The Beginning Gospel

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'" John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."- Mark 1:1‭-‬8 ESV

Rev. Dan Whang

Mark is the shortest of the gospels. It is an active and concise narrative. He was mainly targeting gentiles and getting the message out.

Fresh beginnings

There is anticipation and excitement with beginnings. Mark is writing about a life changing beginning. The gospel, good news, was being proclaimed. Jesus, the Christ, was Messiah and King. He had come to save us from our sins. Through Him, we could be right with God, no matter what we had done. 

With the arrival of Jesus and His earthly ministry, we have a new beginning. This is our reboot, reformatting, restart of our lives. Many of us may be looking back on the past year, 22 days into the new year. We may carry regrets, disappointment, and remorse for the past. This is the effect that sin has on us. It separates us from God and others. Jesus takes these and gives us a fresh start.

Repentance in the wilderness

John the Baptist is declaring Jesus as the Messiah. Why wilderness? There wilderness in those times was most likely a desert. It was a place of thirst and survival was impossible. Wilderness was where people met God. People in the desert needed God to survive. Wilderness is where we find the end of our self reliance and abilities.

Repentance is when we come to our senses in our sins and turn to God. We turn from our evil deeds, intentions, and motivations... Towards God. We need to do this daily. To fight against the sin in our lives. Have we become complacent with sin? Perhaps this is why God has brought us into the wilderness. God wants to show us our hearts/brokenness and meet us there to set us free.

Magnifying Christ

After God sets us free, he does not leave us there. It is not about a better you. It is not about being better people. John knew his place in history. He was pointing to the Messiah. He was the opening act for the main show. He was the groomsman for the bride and groom. He wasn't there for the spotlight and self glorification. John knew the humanity and divinity of Jesus. The sandals of whom he was not worthy to untie was the humanity. The baptism by the Spirit was pointing to Jesus' divine nature.

So the question for us is this... Can we serve to be forgotten? Can we live to be forgotten? Only those who have the gospel at work in their lives. They can serve without recognition, without human gratitude, without gathering power, pride, or glory. God sees and will reward us, even if there is nothing for us from following God in this life.