against oneself to recognize that we have been wrong and God is right and to repent of our sins and to turn to the Lord that is exactly beloved brothers and sisters what you and i did when we turned to yeshua the messiah we said to god god i can't i can't be right with

you on my own i know my heart and you know my heart and on my own i know i deserve to be punished i have sinned before you god and i want you to forgive my sins that is a repentance.

An honest, sincere repentance. In every generation, dear beloved brothers and sisters, God knows our hearts. You cannot be a child of God, a person that has a relationship with God until God is revealing our condition to us and we take side with God.

The Hebrew word to repent is the word shuv or shuvu turn around shuv come back to god turn around from your evil way and you turn around and you turn back to god and you admit your condition and accepting his provision and his forgiveness how many a time the people of israel historically cry to the nation of Israel turn around repent repent again and again God is saying to our own people Israel to turn around and turn back to him go to Jeremiah with me for a moment Jeremiah chapter 3 Jeremiah was preaching as well and he was by the word of the Lord speaking to Israel years ago when they were taken captive to

Babylon look what he says Jeremiah in chapter 3 and verse 14 notice he said turn all backsliding children say as the Lord the word for turn is shuvu shuvu turn back turn back all backsliding children says the Lord for I am married unto you here's the husband of the people of israel israel called the wife of jehovah i am married unto you and i will take you one of a city and two of a family and i will bring you to zion to zion shuvu shuvu turn or backsliding children shuvu banim shuvavim it's like we would tell to our own children who may have gone astray turn around turn back to the right way return

O Israel many times we read it in scripture also Ezekiel in chapter 14 he was speaking to our people of all turn around shuvu come back to the Lord this is exactly what Yochanan did there in the wilderness he was John baptized in the wilderness and he preached he was preaching he was sharing with the people of Israel the people of Judah down there in the desert the message of repentance that's why baptism the baptism of repentance for the remission of sin the evident that they repented and turned back to the Lord was the fact that they externally went under immersion and they really confess their sin you see this is not yet believers baptism

as we know it from later on in the gospels but this is what is called the baptism unto repentance they needed to repent and admit that they have sinned and turn away from their evil doings and you can just imagine you would think nobody will come to John if I want to go and turn to God I'm going to go to the temple in Jerusalem.

There you have the priests. There you have the Pharisees and the Sadducees. There we have the place that God has chosen for our nation Israel. But John didn't go there. He went down because the spiritual condition was not in a way that it should have been. You No, it reminds me also a little bit later on about the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts chapter 8. He went all the way to Jerusalem and then he turned back. And he went back sitting on his chariot reading Isaiah the prophet. And he must have been very discouraged because when he went to Jerusalem to worship the Lord and he was assuming that he will find a Messiah, Israel will be in a condition that he could enjoy that which God had intended for Israel.

But he was rather sad and disappointed because things were not as they should have been. So he turned back. And then if you remember, Philip came to him and said to him, what are you reading? And he said, Isaiah the prophet. And he took the very passage of the prophet Isaiah 53, speaking about the Messiah, He was wounded for our transgression. Speaking about the sufferings of the Messiah. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, but the Lord laid upon him the iniquity of us all. There are other verses that he read there from Isaiah, but I'm just quoting some of this passage in Isaiah.

And then he has accepted that Yeshua was the Messiah. So here's the same. John, Yohanan, the baptizer, Yohanan HaMadbil, did not do so in Jerusalem. He went all the way down to the Jordan in the wilderness. And there he was preaching, saying, Shuvu, turn back, repent, repent because the Messiah is coming. He repented for forgiveness of sins. And so we find out, beloved brothers and sisters, that many people went down to him. Notice what we read in the next verses, verse 5. And they went out unto him all the land of Judea and they of Jerusalem. And they were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan.

Again, notice that, confessing their sins. Now, it must have been a sin to see. While normally everybody will go up, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. Yes, that's the place that God has set. But the condition were not there. Unfortunately, there was a form without reality. Our nation, sadly enough, were not ready to accept the Messiah. They were not ready to accept the one who was called the messenger and the one who was the voice of the coming king, the coming Messiah. As a nation, not everyone, because there were many of our own Jewish people that did accept him, but as a nation.

The spiritual leaders did not want to accept the message that John the baptizer gave concerning Yeshua the Messiah. But the ordinary Israeli, the ordinary people we read in verse 5, they went out unto him all the land of Judah. Notice that, and they are of Jerusalem, and they were all baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now, it sounds like every individual, all, but what really Mark is saying, there were plenty of people who were not happy with the system, and they went, they want to hear the word of the Lord. And you know, it reminds me, even in our days today, we live in the last days of the church age, we might say.

And look at the condition, look at the form, a lot of form, but the word of God is not found there. The person of the Messiah is not exalted. The truth of the scripture is set aside. That's what Paul said to Timothy, they have form of godliness, but deny the power thereof. You know, it's so easy for us by nature, if we are not careful to be religious, but have no reality, no relationship with the Lord. Religion is one of the sad things that men fall into. We want to have someone to worship, but we introduce our own human religion. You had the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the Herodians, and everyone was, you know, the conflict that's existing between them and so on.

There's a lot of form and yet no reality. Unfortunately, even today, beloved brothers and sisters, especially in the season of Pesach, our own families and people, God bless them. They keep the Passover, but they don't have forgiveness of sins. We go through the motion, but there is no knowledge that God, through the person of the Messiah, forgave my sins. And that's why it is important. It's not only our Jewish people. In Christendom, it's the same thing. There's a form, but there is many who sit in the pew, sing the song, read the text, but never came into a relationship with the Lord Yeshua. They were going down to the Jordan.

Notice it says here, they were all baptized of him in the river of Yarden, confessing their sins. Now, there is no accident with the usage of the word Jordan, Yarden. The Jordan River comes all the way from Mount Hermon in the north of Israel, where all the snow and the rain coming, and then the water is going down, down, down, down, down to the Dead Sea. It's an expression of the necessity to go down, down, down in humility and repentance, confessing our sins and turning our hearts and our life to the Lord. And by the Dead Sea or the Salt Sea, Yam HaMelach, where the Jordan River pours into, and then the water are no longer the same sweet water as they have in the beginning.

They are ending up, they become salt water, water that you can no longer drink. And there is a message, very clear message that he did not do it anywhere else up there, but he did it all the way in the Jordan River by the Dead Sea there in the desert where the people of Israel confessed their sins. All those that came to the Jordan River repented. They were baptized by Him, repenting, confessing their sins. And you know, brothers and sisters, how God delights when we truly confess before Him our sin and our sins, not only for salvation, but also in our daily life. We fail Him many times.

That's why 1 John 1, 9 gives us a provision. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That's the way God is. He knows our hearts. He knows that we have failed God, that we are sinners by nature, but He delight when we turn to Him and admit our condition and He can, on the basis of the Messiah's death, burial, and resurrection, He can forgive us and restore us back to Himself. This is so precious to see that. And you can just imagine the multitude going down from Jerusalem, going down from Judea, all the way down to the Jordan River there by the desert.

And admitting before Yohanan, Yohanan, we have sinned. I identify with repentance and I am willing to be baptized, to be put underwater, to symbolize my death, to sin. And I am thankful for the forgiveness of the Lord. And so you notice now, brothers and sisters, that in that area, in the Jordan River, by the Dead Sea area where everyone came, then we can see the way that John was dressed and what he ate. You know, this was no wonder here because it says here in verse 6, And John, Yohanan, he was clothed with camel's hair and with a girdle of skin about his loin, and he did eat locusts and wild honey.

Now, you notice, first of all, we find out that he was not dressed like suit and tie and he was not have a jacket he looks like you know i mean first of all what do you need a suit and tie in the wilderness in the wilderness you're only concerned about number one to be warm because at night is very cold and number two to be as it were covered there's no fashion show there there's not anybody to compare with who have a better dress or better suit and time this was not that the issue was he was serving the god of israel he was preparing the nation for the coming of the messiah so

he was clothed with camel's hair and with a girdle of skin about his loin you see apparently how would you make a covering for him you know camel's hair you take just like thread you take you put it together you make yarn and you knit or you put together a covering for the body and it is interesting because the way he dressed represented the way the prophets of all have dressed many years before him because if you just turn with me to second king chapter one how Elijah was dressed verses seven and eight it said but he said unto them what manner of man was he which came up to meet you and told you

these words and they answer him he was a hairy man the hairy man represent the fact he was dressed with hairy clothes a clothes that has to do from an animal hair and he gird about his girdle of leather about his lion and he said it is elijah the tishbite eliyahu hatish be that camel's hair this is a thread which was made into yarn and ultimately made the clothes in other words a prophet of old the way he dressed was in a simple way and it really represented the way all the prophets of Israel dressed when they were putting clothes on.

They were very simple, very humble, just a way whereby you could identify the prophets of Israel. Here's another verse in Zechariah. Look at Zechariah chapter 13, just some Old Testament verses, very interesting. Even the false prophets who wanted to appear as if they are the real prophets of Israel they were pretending to be prophets by the way they have dressed and notice that Zechariah chapter 13 and verse 4 there we read listen to these brothers and sisters and it shall come to pass in that day that the prophets shall be ashamed everyone of this vision when he has prophesied neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive.

You see the prophets who wanted to deceive they were wearing kind of a clothes that appear like they are prophets. Notice its expression rough garment has to do with camel hairs and all this kind of hair that you make yarn and out of it you make a garment to cover yourself even the false prophets have appeared like the true prophets like Elijah like Yohananam at Bill John the baptizer they were simple men they were living in the wilderness they were godly men they sought to lead the people of Israel back to our God back to the Lord so we find out that he was clothed about with camel's hair, and he was girded about with skin about his loins.

He has skin, animal skin on his body, and he was clothed about with this camel's hair. And then he says, what did he eat? Notice, he ate locusts and wild honey. The Hebrew word here for locust is chagav or chagavim. Those are the insects, the small insects that grow up in the desert, and he ate a wild honey. Wherever you find a bush or something where the bees would come there and honey will be produced. It is interesting, I looked at this verse about the Chagavim, about the locust, and the only, you might say, insect that Israel could eat under the law was Chagavim. You can look at that in the book of Leviticus and you will find that's the only thing that they could eat.

And he apparently was a very simple man, covered himself in a simple way, ate locusts and wild honey, and there he lived in the desert, in the wilderness there, preaching the message of the gospel. The Messiah is coming, the Messiah is coming. You, Israel, have to repent and turn back to the God of Israel. And so, as we move along by way of introduction, because he's soon going to introduce the Messiah, the servant of the Lord. Notice what it says here in verse 7 and 8, the preaching of John the baptizer. It says, and preached. What did he say? What did he say to Israel? He said, there cometh one mightier than I, after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and to loose.

I indeed baptize you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit. So can you imagine he's standing there in the desert? The people of Judea and Jerusalem come down to him. Everyone come near the Jordan River. We have been there many times. We're going to be there next week or in a week and a half again right there. Sometimes we actually do the baptism right there by the Jordan River in the same area where Elijah the Tishbite lived and where John the Baptizer served and ministered. And there he was preaching. He was sharing with Israel and saying unto them, someone has come that is greater than I, mightier than I.

I'm not even worthy to unloose his sandals or his shoes. Notice he's directing the attention of the people who came to the person of the Lord. He didn't yet mention Jesus, Yeshua as yet, but he says there's someone, he's coming, he's coming and he's greater than I, he's mightier than I. I'm not even worthy to loose the latchet of his shoes. What an attitude Yohanan and Amadbil have had. Beautiful attitude. He said, I am not worthy. The Hebrew word is katonti. I'm too small to even loose his sandals. I'm but a servant. I'm but a messenger. I'm just a voice. But the one that is coming, he's mightier than I.

He says, I only serve him. I only do the baptism with water, but when he is going to come, he is going to baptize you to put you under. And by the way, brothers and sisters, the Greek word baptize is the word baptizo. And baptizo is equivalent of the Hebrew word tvila or lechbol or lehatbil. It means to put under. It's not sprinkling, it's not anything that has to do just splash here or splash there. It's literally to be put under, to be placed into. And what he's really saying, that he is baptized, he's putting the people who repented under, identifying with confession of sins, with repentance.

But there is someone that is going to come who will put you into or put you under or who will guide you and lead you by the Holy Spirit of God. I only do it with water, just representing repentance, but when he will come, he will baptize you by the Holy Spirit of God. In other words, he's greater than I. He's mightier, I'm too small, I can't even compare myself to him, I'm just a messenger, I'm just a voice, but the one that has come is mightier than I. And so in verses 7 and 8, we can see the preaching of John directing the attention from himself to the one that is going to come, namely Yeshua the Messiah.

Now, if you turn with me to Matthew chapter 3, there there is an additional word that we don't find here in Mark. There we find out that the other statements are mentioned by John. For some reason, Mark does not mention it, but Matthew mentioned it. In Matthew chapter 3 verses 11 and 12, we find out the same words in the beginning. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. But he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. He, listen to that, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, but he doesn't stop here. In Matthew chapter 3 and verse 11, he had the word, end with fire.

Notice that? I'm repeating this verse. i indeed baptize you with water unto repentance but he that cometh after me is mightier than i whose shoes i'm not worthy to bear he shall baptize you with the holy spirit and with fire now many times people don't quite understand why did matthew use the word and with fire also what does that mean by the messiah who is coming the mightier than john that he will baptize not only with the holy spirit but also with ash with fire now we have to realize that when all the people came down to judea there were two groups there standing there on the shore of the jordan On the one hand, you had those ordinary Israelis who really repented and confessed their sins before John, before God in the Jordan.

But there were other groups of people who came who were like the Pharisees and the Sadducees who were kind of standing around and seeing what this John is doing. He is not the one to have an authority to speak for God. We are the one who have an authority. And to them who stood there, who came to watch what the event that is going on, in Matthew chapter 3, it says there, notice, it says in verse 7, And when he saw many of the Pharisees and the Sadducees who came to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from their wrath to come, Bring forth therefore fruits, meat for repentance, and think not to say within yourself, We have Abraham as our father.

For I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewed down and is cast unto the fire. So when he was saying to them that the Messiah will baptize them with the Holy Spirit and with fire, he was speaking to two groups there. The believers, the Israelis who came repenting, confessing their sins, they will be baptized by the Holy Spirit of God. But to them who came there and did not repent, they will be baptized by the fire of God's righteous judgment in the coming day.

And that's why he's saying to them, I indeed baptize with water unto repentance, but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. He shall baptize you, the believer, with the Holy Spirit, and the unbeliever with the fire of judgment. And you notice in Matthew chapter 3 and verse 12, it does say, whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and he will gather the wheat into the garner, but he will burn up the chaff with the unquenchable fire. God will judge sin one way or another. the believer can be assured that he will be guided and be born of the Holy Spirit and eventually will become part of the family of God now let me quickly move on because we are now at the time where he is finally introducing the Messiah so in verses 9, 10 and 11 which we have also read here come Yeshua and I think it's very beautiful how Yeshua himself identified with the repented children of Israel who came down from Judea and Jerusalem to the Jordan River.

It says here in verse 9, notice that, the Messiah came, Jesus the Messiah came all the way from the Galil, from Nazareth. He came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and he was baptized of John in the Jordan. See, we only get this information here, but in other Gospels, of the Gospel of Matthew and so on, we find out that when Jesus, when Yeshua came to Yohanan, I mean, baptizing him for repentance of sins, he knew that this one had no sin in him. So why would he also come and ultimately be baptized by John the Baptizer?

John was really wondering, and please bear with me, go back to Matthew one more time, Matthew chapter 3 again, and you notice what it says there, very interesting, because it says in verse 13, then cometh Yeshua from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him, and John forbade him, and he said, I have need to be baptized of thee, and you come to me and comest thou to me and look at the answer of the lord yeshua the messiah yeshua answered and he said unto him suffer it to be so now for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness then he suffered him and he was baptized by john the baptizer you

know what the lord really said he didn't need to be baptized to be put under the water to confess sin because he was the sinless one undefiled separate from sinners there is no sin in him he did no sin in him no sin he knew no sins the evangelist and the writers of the brit said the new covenant says there was no sin in him but you know what he did he identified himself with those that came down from jerusalem judea to be baptized in the wilderness he says allow it it's the right thing for me to do to identify with my people who admitted that they have sinned and i came down to this

world to take the sin of this world to become the one that is bearing the sin of this world in his body on the tree.

He anticipated to identify with humanity who repented and turned to him. And so he indeed was baptized, but not because of any sin that he has done, but he identified with the remnant of Israel who came down to confess their sins. I think it's so precious to think about how the Lord is relating to us, to mankind. He came unto the world in order to seek and to save that which was lost. And anyone who repent and turn to God, confessing their wrongdoing, accepting God's provision, it's a delight to the heart of God. And so immediately, notice that, beloved brothers and sisters, he was baptized.

And he was immersed, and now we find out in verse 10, after John placed him under the water, then it says, this is the first time you find the word straightway or immediately. You find that word many, many times in the Gospel of Mark. And why you find it many times in the Gospel of Mark, that word immediately, is because Yeshua was a servant. Heved Adonai, Heved Elohim, he was a servant of God. He doesn't delay his service for God. Everything he does, he does it immediately, a straight way, with no delay. He is a true servant of the Lord. You'll find out, by the way, that word ends straight way.

It's E-U-T-H-E-O-S, euthos in the Greek, in Hebrew, miyad, or ach, miyad, achshav, immediately. You find it many times in the whole Gospel of Mark. In fact, just notice, verse 12, and immediately. Verse 18, and straightway. Verse 20, and straightway. Verse 21, and straightway. And on, verse 28, and immediately. Verse 29, and forthwith. Verse 31, and immediately. And again, and again, and again, you find the Messiah's activity, immediate not delay he is a faithful servant of the Lord and so we find in verse 10 and straightway he came up out of the water and he saw the heavens open and the spirit like a dove descending upon him now again there are various views about this verse because some bible teachers teach that everybody saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and laying upon the person of Yeshua the Messiah who just came out immediately out of the water after his baptism.

Others believe that it is only John who had this privilege of seeing that. You notice it says here, and straightway coming out of the water, And he, namely John, Yohanan, saw the heavens open, not everyone, he saw the heavens open, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. The Spirit of God, in a form of a dove, of a bird, descended upon the person of Yeshua, the Messiah, who just was baptized, came out of the water, And all of a sudden, the Spirit of God descended upon him, rested upon him. That is the person of the Holy Spirit of God, as it is mentioned here in verse 10.

So, the Son, the Messiah, in the water, coming out of the water, that's one of the persons of the Godhead. Then the Holy Spirit of God, in verse 10, in a form of a dove, laid upon him. This is another person of the Godhead. And then finally in verse 11, And there came a voice from heaven saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Thou art my beloved Son. This is the voice of the Father. Ha'abba. Ha'abba is speaking. The Father is speaking. God the Father is speaking directly to His Son. And he's saying to him, you are my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.

You know, the whole New Testament, even also the Tanakh, speak of how much he was beloved of the father. For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son, the only begotten beloved son of God. to this world that whosoever will believeth on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. God the Father spoke from heaven. God the Spirit came out in the form of a dove to lay it upon the person of the Lord Yeshua. And God the Son came out of the water here in order to identify with mankind. He's going to be a servant of the Lord. the Eved Adonai, the Son of the Lord who came from heaven in order to redeem mankind to himself.

Now I want to conclude with one or two verses from the book of Proverbs. And I'm going to conclude here Proverbs chapter 8. The passage there speak about how beloved was the Son, the Messiah to the heart of God. And Proverbs 8 and verse 22. Here's the Messiah speaking before his incarnation, and he says, The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there was no depth, I was brought forth. when there was no fountains abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth, while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.

When he prepared the heavens, I was there. When he set a compass upon the face of the earth, when he established the clouds above when he strengthened the fountains of the deep when he gave to the sea his decree that the waters should not pass his commandment when he appointed the foundation of the earth then I was by him one brought up with him and I was daily his delight Rejoicing always before him Rejoicing in the habitable parts of the earth And my delight was with the sons of men I was daily his delight And so we read the voice of the voice of God the Father In Mark chapter 1 and verse 11 And there came a voice from heaven saying thou art my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

And beloved brothers and sisters there is none like him whom God the Father found full pleasure in this person of his son. All have gone astray. All have gone out of the way except one who came from heaven. His name is Yeshua and he is declared to be the pleasure of God and the voice that came from heaven saying, thou art my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. I hope and I trust that we all find pleasure in the person of the son. Can we say amen?