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
