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

Baptism icon (Epiphany "Revelation" or Theophany "Revelation of God"), Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens, Greece

 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

On Saturday, we read the last part of what is frequently called Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, which He prayed at the Last Supper (for the earlier part of the prayer, see first this reading and then this one).   Jesus prayed, "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.  And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.  Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.  O righteous Father!  The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.  And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.   During our readings in Lent, the lectionary goes through Mark's Gospel, the earliest of the Gospels to be written.  My study bible explains that gospel literally means "good news" or "good tidings" -- ευαγγελιον/evangelion in Greek, from which the English word "evangelist" is derived.  One could also call it "good message."  One notes the word "angel" as part of its root; that is because the Greek word for angel αγγελος/angelos means literally "messenger."   This good message or good news refers not to Mark's writings per se, my study bible says, but rather to the story of the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the good news of our salvation.  Beginning, it says, points to the opening events of Christ's public ministry, namely the preparation by His forerunner, St. John the Baptist, and Christ's encounter with him.

 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.' "  Mark quotes from Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3, the words of the prophets who speak of the one sent as herald before the advent of the Christ.  These words speak of John the Baptist, also called Forerunner, and they tell us about his important place in the spiritual history of our faith, one who spans both the Old Testament and New, as the last and greatest of the prophets, and the one who prepares the people for the Christ.

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.  St. John's baptism is one of repentance, in preparation for the Messiah.  This is John's message to the people:  to prepare the way of the Lord, and to make His paths straight.  It is achieved through this baptism, which is not Christian baptism, but rather one of repentance in preparation for the Christ (the Messiah).   Mark tells us just how successful and revered John was as a holy man, as all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all were baptized . . . confessing their sins.  It makes clear the levels of expectation that existed, and the impact of John's message of preparation.

 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."  My study bible comments that John is clothed in a manner which is similar to that of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8), which it says helps to show that he fulfills the prophecy of Elijah's return (which Jesus affirms in Matthew 17:12, Mark 9:13).  Let us note John's role as prophet:  he prophesies the baptism that is to come through Christ and the Holy Spirit.  Noteworthy also is John's remarkable humility.  Although widely known and honored by all the people, John not only lives a radical poverty which shows his total devotion to the work of God which he is to do as prophet, but his words reveal that all things for him exist in relation to the Christ and the work he is to do to proclaim His coming.

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."  Mark's Gospel takes us quickly through the events of the beginning of the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  This is the revelation of the Trinity through Christ's Baptism (called Epiphany or Theophany in the Eastern Churches), as it is a manifestation through the Father's voice ... from heaven revealing Christ as beloved Son, and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.

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, Mark's Gospel is succinct in its treatment of this beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  What is treated in much more detail in Matthew and Luke (Matthew 4:1-10, Luke 4:1-13) is given very quickly in Mark's Gospel.  It is noteworthy that in the original Greek, Mark uses a word that literally means "to throw" Jesus into the wilderness.  It emphasizes the abrupt and powerful action of the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit's effective presence in Christ's ministry.

The work of the Spirit, in today's reading, is effective and swift.  Let us note that the descent upon Christ of the Holy Spirit is not meant to be a historical event, rather it is a revelation or manifestation of what always has been, just as the identity of the Son is a revelation of what always has been.  But what is "historical" -- that is, based in time -- is the beginning of the ministry of Christ, and that is why Mark writes that this is "the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God."  We begin with Christ's Baptism by John the Baptist because this is truly the beginning of Christ's public ministry.  In the early Church, this Baptism and Christ's Nativity (Christmas) were celebrated on the same day (this remains the case in the Armenian Apostolic Church, which celebrates both Nativity and Baptism on January 6th).  This is precisely for the reason that the early followers of Christ understood very well that this, indeed, is the "birth" of Christ's ministry in the world, and it starts with this revelation or manifestation of the Trinity -- including Jesus' identity as "beloved Son" -- through the Baptism by John in the Jordan.   And just as at the physical birth of Jesus in the world, the Holy Spirit is present and at work, facilitating this ministry.   In the Creed, it is stated that the Son became human by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and therefore we have the Spirit present and at work both in the physical birth of Christ and in the birth of Christ's public ministry, this beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is most important that we understand the power of the Spirit at work, and the hand of God in all things related to Christ, including the Church and those gathered to Christ in faith.  This is a consistent understanding, therefore, in our faith, just as Mark quite clearly states that the Spirit is actively at work "birthing" this ministry:  God the Spirit "threw" (in the Greek) or "drove" (in the English translation) Jesus into the wilderness to begin His forty-day preparation for His ministry.  For forty days He is both tempted by the devil, and ministered to by the angels, while He is together with the wild beasts.  Importantly, as we are currently in Lent, let us note that this is the model and inspiration for our own period of prayer and fasting.  It is a time when we are to face our own challenges and to wrestle with them, placing them firmly in the hands of God, while we also may be ministered to by our angels and accompanies by the Holy Spirit at work in us.  Let us prepare for our celebration of His Resurrection, and also for our own "ministries" as faithful, as each of us play our own role in faith in relationship to Him, just as John the Baptist understood about himself.