CHAPTER 1

Overture and Beginning: Mark 1–3

The first three chapters of Mark not only begin the story of Jesus' publicactivity in Galilee but also function as an extended introduction to the gospelas a whole by introducing its central themes. To provide an overview, thesechapters include:

* The overture to the gospel (1:1–20)

* A day in the public activity of Jesus (1:21–34)

* Jesus at prayer (1:35–39)

* Healing a leper (1:40–45)

* A series of conflict stories, the dominant theme of Mark 2–3

I encourage you to read Mark 1–3 before continuing.

The Overture: 1:1–20

Mark begins with an overture. So do the other gospels. Like the overture to asymphony, each sounds the central themes of the gospel that follows. In Matthewand Luke, the overtures are the stories of Jesus' birth. In John, the overtureis the great "Hymn to the Word"; it opens with the famous line, "In thebeginning was the Word," now revealed and become flesh, embodied, in Jesus.

Mark's overture is quite different. There is no birth story and no hymn to theWord. Rather, Jesus appears for the first time as an adult on his way to thewilderness to be baptized by John the Baptizer in the Jordan River. There Jesushas a vision of the Spirit descending on him and hears a voice declare, "You aremy son." By the time the overture ends, Jesus has begun his public activityproclaiming the coming of "the kingdom of God" and calling disciples "to followhim."

Because of the importance of Mark's overture, most of this chapter is devoted toit. I begin by quoting it in full:

1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,"See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way;

3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'"

4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism ofrepentance for the forgiveness of sins.

5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalemwere going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessingtheir sins.

6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist,and he ate locusts and wild honey.

7 He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I amnot worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.

8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John inthe Jordan.

10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apartand the Spirit descending like a dove on him.

11 And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I amwell pleased."

12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.

13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with thewild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good newsof God,

15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;repent, and believe in the good news."

16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrewcasting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

17 And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." 18And immediately they left their nets and followed him.

19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brotherJohn, who were in their boat mending the nets: 20 Immediately he called them;and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followedhim.

Verse One: The Title

Verse one is the title of the gospel. Recall that Mark did not write "The GospelAccording to Mark" at the top of his first page. Rather, this story is "Thebeginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." As noted earlier,"good news" and "gospel" translate the same Greek word and we use theminterchangeably.

Though brief, this verse is packed with meaning. Its first phrase, "thebeginning" (of the good news), has at least three possible meanings. It couldsimply mean, "This is the beginning of this document," as when an essay mightinelegantly begin, "I begin by saying...." Or it could refer to the verses thatsoon follow narrating the appearance of John the Baptizer in the wilderness, asif Mark were saying, "The gospel of Jesus begins with John."

Or, finally, it could refer to the whole story, the whole document that follows:all of it is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus—a story that is not over, butthat has only begun. It is not just about past good news, but about good newsthat continues to unfold. I suspect that Mark intends this fuller meaning: thegospel is not just about the past—it was also about Mark's present and ourpresent.

The rest of verse one contains two of the most important early Christianaffirmations about Jesus: he is "Christ" and "the Son of God." Both are "titles"of Jesus used by his followers after Easter.

"Christ" (from the Greek word christos that translates the Hebrew word for"messiah"—and thus Christ and Messiah are synonyms) was a term of greatsignificance in the Jewish tradition. It meant "anointed" and, implicitly,anointed by God. In the Jewish Bible (the Christian Old Testament) the term wasused to refer to the kings of Israel and Judah who were "anointed" by God (see,for example, Ps 2:2). It was also used for a foreign king, Cyrus of Persia, whoin the sixth century B.C.E. permitted the Jewish exiles to return to theirhomeland (Isa 45:1).

By the first century, the word had acquired a more specific and exalted meaning.For many within Judaism, in diverse ways, it designated a future figure whowould be anointed by God to deliver Israel from centuries of oppression. Thus ina first-century context, it is appropriate to speak not simply of a messiah ...but of the Messiah. Mark affirms at the beginning of his gospel that Jesus isthe Messiah, the hoped-for and longed-for anointed one of Israel. The good newsis the story of Jesus the Messiah

The gospel is also the story of Jesus "the Son of God." The phrase has richmeanings not only in the Jewish but also in the Roman world of Mark. In theJewish Bible, "son of God" could refer to Israel as a whole, as in Hosea 11:1:"When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son." Itcould also refer to a king of Israel, as in 2 Samuel 7:12–14 and Psalm 2:7.Nearer the time of Jesus, Jewish mystics were sometimes referred to as "God'sson." What these three references have in common is that all designated arelationship of special intimacy with God.

"Son of God" was also central to Roman imperial theology. As mentioned inChapter 1, it was one of the most important titles of the Roman emperor,beginning with Augustus Caesar who ruled the empire from 31 B.C.E. to 14 C.E. Hewas hailed as "the Son of God," as well as Lord and Savior of the World, the onewho had brought "peace on earth"—the famous Pax Romana.

We will not fully understand Mark's and early Christianity's affirmation thatJesus is the Son of God unless we realize that there was another Son of God inthat world. For Christians to call Jesus "the Son of God" directly counteredRoman imperial theology and its rule of the world that they knew. Already in thetitle, Mark names the conflict that will by the end of his story lead to theexecution of Jesus.

Verses Two and Three: The Way

Verses two and three of Mark's overture announce a major theme of the gospel:the good news is about "the way of the Lord." Note the threefold repetition of"way" imagery: "your way," "the way of the Lord," and "his paths."

2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, "See, I am sending my messenger aheadof you, who will prepare your way; 3 the voice of one crying out in thewilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'"

The language is drawn from the Old Testament. Though Mark says all of it is fromIsaiah, verse two is from Malachi 3:1. Verse three is from Isaiah 40:3.

Given the location of these verses in the narrative, they point forward to Johnthe Baptizer. In verse four, John appears as the messenger in the wilderness whoprepares the way of the Lord. As such, he is "the Forerunner" of Jesus, as he iscommonly known in Eastern Christianity, whereas in Western Christianity he ismost often called "the Baptist."

But the verses are not just about John—they have a much broader meaning. Theyname one of Mark's major themes: "the way" as a metaphor for the meaning of thegospel, the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

* The importance of "the way" is indicated by Mark's frequent use of the Greekword translated into English as the way, and also as the path and road. InGreek, they are the same word.

* "The way" is the primary theme of the central section of Mark's gospel, as weshall see in Chapter 5. That section, 8:22–10:52, begins and ends with storiesof Jesus giving sight to a blind man. In between is the story of the climacticjourney of Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem, death and resurrection. Three timesin that story, Jesus solemnly speaks of his impending execution by the religiousand political authorities, and after each he speaks of following him—a word thatbelongs to the same metaphorical family as the way, path, and road.

* At the end of that section, Mark tells us that the blind man who has just beenhealed "followed [Jesus] on the way" (10:52). To regain sight, to see again,means to follow Jesus on the way. In the next verse, Jesus and those followinghim arrive in Jerusalem, the destination of the way.

* The cumulative meaning of Mark's central section: to follow Jesus is to followhim on the way that leads to Jerusalem, the place of confrontation with theauthorities, death, and resurrection. For Mark, this is the way that Jesustaught, embodied, and called his followers to follow.

As a metaphor for how to live, "the way" is central to both the Old Testamentand New Testament. The Jewish Bible often speaks of contrasting ways: "the wayof life" and "the way of death"; "the wise way" and "the foolish way." So doesJesus, who also speaks of "the broad way" and the "narrow way." In John 14:6,Jesus himself is "the way"—he embodies it, incarnates it, in his life, death,and resurrection. According to the book of Acts, the earliest name of the post-Easter movement was "the Way" (9:2).

As an image for the religious life, "the way" is quite different from commonmodern understandings of what it means to be Christian. Many Protestants as wellas some Catholics think that the Christian life is foundationally aboutbelieving, understood as believing a set of statements about the Bible and Godand Jesus. And, of course, an effort at good behavior is also included.

But the gospel as "the way of Jesus" suggests a path and a person to befollowed, and not primarily a set of beliefs to be believed. Verses two andthree are not simply Mark's introduction to John the Bap-tizer. Rather, theysound the theme of Jesus as "the way of the Lord"—and he calls people to followthe way that he taught and that Mark saw revealed in him.

Verses Four through Eight: John the Baptizer

Mark's overture now introduces John the Baptizer and concisely narrates hisactivity and message. John was of great significance to early Christians as theytold the story of Jesus. All four gospels and the book of Acts begin the storyof the adult Jesus with John. Moreover, John was significant enough that thefirst-century Jewish historian Josephus also refers to him.

He was a strange figure, even by the conventions of his time. He wore animalskins ("camel's hair"), ate locusts and wild honey, and preached "in thewilderness." He was what scholars call "a popular prophet" in a twofold sense:not an "official" prophet, but "of the people," and popular in the sense ofattracting a following. Indeed, John became widely enough known to attract theattention of Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great and ruler of Galilee who, aswe learn later in Mark, arrested and executed him.

Immersion in water—baptism—was a common Jewish religious practice. There weretwo different kinds, differentiated by frequency and function. Some ritualimmersions were repeated again and again as prescribed by Jewish law—forexample, after a woman's menstrual period, or a man's nocturnal emission. Thisis immersion as a purification ritual. The second kind was a once-only ritual ofconversion. Namely, when a Gentile converted to Judaism, the process includedimmersion. This is baptism as a ritual of initiation into a new life.

John's baptism was more like the second than the first. It was not a repeatedritual of purification. Yet it also differed from the second in importantrespects. John's baptism was for Jews, not for Gentile converts to Judaism. Itwas, as Matthew and Luke say, for the "children of Abraham."

Its meaning is suggested by its location. That John baptized in the Jordan Riverand not just anyplace is significant. The Jordan was the traditional boundarybetween "the wilderness" and "the promised land." It was through the Jordan thatthe Israelites had passed to enter the promised land at the climax of the storyof the exodus from Egypt more than a thousand years earlier. The wilderness andthe Jordan were also associated with the Jewish experience of exile. It wasthrough the wilderness separating Babylon from the homeland that the exilesjourneyed in order to return. Thus John's baptism resonated with images ofexodus and exile and "the way" that leads from bondage to liberation and fromexile to return.

Mark 1:9–11: Baptism, Vision, and Voice

BAPTISM

In verse nine, Jesus appears for the first time in Mark's narrative as hetravels from Nazareth to be baptized by John. Mark does not tell us Jesus'motive. But he had to be more than curious about what he had heard about John.Why else would he walk several days from Nazareth—perhaps as far as a hundredmiles—to where John was baptizing? For the same reason, we must also imaginethat Jesus spent some time with John rather than going for a quick baptism and ajourney home a few days later. We should probably think of John as Jesus'mentor.

It is instructive to compare Mark's story of the baptism with Matthew's. ToMark's account, Matthew adds a conversation between Jesus and John (3:14–15).John recognizes Jesus as his superior: John says, "I need to be baptized by you,and do you come to me?" The effect is to suggest that Jesus didn't need to bebaptized by John, but nevertheless agreed to be.

But in Mark there is no hint that John recognized Jesus as superior to him, orthat Jesus accepted baptism in spite of that. Rather, Mark's account suggeststhat Jesus' decision to be baptized indicates an acceptance of John's call torepentance and an identification with John's message and vision—in short, thatJesus was, for at least a while, one of John's disciples.

VISION AND VOICE

Verses 10–11 report that Jesus had a vision and heard a voice at his baptism:"He saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. Anda voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am wellpleased.'" The language echoes phrases from the Old Testament, especially theprophets Ezekiel and Isaiah.

Visions are a dramatic kind of religious experience. Reported in many religions,they involve an ecstatic state of consciousness in which something "beyond" theordinary is "seen," as the word "vision" suggests. They are often accompanied bya voice, an "audition," to use a semi-technical term. Vision and auditionfrequently go together. What is seen and heard has sacred significance and isoften life-changing.

They are important in the Bible and associated with its major figures: in theOld Testament, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and many prophets experienced visions; inthe New Testament, Jesus, Paul, Peter, the author of Revelation, and others did.Moreover, they are commonly about vocation—being called by God to a specifictask.

Visions fall into two primary categories. Some involve seeing into another levelor layer of reality, another "world." For example, Ezekiel saw the heavensopened and visions of God (1:1). Isaiah "saw the Lord sitting on a throne, highand lofty," attended by six-winged creatures from another world, accompanied byan audition that called him to his prophetic vocation (6:1–13).