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 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 

 

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.' "  My study bible tells us that gospel, which literally means "good news" or "good tidings") is a reference not to Mark's writings per se, but to the story of the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the good news of our salvation.  Beginning is a reference to these opening events of Christ's public ministry given here:  the preparation by the one titled "Forerunner" to the Lord, St. John the Baptist, and Christ's encounter with him.  The quotations from the Prophets are found at Malachi 3:1, Isaiah 40:3.

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."  Just as the Prophets spoke of Christ, and form echoes and ties to the Old Testament right at the beginning of Mark's Gospel, so also does the attire of John.  He is clothed in a way that is similar to that of Elijah the Prophet (2 Kings 1:8), which my study bible says helps to show that he fulfills the prophecy of Elijah's return (Malachi 4:5-6).  Let us note John's deep understanding of the difference between his baptism and the one which will be initiated by Christ.

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and 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."  My study bible points out that Jesus does not need purification, as He has no sin.  But by making the purification His own, He would wash away the sin of humanity, grant regeneration, and reveal the mystery of the Holy Trinity in this theophany of Father's voice, the Spirit descending as if to anoint the Messiah, and Himself revealed as Son.  (As Son, Christ has always had the Spirit resting upon Him; this is a revelation of that understanding.)  Christ also, in descending into the waters, purifies and sanctifies the waters of the world for Christian baptism.  My study bible quotes St. Gregory of Nyssa:  "Jesus enters the filthy, sinful waters of the world and when He comes out, brings up and purifies the entire world with Him."

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.  Let us note that Mark's language makes it clear that this is the action of the Holy Spirit in the beginning of Christ's public ministry.  In the Greek, it says literally that the Spirit "threw" or "cast out" Jesus into the wilderness for forty-day period of temptation.  Like humankind, He's there in the world, between the temptations of Satan, and the ministering angels, and with the wild beasts of the earth.  See also Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13 for more detailed accounts of these forty days in the wilderness.

In the Eastern Church, Christ's Baptism is understood as Theophany ("Revelation of God") or Epiphany ("Revelation" or "Showing Forth").  Another understanding of the roots of these Greek words is that this is a manifestation of God in the world.  Therefore in the earliest practices of the Church,  the celebration of Christ's Nativity (Christmas) and Baptism were celebrated on the same day.  This beginning (as Mark gives it to us) of the gospel of Christ also paralleled the beginning of Christ's coming into the world through His birth by Mary, the Mother of God.  In the Orthodox Church, Holy Baptism is understood also as "Holy Illumination."  And so there is another parallel between the two events of Christ's birth and His Baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist:  this is the coming of light into the world.  As John the Evangelist put it, it is the light shining in the darkness.  "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it" (John 1:4-5).  So, as we also begin a new year, it is important for all of us to consider what it means that Christ remains a light shining in the darkness, and even that the darkness does not comprehend it.  We enter into a new year having completed a time of pandemic and many other ills and forms of "darkness" which run the gamut and span the globe.  For each person in every place, I am certain these varied experiences of darkness have been felt across large segments of population as well as the very personal level.  Let us consider how this beginning of Christ's ministry took place somewhere out of the way, and this revelation was unknown even to most of those who were present at His Baptism.  And yet, it remains the light shining in the darkness, the revelation or manifestation of God the Trinity to the world.  Let us also remember how our earliest Christian forbears understood it, as being in parallel with Christ's birth, a time when the world did not welcome Christ as there was "no room" for Him and His family (Luke 2:7), and instead the world was ready to meet Him with violence (Matthew 2:13-18).  We must remember that this is our own story, as followers of Christ, and understand this dimension of our faith will always be with us, regardless of celebrations and "good news."  We look to that light shining in the darkness, even as we look to find our way.  Let us remember also His time of temptation and struggle in the wilderness, for it is a portrait of ourselves in a world dominated by the "ruler of this world," but he has "nothing" in Christ (John 14:30).   Interesting that John baptizes in the wilderness, and Jesus goes to temptation in the wilderness that is the image of our world.  For it is Christ our Lord who overcame the world (John 16:33), and to Him we look to show us our way through it, just as it has been from the beginning.