The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the Prophets:

"Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,

Who will prepare Your way before You."

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make His paths straight.'"

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

- Mark 1:1-13

Today we begin the readings from the Gospel of Mark. Mark is called St. Mark the Apostle, and is also known as John Mark. What we know of this evangelist is that his mother's house was a meeting place for Christians in Jerusalem (as reported in Acts 12:12). John Mark worked with Paul and Barnabas in missionary work. At some point he departed from Paul and worked with Barnabas separately, but was later reconciled with Paul. Eventually, he also aided Peter (see 1 Peter 5:13). My study bible says that, according to tradition, Mark used Peter's teaching as the primary source for his Gospel, "adding to it his personal experience and other Church traditions." Most scholars seem to agree this was the first Gospel written; because there is a connection with Rome and no deliberate reference to the destruction of Jerusalem, it is often assumed that its date is before the siege of Jerusalem which occurred in 70 A.D.

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the Prophet: My study bible notes here that "Gospel refers not to Mark per se, but to the sacred story of the life, death and Resurrection of Christ, the good News of salvation in the Kingdom of God (Matt. 4:17, 23). Beginning refers to the opening events of the ministry of Jesus, namely, the preparatory activity of John the Baptist and the baptism and temptation of Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God." In some sense, this is the "beginning of the beginning," as this earliest-written Gospel starts the story with John the Baptist. At once we grasp the emphasis of the early church in this sense, that the story of Christ begins with His public ministry and especially with the work of the Spirit, grace working through the human beings that people this story, including the words of the prophets before John, and most specifically those of Isaiah.

"Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You." "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.'" My study bible suggests, "Prepare Your way: John the Baptist, the last prophet of the Old Testament period, fulfills prophecy and prepares the people of God for the Messiah's coming. Hearts are softened to receive the Light." The references for the fulfillment of prophecy are from Malachi (3:1) and Isaiah (40:3). John, called the Forerunner, is quite consciously the fulfillment of this prophecy of the one who comes before the Christ, or the "Anointed One."

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. My study bible says, "Baptism . . . for the remission of sins (lit. 'to let go' of sins) is a major part of John's preparation of the people for Jesus' coming. Later, in Christian baptism, God not only forgives our sins, letting them go, but He also brings us into union with Christ (see Rom. 6:5)." It's an interesting understanding, in the Greek, to tie in the word for repentance, metanoia or "change of mind," with the word aphesin, translated as "remission." As my study bible notes, it literally means to "let go" of something, to let it fall away in a sense, release from grasp or hold. So, to "change our minds" has everything to do with forgiveness as a letting go, something to which we no longer cling and is no longer, in this sense, a part of who we are. This is to be reborn in a truly deeply spiritual sense, in our heart and soul. When we pray "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" we also pray for this same sense of letting something go (and again, "forgive" in the Lord's Prayer is from the same Greek verb) - taking it off the books, releasing it from our grasp or possession. In this sense, it is releasing control to God.

Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins. My study bible notes that the phrase all the land of Judea . . . went out to him "indicates the sweeping impact of the ministry of John the Baptist. He is perhaps the leading religious figure outside of official and rabbinic Judaism." John's ministry is powerful and he cuts a great figure in his time. Many of John's disciples will come to be Jesus' apostles. It tells us of the time, the expectation and the hope of Israel in its political, social, spiritual situation.

Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. This is another sign, that tells us something about John the Baptist. His clothing is similar to that of Elijah as described in 2 Kin. 1:8. Jesus will declare that John fulfills the prophecy of Elijah's return before the Christ. This verse also tells us something about John's purity of dedication to God, and to his mission to proclaim the coming of the Messiah. No social position stands in the way of his complete dedication to God.

And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." My study bible notes here that, "Baptism with the Holy Spirit means that only Christ, the Son of God, fully possesses and gives the Spirit. So to receive the Spirit we must be baptized in Christ and adopted as children of God (see Gal. 3:27; Eph. 1:5). In adoption, Christians become anointed ones; it was of these God said, 'Do not touch My anointed ones' (Ps. 105:15)." John prepares all for something beyond what can be understood or obtained through his baptism - for the baptism of the Spirit. This tremendous event, experienced through Christ's Passion, death and Resurrection, is foreshadowed through the good news of John and his preparing ministry for all.

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. My study bible suggests that since John and Jesus were related through their mothers (see My soul magnifies the Lord), perhaps they were already acquainted in adulthood. There is a note on verse 10 which I will repeat: "By saying that He came up from the water, Mark suggests Jesus was immersed in water. Christ's rising from the water is symbolic of His Ascension, since the same Greek verb (anabaino) is also used to refer to that event (John 3:13; Acts 2:34; Eph. 4:8-10). The Church Fathers taught that in coming up, He lifts the whole world with Him. The Spirit descending upon Him foreshadows the Spirit's descent upon the first Christians at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). Like a dove does not mean the Holy Spirit is incarnated as a dove. Rather this is a special sign indicating the presence of the Spirit. A dove symbolizes purity, peace and wisdom." What I find particularly remarkable about what we can read into these passages are all the echoes found within them. We have testimony upon testimony, and reflections of what is come, even in the fulfillment of prophecy that has already comes centuries before. Expectation, fulfillment, awaiting, longing and testimony are all combined and reflected upon one another here in this first act of public ministry, "the beginning," and the meeting of John and Jesus.

Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." My study bible says that "the voice of God the Father from heaven makes Jesus' baptism a manifestation or epiphany of the Holy Trinity. The Father is not adopting Jesus as His Son, but proclaiming that He is and always has been His Son. This divine proclamation, combining a messianic psalm (Ps. 2:7) with the first song of the Suffering Servant of the Lord (Is. 42:1), reveals who Jesus is. Thus Jesus' baptism anticipates His Transfiguration and Resurrection, the dawning of the new creation." The truth, here, is quite simple. Jesus is the Son, in the eternal sense of heavenly time: He is and was and is to come, as quoted from Rev. 4:8. This is the testimony of God the Father.

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. My study bible has a lengthy note here which I feel is worthwhile to repeat: "As Jesus' baptism is the first revelation of His divinity, so His temptation inaugurates His role as the 'Lamb of God' (John 1:29, 36), the suffering and obedient Son of God whose destiny is the Cross by God's will. Forty days echoes the forty years of Israel's temptations in the Old Testament and becomes the basis for the forty-day period of Great Lent in later Christian tradition. Being with the beasts and served by the angels suggests a relationship between Christ and Adam, Christ being the New Adam. Even if we are subjected to evil, (the demons, the beasts,) God will never desert us as we struggle toward Him. The Church Fathers believed meditative seclusion is (1) conducive to freer communion with God and (2) effective preparation for great tasks ahead." Jesus' life will not be simple nor filled with ease, but rather one of great challenges. As His disciples, we turn to His example to teach us about how we live our lives. As His followers, we understand ourselves to be or to become servants in this ministry. And, like Him, we understand ourselves to be ministered to by the servants of God, the angels, and the grace of the Spirit, and the word of all those who have come before us and in whose words we read this testimony - and to which we may add our own.

There is so much in today's reading that it is hard to contain it in one blog post, one commentary. I am struck by the echoes that reflect through time: the prophecy repeated by John the Baptist, the reflection of prophecy in the revelation at the Baptism of the Trinity Itself, the Three Persons of Father, Son and Spirit, and the power in this beginning of Jesus' ministry. There is much testimony here: of John the Baptist, the prophets reflected through Him (Isaiah, Malachi, Elijah), of the sign of the dove as Spirit, and of the voice of the Father. All are reflections upon reflections that teach us about the Eternal Present: it permeates and pervades our lives, it may "break through" at any moment, it is reflected in testimony through us in the present day, through the ancient words of the prophets, through those who people this Book, this Gospel, this story. And they are the words and testimony to which we may add our own. Jesus is immediately sent into the wilderness, just as John is a picture of a man from the wild with his camel skin clothing, leather belt, and food from the wild, in order to more perfectly communicate with the Father, to understand His mission, to face the realities with which His mission will be confronted and the choices He will have to make. As Jesus faces Himself and the temptations put before Him, so we are all called to do the same. I go back to the important teachings of John about sin: we repent or "change our minds" in order for our "debts" to be let go of, written off, as we do the same in our own books for others in the important process of forgiveness. In order to be closer to God, we relinquish control to God, of judgment of good and evil, and we ask God to give us our best choices as servants, as He did. Can you do the same? Can we all add our voices to testimony, to God's work in the world and the grace that permeates every moment of our life? The great gospel of the good news begins here in Mark, and continues today with us.