Mark’s Gospel The Beginning January 1
Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (NKJV)
We have four Gospels, each telling us the story of Jesus Christ’s life, ministry, death, and resurrection. Why are they called “gospels?”
The Greek word was euaggelion, latinized as evangelium, and then entered the English as evangel (evangelist, evangelism, etc,).
The Greek literally means “good message” (eu + aggellion). From the Latinization of aggellion to angelos, we get words related to “angel,” a messenger of God. The Old English translated to "godspel" became gospel.
The Gospels are giving us “Good News.” What is the Good News?
That is precisely why we are studying one of the four books explaining this Good News. Mark, probably the earliest written of the 4 Gospels, is our starting point on this journey of (re)discovery.
There are various understandings of the nature of the Good News that we may find in our study, so we must be open to what comes.
We often find the Bible speaking both literally and symbolically. A passage can be both literally physical and symbolically spiritual.
For example, when Jesus heals a blind person, we think of the person as gaining the use of the vision of his eyes, literally being able to see the world.
Jesus called the Pharisees blind. These religious leaders had been teaching the people to see God and His creation through the eyes of the Pharisees. Giving sight to such a person figuratively meant restoring the person’s vision of God and of spiritual matters. The truth that sets free becomes a reality.
We see the blind healed, and know that both understandings of restored sight are correct. And some who see are still blind.
Jesus often teaches both/and rather than either/or.
For instance, when we hear about heaven or the kingdom of God, is that a place to experience only after death?
Or is heaven, the kingdom of God, BOTH here on earth and we can be its citizens now, AND the place where we reside after death?
Let’s see if we can find a way to be citizens of the kingdom of God both here and there, both now and later, both on earth and as it is in heaven.
The Beginning January 2
Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (NKJV)
The “In the beginning” of Genesis 1 is only a beginning for the piece of existence that we call earth. This is our beginning. God already existed.
We tend to think of our own individual beginning, your beginning and my beginning, as our birth.
Maybe we should consider this individual beginning as actually being 9 months previous to our birth. Or maybe we should look at the birth of our parents as our beginning…or their parents…or their parents….
Perhaps the beginning for each individual exists back at the Genesis 1 beginning.
Everything that has happened since Creation has worked to determine the physical reality at any particular time. Given all that has happened in the intervening time since Creation, you and I could not have been any different at birth from what we were at that first instant.
Mark does not take us back to the beginning in the Garden. He does not have to. This is Jesus’ story, and He is the Son of God, from the Beginning. The intervening history does not change the identity or nature of Jesus.
The first two chapters of the Bible are about Eden, heaven on earth.
The last two chapters of the Bible are about a new heaven and a new earth – a new Eden, if you will.
We live between these two bookends. And Jesus came between the beginning and the end to show us a way to live in the here and now in the way intended from the beginning.
The Bible implies a larger circle, an all-encompassing one for our existence. Our beginning, birth, leads us to our end, death. The breath of the Father returns to Him, and our circle is complete.
We understand our personal beginning only in the context of our personal ending, a smaller circle wrapped in a larger one. And the larger circle is beyond our knowing from a physical foundation. Its basis is the spiritual world, a place recognized and understood only from a spiritual perspective.
So what is “the beginning” of the Gospel message?
Mark’s Beginning January 3
Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (NKJV)
All 4 Gospels have a starting point, of course. There is a difference in what each considers the appropriate beginning for their gospel.
For Matthew, the beginning is the genealogy of Jesus. The beginning of his genealogy is Abraham, and progresses through David and Solomon to Joseph. The Greek word translated as “genealogy” in the NKJV is “genesis.” Writing to Jewish readers, Matthew connects with them in the first verse.
Matthew’s genealogy through Solomon proves Jesus’ political claim to the role of Messiah.
Luke’s beginning is with the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist. Not until chapter 3 does Luke give Jesus’ lineage from Adam through David to Nathan and finally to Mary. Joseph is grafted into the lineage through his marriage to Mary.
Luke’s genealogy through Nathan proves Jesus’ spiritual claim to the role of Messiah.
John’s beginning is the Creation of Genesis Chapter 1. This Gospel proclaims Jesus’ presence from the first record of the universe.
John’s genealogy names God as Jesus’ Father. No other part of His genealogy is required.
Likewise, Mark simply states that Jesus is the Son of God. This is the beginning of both the gospel, the good news, and the beginning of the universe, the Creation story of Genesis. All of history is wrapped in Mark’s first verse, as it is in John’s first verse, also.
That Jesus is the Son of God is a statement that requires proof. And that is the purpose of Mark’s Gospel, to give us that proof.
Mark will guide us to the spiritual perspective of Jesus’ ministry on earth. Our task is to untether ourselves from the physical world, to see beyond our limited perspective. Nearsighted, we look no further than ourselves for our help. Our focus is inward. And this is bondage.
Looking up to a higher spiritual plane, we will see that life is not about me or about you. We have nothing except what has come from above. And so we must look upward to the spiritual world through the lens of Jesus to find our true beginning. And this is the beginning of the truth that sets us free.
The Prophets January 4
Mark 1:2-3
2 As it is written in the Prophets:
“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.”
3 “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.’ ” (NKJV)
Mark quotes Malachi 3:1 in the second verse, and then Isaiah 40:3 in the third verse. Two prophets of the distant past are brought to the present to speak of who is to come.
Malachi: The name means ambassador, or angel, or messenger. All three apply figuratively for a prophet. And perhaps this is not a name, but merely the title of one who is nameless, speaking for the One who has not told us His name, but has simply stated, “I AM.”
The prophet Isaiah speaks also of a nameless voice in the wilderness that will call out ahead for people to prepare a path for the Lord. Why does a voice call out into the wilderness, an unsettled region not yet a home to the culture of any group of people? Perhaps only in the wilderness, away from culture and the trappings of civilization, can a prophetic voice be heard above the din of the crowd.
Both prophets speak of a nameless messenger who will prepare the way before God. This is not about the messenger or the voice that cries out, but is about the message he bears: The Lord is coming; remove all obstacles and barriers to His coming, and prepare the people to receive Him.
Mark is giving us an understanding of what – and who – is to come.
Preparing the way means that the land must be made ready to receive the coming of the Lord.
Preparing the way means the wilderness of the heart must be made ready to receive the coming of the Lord.
Though it be but a voice in the wilderness, the message that pours out is meant to transform the wilderness of the land into a garden, the Garden.
Though few will open their ears to hear what is spoken in the wilderness, the message is meant to transform the heart of stone to a heart of flesh.
Repentance January 5
Mark 1:4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
The action of Mark’s Gospel begins now. John the Baptist is baptizing all who will come. His is the baptism of repentance.
This baptism is the beginning of conversion, the beginning of a process of restoring each person to their true identity.
It is the first Beatitude of Matthew 5: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Repentance is defined in our modern language as showing remorse or contrition for sin, wrong actions.
In the Old Testament, and in the language of the era of John the Baptist, the Hebrew word, sub, meant to turn or to return. And this is what John the Baptist called for people to do, to return to God.
Malachi 3:7, “…Return to Me and I will return to you…,” and Isaiah 55:7,
Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
God forgives those who return to Him, according to Isaiah. Awareness that our actions have separated us from God is necessary. We cannot know our need to return until we acknowledge that we have gone astray.
And perhaps equally important, we can forgive ourselves. Repentance works on both levels, knowing that He will forgive us allows us to forgive ourselves.
Note that Isaiah says we are to return to God. In other words, God will always be there for us. He has not left us, but we have left Him.
Malachi may be misunderstood, but our act of returning allows God to once again be One with us. Unity with Him is impossible while we have chosen separation. “His return” to us is our opening the door to Him by our return.
John the Baptist cries out in the wilderness. Who will hear the cry?
Understanding Repentance Jan 6
Mark 1:4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
From Jan. 5, we see that repentance is a return to God. How did we come to misunderstand such a basic instruction?
Language is more than simply the way we verbalize thoughts. It is a reflection of a view of life. We see the view of existence of the different cultures through their respective languages.
The Greek word translated as repentance in the New Testament is metanoia, a compound word meaning change (meta) thinking (noia). This repentance is an act of the mind.
Israel is in an area called the Mideast, but actually is in the middle between East and West. The Hebrew view of the world and language bear at least as many similarities to Eastern thought and language as to Western.
The concept of a return to God expressed in the Prophets is also the concept expressed by John the Baptist, whether in Hebrew or Aramaic.
Jer. 24:7 expresses the Hebrew mindset regarding a return to God: Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.
The Prophets call for a return to God, a change of heart. This is very different from the Greek concept of changing the mind.
It is the heart that governs the body, not the mind. Paul expresses this well in Romans 7:15-20. He knows what to do or not to do in his mind, but he does the opposite. The mind is not in charge.
The Hebrew of Psalm 23:7 expresses this clearly: For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you.
God is looking for a change in the heart, the seat of relationship.
Who Comes to Be Baptized? January 7
Mark 1:5 Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
The text appears to say that everyone in Judea, which includes the city of Jerusalem, came to be baptized by John the Baptist. This is hyperbole, an exaggeration meant to include great numbers of people coming.
We know that those with vested interests in the Lord not coming were always in opposition to both John the Baptist and Jesus.
The very existence of the Pharisees as a sect, as a religion and a business, depended on them opposing a relationship of the people directly with God. As middlemen in the transactions between the sinning public and the vengeful God, their economic existence depended on the separation of man from God. Their status was earned by their show of obedience to the multitude of laws they imposed on the people in the name of God.
The Sadducees also were opposed to anything that upset the status quo. Religion had its place, the Temple, and both High Priests named in the New Testament were Sadducees. The Sadducees gave lip service to the Law, and this only as long as it did not interfere with the business of running the country. Even under Rome’s rule, they maintained their wealth and status.
When any Pharisees or Sadducees came to John’s baptismal service, Matthew says John called them a brood of vipers and ran them away.
The people not aligned with interests harmed by John’s message were the most likely to respond to his call. Forgiveness from God came free with repentance, a return to the God who waited patiently for them.
Forgiveness of sins was an expensive proposition at the Temple due to laws and regulations regarding the fitness of sacrificial animals. And there were high prices for animals deemed acceptable as sin sacrifices. Conversion of secular coins to Temple coins was an expensive transaction, also.
John the Baptist called to the people to return. He spoke in the language of the prophets, and he offered a path to forgiveness that told of a merciful God. His message appealed to “the least of these,” to the outsiders and whosoevers.
John preached God’s forgiveness that came without strings or a high price tag. He cried out for people to see how far they had strayed, and then to return to their Creator. His simple message of God’s free gift was appealing in its contrast with the Temple’s high price charged for forgiveness.
The Forerunner’s Uniform January 8
Mark 1:6-7 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose….”
Here we have John the Baptist’s clothing, diet, and message.
John’s clothing is reminiscent of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8): a hairy garment girt with a leather belt. An animal skin and a belt made from leather seem appropriate for a wardrobe designed in and for the wilderness. The same wardrobe as Elijah was no accident. (Fashion was never a prophet’s strong suit.)
His diet was wild locusts and honey. The locust insect comes first to mind, but the locust tree of the region yields pods filled with locust “beans.” Another name for the tree and its fruit is carob. There is a sweetness to carob. The reference to honey that first comes to mind, of course, is the honey from bees, and this is probably Mark’s intent. This is a surprisingly sweet and nutritious diet for the austere lifestyle of a prophet.
Finally, we have the cloak of humility. There is no specific mention of this covering, but we see it in John the Baptist’s acknowledgment that someone greater is to follow.
John the Baptist is not distracted by the pleasures of the world, or even by the desire for what we might call basic amenities. Nor does his role as the forerunner of the One who comes give him a greater opinion of himself.
To get down on the ground to fasten or unfasten the latch on another person’s sandals is an act of great humility.
He says that he is not worthy even to do this menial task for the One who is to come. This might lower the standing of the Baptist in our eyes. Perhaps it is more accurate to raise our estimation of the One who is to come.
Baptism: A New Perspective Jan 9
Mark 1:8 “I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Isaiah has told us there is a hunger to be satisfied, a fire to be quenched.
Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, (eat = consume, lit. or fig.)
And let your soul delight itself in abundance. Isaiah 55:2
Isaiah is speaking figuratively. Think of eating as consuming. We consume food, but also anything that we acquire and use up.
A fire consumes. It consumes everything that it can in order to continue burning. Fire is never satisfied, and neither is the fire in us, the desire for more of anything and everything possible. Air to breathe and fuel to burn are the two necessary things to sustain a literal fire. Desire and the object desired feed the figurative fire.
Neither literal fire nor the figurative fire within us will be satiated and go quietly into that good night. Neither can be content and say that there is no need for more as long as there is air and fuel.
The only end of fire is to quench it, to deny life to the fire that cannot be satisfied. This is the baptism of water, denying oxygen to the flame. This is the baptism of the Spirit, quenching the desire for the fuel by substituting a desire for something, Someone, much greater.
John’s baptism begins the quenching, but cannot complete it. The Spirit’s baptism acknowledges the heart’s desire for the baptism of repentance, and completes the task by satisfying a greater longing.
Next day
Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (NKJV)
We have four Gospels, each telling us the story of Jesus Christ’s life, ministry, death, and resurrection. Why are they called “gospels?”
The Greek word was euaggelion, latinized as evangelium, and then entered the English as evangel (evangelist, evangelism, etc,).
The Greek literally means “good message” (eu + aggellion). From the Latinization of aggellion to angelos, we get words related to “angel,” a messenger of God. The Old English translated to "godspel" became gospel.
The Gospels are giving us “Good News.” What is the Good News?
That is precisely why we are studying one of the four books explaining this Good News. Mark, probably the earliest written of the 4 Gospels, is our starting point on this journey of (re)discovery.
There are various understandings of the nature of the Good News that we may find in our study, so we must be open to what comes.
We often find the Bible speaking both literally and symbolically. A passage can be both literally physical and symbolically spiritual.
For example, when Jesus heals a blind person, we think of the person as gaining the use of the vision of his eyes, literally being able to see the world.
Jesus called the Pharisees blind. These religious leaders had been teaching the people to see God and His creation through the eyes of the Pharisees. Giving sight to such a person figuratively meant restoring the person’s vision of God and of spiritual matters. The truth that sets free becomes a reality.
We see the blind healed, and know that both understandings of restored sight are correct. And some who see are still blind.
Jesus often teaches both/and rather than either/or.
For instance, when we hear about heaven or the kingdom of God, is that a place to experience only after death?
Or is heaven, the kingdom of God, BOTH here on earth and we can be its citizens now, AND the place where we reside after death?
Let’s see if we can find a way to be citizens of the kingdom of God both here and there, both now and later, both on earth and as it is in heaven.
The Beginning January 2
Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (NKJV)
The “In the beginning” of Genesis 1 is only a beginning for the piece of existence that we call earth. This is our beginning. God already existed.
We tend to think of our own individual beginning, your beginning and my beginning, as our birth.
Maybe we should consider this individual beginning as actually being 9 months previous to our birth. Or maybe we should look at the birth of our parents as our beginning…or their parents…or their parents….
Perhaps the beginning for each individual exists back at the Genesis 1 beginning.
Everything that has happened since Creation has worked to determine the physical reality at any particular time. Given all that has happened in the intervening time since Creation, you and I could not have been any different at birth from what we were at that first instant.
Mark does not take us back to the beginning in the Garden. He does not have to. This is Jesus’ story, and He is the Son of God, from the Beginning. The intervening history does not change the identity or nature of Jesus.
The first two chapters of the Bible are about Eden, heaven on earth.
The last two chapters of the Bible are about a new heaven and a new earth – a new Eden, if you will.
We live between these two bookends. And Jesus came between the beginning and the end to show us a way to live in the here and now in the way intended from the beginning.
The Bible implies a larger circle, an all-encompassing one for our existence. Our beginning, birth, leads us to our end, death. The breath of the Father returns to Him, and our circle is complete.
We understand our personal beginning only in the context of our personal ending, a smaller circle wrapped in a larger one. And the larger circle is beyond our knowing from a physical foundation. Its basis is the spiritual world, a place recognized and understood only from a spiritual perspective.
So what is “the beginning” of the Gospel message?
Mark’s Beginning January 3
Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (NKJV)
All 4 Gospels have a starting point, of course. There is a difference in what each considers the appropriate beginning for their gospel.
For Matthew, the beginning is the genealogy of Jesus. The beginning of his genealogy is Abraham, and progresses through David and Solomon to Joseph. The Greek word translated as “genealogy” in the NKJV is “genesis.” Writing to Jewish readers, Matthew connects with them in the first verse.
Matthew’s genealogy through Solomon proves Jesus’ political claim to the role of Messiah.
Luke’s beginning is with the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist. Not until chapter 3 does Luke give Jesus’ lineage from Adam through David to Nathan and finally to Mary. Joseph is grafted into the lineage through his marriage to Mary.
Luke’s genealogy through Nathan proves Jesus’ spiritual claim to the role of Messiah.
John’s beginning is the Creation of Genesis Chapter 1. This Gospel proclaims Jesus’ presence from the first record of the universe.
John’s genealogy names God as Jesus’ Father. No other part of His genealogy is required.
Likewise, Mark simply states that Jesus is the Son of God. This is the beginning of both the gospel, the good news, and the beginning of the universe, the Creation story of Genesis. All of history is wrapped in Mark’s first verse, as it is in John’s first verse, also.
That Jesus is the Son of God is a statement that requires proof. And that is the purpose of Mark’s Gospel, to give us that proof.
Mark will guide us to the spiritual perspective of Jesus’ ministry on earth. Our task is to untether ourselves from the physical world, to see beyond our limited perspective. Nearsighted, we look no further than ourselves for our help. Our focus is inward. And this is bondage.
Looking up to a higher spiritual plane, we will see that life is not about me or about you. We have nothing except what has come from above. And so we must look upward to the spiritual world through the lens of Jesus to find our true beginning. And this is the beginning of the truth that sets us free.
The Prophets January 4
Mark 1:2-3
2 As it is written in the Prophets:
“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.”
3 “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.’ ” (NKJV)
Mark quotes Malachi 3:1 in the second verse, and then Isaiah 40:3 in the third verse. Two prophets of the distant past are brought to the present to speak of who is to come.
Malachi: The name means ambassador, or angel, or messenger. All three apply figuratively for a prophet. And perhaps this is not a name, but merely the title of one who is nameless, speaking for the One who has not told us His name, but has simply stated, “I AM.”
The prophet Isaiah speaks also of a nameless voice in the wilderness that will call out ahead for people to prepare a path for the Lord. Why does a voice call out into the wilderness, an unsettled region not yet a home to the culture of any group of people? Perhaps only in the wilderness, away from culture and the trappings of civilization, can a prophetic voice be heard above the din of the crowd.
Both prophets speak of a nameless messenger who will prepare the way before God. This is not about the messenger or the voice that cries out, but is about the message he bears: The Lord is coming; remove all obstacles and barriers to His coming, and prepare the people to receive Him.
Mark is giving us an understanding of what – and who – is to come.
Preparing the way means that the land must be made ready to receive the coming of the Lord.
Preparing the way means the wilderness of the heart must be made ready to receive the coming of the Lord.
Though it be but a voice in the wilderness, the message that pours out is meant to transform the wilderness of the land into a garden, the Garden.
Though few will open their ears to hear what is spoken in the wilderness, the message is meant to transform the heart of stone to a heart of flesh.
Repentance January 5
Mark 1:4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
The action of Mark’s Gospel begins now. John the Baptist is baptizing all who will come. His is the baptism of repentance.
This baptism is the beginning of conversion, the beginning of a process of restoring each person to their true identity.
It is the first Beatitude of Matthew 5: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Repentance is defined in our modern language as showing remorse or contrition for sin, wrong actions.
In the Old Testament, and in the language of the era of John the Baptist, the Hebrew word, sub, meant to turn or to return. And this is what John the Baptist called for people to do, to return to God.
Malachi 3:7, “…Return to Me and I will return to you…,” and Isaiah 55:7,
Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
God forgives those who return to Him, according to Isaiah. Awareness that our actions have separated us from God is necessary. We cannot know our need to return until we acknowledge that we have gone astray.
And perhaps equally important, we can forgive ourselves. Repentance works on both levels, knowing that He will forgive us allows us to forgive ourselves.
Note that Isaiah says we are to return to God. In other words, God will always be there for us. He has not left us, but we have left Him.
Malachi may be misunderstood, but our act of returning allows God to once again be One with us. Unity with Him is impossible while we have chosen separation. “His return” to us is our opening the door to Him by our return.
John the Baptist cries out in the wilderness. Who will hear the cry?
Understanding Repentance Jan 6
Mark 1:4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
From Jan. 5, we see that repentance is a return to God. How did we come to misunderstand such a basic instruction?
Language is more than simply the way we verbalize thoughts. It is a reflection of a view of life. We see the view of existence of the different cultures through their respective languages.
The Greek word translated as repentance in the New Testament is metanoia, a compound word meaning change (meta) thinking (noia). This repentance is an act of the mind.
Israel is in an area called the Mideast, but actually is in the middle between East and West. The Hebrew view of the world and language bear at least as many similarities to Eastern thought and language as to Western.
The concept of a return to God expressed in the Prophets is also the concept expressed by John the Baptist, whether in Hebrew or Aramaic.
Jer. 24:7 expresses the Hebrew mindset regarding a return to God: Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.
The Prophets call for a return to God, a change of heart. This is very different from the Greek concept of changing the mind.
It is the heart that governs the body, not the mind. Paul expresses this well in Romans 7:15-20. He knows what to do or not to do in his mind, but he does the opposite. The mind is not in charge.
The Hebrew of Psalm 23:7 expresses this clearly: For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you.
God is looking for a change in the heart, the seat of relationship.
Who Comes to Be Baptized? January 7
Mark 1:5 Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
The text appears to say that everyone in Judea, which includes the city of Jerusalem, came to be baptized by John the Baptist. This is hyperbole, an exaggeration meant to include great numbers of people coming.
We know that those with vested interests in the Lord not coming were always in opposition to both John the Baptist and Jesus.
The very existence of the Pharisees as a sect, as a religion and a business, depended on them opposing a relationship of the people directly with God. As middlemen in the transactions between the sinning public and the vengeful God, their economic existence depended on the separation of man from God. Their status was earned by their show of obedience to the multitude of laws they imposed on the people in the name of God.
The Sadducees also were opposed to anything that upset the status quo. Religion had its place, the Temple, and both High Priests named in the New Testament were Sadducees. The Sadducees gave lip service to the Law, and this only as long as it did not interfere with the business of running the country. Even under Rome’s rule, they maintained their wealth and status.
When any Pharisees or Sadducees came to John’s baptismal service, Matthew says John called them a brood of vipers and ran them away.
The people not aligned with interests harmed by John’s message were the most likely to respond to his call. Forgiveness from God came free with repentance, a return to the God who waited patiently for them.
Forgiveness of sins was an expensive proposition at the Temple due to laws and regulations regarding the fitness of sacrificial animals. And there were high prices for animals deemed acceptable as sin sacrifices. Conversion of secular coins to Temple coins was an expensive transaction, also.
John the Baptist called to the people to return. He spoke in the language of the prophets, and he offered a path to forgiveness that told of a merciful God. His message appealed to “the least of these,” to the outsiders and whosoevers.
John preached God’s forgiveness that came without strings or a high price tag. He cried out for people to see how far they had strayed, and then to return to their Creator. His simple message of God’s free gift was appealing in its contrast with the Temple’s high price charged for forgiveness.
The Forerunner’s Uniform January 8
Mark 1:6-7 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose….”
Here we have John the Baptist’s clothing, diet, and message.
John’s clothing is reminiscent of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8): a hairy garment girt with a leather belt. An animal skin and a belt made from leather seem appropriate for a wardrobe designed in and for the wilderness. The same wardrobe as Elijah was no accident. (Fashion was never a prophet’s strong suit.)
His diet was wild locusts and honey. The locust insect comes first to mind, but the locust tree of the region yields pods filled with locust “beans.” Another name for the tree and its fruit is carob. There is a sweetness to carob. The reference to honey that first comes to mind, of course, is the honey from bees, and this is probably Mark’s intent. This is a surprisingly sweet and nutritious diet for the austere lifestyle of a prophet.
Finally, we have the cloak of humility. There is no specific mention of this covering, but we see it in John the Baptist’s acknowledgment that someone greater is to follow.
John the Baptist is not distracted by the pleasures of the world, or even by the desire for what we might call basic amenities. Nor does his role as the forerunner of the One who comes give him a greater opinion of himself.
To get down on the ground to fasten or unfasten the latch on another person’s sandals is an act of great humility.
He says that he is not worthy even to do this menial task for the One who is to come. This might lower the standing of the Baptist in our eyes. Perhaps it is more accurate to raise our estimation of the One who is to come.
Baptism: A New Perspective Jan 9
Mark 1:8 “I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Isaiah has told us there is a hunger to be satisfied, a fire to be quenched.
Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, (eat = consume, lit. or fig.)
And let your soul delight itself in abundance. Isaiah 55:2
Isaiah is speaking figuratively. Think of eating as consuming. We consume food, but also anything that we acquire and use up.
A fire consumes. It consumes everything that it can in order to continue burning. Fire is never satisfied, and neither is the fire in us, the desire for more of anything and everything possible. Air to breathe and fuel to burn are the two necessary things to sustain a literal fire. Desire and the object desired feed the figurative fire.
Neither literal fire nor the figurative fire within us will be satiated and go quietly into that good night. Neither can be content and say that there is no need for more as long as there is air and fuel.
The only end of fire is to quench it, to deny life to the fire that cannot be satisfied. This is the baptism of water, denying oxygen to the flame. This is the baptism of the Spirit, quenching the desire for the fuel by substituting a desire for something, Someone, much greater.
John’s baptism begins the quenching, but cannot complete it. The Spirit’s baptism acknowledges the heart’s desire for the baptism of repentance, and completes the task by satisfying a greater longing.
Next day
