How do we get on the Way of Jesus? Mark 1

As I was reflecting on the message this past week, knowing that it is in many traditions Palm Sunday- that is we are looking at the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem with all the people shouting Hosannah! I began to think about the road that he Had travelled that led him straight to this place where, on the following Friday, He would give Himself to be crucified to pay the penalty for our sins. This road, this way was orchestrated by God in eternity past so that we could be reconciled to Him. Jesus was making the way, indeed he is the Way (John 14:6) for us to be able to be reconciled to God. Jesus is also called the Door (John 10:6) by which we must enter into the kingdom of heaven (Luke 13:24). Indeed, only he can open this door and place us on the Way.

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

So, I got to thinking, how is it that we find this narrow way, this straight gate? How is it that we get on to join Jesus on the road to the Kingdom of God? It brought me back to the book of Mark, chapter 1, speaking about of all people, John the Baptist. I remembered his mission:

2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
 who will prepare your way,3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”

John was sent to prepare the way of the Lord...he was sent to hetoimazo-prepare. The picture is of a ancient custom of a servant that went before a King on a path to make sure that it was passable by that king. What did John do in order to made the way passable for Jesus who was coming? What is the way that man can make Jesus’ way passable? What are the necessary preparations that we must make for the kingdom of God to become a reality in our lives? Well, when Jesus says He is the way, and we are to walk on this way- hodos- the literal translation is road. But it also means a course of conduct, a way of thinking, feeling, and deciding. How do we transfer from our way- the way that we think, the way we feel, the way that we decide, our very way that we live our lives, our conduct- to the way of Jesus, the way John was sent to prepare? Well, the answer is found in the very next verse:

4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

John prepared the way by proclaiming (kerusso) a baptism of repentance (metanoia) for the forgiveness of sins. Repentance of this sort (Metanoia) is a change of mind, a turning around of something he has done, a style of life, or a way of thinking. John made the way straight for the Lord by proclaiming that we must change our way- the path we are on- by changing our mind, our path to be in line with the way of the Lord. The proof of this change of mind was a baptism of repentance; a public proclamation that they had changed their minds. Indeed, baptism was a regular event for Jews who desired to be ceremonially clean. This is what Jesus spoke of to Nicodemus when he said one must be born of water and the Spirit. The water is symbolic of cleansing, of baptism. . This cleansing weaves its way throughout the Gospels- the theme of the starting point of repentance. Even in this chapter, Jesus himself preached repentance:

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

So Jesus is agreeing with the message of John, the way to approach the way and get on the way is to repent and believe the Gospel. Jesus uses the same word- metanoeo- for repentance, pisteuo for believe, and euaggellion- the Gospel. We will spent the remainder of our time together today examining these words and concepts, for if we desire to walk in the way of Jesus, and enter into the kingdom of God, we must enter in through that door which has been provided, which is Christ Jesus.

Repentance- the off ramp
Using the road illustration, repentance is the off ramp by which we get off of the road we are on. There are two greek words that are translated repentance. Metanoeo is the type which leads to salvation, metamellomai is a worldly sorrow, a temporary sorrow that is directly related to consequences. It is the type of repentance that I see most often in the world today, and it is not wrought in God. If we continue in the illustration, metamellomai is getting off the road, but then getting right back on the on-ramp in the same direction. The type of repentance that is called for that pleases God, indeed that is wrought in God, is metanoeo, a complete change of direction.

Saving repentance , like saving belief, deals in all three aspects of our human makeup. Saving repentance deals with our mind, our emotions, and our will. The first is our mind, where we agree with God about our direction. I liken it to my GPS system in my car. When I am trying to go to a place and my GPS is on, and I take a detour, the GPS warns me and insists that I change direction. Now, I want to go one way, but the stated destination being what it is, it seems that I am traveling the wrong way. The GPS warns me and shows me the way to get back on the path to my destination. The way I agree with it is to turn around and get back on the path. I must agree with the direction, and go that direction in order to get to my desired destination. If our destination is the kingdom of God, we must agree with God on how to get there, and adjust our path accordingly. We must agree with God as to his assessment of our current path.

It is the kindness, first and foremost, that is to lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4) This kindness is expressed in the creation, in the provision of air, food, clothing, housing, health. The greatest kindness is something we are not aware of, however, until we are aware of our need of and God’s provision for our redemption. We have a built in GPS that God has put into each one of us, the conscience. We have God’s basic law written on each of our hearts. It warns us when we do something against that law. Unfortunately, many of us turn that off when it warns us against that which we desire to do. We must come to a place where we fear God and the eternal consequences of breaking his law. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If our mind does not fear or reverence God, no change will ever come about.. If there is no knowledge of sin, its penalty, and who it offends, we cannot and will not agree with God or change our mind. If we do not know that we have offended God by our disobedience, we will not understand his kindness in sending Christ to die In that sense, if our mind is not changed regarding sin and our very nature, we will never agree of our need for repentance and we will continue on the broad road that leads to destruction.

This is why we speak directly to the conscience when we witness. So many people have turned off the built in warning system, or have at least muted it so that they can enjoy their sin for a season. The use of the law helps break the hard heart, and is appropriate when dealing with all sorts of unregenerate sinners:

8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine

So it is that the use of the law is appropriate in addressing the sinner, making them aware of their sin so that they can experience the grace of repentance in their lives. Without this knowledge of sin, and of who the sin offends, and the penalty for sin, we are unlikely to change the road we are on. When we are in the flesh, controlled by the flesh, we cannot do what the Spirit desires. This is why we need to change our mind about sin.

The second aspect which saving repentance deals with is our emotions. Voddie Baucham spoke on this at the True Church conference we attended last month. Brokenness, he stated, is the place where we are able to see what will happen in we keep going down the road we are on. It is the place where we are crushed by God under the weight of our sin. The unfortunate problem is, like our GPS, we are quick to unplug this warning system, because it sometimes manifests itself in anxiety, depression, and other medical maladies for which we can simply take a pill to numb the pain. This is not to say there are no legitimate medical conditions; it is to say that we do not like pain and sometimes that is what God uses to warn us. That said, there is a type of sorrow that is not reflective of the type of repentance that leads to saving faith. It is called metamellomai, and it is a repentance to ones self, or regret. This comes often as a result of fear of repercussions or earthly consequences. There is often sorrow, but it does not lead to a change of behavior, a forsaking of sin in the long run. The sorrow that is wrought by God works repentance that changes the mind and drives a person to Christ.

2 Cor 7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

All that the grief of the world can produce is death, for it does not result in a saving faith in Christ. Temporary regret, even apologizing for sins committed against others and God , is insufficient. Repentance must involve grief given us by God, and is characterized by metanaeo-a change of mind. The brokenness described by David in psalm 51 is a good place to start. A broken and contrite heart God will not despise. An awareness of the sin, whom it offends, and the breaking of the relationship is too much to bear for one who loves God. For one who does not yet love God, this awareness, this brokenness, must be provided by God. This leads to a change of life, indeed a change of desire to reverse our old way of life and live for God, bringing our conduct in line with His word.

This is where the all-important will comes in. The mind can understand that the behavior is wrong, and can feel regret. We can even weep and mourn over our sin, but fall back into the same habit. In Matthew 3, John the Baptist recognized those who would have an outward appearance of repentance, even a desire to be cleansed in a ritual baptism. He demanded more:

Matthew 3:8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

We must bear fruit, in other words, there must be an actual change of life. Repentance is a grace of God, a part of salvation, therefore, as we are justified, indeed as we are redeemed and are being brought into sanctification, our very lifestyle changes as a result of the inward change that God has wrought in our lives. Our actions match the inward reality. This is not preached very often today, as Paul did in Acts:
Acts 26: 19-20
19 “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance

This is where the rubber hits the road, where we make daily choices to walk according to the flesh or walk according to the Spirit. This is where we know if we have died to self and now live to God, or if we are just living a lie. In this sense, Repentance is like sanctification. We repent and turn from our sin, and turn towards God. When he justifies us, he accepts our repentance unto faith. But repentance is a continual process by which the Holy Spirit will reveal sin in our life, and we must choose to repent of it. In a very real way, as repentance is part of salvation, so it is a very real part of sanctification. As we turn away from who we are in the flesh, we are made me in the image of Jesus.