Note: Devotion based on last Sunday's sermon on Mark 1:1-8.
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1:1).
It is said that the most important part of any book,
including Biblical ones, is the way they begin and end. The opening verse to
the Gospel of Mark serves as an overall title.
It starts, “The beginning….” This echoes the start to Genesis,
the first book in the Bible: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the
earth.” It also echoes the start of John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
Unlike Matthew and
Luke, Mark does not begin with an account of our Lord’s miraculous conception by
a virgin and his birth in Bethlehem. This is not to say that Mark is unaware of
Christ’s virgin birth (implied in Mark 6:3: “Is this not the carpenter, the son
Mary…?”).
He commences, however,
by noting that Christ’s coming was the beginning of the Gospel. The word “gospel,”
at root, means “good news.” When word came from the battlefield, all hoped the
messenger would bring the “gospel (good news)” of victory.
In 1 Corinthians 15:3-5,
Paul described the “gospel” as containing four key facts: (1) Christ died for
our sins, according to the Scriptures; (2) Christ was buried; (3) Christ rose
again on the third day according to the Scriptures; (4) Christ appeared to his
disciples (To Cephas and the twelve and others). This was the core “good news”
of his victory.
In the very last
chapter of this book, the risen Christ will tell his disciples, “Go ye into all
the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Thus, it
begins and ends with reference to the good news.
The title extends in
v. 1. This is good news about “Jesus.” This is the Greek form of the Hebrew
name Joshua. It means “Jehovah saves.” The name “Jesus” tells us he came as a
true man.
He is next given two
titles:
First, he is the
Christ, the anointed one, the Messiah, coming from the line of King David.
Second, he is the Son
of God. He is from all eternity the only begotten Son of God. This tells us of his true divinity. As John puts
it, “No man hath seen God at any time, the only
begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18).
The
Father is, from eternity, unbegotten. The Son is eternally begotten. The Spirit
proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son.
A lot is said in this opening verse. It provides us an orthodox doctrine of God, the Trinity. The one God is Father, Son and Holy Ghost from everlasting to everlasting. It also provides an orthodox doctrine of Christ. He is one person with two natures, true man and true God.
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
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