Mark 1:1a
The beginning of the good news [gospel] about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God
I will not be going through Mark verse by verse or, in this case, phrase by phrase. But this is important. Mark, as far as we know, was the first person to use the word "gospel" to describe a written story, and then apply the word to someone radically different than expected in the culture of his day.
The classical Greek word euangelion, means good news, we translate it as gospel. The word was typically used as an “announcement”. Gospel meant a key event.
If we read a headline "War is Over!” that's Good News - Gospel. It’s an important event. It is Gospel. You may want to read the details about how the war ended, but you immediately understand the message. No additional explanation needed. The world is now different.
Now in Mark’s day, this announcement, this word gospel, was used specifically for the Emperor. For example, the birth of future Emperor Augustus was described as "gospel", meaning an event which would change world history.
So Mark, here at the beginning of his book, uses a word that was reserved for announcing the birth of Roman emperors (a person who was venerated as a god, and thought to be the protector of the empire) and applies it to Jesus.
Mark 1:1a
The beginning of the good news [gospel] about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God
Does Mark have your attention?
“I Mark, present Emperor Jesus, King Jesus, Venerated Jesus! Jesus Christ, the person, the epoch-making person, and the world will never be the same again.”
It is so easy to read past the opening words of Mark’s Gospel. We know what it says, or at least we think we do.
But Mark is making a powerful, radical statement:
- the world is different, because the Messiah has come;
- how we see the world and how we live is different, because the Messiah has come.
In our politically charged world, where politicians sometimes act like they have a lot of power; where it is easy to get sucked into the world's way of thinking and living; Mark, in his Gospel, calls us to a new, a fresh, a deeper understanding of who Jesus is and what he came to do.
And in order to understand, to grasp this, we need to slow down. Slow down and allow each word and phrase of Scripture to shape us.
As we read the Gospel of Mark over these next 16 weeks, let me suggest you breathe out, say a prayer, and slow down — that is counter to the ways of this world — and it is good for all of us.
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