MARK 1:1
Read Mark 1:1
At last, after more than three years of Old Testament history, we have reached the New Testament. Why do we bother with all this Old Testament stuff when the good news of Jesus is in the New Testament? One reason is that it is the Bible that Jesus used and if it is good enough for him . . . But also, the Old Testament gives us the context of Jesus’ ministry and mission. A lot of what Jesus said and did doesn’t make a great deal of sense if we don’t know the background that the Old Testament gives us.
Mark’s gospel is perhaps the most straightforward and concise of the four gospel accounts. And he went straight to the point. There is nothing about his birth or early life. There is no deep theological reflection like we have with John’s gospel. As far as Mark was concerned, that wasn’t relevant to what he had to tell us, and we see that from the very first verse, ‘The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the son of God’.
The first two words are freighted with meaning. ‘The beginning’ immediately reminds us of Genesis 1 Verse 1, ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’. Mark was telling us that what God is doing in Jesus is in continuity with what he did in creation; that in some ways this is a new creation. Jesus doesn’t replace the Old Testament, he continues it.
And Mark tells us that this is a ‘gospel’, which means ‘good news’. It is not a biography detailing the life of someone, but rather an account of something, or rather someone, who is a benefit to us all. And the good news is Jesus Christ. We can sometimes gloss over this without considering too deeply and treat ‘Christ’ almost as Jesus’ surname. The Christ is the person who was promised by God through his prophets to bring salvation to his people; and he we see Jesus as fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy, another good reason for us to be familiar with what the Old Testament has to say. But we are also told by Mark that this saviour is not just a man sent by God to carry out his will, but the son of God himself.
Mark has made it clear from the outset who this is all about. And as we read through Mark’s gospel we see that most of the people do not appreciate who Jesus really is – the religious authorities, the witnesses to his exorcisms and healings, and even his disciples. But we, the readers, do. Right from the beginning we know – there is no dramatic tension and big reveal at the end – we know from Verse 1 who this is all about. And as we read through Marks’s gospel we are armed with this information about exactly who Jesus is and why he came.
And having set us up with this, Mark can then launch into the story by telling us all about John the Baptist and his preparatory ministry.