Heaven Torn Open

Transcript

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[0:00] Our sermon text comes today from Mark, from Mark chapter 1. It says from verses 4 to 11, but actually I want to start a little further back in verse 1. I think it just actually makes a little more sense to start from there. So if you're reading today in your bulletin, it begins in verse 4. But if you join us in your Bible, we'll start from verse 1.

[0:34] This is the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began just as the prophet Isaiah had written. Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way. He is a voice. Shouting in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord's coming.

[1:02] Clear the road for him. This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that the people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.

[1:21] All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to the world. They went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist.

[1:43] For food, he ate locusts and wild honey. John announced, someone who is coming who is greater than I am. So much greater that I'm not even worthy to. For his great He saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove.

[2:33] And a voice from heaven said, "'You are my dearly loved Son, "'and you bring me great joy.'" Let's pray. Gracious God, we pray for the blessing of this word. May you open our minds, our hearts, and our spirits in understanding these things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

[3:10] Well, this might feel a little familiar to us. It was only a month ago when we heard snippets of this text. We saw the Holy Spirit coming down from heaven. We saw a few more John the Baptist snippets only two weeks ago.

[3:26] And in the grand scheme of things, he really only gets a small amount of screen time in the biblical text, but the lectionary tends to place it all right around Advent and Epiphany. And that makes sense. He's the one who prepares the way for the Messiah.

[3:51] And he's the one who helps us to prepare the way for the Messiah. So during Advent, Hans-Erik inspired us to ready our palates for the fajita platter appetizer of repentance that came from John the Baptist.

[4:12] But now it's the season of Epiphany, and it's time for us to finally introduce the main question. How did we get our Out Out Out Out Out Out Out Out Out Out to be told. And sorry, Nathan's shaking his head at me, and I think he probably knew that one was coming. Many of the people of Judea, including all of Jerusalem, came to hear this message. Now, John's message was not one that people really exactly would have been on board with at the time. He was telling a Jewish audience to repent, and that's fine. They would have been on board with preparing their hearts, and then symbolically, and that, well, all that was fine. But then to ceremonially wash themselves by full immersion was a little different. It was an understood thing to do, but he was demanding this of all people. And so, I think that's one of the things that he was telling us to do. And that's where they might not have been all on board. This was something that was understood by them, certainly, but Jewish culture did say that only people who had been defiled, really, or maybe Gentile converts to the Jewish religion would have really only needed to go through with this sort of deep cleansing ritual. So, John's message to people was not one that

[6:06] was actually a good one. It was a message that was kind of offensive, in a way, to say that after this sort of repentance, you need to go through this full immersion cleansing ritual. It's like saying, you are defiled. You're so defiled that you don't just need to wash your hands ceremonially. You need to go on full immersion cleansing, like you are a brand new Gentile convert. And so, I think that's a good thing. And so, I think that's a good thing. And so, I think that's a good thing. And so, I think that's a good thing. And so, I think that's a good thing. You need a full bath. You are filthy. You're not just a little dirty. You are filthy.

[6:45] It's really kind of offensive. And yet, his message was demanding this sort of ritual and their repentance as a key preparation for the coming of God's kingdom. But they kept it. And so, I think that's a good thing. And so, I think that's a good thing. But they kept it. And so, I think that's a good thing. And so, I think that's a good thing.

[7:15] So, if if if if if big, big, big population. John was like a celebrity and he, I don't think he ever really intended to be. In fact, he cut himself off from society deliberately and that's really what did it.

[7:57] If it were today's culture, he would have been some sort of super successful reality star. It would kind of be like the Kardashians who have no right to be reality stars by themselves. They didn't do anything. I mean, they're related to someone who did something, but they didn't do anything themselves to have any right to be reality stars and yet they are.

[8:25] John would have been a reality star. He didn't want to be. He always kept saying, John, Jesus is the reality star and he kept pulling himself away from society farther and farther saying, Jesus is the star and pulling himself away and they just kept following him and following him and following him and no matter what he did, he kept drawing that crowd and that was good. That was good because that crowd was paying attention and he knew that.

[9:10] And the reason they were paying attention though is because he was drawing himself away. He didn't care what the people thought. He cared about their souls and their repentance and proclaiming the kingdom of God. He ate locusts and wild honey and he dressed in camel hair and he lived in the wilderness and all of these things just screamed of an Elijah like living. And so the people were familiar with Scriptures and the way he dressed and the way he cared more for the things of God and for the kingdom of God and for the people in their souls really, really just said, Jesus is the reality star.

[10:07] So if you remember some of his some for some some for for it. Or better yet, is he the long-awaited for Messiah? And so this poor guy just kept gaining throngs of followers, which is exactly what he never wanted. He always wanted to point people toward Christ, and that was all. He didn't want his own followers. He wanted to point them toward Christ. But the good news is that in gaining all of these followers for himself, he could do just that. He could point all of these followers to the coming Messiah. The bad news is not all of them really got the point. As we saw in our text from Acts, some of these people were baptized into John's baptism, and long after he died, and long after Jesus had died, they were baptized into the baptism of Jesus. And so this poor guy just kept gaining throngs of followers. They thought that they were baptized into John's baptism, and they just didn't get it until it was pointed out to them, no, you need to be baptized into Jesus's baptism, into the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is what John had been saying all along. But he was preparing the way. Whether people got the message right then or not, he was preparing the way. He was giving them the message. Their minds were being prepared. They were coming to John. They were

[11:47] starting to repent. The seeds were being planted. They were coming in masses and hordes. They were hearing the message. The kingdom message was being heard. What they were understanding was this. There is a sin problem here. And the sin problem starts in my heart, and I need to repent, and I need to be baptized, and I will be forgiven. And that's important. And so they were hearing John's message. And even though they were probably already God-fearing Jews, and even though they were probably already ceremonially clean, and they didn't seem to be defiled in any way, they would take that message of repentance to heart because who among them didn't want to be cleansed from whatever sin had torn up their lives. We're going to hear more about this idea later, this idea of tearing up, because I was thinking a lot about this tearing up idea. It's going to come up later. Um, when we act in pridefulness or rashness or foolishness, it tears up. So much of our sin comes from places of torn places in our lives.

[13:25] It's to protect that what's been previously torn. And yet when we protect what's been previously torn, when we sin against others, we cause tears in other lives and in other places in the world. And so sin is this really horrifying and painful cycle of tearing and being torn.

[13:52] And so before we get further into this idea of tearing, which we'll talk more about later, I just want you to think for a moment now, where do you notice? What is it? being torn in your life around you. Now they may not have all liked the idea at first, but they did recognize and know the need for repentance, and they welcomed it by the masses. And so the people were turning to God and being baptized by John. And this was just baptism with water. The really important part was that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was yet to come. And the really important part of the ministry was that Jesus was about to come. So here's the main course. The main course is about to be set. And we think that with all of this fanfare that's been leading up all through Advent, that when it comes, you know, Hans-Erik talked about something like chilies. And I think about like all this fanfare. I think about like a really big celebration dinner or something. And sometimes those places like with like a birthday dinner, they come out like singing happy birthday and clapping or something. I think about that kind of fanfare. That didn't happen. And because when it did come, it came so quietly. There is no fanfare. Especially not here in Mark. Not in the other Synoptic Gospels either.

[15:47] But especially not here in Mark. Mark just lays the facts. But not in this scene. And not even with the Messiah. He's not what people expected. He comes. Wow. He even comes for for from Nazareth. All of the other people who are coming to receive John's baptism come from these great bustling urban centers. But Jesus comes from the, does anything good ever come from Nazareth, town of ho-hum Nazareth. He's not the great and glorious king that's demanding that John anoint him with oils and give him celebrity treatment. And it's also very ordinary.

[16:50] And that's why it's so important that Jesus was ordinary is extraordinary. And that he partook in this ordinary baptism is beyond the ordinary baptism. It's beyond extraordinary. The narrative already begins in the wilderness with John and not at the temple. And that's a little ordinary.

[17:24] And it's not at the center of some city that people expected a mighty king or a valiant warrior. And he was rather unimpressive as he stood there on the muddy banks of the Jordan River amongst the other sinners, waiting to be washed in a ritual that's typically reserved for the defiled.

[17:49] This is not what was expected for the Messiah. Of course, we know that this discrepancy is only going to grow. This discrepancy in expectations is only going to grow. And what we expect for Jesus, Jesus is forever going to do the unexpected.

[18:13] And that's extraordinary too. So all of the fanfare in this whole passage happens in the secret. It happens in a rather private encounter between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And it's not just the Holy Spirit. And just because it happens in the secret doesn't mean it isn't big fanfare.

[18:41] So where the accounts in Matthew and Luke say that the heavens were opened, Mark uses the word schizo, which means torn. Where there never was previously this night of worship, there is a place, door to open and close and conveniently climb through to pass between the heavens and the earth. God made a way by tearing through. And so heaven has broken forth toward earth with the baptism of Christ.

[19:27] Heaven has been torn so that God can be with mankind. And this is why I had been thinking on the idea of tearing before. Because usually what is torn is not a nice concept because it's not easily mended. The tears of sin, like I was talking about before, they can't just be easily like pasted back into place. They leave fracture lines and unsightly, and the ! What's carefully opened can be nicely closed with a door or a seal. But think about paper that's been torn up. You can tape it or glue it or do what you have to do, but there will be still scars from the old, and it will never line up the way it was supposed to. It will always have brokenness.

[20:36] So God schizo, shredded and tore through the heavens to set to work, mending the many tears of sin. He tore through the heavens. That's something, he tore the barrier between us. That won't be mended. The barrier between heaven and earth, so that sin can be mended.

[21:03] Schizo is a major concept in Mark. The word is only used twice, and yet it is major because both times it's followed by a declaration of Jesus's sonship and God's love for him. It's a statement of being at large in the world. The first is right here in the prolog. The other instance comes way at the end. It's at the crucifixion of Christ when the veil in the temple was torn in two. And that time it was a centurion who is guarding Jesus who cried out. Surely this man was the son of God.

[21:46] The way that the temple was displayed was meant to symbolize the design of the world itself. We see many moments in scripture when people had to be protected from God's incredible holiness. Think of God having to pass in front of Moses as Moses was just blown away simply at a glimpse of the aftermath of his glory.

[22:16] Heavens as the protection that keeps all of the earth from being overwhelmed by the ultimate glorious and holiness of his very presence. So, the temple curtain that divided the rest of the temple from the Holy of Holies was meant to provide a similar protection for the rest of the world. Only the high priest could pass beyond this curtain, and that could only happen once a year on the Day of Atonement. With Jesus' death on the cross, that tear in the veil brought down another barrier between the dwelling place of God and humanity.

[23:09] In both passages, Jesus was attending to the work that God had done for him. First, he was living into the full plan of righteousness by being baptized. This introduces that often asked question of whether Christ needed to be baptized.

[23:30] Baptism is as much about turning toward God and making a public declaration of service to God and being prepared to do the work of the Kingdom for God's glory, as it is about turning to God and saying, I'll do this for you. So, we're talking about repentance and forgiveness of sins. Also, in Christ's humanity, he did all things which we also did. And we are now baptized into his baptism. So, yes, it was important for him to be baptized.

[24:02] The fulfillment of the son's redemptive work caused the tear between the heavens and the earth, between the Holy of Holies and the Holy of Lies. The place where the people dwelled. It caused the tear between the place where God was and the place where the people are.

[24:24] It caused the tear that allowed God to dwell more completely with his people. It caused the tear that allowed God to end end end end end end end Now, going back to the narrative, after the schizo, after the heavens were torn, Jesus saw the Holy Spirit descend.

[24:59] I like to read the moment after Jesus' baptism from a couple of perspectives, because in some ways, this is about the larger picture of God tearing through the heavens to be with all of humanity as we just saw.

[25:19] And yet, we must also read this as it was first seen and heard and witnessed as an intimate scene between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is a powerful moment where the Father prepares Jesus for ministry, and one that I imagine that Jesus returned to in his mind over and over again. For we remember how great his life was This is more than just a quintessential scripture for Trinitarian theology.

[26:21] I'm pretty sure this is one of those moments that was key for Christ having the strength to take our sins to the cross. As I imagine how important it is that God tore through the veil of heaven so that he can tear up the sins that tear us up, I also imagine that this was an intimate moment between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that made it possible for that redemption to happen.

[26:59] So it's important to read these moments remembering, first, that it was Jesus' own human baptism that also made it possible. But also, where has God torn through the narrative of your life to give you critical encouragement?

[27:22] Where has God given you critical encouragement? And then again, we can also read this from a perspective of Christ's divinity, or our own baptism in Christ. And I think we must do both always. We must read this from Christ's humanity, and we must read this with Christ's divinity, and our own baptism in Christ. Understanding who we are to God and what our condition is.

[28:01] So if we remember our end we must remember our end we must remember our end we must remember our end we must remember our end Christ in Galatians 3.27. And so when we are baptized into Christ, we are adopted into the family of God. We are children of God, each of us, in a different sense than Jesus is God's son. As a side note, sometimes in scripture, when somebody is described as the son of somebody, it means having the quality of. Jesus is the son of God and the son of man. Uh, was distinctly qualities of God and man. Uh, but we are carefully crafted and created as children of God, reborn into the family of God through the waters of baptism.

[29:17] Just as with Christ, though, God speaks over us and calls us, each of us, his beloved. He carefully crafted each of us and said, we are good. So yes, God speaks over us also that he is pleased with us. And just as the moment of baptism prepared Jesus to begin his ministry, each and every one of us was forever changed and transformed in our baptism through Christ. And each and every one of us is a part of the baptism of Christ. And so when we are baptized for Christ, we remember how great his life for his end for his end for his end We need to live into the baptism of being one body for Christ.

[30:33] We need to live into all of the promises of salvation and redemption and all of the many promises that being baptized in Christ means we have and are. We need to live into the baptism of a God who has torn through the boundaries of heaven and hell to dwell with mankind. We need to live into a baptism that commissions us to proclaim the news that sets people free.

[31:04] What does it mean for you to live more fully into your baptism? Let's pray. Let's pray. Dear God, we thank you that you were not afraid to break through. Through the barriers of heaven to dwell with us. We thank you that you became man.

[31:36] That you lived into the fullness of what that meant. God, we pray that you would help us to live into the fullness of our own baptisms here. These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.