PRELUDE TO A GREAT MINISTRY
Mark 1:1-12.
J.C.Cordova, D.Min., LCSW
The word gospel is identified in the New Testament with the Greek term evangelión
(announcement). Mark begins his announcement with the following words: “The beginning of
the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” This word came to the English speaking world
from the old Anglo-Saxon term god-spell or stories about a god. Many gospels were written in
ancient days concerning the life and work of Jesus. Four of these stories form a part of the
canon, the authorized writings for inclusion in the Christian scriptures known as the New
Testament. These gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. In this work, our concern will be
with the gospel of Mark.
One concern of church historians through time has focused on authorship and date of the
gospels. Many theories have been proposed, each claiming absolute truth. These conclusive
positions have led to serious debates. Frequently, shepherds and flocks participate in these
disputes. Matters of interest only to historians are brought into practical Christianity, whose
discussions lead to factionalism in the church. These differences of opinion retard the spiritual
growth of believers and discourage non-believers from embracing the Christian way of life.
This work will concentrate on the devotional aspect of Mark. We will explore the content of the
writings for its message to the folks back then and will find application for our lives here and
now. Our purpose is spiritual development, which is the ultimate goal of the entire Bible.
Mark takes his theme from a question Jesus posed to his disciples and the quick, conclusive
answer of Simon Peter. Here is the narrative:
Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked
his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ And they answered him, ‘John the Baptist; and
others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I
am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’ 8:27-3027
In the gospel according to Mark, we have a collection of short stories about some significant
actions of Jesus in his ministry. The material contained in these narratives appear to come to
us from stories John Mark, the son of Mary, heard from believers gatherings in his home in
Jerusalem (See Acts 12:12) and also from the preaching material of Peter, about which Papias,
a late second century believer wrote: “Mark, who became Peter’s interpreter, accurately wrote,
though not in order, as many of the things said and done by the Lord as he had remembered.”
Our author begins his stories announcing the appearing of John the Baptizer as the
messenger preparing the way for the imminent appearing of the Messiah announced by the
prophets. Supporting his premise, Mark quotes from the Book of Isaiah as follows:”A voice
cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for
our God’ (40:3).
John’s message was a call to consciousness of sin and repentance. For several generations
there had been no prophetic voice speaking for God, silent since the days of the Babylonian
exile. Just as Elijah had appeared speaking for God with a strong voice against wickedness
during the dark days of King Ahab of Israel, so was John many years later on the days of the
Roman domination, calling people to abandon sin and get right with God. The narrative
indicates that people went to John in mass, and he baptized each person as symbolic of his or
her repentance.
John also announced the immediate coming into the scene of the long expected Messiah.
(Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel devoted much of their writings to deal with the Messiah and the
messianic era). This is how John made the announcement: “After me comes he who is mightier
than I, the thong 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 [of God]” (1:7-8).
Commitment and Compliance
During those days, Jesus appeared where John was baptizing to be baptized by the prophet.
This statement begs the question: Why would a recognized rabbi submit himself to be
baptized? Simply put, Jesus took part in the ceremony as a member of the community called by
God to be a model people, who had become highly rebellious and needed to repent from their
sin and show public proof in an act of purification and consecration. To be sure, Jesus grew up
in a devoted family, highly consecrated to the service of God. Jesus responding to the call of
John certainly appeared inappropriate. Yet, an important fact plays a major role in the baptism
of Jesus. In addition to rededication, the people needed to become aware that the time for the
Messiah to appear had arrived, which John clearly announced. Actually, it was Jesus hour. It
was most appropriate for Jesus to launch his ministry right then. In his baptism, Jesus complied
with divine expectations. Mark reports the feeling of Jesus upon God’s approval and
investiture. Marks writes: “When he [Jesus] came up out of the water, immediately he saw the
heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; and a voice came from
heaven, ‘Thou art my beloved son with thee I am well pleased’.” (1:10-11)
A Silent Retreat
After baptism, Jesus went on a silent retreat. Again, this action begs the question. Why would
a recognized rabbi submit himself to the rigors of a long, silent retreat? I propose three words:
concentration, communion and consecration. Jesus had already made the decision to begin his
ministry. Now he needed to make another crucial decision. How was he going to proceed? In
intimate communion with the Father, Jesus needed to concentrate in what to do next. This
action would require solitude. So, Jesus went to the wilderness, the site where God appeared
to Moses in the burning bush. This was also the location where the Hebrews camped for a
major stop on their way to the Promised Land. It was the place where Moses spent many days
in communion with God and received the Ten Commandments. And it was the place where the
religion of Israel was institutionalized.
Mark reports what took place in the wilderness. He writes: Jesus “was in the wilderness for
forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to
him” (1:13). With Luke’s help, the reader may get a clear picture of Jesus struggle in the
wilderness. He was hungry and was urged to turn mineral into food. Afterward, when he
considered the relative power his work would carry, Jesus was advised to get it all. Even later,
when he reflected on his direct service to the people in need, Jesus was told to begin with a
spectacular circus-like performance. In all instances, Jesus overcame the test and with a clear,
prepared plan returned victorious to Galilee. (See Luke for details 4).
Reflections
In these opening pages, we come across two major events as Jesus begins his ministry. The
events present lessons of importance to believers in general and in particular to those called to
special Christian service. Let me express them in three simple statements:
1. God’s expectations include all believers
2. God’s expectations call for believers purification
3. Believers purification is the prelude to effective service to God
God’s expectations include all believers.
Jesus is the pace-setter. The baptism of Jesus is a supreme act of submission to God by one
who came into the world with a redemptive mission for which he was predestined, prepared,
called in due time and finally commissioned. Here was the perfect man, one living in complete
communion with God, requiring of John to immerse him in the waters of the Jordan River for his
first public identification with fallen humanity.
Jesus attitude and behavior toward complete surrendering to God’s will exemplifies what the
behavior of all believers must be. These are divine expectations, not forced compliance. Just
as Jesus had the freedom to respond to the call of God out of a sense of duty or to abstain
from answering this call, as probably others had done, so must his followers, in absolute
freedom, engage in direct service to God through serving others.
In Jesus selfless act of surrender rests our lesson. It is that God expects no less from all
believers. Along these lines, the individual believer must conduct a thorough search for God’s
will for his or her life. Once found, the findings must be followed by an absolute and
unquestionable surrender to the pleasure of the Lord for the particular life. But deciding what is
the will of God for the person requires much dedication to a life of devotion. The person in
question must imitate Jesus and develop a life of intense prayer and praise as a means of
increasing intimacy with God. For closeness to God develops in proportions to the amount of
time spent in expanding this relationship.
God’s expectations call for believers’ purification.
Purification is not an act of physical cleansing for health reasons in the manner of taking a
shower in the morning before dressing up to go to work. It is not the act of cleaning oneself
after spending a hard day of work in the fields or the mechanic shop or the warehouse or any
other job requiring physical contact with a soiling environment.
Rather, baptism is a symbolic act. A main symbolism of the act of baptism is purification, the
cleansing of the soul contaminated by unGodly attitudes and behavior toward the Creator and
His creation. Baptism is then an outward sign of an inner experience. It is a symbolic way of
burying the old life of disobedience to be born to a life of complete obedience to the Lord. In
the act of baptism, believers declare publicly their changing from what is divinely undesirable to
what is desirable.
In this manner, baptism is a sacrament, a sacred act belonging in the realm of the holy. The
person conscientiously participating in this ritual is dead serious about his or her future
commitment. For it marks the beginning of a new life, where attitude and behavior consistently
change from living in enmity with God to living in growing communion with the Lord.
The symbolic importance of baptism as spiritual cleansing of the soul finds expression in the
initiation of believers as members of the church. The act is a representative seal of approval
that the person being inducted has met the conditions required before joining the congregation.
In addition to believer’s baptism, the importance of the sacrament, also called ordinance in
some circles, is also shown in denominations practicing infant baptism. This baptism is
administered to children of members as a recognition of being members of the families forming
a part of the fellowship, as shown in Peter’s calling of people to be reconciled with God (see for
instance Acts 2:38-30; 16:31-33). These children are taught Christian doctrine so that at some
point in their lives they might make formal, personal professions of faith in Christ and be
admitted to full fellowship in the particular congregation.
Finally, baptism is practiced as a solemn act, and it must never be trivialized. As I write these
reflections, an incident I watched on television, reported the last weekend of November 2006
illustrate this point. As a pastor stood in the middle of a baptistry facing the witnessing
congregation, waiting for an entrant, a boy about 12 years old dove in from the side to be
immersed in the baptismal waters. Obviously, someone put the boy up to it. This action was not
well received by the pastor and the congregation.
Believers’ purification is the prelude to effective service to God.
Regardless of the particular calling to serve, all service includes a vertical and a horizontal
relational dimension. The primary dimensional relationship is vertical, with God. (see
Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37). This relationship is a face-to-face, intimate interaction. I is a
growing fellowship between the personal soul and his or her maker. It is cultivated through
private prayer in the closet. It is a relationship without secrets, heart-heart so to speak.
The secondary relationship is with others. This is the horizontal dimension. It is to be observed
as God commands: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:18;
Matthews 22:39). All emotionally stable people love themselves. Believers love themselves
even more than nonbelievers because they have a great regard for God’s gift of life. Love to
others is expressed in good relations and unconditional assistance as others need help.
In fact, loving others should come to people spontaneously because humans are social beings.
They are born into groups and live in the human group till the end of their lives. Just as with
God, closeness to others comes to humans in proportion to the amount of time they spend
expanding these relationships. Developing ways of relating well with others may be easily
accomplished participating in social gatherings with them and teaming up to work on projects of
common interest, together building up corporate ways of worshiping God for His goodness in
making possible human reconciliation with the divine.
However, spiritual purification takes precedence to good and effective vertical and horizontal
relations with God and others. The smallest undesirable attitude toward God or others affects
the vertical and horizontal relations adversely. It is most important to recognize faults, repent
and ask forgiveness from God and others whenever we sin against the human and the divine
before moving on.