The Gospel Era

Isaiah 40:1-11; 2 Peter 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8

“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

So begins the story of Jesus, written by an unknown person, although there are some who think it was John-also-known-as-Mark, mentioned in Acts. The book was written around the year 70, during or right after the first Jewish revolt against Rome. It appears to have been written after the fall of Jerusalem in August of 70, but that is not certain.  

The first sentence of a piece of writing is intended to give a strong indication of the point of the writing. In the case of the Gospel of Mark, it is very clear what Mark intends to tell us.  

“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Mark declares that this is a beginning, which means there is more to come. Mark ends in Chapter 16, with the angels saying to the women that the tomb is empty and Jesus will meet them in Galilee. Mark includes no resurrection appearances; there is no description of any meeting of the risen Jesus with the disciples in Galilee. So, the story is not finished. It’s just the beginning.

“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

It’s good news. Literally, it’s euangelion, gospel. Good news should be shared. This story is worth sharing with everyone.

“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Jesus Christ … Mark names Jesus as the messiah. Christus is the Latin interpretation of the Hebrew word messiah. You may remember it means anointed one. Special people in the Hebrew Bible are anointed: Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Saul, David, and Samuel, and others.

“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

And Jesus is the Son of God. Not “a” son of “a” god, but “the” son of “the” God. Jews at that time were unusual in their belief that there is only one God. In the mythology of the Greeks and Romans, many of the gods had human children, hybrid, human-divine children. In the decades around the time of Jesus, the emperors had declared themselves to be god-like, sons of a god. Jesus is different: he is the only Son of the only God.

… Mark continues: John the Baptizer appears on the scene, calling all to come to repent of their sins and be baptized. And “the whole world” was coming to see and hear him. It is clear that he intends to portray himself as the ancient prophet Elijah. He wears the clothing of the prophet, lives a subsistence wilderness diet, and scolds the leaders of Judea, just as Elijah did.

John does this baptizing outside the purview of the temple authorities, without their permission, and without offering a mite, the smallest coin, to the temple offering box. Temple leaders are keeping a close eye on him. However much attention he draws, he always points away from himself to the one who is coming, one much greater than he. We know he points to Jesus, but at this moment, he doesn’t name him.

John lifts up a passage from Isaiah, and gives it a new slant. He is the voice crying out in the wilderness, calling for a way to be made for the one whom God is sending to them.

… Mark is announcing the beginning of a new era, the gospel, or good news, era. From the resurrection on, we have entered a new way of thinking about God.

Throughout the history of the Jewish people, they have chosen to follow the One God whose name is I-Am. I-Am said to the folks over and over again, I am your God and you are my people. I choose you and I want you to choose me.

I-Am’s messages came through leaders, first Moses and Aaron, then judges like Joshua and Deborah, and later the prophets. During the Babylonian Exile, in the 500s BCE, the priests and other leaders decided they needed to write down the stories of God’s interaction with the people. This writing, then, became the main source of God’s message to the people, interpreted by the official priests and temple leaders and rabbis.

With Jesus’ arrival on the scene as the only Son of the only God, people were able to hear God’s message directly from God. This is indeed a new era, focused on the gospel, the good news brought by Jesus, the Son of God.

… From Peter, we learn what we are to do, how we are to live in this new gospel era. We are to repent, and live lives of faithfulness and holiness. In the early years after the resurrection, there was an expectation that Jesus would come back during their lifetimes; so Peter’s audience should wait patiently for that event, even though they had already been waiting a long time, decades, for that return.

Now, 2,000 years later, we no longer expect Jesus to return in a dramatic way. We do expect to see Jesus in those we encounter through the eyes of God’s Holy Spirit, who teaches us to treat everyone as if they were Jesus himself.

… There are many challenges to us today, in this Gospel Era, to be the church, to be Jesus’ hands and voice, welcoming and respecting all people as he would welcome them.

At UELC, we are in a time of listening to God for guidance; it’s a time for courage, a time to make bold decisions. It’s a time to look to God for a vision of the future that we dream of but are afraid is not possible. It’s a time to remember that the tomb was and still is empty.

In this Gospel Era, we remember that God is with us always. We are baptized and sent to look for Jesus’ presence among us. This week, I hope you will be aware of those around you and welcome them as Jesus would. Amen