The Gospel Begins

Redemption and God's Kingdom arrived in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, starting with his baptism by John – Mark 1:1-3.

The Gospel of Mark opens with a declaration that combines passages from the Old Testament to provide the scriptural basis for the ministry of John the Baptist, and to set the stage for Christ’s mission. Mark begins with a note of fulfillment.

The opening paragraph includes universal and even cosmic implications. Note, for example, the description of Mark 1:10 (“He saw the heavens rent asunder, and the Spirit descending upon him…”). The gospel story may begin with the ministries of John and Jesus in Judea and Galilee, but the Divine plan will not end there.

[Photo by James Douglas on Unsplash]

The Man from the insignificant village of Nazareth is the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the World. He himself is the Good News promised by God through His prophets (See Romans 1:1-4 [“Which he promised beforehand, through his prophets, in holy scriptures…”]):

• “BEGINNING of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, SON OF GOD. According as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, BEHOLD! I SENT 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. MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT” - (Mark 1:1-3.  Note the citations of Exodus 23:20, Isaiah 40:3, and Malachi 3:1, and the verbal allusions to Genesis 1:1 and Psalm 2:7).

The opening paragraph of Mark’s Gospel signifies that the time of fulfillment has commenced, and this epochal change begins with the appearance of the Baptist along the banks of the Jordan River. This will be confirmed by Jesus himself after his baptism and temptation:

• “Now, after John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying: THE SEASON IS FULFILLED, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel!” – (Mark 1:14-15. Note the verbal allusion to Daniel 12:4, the Septuagint version).

The Greek term translated as “beginning” in Mark 1:1 is the first word in the Greek sentence, making it emphatic (‘arché’). The sudden appearance of John signaled the start of the Good News and the inauguration of the Kingdom of God. In Jesus, the reign of God began to invade the Earth.

By making the Greek noun for “beginning” emphatic, Mark points the reader to Genesis 1:1, the original creation story:

• “In beginning [‘arché’], God created the heavens and the earth” - (Genesis 1:1).

• “In beginning [‘arché’] was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in beginning with God” - (John 1:1-3).

The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus launched the redemption of all things, and this process will culminate in the New Creation on the Day of the Lord when Christ returns. And ‘redemption’ means the recovery of that which was lost, not its abandonment (“The Son of Man gave his life a ransom for many” - Mark 10:45. Compare Romans 8:20-23, Ephesians 1:10, Colossians 1:20).

• “But, according to his promise, we look for NEW HEAVENS AND A NEW EARTH in which righteousness dwells” - (2 Peter 3:13. Note the allusion to Isaiah 65:17).

• “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things declares THE AMEN, THE FAITHFUL AND TRUE WITNESS, the beginning [‘arché’] of the creation of God” – (Revelation 3:14. Note the allusions to Psalm 89:37 and Isaiah 65:16).

Additionally, the New Testament links the beginning of the Gospel to John the Baptist elsewhere. John prepares the way for the Messiah by calling men and women to repent and turn away from their sins. For example:

• “And in those days John the Baptist arrived, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, saying, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying, THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS. PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD. MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT” - (Matthew 3:1-3, citing Isaiah 40:3).

• “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 [‘arché’] from the baptism by John until the day when he was taken up from us” - (Acts 1:21-22).

The Greek word translated as “gospel” in Mark 1:1 means “good news, glad tidings” (‘euangelion’). This application of the Greek term in the Gospel of Mark is based on prophecies from the Book of Isaiah:

• “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).

• “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach glad tidings to the poor, to heal the broken in heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind” - (Isaiah 61:1. Compare Luke 4:18).

Jesus is identified in Mark 1:1 as “Christ” and “son of God.” The term ‘Christ’ or “anointed” is not his surname but the designation of what Jesus is, the Messiah. ‘Son of God’ is another designation for the Messiah, the heir of David who reigns as king on the Davidic throne. Both terms echo the promises of God given to David, as recorded in the Second Psalm and elsewhere:

• “The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers gathered themselves together, against the Lord, and against his Christ. <…> But I have been made king by him on Zion, his holy mountain, declaring the ordinance of the Lord. The Lord said to me: You are my Son! This day, I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession” - (Psalm 2:2, 6-8. Compare 2 Samuel 7:14).

Thus, the announcement of the “Good News of Jesus Christ” marks the arrival of the salvation and reign of God, and the genitive construction of the clause means that Jesus is the content or the herald of the Good News, or most likely, both.

THE MESSIAH

Two categories of men were anointed in the Old Testament: priests and kings. The ritual of anointing was performed by pouring olive oil on the head of a man, setting him apart for specific offices or tasks – (Leviticus 21:10-12, Psalm 89:20).

‘Jesus’ is the anglicized spelling of the Greek form of the Hebrew name ‘Yehoshua’. His name means “Yahweh saves” or “salvation of Yahweh.” It combines the ancient Hebrew name of God with the verb for “save.”

The Old Testament passage cited in Mark 1:2-3 and attributed to the Book of Isaiah presents verses from the books of Exodus, Isaiah, and Malachi:

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

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

• “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” - (Malachi 3:1).

The words from Exodus echo the promise of God to guide Israel to the Promised Land. Jesus is the King of Israel and the Greater Lawgiver who leads his people to the Kingdom of God. By combining these passages, the Gospel of Mark summarizes the messianic expectations of the Old Testament.

John prepared the way for the Messiah by calling all Israel to repent. The plan of God to redeem humanity began to unfold in the life of Jesus, but his mission was and remains far larger than the nation of Israel, and it encompasses territory extending well beyond the borders of Palestine.

Through the Son, the reign of God will reach all nations, “to the uttermost parts of the Earth,” and upon Jesus alone, the nations shall hope – (Isaiah 11:10, Matthew 12:21).

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[Citations of Old Testament passages in this article are based on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint (see the links here and here). Text printed in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament. The Septuagint is represented by the Roman numeral for ‘seventy’ or LXX based on the Latin name of the translation, ‘Interpretatio septuaginta virorum’]

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SEE ALSO:

• The Salvation of the Lord - ('Jesus' means ‘Yahweh saves.’ In this Man of Nazareth, the Salvation promised by the God of Abraham and Israel has arrived for all men)

• Recognizing Jesus - (It was only when he died that the Roman centurion in charge of the execution recognized that Jesus was the Son of God)

• The Knowledge of God - (Jesus reveals the meaning of Scripture, the understanding of the future, and the nature and mysteries of God)

• The True Light - (Only Jesus is the Light of the World, the expression of God, and the source of truth, life, and salvation, and he alone reigns supreme)