Reading the Gospels Together How do you begin a gospel? – Part 1 Each of the gospel writers needed to make a choice regarding how they were going to begin their gospel. Beginnings are important. How you begin says a lot about the story you are attempting to tell. Likely each gospel writer put much thought into their beginning. In this section we will listen to the beginnings of all four gospels and attempt to discern why each gospel writer made the choice he did. In this section we will need to consider Mark 1:1-15; Matthew 1-2:23; Luke 1:1-2:52; and John 1:1-18. Mark begins his gospel in a dramatic and powerful way. He wants his readers to know that what he is telling them is “the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The implication is that there is more to the story than Mark will tell. In fact, when we get to the end of Mark’s gospel we will find ourselves thrust back to the beginning and forward into the story ourselves. Mark wants his readers to feel the power of the story he is about to tell them. Since he reaches back into the OT and quotes both from Malachi and Isaiah, it is clear that he views the appearance of Jesus as a culminating event and also the genesis of a new and dynamic activity of God in the world. Mark begins by introducing John the Baptist to his readers with a clear and unmistakable reference to the OT prophet Elijah who was to come and make all things ready for the coming Messiah. John the Baptist is Elijah. When Jesus arrives on the scene from Nazareth in Galilee he is baptized by John and the way is now fully prepared. John has completed his task. And in a violent and dramatic event Mark tells his readers that the heavens were torn in two and the Spirit of God descended upon Jesus. The movement is from heaven to earth and Mark wants his readers to feel the coming of God’s Spirit among them. God is on the loose! God speaks only to Jesus in Mark’s beginning and assures Jesus that he is indeed God’s beloved Son. Mark’s use again of the OT books of Psalms and Isaiah highlight the importance of this event. Following his baptism Jesus is cast out into the wilderness to be tested by Satan. The power of darkness and evil is confronted in this coming and the ensuing story will be one of battle between Jesus and the forces of evil. In Mark’s view everything from illness to demon possession to the rejection of Jesus by human beings is a manifestation of evil. The battle is on and Jesus will be victorious. Almost as quickly as Mark brought John the Baptist on stage he ushers John back off stage by telling his readers that John was arrested. The way is open now for Jesus and he returns to Galilee with the bold declaration that the time is up, the kingdom of God has dawned, and now is the time to repent and believe the good news. What Mark has described for his readers is no ordinary event – this is a crucial and powerful event with lasting effect. This is a crisis event. This is an event that really matters! Mark is very deliberate in creating this powerful event and through it Mark’s readers are thrust into the gospel which follows. Why did Mark choose to begin his gospel in this way? Of course we can only speculate about that but given what we learn from the rest of Mark’s gospel we are able to make some informed speculation. We might wonder whether or not Mark knew of stories of the birth of Jesus. Since he doesn’t mention anything about that the usual assumption is that Mark didn’t know about it. I think it is far more likely Mark knew those birth stories but they did not serve his purpose so he left them out. As we read Mark’s gospel it becomes very clear that identifying Jesus as the Crucified Messiah and that one can only truly know who Jesus is be seeing him dead on the cross is the central message of Mark’s gospel. Everything points to the cross. And the cross is a powerful and dramatic event. Some have observed that Mark seems in a hurry to get to the cross which I think is true. Mark does not waste time along the way. When Jesus dies Mark tells his readers that the curtain of the Temple was torn in two which thrusts his readers back to the baptism when the heavens are torn in two and God comes in the Spirit upon Jesus. And so as Mark thought about how to begin his story he linked these two events together. What better way to begin a gospel that will center upon the Crucified Messiah than to begin with this dramatic and powerful event! Was Mark successful with his beginning? I think so. His beginning is a stroke of genius. It is a sign of a brilliant and deliberate writer. We can read Mark’s gospel with confidence that it will proclaim the good news of Jesus to us and that if we listen with an open heart Mark’s gospel will transform us creating faith within us and motivate us to be a follower of Jesus.