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Beginning of the Gospel of Mark, Armenian illuminated manuscript, 1256
Zeytun Gospel, Toros Roslin - Yerevan, Matenadaran
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 Gospel of Mark. Mark the Apostle was also known as John
Mark, and, according to my study bible, is widely attested by the
ancient Church as the author of this Gospel. It says, "Some early
writers suggest that the young man in the linen wrap (Mark 14:51-52) is Mark himself. His mother's house was a meeting place for Christians in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12). Paul and Barnabas took John Mark with them to Antioch when they returned from the Jerusalem famine relief effort (Acts 12:25)." The exact date of Mark's Gospel is uncertain, but it is dated shortly before the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. My study bible says, "Many believe this was the first of the four Gospels to be written."
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.'" The beginning of Mark gives us the beginning of the "good message" (Gr. evangelion) of Christ. Mark gives us the full message in the first sentence: Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is a message that will be played out through the pages of this Gospel. And the "good message" is sent by the messenger to whom we are introduced today, John the Baptist. Heralded by yet an earlier messenger, the Prophet Isaiah, John's mission is characterized by a quotation from Isaiah 40:3. My study bible says, "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." We note the emphasis on messengers: the root of the word for Gospel is the one for angel, "messenger" in the Greek. The beginning of the good news of Christ is filled with messages and messengers, just as was the story of His birth which we so recently celebrated. My study bible says, "John the Baptist plays a crucial role in the history of salvation. Chosen before his birth to be the herald and forerunner of the Messiah (Luke 1:13-17), he knew his Lord from the beginning. Luke writes of the miraculous conception of John (Luke 1:24). He then records that when the Virgin Mary visited Elizabeth, who was then six months pregnant with John the Baptist, the baby in Elizabeth's womb leaped at the sound of Mary's voice (Luke 1:41)."
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. My study bible says that "remission (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." It notes also that the text here tells us of the sweeping impact of the ministry of John the Baptist. "He is perhaps the leading religious figure outside of official and rabbinic Judaism."
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." John's is a life of asceticism, with eyes firmly on the coming of the Christ. His clothing is similar to that of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8), "indicating that he fulfills the prophecy of Elijah's return" (as Jesus will say). My study bible says, "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. In adoption, Christians become anointed ones; it was of these God said, 'Do not touch My anointed ones' (Ps. 105:15)."
It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Mark's Gospel moves us very quickly to the object of this "good message" and so much prophecy. My study bible says that Jesus and John were related through their mothers (Luke 1:36); and notes, "perhaps Jesus and John were acquainted."
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." For the Eastern Church, Epiphany or Theophany characterizes this event: the revelation of the Trinity. My study bible has a long and beautiful note here: "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 used to refer to that event. 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." It also notes: "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."
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. Again, I will quote from my study bible: "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."
It's interesting that the first thing that happens to the anointed Christ is His being driven by the Spirit to the wilderness, where He is tempted -- and, the Gospel tells us, He is both with the wild beasts, and the angels minister to Him. It gives us a picture of the world, of our world. There is nothing simple about this "job" of being the Messiah, the Christ, just as there is nothing simple about the paradox of our world. Jesus will characterize His mission as a "stronger" man invading the territory of a "strong man" (Satan, as in the text above). So, as Messiah, He is immediately confronted with the "work" of being in this world, and the things which all of us face in our lives. He is to be a Messiah who suffers with us, the same things we do, the bindings and afflictions of this "strong man." But we have help, and so does He, He is ministered to by the angels. And there we get back to messengers, perhaps the great theme in our reading today at the beginning of Mark. What are messengers and what do they do? The word angel (αγγελος or angelos) in the Greek means "messenger" and the Gospel (ευαγγελιον or evangelion) is "good message." John the Baptist is also a messenger, a herald of Christ's coming Kingdom, and as such is often depicted with wings in icons of the Eastern Church. So, just as the nativity of Christ is filled with stories of messengers, so is the beginning of Jesus' ministry, His baptism, an event celebrated in the ancient Church together with His nativity. Let us consider then images of messengers, of good news, of communications we may or may not want to hear. In Christ's story, something new is breaking through into the world, being inaugurated. There are those who tell of this news, John the Baptist who dedicates his life to this event, the evangelists who tell us and the apostles who will be sent out with this good news, who will proclaim through the text and through their lives to all of us this good news of this Kingdom breaking through into this world. How do you hear the news today? What message does the Spirit have for you?
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.'" The beginning of Mark gives us the beginning of the "good message" (Gr. evangelion) of Christ. Mark gives us the full message in the first sentence: Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is a message that will be played out through the pages of this Gospel. And the "good message" is sent by the messenger to whom we are introduced today, John the Baptist. Heralded by yet an earlier messenger, the Prophet Isaiah, John's mission is characterized by a quotation from Isaiah 40:3. My study bible says, "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." We note the emphasis on messengers: the root of the word for Gospel is the one for angel, "messenger" in the Greek. The beginning of the good news of Christ is filled with messages and messengers, just as was the story of His birth which we so recently celebrated. My study bible says, "John the Baptist plays a crucial role in the history of salvation. Chosen before his birth to be the herald and forerunner of the Messiah (Luke 1:13-17), he knew his Lord from the beginning. Luke writes of the miraculous conception of John (Luke 1:24). He then records that when the Virgin Mary visited Elizabeth, who was then six months pregnant with John the Baptist, the baby in Elizabeth's womb leaped at the sound of Mary's voice (Luke 1:41)."
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. My study bible says that "remission (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." It notes also that the text here tells us of the sweeping impact of the ministry of John the Baptist. "He is perhaps the leading religious figure outside of official and rabbinic Judaism."
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." John's is a life of asceticism, with eyes firmly on the coming of the Christ. His clothing is similar to that of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8), "indicating that he fulfills the prophecy of Elijah's return" (as Jesus will say). My study bible says, "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. In adoption, Christians become anointed ones; it was of these God said, 'Do not touch My anointed ones' (Ps. 105:15)."
It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Mark's Gospel moves us very quickly to the object of this "good message" and so much prophecy. My study bible says that Jesus and John were related through their mothers (Luke 1:36); and notes, "perhaps Jesus and John were acquainted."
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." For the Eastern Church, Epiphany or Theophany characterizes this event: the revelation of the Trinity. My study bible has a long and beautiful note here: "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 used to refer to that event. 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." It also notes: "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."
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. Again, I will quote from my study bible: "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."
It's interesting that the first thing that happens to the anointed Christ is His being driven by the Spirit to the wilderness, where He is tempted -- and, the Gospel tells us, He is both with the wild beasts, and the angels minister to Him. It gives us a picture of the world, of our world. There is nothing simple about this "job" of being the Messiah, the Christ, just as there is nothing simple about the paradox of our world. Jesus will characterize His mission as a "stronger" man invading the territory of a "strong man" (Satan, as in the text above). So, as Messiah, He is immediately confronted with the "work" of being in this world, and the things which all of us face in our lives. He is to be a Messiah who suffers with us, the same things we do, the bindings and afflictions of this "strong man." But we have help, and so does He, He is ministered to by the angels. And there we get back to messengers, perhaps the great theme in our reading today at the beginning of Mark. What are messengers and what do they do? The word angel (αγγελος or angelos) in the Greek means "messenger" and the Gospel (ευαγγελιον or evangelion) is "good message." John the Baptist is also a messenger, a herald of Christ's coming Kingdom, and as such is often depicted with wings in icons of the Eastern Church. So, just as the nativity of Christ is filled with stories of messengers, so is the beginning of Jesus' ministry, His baptism, an event celebrated in the ancient Church together with His nativity. Let us consider then images of messengers, of good news, of communications we may or may not want to hear. In Christ's story, something new is breaking through into the world, being inaugurated. There are those who tell of this news, John the Baptist who dedicates his life to this event, the evangelists who tell us and the apostles who will be sent out with this good news, who will proclaim through the text and through their lives to all of us this good news of this Kingdom breaking through into this world. How do you hear the news today? What message does the Spirit have for you?
