John the Baptist Prepares the Way - Mark 1:1-8
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah,[a] the Son of God,[b] 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”[c]—
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”[d]
4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with[e] water, but he will baptize you with[f] the Holy Spirit.”
Reflection:
Today we begin our journey through the gospel of Mark. It will be a quicker one, as Mark is the shortest of the four gospels at sixteen chapters. There is debate over who wrote Mark. The early church fathers, especially Papias (early 2nd century bishop of Hieropolis who is quoted by Jewish historian Eusebius) say it is John Mark, the traveling companion of Peter and later Paul. Many think the eyewitness details come from the lens of Peter, the apostle, and explain why the miracles and power of Jesus dominate this gospel. Finally, we know the gospel is written in Koine Greek the less academic language used by common, everyday people written around 70 AD. The gospel seems to be written to Greek speaking Christians. Mark is usually considered today as the earliest gospel. The alternative authorship theory is that Mark is written by a compilation of authors. I would favor the former interpretation.
Be that as it may, Mark starts out his gospel not with the birth narrative of Jesus, but with the ministry of John the Gospel, the forerunner of his second cousin Jesus (remember Mary and Elizabeth were first cousins). John was a Nazirite, who had taken the Nazarite vows since birth, says gospel writer Luke. This includes things like abstaining from wine, not cutting one's hair (remember Samson), and only eating certain foods. Like we see today, he wore austere clothing and ate locusts and honey. Importantly John's message was one of repentance, or as we like to say in our church "turning from what you know is wrong!"
But what is clear is that John did not want people to confuse him with Jesus. He acknowledges Jesus is more powerful than him, and says he is not worthy to untie his sandal straps. Importantly John's baptism was a "water only" baptism similar to the one given to Gentiles entering the Jewish faith and community. And yet, while it provided purification for the Gentiles per the Old Testament Law it was lacking one thing, being filled with the Holy Spirit. John prophesies that Jesus will not only baptize with water but the Holy Spirit, looking forward to the day of Pentecost where Jesus poured out His Holy Spirit on His disciples and all gathered.
So a question we might ask ourselves today is what do I need to repent of in order to prepare the way for Jesus to use me as a messenger of His grace? As Christians, we are given the power of the Holy Spirit when we believe and are baptized. Yet getting involved in sinful patterns we know are wrong can "quench" the Spirit's activity in our hearts and lives. That is why are continually called to a life of repentance and belief, as we hear God's call on our lives and respond to the ways the Holy Spirit is calling us to a deeper life of obedience. So a question today might be, "Where are you quenching the power of the Holy Spirit in your life?" Where are you developing an attitude of, "I know this is wrong but I am going to do it anyways!" This is the attitude of our old sinful nature and we need to hear the call of John the Baptist to repent and believe in the Good News. And the Good News is that Jesus has set us free from sin to serve God and others. Amen.
1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah,[a] the Son of God,[b] 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”[c]—
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”[d]
4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with[e] water, but he will baptize you with[f] the Holy Spirit.”
Reflection:
Today we begin our journey through the gospel of Mark. It will be a quicker one, as Mark is the shortest of the four gospels at sixteen chapters. There is debate over who wrote Mark. The early church fathers, especially Papias (early 2nd century bishop of Hieropolis who is quoted by Jewish historian Eusebius) say it is John Mark, the traveling companion of Peter and later Paul. Many think the eyewitness details come from the lens of Peter, the apostle, and explain why the miracles and power of Jesus dominate this gospel. Finally, we know the gospel is written in Koine Greek the less academic language used by common, everyday people written around 70 AD. The gospel seems to be written to Greek speaking Christians. Mark is usually considered today as the earliest gospel. The alternative authorship theory is that Mark is written by a compilation of authors. I would favor the former interpretation.
Be that as it may, Mark starts out his gospel not with the birth narrative of Jesus, but with the ministry of John the Gospel, the forerunner of his second cousin Jesus (remember Mary and Elizabeth were first cousins). John was a Nazirite, who had taken the Nazarite vows since birth, says gospel writer Luke. This includes things like abstaining from wine, not cutting one's hair (remember Samson), and only eating certain foods. Like we see today, he wore austere clothing and ate locusts and honey. Importantly John's message was one of repentance, or as we like to say in our church "turning from what you know is wrong!"
But what is clear is that John did not want people to confuse him with Jesus. He acknowledges Jesus is more powerful than him, and says he is not worthy to untie his sandal straps. Importantly John's baptism was a "water only" baptism similar to the one given to Gentiles entering the Jewish faith and community. And yet, while it provided purification for the Gentiles per the Old Testament Law it was lacking one thing, being filled with the Holy Spirit. John prophesies that Jesus will not only baptize with water but the Holy Spirit, looking forward to the day of Pentecost where Jesus poured out His Holy Spirit on His disciples and all gathered.
So a question we might ask ourselves today is what do I need to repent of in order to prepare the way for Jesus to use me as a messenger of His grace? As Christians, we are given the power of the Holy Spirit when we believe and are baptized. Yet getting involved in sinful patterns we know are wrong can "quench" the Spirit's activity in our hearts and lives. That is why are continually called to a life of repentance and belief, as we hear God's call on our lives and respond to the ways the Holy Spirit is calling us to a deeper life of obedience. So a question today might be, "Where are you quenching the power of the Holy Spirit in your life?" Where are you developing an attitude of, "I know this is wrong but I am going to do it anyways!" This is the attitude of our old sinful nature and we need to hear the call of John the Baptist to repent and believe in the Good News. And the Good News is that Jesus has set us free from sin to serve God and others. Amen.
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