The Beginning of the Good News

"Out of Egypt I called my son.", so the prophet Hosea had announced centuries before.  God's son in this case was not a single individual, but the entire people of Israel.  But Israel had been divided shortly after the time of King Solomon and eventually the northern tribes had been taken into Assyrian exile, never to return.  A few stragglers had been left in Samaria, but they had mixed their bloodline and their religious practices with pagans who the Assyrians had transplanted to the area after conquering it.  The southern kingdom of Judah (including the tribe of Benjamin, some of the Levites, and a few other remnants of the original 12 tribes) understood themselves to be the inheritors of the promises made to Abraham so many years before.  Through much persecution and difficulty, they had held onto the traditions of their ancestors and had avoided the complete loss of their faith and heritage, but they too had gone into exile (Babylonian) and even when the Persian Emperor, Cyrus had given them the opportunity to return home and rebuild their temple and their lives, many had stayed put, creating what came to be known as the Jewish diaspora.  One empire after another had held them captive and at the dawn of what would come to known as the Common Era (CE), many Jews hoped for a messiah to arise who would defeat their pagan overlords, cleanse the temple and other religious institutions, and reestablish God's kingdom on earth.  The messiah's mission would be nothing short of a new exodus.  Out of Egypt, (or Babylon or Rome), God would again call his son.

Then, out of the blue a prophet named John arrived on the scene.  Mark tells the story this way. "John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins." (Mark 1:4-5, NRSV).  Over twelve centuries earlier, Israel had passed through the waters of the Sea of Reeds before spending 40 years in the wilderness.  After their wilderness wandering, they again passed through water, this time the Jordan River, as they entered into the Promised Land.  In symbolic fashion, those who responded to John's message were reenacting God's original deliverance of his people in the exodus as they recommitted themselves to restoration and renewal in anticipation of God's new work among them.  

Mark continues, "In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.  And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.'" (Mark 1:9-11). Like the rest of his fellow Jews, Jesus is a member of the people who collectively could be called "God's son."  But Jesus is also unique.  In his baptism, the one individual, Jesus, is declared to be the Son of God, the Beloved.  Like the Judean kings before him, he will represent the people before God, but in ways that far transcend what kings like David and Josiah accomplished.  And just as Israel passed through the waters those centuries before, Jesus passes through the waters of baptism, fully identifying with his people.  But all will not be easy for this one who has come to establish God's kingdom on earth as in heaven.  

"And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.  He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him."  (Mark 1:12-13).   Like Israel before him, Jesus spends, not 40 years, but 40 days in the wilderness.  He is vulnerable before the wild beasts - those animals who would one day become tame (Isaiah 11:6-8) and he is forced to confront the accuser, the Satan.  But whereas Israel had often gone astray in the wilderness, longing for the security of slavery and trusting their own ingenuity over God's, Jesus is led by the Spirit and relies on God's provision to get him through.

After crossing the Jordan again and returning to Galilee, Jesus enters the Promised Land "...proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news.'" (Mark 1:14-15).  For those Jews who had waited centuries for God to honor his promises to their ancestors, the news that God's kingdom was at hand, must be both exhilarating and almost too good to be true.  And that's exactly the response that Jesus consistently receives as he begins his ministry of healing and renewal.  Some respond in awe and trust, while others are more skeptical and even dismissive.  

The same is true today.  Along this spectrum of both belief and disbelief, the message of Jesus is received in 2023.  But for those willing to take a step, and quite possibly, a leap of faith, the message about Jesus is too good not to be true.  In a world dominated by competing messages of bad news, it's refreshing to hear that there's another perspective out there.  There's hope for renewal, healing, and restoration for this dark world.  This beautiful and amazing world doesn't always work right.  But one day it will.  Those with faith believe that the world began to change for the better when Jesus arrived on the scene 2,000 years ago.  But it was just a beginning.  There's more to come.  This is "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." (Mark 1:1). - Shay