Beginning of the Good News

The promised Kingdom of God arrived in the ministry of Jesus the Messiah, commencing with his baptism – Mark 1:1-3.

The Gospel of Mark opens with a declaration combining passages from the Hebrew Bible, thereby providing the scriptural basis for the ministry of John the Baptist and setting the stage for Christ’s mission. Mark begins on a note of fulfillment. The Man from Nazareth was the Messiah of Israel, the “Good News which God promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures” - (Romans 1:1).

Implicit in the opening declaration was the arrival of the long-awaited “season of fulfillment.” It began with the appearance of the Baptist along the banks of the Jordan River and especially with John’s baptism of Jesus – (Hebrews 1:1, Revelation 1:1-3).

[Photo by Tadeusz Zachwieja on Unsplash]

The Greek term translated as “beginning” in the passage is the first word in the Greek sentence and it lacks the definite article or “the,” making it emphatic. The sudden appearance of John marked the start of the Good News about the Kingdom of God. The reign of God was now invading the Earth:

• (Mark 1:1-3) - “Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. According as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way. A voice of one crying aloud, in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, straight be making his paths.”

Other New Testament passages also link the “beginning” of the Gospel to John the Baptist. He “prepared” the way for Christ, the Messiah or “anointed one.” The term “beginning” is a deliberate echo of the creation story in the Book of Genesis:

• (Genesis 1:1) - “In beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.”

• (John 1:1-3) – “In beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in beginning with God.”

• (Acts 1:21-22) – “It is needful then that of the men who accompanied us during all the time in which the Lord Jesus came in and went out over us, beginning from the baptism by John until the day when he was taken up from us” (See also, Acts 10:36).

The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus inaugurated the promised New Creation and began the process of redeeming humanity from bondage to sin, Satan, and death. His arrival carried universal implications since his activity and message constituted “Good News” for all men, indeed, for the Cosmos – (“The creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God” - Romans 8:20-23, Revelation 3:14).

The Greek term translated as “gospel” means “good news, glad tidings” (‘euangelion’), and the announcement of the Kingdom’s arrival certainly qualified as “good news.” This usage of the Greek word is derived especially though not exclusively from prophecies in the Book of Isaiah (‘euangelion’). For example:

• “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that brings glad tidings, that publishes peace, that brings glad tidings of blessing, that publishes salvation, that says to Zion, your God has become king” - (Isaiah 52:7. See also Isaiah 61:1-3).

The announcement of the “Good News of Jesus Christ” marked the arrival of the promised salvation and the reign of God on Earth. The genitive construction of the clause means either that Jesus was the content or the herald of the Good News, or both.

The term “Christ” or “anointed one” was not his surname but the designation of what he was - the Messiah of Israel, though to his neighbors, he was “Jesus, the son of Joseph,” or simply, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

THE MESSIAH

In the Hebrew Bible, two categories of men were “anointed,” priests and kings. The ritual of anointing was performed by pouring olive oil on the head of the man, setting him apart for specific offices or tasks.

“Jesus” is the anglicized spelling of the Hebrew name Yehoshua, which means “Yahweh saves” or “Salvation of Yahweh,” using the ancient Hebrew name of God or YHWH - (“I have found David my servant. With my holy oil have I anointed him” - Leviticus 21:10-12, Psalm 89:20).

Among first-century Jews, the term “Son of God” had messianic and royal overtones. It was part of the promise of kingship made to David, a royal legacy the Messiah was expected to fulfill when he was enthroned in Jerusalem to reign over the nations - (2 Samuel 7:14, Psalm 2:6-9):

• “Yahweh said to me: You are my son. This day I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the Earth for your possession.”

The reference in the opening of the Gospel of Mark to the cited passage “as written in Isaiah” describes a composite of verses from the books of Exodus, Isaiah, and Malachi. Most of the material is from Isaiah:

• (Exodus 23:20) – “Behold, I send a messenger before you, to keep you by the way, and to bring you to the place which I have prepared.”

• (Isaiah 40:3) – “The voice of one that cries, prepare in the wilderness the way of Yahweh; make level in the desert a highway for our God.”

• (Malachi 3:1) “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes, says Yahweh of hosts.”

The quotation from Exodus is appropriate, the promise to keep Israel safe in the “wilderness” and lead her to the Promised Land. Jesus was the true representative and King of Israel and the Greater Lawgiver who would traverse the “wilderness” and lead his people to the promised Kingdom of God. By combining these passages, Mark summarizes the Messianic expectations of the Hebrew Bible.

God’s plan to redeem humanity began to unfold in the life of Jesus, but his mission was far larger than the nation of Israel and encompassed territory extending well beyond the borders of Palestine. Christ’s reign will reach all nations, even to the “ends of the habitable earth,” and upon him alone, the Gentile nations will hope.

[PDF Copy]

SEE ALSO:

• Salvation of Yahweh - (‘Jesus’ means ‘Yahweh saves.’ In the man from Nazareth, the salvation promised by the God of Israel arrived in all its glory)

• Introduction to Mark - (A brief overview of the history and structure of Mark's gospel account)

• Lord and Messiah - (The present reign of Jesus began with his exaltation to the Messianic Throne following his Death and Resurrection – Psalms 110:1)

• Why Do the Nations Rage? - (The conspiracy by the Earth’s kings to unseat the Messiah is applied in the New Testament to the plot to destroy Jesus – Psalm 2:1-6)