:: In.a.Mirror.Dimly ::

The first installment of my meditations on the Gospel of Mark. Check out the intro here.

The Gospel of Mark begins much faster than the other Gospels with the bold statement right up front that he is presenting the Good News about Jesus the Messiah. The declaration comes first, the proof will follow as we will soon see Jesus in action.

Mark introduces John the Baptist through a quotation from Isaiah about the significance of his ministry, preparing the way for the Lord. John is literally preparing the way for the Lord’s return, something that his original audience may have expected to be more geared toward restoring the Jewish nation under God’s visible rule.

John’s preparations take place in the wilderness and involve repentance, confession, and baptism. Curiously John has distanced himself from the Temple, from the national center in Jerusalem, and from the religious teachers. He calls them a brood of vipers elsewhere in the Gospels. This makes John’s ministry accessible to all people who will humble themselves, return to the wilderness in search of God, and make a clean start.

The connections with the exodus and return from exile are striking. John declares through his actions that God can be found in the quiet, lonely places far from political power and religious authority. In fact, John has begun the proclamation of the Kingdom at the bottom, or at least in the places that are not regarded as worthwhile. In proclaiming repentance in the wilderness John is making a statement that God will not tolerate being tacked on to our lives and that a fresh start comes with the new way of the Messiah.

Though John declared that the coming Messiah would baptize people with the Holy Spirit, it seems that during Jesus’ water baptism, an act of identification with God’s people, he is also baptized by the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. God the Father adds to this moment of commission by declaring his love for his Son, in whom he is pleased. This moment confirms the full divinity and full humanity of Jesus, showing all that he is able to save us through his incarnation in our midst.

For those expecting the return of God among them, it’s hard to say what exactly they expected the Messiah to do after so dramatic a scene. Jesus, however, must have shattered many expectations by immediately going off into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan where angels ministered to him. Why would he head into the wilderness with the power of God behind him?

Without the benefit of religious authority or any kind of resources he shows that God is able to not only preserve him, but to conquer sin. Jesus also continues to take his place with the people of Israel through his own wilderness wanderings. By returning from the wilderness Jesus acts out the narrative of the end of exile and the return of God to his people. For those steeped in the Old Testament the symbolism of Jesus’ actions must have shouted loud and clear that something significant was about to happen.

With so much anticipation building, Jesus lead off his ministry by selecting a few simple fishermen as his disciples so they could learn from him and reach out to others. Right from the start the ministry of Jesus does not revolve around Jesus alone, but around his disciples who will learn from him and continue to reach out much like their Messiah. In fact, throughout his ministry Jesus turns a lot of his work over to the disciples such as baptizing, preaching, and healing.