We begin a new series in the Gospel of Mark, and the focus in this gospel is Jesus — who is Jesus? As we read through the events recorded in this book, we are to see what it tells us about Jesus and what does Jesus require. To follow Him well, we need to know Him well.
The book of Mark is one of four gospel accounts in the New Testament. A gospel account is a distinct genre of literature, which is an eyewitness account by an apostolic source (that is, from the account of one of Jesus’ twelve apostles, who were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection, c.f Acts 1:12-26) and an extended passion narrative (that is, a long section devoted to the Cross). As an eyewitness testimony, it is meant to be a reliable source of evidence about real events that had happened in a point of history.
Gospel accounts, as eyewitness testimonies, tend to follow a narrative structure, usually with a chronological flow of events. What you would also see is that certain people would be named, which is an invitation to others who doubt the accounts of what happened to approach those people and verify the accounts of what happened. Eyewitness testimonies also tend to uniquely carry the perspective of the eyewitness – not only the style in which they tell their stories, but also certain details in the accounts which only those present would have known or noticed.
What this means for us, is that as we read the book of Mark, we cannot read this like it is a fable, or a myth, told to either entertain people or teach a moral through a story. It is meant to be read as a historical account of real events that happened, and therefore have real implications for us.
(A) The Beginning: Prepare the Way of the Lord (Mark 1:1-8)
Mark opens with this verse: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Mk 1:1).” The gospel is good news, and it is about “Jesus Christ, the Son of God”. The gospel is good news, and Jesus is the subject matter and focus of this good news. We are also introduced to who Jesus is. Jesus’ name means “Yahweh saves” which points us to his role in salvation. He is the “Christ” which is not His surname, but His title as Christ means the Anointed One. He is also “the Son of God”, highlighting His divinity.
It helps if we look a bit more at the background on the book of Mark. Firstly, on the apostolic authorship, the book of Mark is held by scholars to be written by the disciple John Mark, who is a close companion to Simon Peter, one of the twelve apostles; he was so close to Peter that Peter referred to him as his ‘son’ (1 Pet 5:13). While Mark himself was not one of the apostles, the book of Mark was widely accepted by the early church as an accurate record of Peter’s teaching, captured by Mark acting as Peter’s scribe.
Each of the gospel accounts have their own emphasis, because of the differences in their authorship and their intended audience. For example, Matthew writes primarily to a Jewish audience, making many references to the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy, while Mark, likely addressing the church in Rome, takes care to explain certain Jewish customs for Gentiles who would not have the full context.
The emphasis on narrative Jesus’ miracles also serves Mark’s purposes of highlighting Jesus’ divinity as the Son of God and the promised Messiah. The author also highlights’ Jesus’ mission to the Gentiles and the validity of the church’s mission to the Gentiles. This shows also in the care taken to explain Jewish terms and customs, and the declaration that the temple is the house of prayer for all the nations (Mark 11:17). Thus, the overall purpose of the book of Mark is to present Jesus’ call to discipleship and to follow the divine Master and Messiah. Hence the title of this series — “Following the Master”.
Two characters are introduced, both from Old Testament prophecy (taken from Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1) and in the present narrative (Mark 1:2-7). Mark 1:2-3 gives us a picture of a herald, who runs ahead of the King to announce his arrival. The announcement of his arrival in advance gives the people time to prepare to receive the King. Mark introduces us to the messenger, John (Mk 1:6). John is immediately introduced as “baptizing in the wilderness”, identifying him as the messenger. He is described as wearing different clothes (clothes of camels’ hair and a leather belt) and having a different diet (locusts and wild honey). These identify him as a classic Old Testament prophet, which is significant given the 400 years of prophetic silence.
We are also told his message (Mk1:4, 7). John proclaimed a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”. He was calling Israelites to be washed as a sign of their repentance, that is to turn away, for the forgiveness of their sins. He also tells them about someone greater who will come after him. This paints John as the herald, running ahead of the King, being the messenger who prepares “the way of the Lord”.
The preparation of “the way of the Lord” (Mark 1:5) is that the people repent of their sins and purify themselves through baptism. Why? Because the Lord, the King is coming, and the people were not ready to receive Him because they were unclean. The people responded to John’s call by going out to him.
A note on baptism. To baptise means to immerse, or to wash. There is no direct reference to baptism in the Old Testament, but there are some requirements for purification and cleansing, when a person or priest is unclean, to make them clean.
In other words, John’s message tells the Israelites that they are not ready for the King, because they are unclean! And to prepare for the King, they need to repent of their sins and be washed. For the Jews, this would have been insulting, as they would see themselves as clean, unlike the Gentiles, who were unclean.
In the Old Testament prophecy, we speak of “the Lord” (Mark 1:3b). Mark also records for us the Lord’s work (Mark 1:7-8) and John tells the people about the one who comes after Him who is greater, who would baptise the people, not with water but with the Holy Spirit. This greater one clearly references the coming “Lord”, and though he is not named directly here, the verses that follow make it clear by context that Jesus is this One who is Mightier, and who is the Lord.
Moreover, from John’s baptism, it is clear that apart from the baptism of water, there is another baptism to occur: the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is not the physical washing, or the rite of water baptism that saves us, but the saving work of the Holy Spirit in us as we repent and believe in the Gospel.
Friends, how do you see yourselves? Are you clean, or unclean? Do you see yourself as basically a good and acceptable person? Do you look at your own behaviour and think, I’m not sinful. At least, not as sinful as that guy. I’m not a thief, a murderer, or an adulterer. I’m alright. This too, was the assumption of the Jews, who were God’s people. Yet, the King’s messenger tells us clearly that we, like the Jews, are unclean. We cannot stand before the King as we are. First, we need to be cleansed and purified. We need to repent of our sins, and be washed. The gospel is not good news if we do not recognise this first.
(B) Christ, the Son of God: The Favoured and Faithful One (Mark 1:12-17)
Jesus was baptised by John in the Jordan river, and immediately after, he is anointed by the Holy Spirit, descending like a dove from heaven, and an audible voice from heaven identifies Jesus as His beloved Son, and expresses his pleasure with Jesus (Mark 1:9-11).
Why are these events significant? Unlike the Jews who were baptised to repent of their sins, Jesus had no sins to be cleansed of. In Matthew’s Gospel account (Matt 3:13-15), John protests Jesus’ baptism: “I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?” Yet Jesus convinces John to baptise him, “. . . as it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness”. For the Jews and for us, our baptism identifies us as sinners, whereas In Jesus’ baptism, Jesus identified himself with sinners.
Jesus’ title as Messiah means anointed One. Just as Old Testament judges and prophets began their ministry with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the anointing of the Holy Spirit at Jesus’ baptism marks the beginning of His Ministry.
This is also one of the clear depictions of the three persons in the Trinity – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These divine signs, visible and audible to those present at Jesus’ baptism, serve to identify and authenticate Jesus not just as a prophet and chosen messenger, but as the Son of God. The Father declares His favour of the Son: “with you I am well pleased”, indicating His approval of Jesus.
Jesus is then immediately driven into the wilderness for forty days (Mark 1:12-13). Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days and He was tempted by Satan. Jesus’ forty-day temptation parallels Israel’s forty-year wandering in the wilderness. Israel, as the chosen people of God, were not faithful to Him, and wandered in the desert for forty years due to their sin and disobedience to God; in contrast, Jesus is portrayed as the true and better Israel, the true people of God, remaining faithful to God despite temptation.
How is this significant for us? Just as Jesus identified with sinners through baptism, Hebrews 2:14-18 tells us that he “partook of the same things” and “had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest”. He suffered temptation to identify with our weaknesses and struggles, so that he can help us when we are tempted (Heb 2:18).
In this short account, Mark reveals to us a little about the Master whom we follow. We follow a Master who is clearly favoured by God the Father and equipped for the work – we should thus be confident that His words and His works are good and pleasing to God; we follow a Master who endured trials and temptations faithfully – we should follow His faithful example, knowing He will help us to be faithful too.
(C) The Gospel of Jesus: Repent and Believe (Mark 1:18-20)
After these accounts of Jesus as the favoured and faithful son of God, Mark skips over the events that lead to John’s arrest, and describes the start of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. Jesus proclaims this gospel: “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. (Mark 1:14-15)” But what does that mean?
It means that the time has come (“the time is fulfilled”). There is something that the people of God have been waiting for, that has been prophesied and not yet come up till that point. The people of God who are in exile have been waiting for God’s promised salvation and deliverance, that will be brought about by the coming of the Messiah.
The phrase “at hand” connotes imminence, that the kingdom of God has arrived. Within a kingdom, the reign of its king is absolute, and the people listen to their king. In other words, God’s rule and reign has arrived through the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, the promised king.
The response that is required is to repent and believe. To repent is to turn away from sin and to turn to God by believing in God’s promises and the promised One that He sends. In the time of Jesus, the Israelites were oppressed by foreign rulers, watching and waiting for four hundred years, looking for God’s promised king who would deliver them from their enemies, much like how God had delivered them countless times in ages past. But as we will read in the rest of the accounts, Jesus will make it clear that he comes to meet a deeper need, and deliver them from a greater enemy, sin.
My friends, what is it that you are looking forward to? Perhaps some of us may be going through a tough time due to work (maybe a difficult period, demanding clients, difficult colleagues, poor work performance, a difficult boss), health challenges, financial difficulty, or difficult relationships. Perhaps we yearn for victory over these challenges, relief from struggle. God sees those needs, but He calls our attention to our deeper need. We need a Saviour who will deliver us from our sin and the destruction that is sure to follow.
Repent and believe in the good news of Jesus, who is the fulfilment of God’s promises and the promised King. He will save you, maybe not in the way you expect, but definitely in the way you need. Jesus is the long-awaited King, the son of God who will arrive and usher in the kingdom of God. We are to respond by repenting of our sins and believing in Him.