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Mark: The Beginning of the Gospel
Mark: The Beginning of the Gospel
Mark’s first words tell us that what he is about to relay is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
We need to understand this word gospel—not a word used outside of Bible talk, is it? From Greek euangelion, it refers to information one would be happy to hear, or good news. Mark is not relaying just any old everyday happy message, but that of Jesus Christ.
The good news of Jesus is good on so many levels that this is the best news anyone could—or would—ever receive in the history of mankind. It means that God’s eternal plan for man’s redemption had come to fruition (Eph. 3:11). God’s infinite love was manifested in the climactic life, death, and resurrection of His only begotten Son (Jn. 3:16). Man would finally be free of sin, made perfectly pure by the blood of Jesus (Rom. 6:18; Heb. 10:14). The hope in God’s promise to Abraham, of all nations being blessed by his seed, was now seen in the new covenant sealed by the precious blood of the Christ (Gen. 22:18; Heb. 9:20).
So what is this “beginning of the gospel” the Spirit directed Mark to mention? Because gospel is news, tidings, or information, it is something that is proclaimed and published. The first person to do so, as this news was literally coming to pass was Jesus’ cousin John (the baptist). John’s preaching was the beginning of the gospel, preparing the way of the Lord (Mk. 1:1-4). Praise God for the ultimate good news of Jesus Christ! And may we continue the proclamation John began some 2,000 years ago!
