Mark 1:4-5

Summary retelling of Mark 1:4-5

John appeared.  He was baptizing in the wilderness, proclaiming the truth that people needed to repent in order to be forgiven.  He was baptizing people as a sign of their repentance.  The people of Judea (the countryside surrounding Jerusalem) and even Jerusalem itself were going out to hear John.  They were confessing their sins and being baptized by John.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

I believe that as Mark writes this, he desires to intentionally set up the reader to think about the Old Testament.  We find John preaching in the wilderness.  We should remember another great teacher who taught in a wilderness and who paved the road for people to come into possession of a new relationship with God: Moses.  Moses literally wandered in the wilderness while his people prepared themselves for Joshua to lead them into the Promised Land.  Now John the Baptizer is preaching in the wilderness preparing a new group of people for Jesus (Jesus is the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew name Joshua) to lead them into a spiritual Promised Land.

Have you ever thought to compare Jesus and Joshua with respect to their leading people into a Promised Land?  If Moses was a great teacher (but we also know that the whole generation of people to whom he taught except Joshua and Caleb died in the wilderness because of their disobedience) and if John is the New Testament analogy of Moses, what do these facts tell us about God’s opinion of the likelihood that people will actually receive and respond to John’s message?  What can we surmise about God’s opinion of whether or not people will respond to Jesus’ message?

Second Thought:

John’s baptism was about repentance.  Literally John called for repentance.  As people repented, their baptism was a symbol for the washing away of their old lifestyle.  Baptism is not a symbol of the washing away of sin, because nothing we do can ever wash away our sin.  Only Christ’s blood can permanently wash away our sin.  Rather, water baptism is a symbol of the washing away of the old lifestyle.  Literally, this is what the idea of repentance is all about.  The word repent literally means to turn around.  When we repent of our sinful nature, we are turning away from our sinful nature.

Why is it important to understand that the first major discussion in the gospel of Mark is about repentance?  If we want to be a disciple of Jesus, how does John’s preparation for the coming of Jesus help us believe that the first step in following Christ is working through our repentance and by the grace of God actually changing our ways?

Third Thought:

The people were going out to John.  In John’s day, society had become so corrupt that people were looking for truth.  Organized religion had become so corrupt and ill-focused that there was no truth to be found in it.  So the people went out to find truth wherever they could.  Notice that John’s message of telling people to change did not drive everyone away as we think it might.  People know the reality of their life.  They know they are not perfect.  They don’t want someone to pacify them by telling them they are okay.  They want a relationship with someone who can successfully navigate with them the change that they know needs to occur in their life.

Why do we assume people don’t want to hear that they aren’t perfect?  In what ways can it be freeing to confess our imperfection?  Why is it helpful to find others around us who can help us not only see the change our life needs but also walk with us as we go about trying to implement that change?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 1:6-8