The Gospel of Mark
...rds of what the first Christians believed was significant about Jesus and what must be preserved and communicated into the future. They are both records of Jesus' life and words and records of the response of those who experienced him. The beginning of Mark is about the Gospel of Jesus, not just the story of Jesus. Mark's story puts the story of Jesus into a larger story which begins in Genesis and continues into the history of Mark's own time. It is a story that continues in the lives of Mark's first century readers, who are facing abundant bad news. And it is a story that intersects in the lives of those of us who read Mark today. As we discover that the Kingdom of God includes us and that faith lets us in, we find the "Good News" for ourselves. By starting with Isaiah, Mark takes us into the entire Old Covenant. The Good News begins with the promise and expectation of a Kingdom that is the entire Old Testament story. Isaiah is particularly the prophet of the coming Kingdom of God, and Mark locates the beginning of Jesus' story not in birth records or a hometown, but in a prediction that someone would come announcing the "Way" of the Lord. The Lord is coming to restore his people. But it will be a time of cleansing and refinement, not just celebration. Mark begins his gospel talking about the arrival of Jesus Christ. In Mark 1:2 he said, “In the book of the prophet Isaiah, God said, Look, I am sending a messenger before you, and he will prepare your way.” This messenger he was talking about was John the Baptist. He lived in the wilderness and was preaching about the coming of our savior. John the Baptist is the beginning of Mark's Gospel because he announces the Kingdom's arrival and insists we must prepare for it. Jesus' embodies the Kingdom. While John preached and called people to repen...