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Scripture Reading: Mark 1:1-13
In this message we shall continue to consider the beginning of the gospel and the initiation of the Slave-Savior.
Mark 1:1-2 say, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way.” The beginning of the gospel of the Slave-Savior is even as what is written in Isaiah concerning the ministry of John the Baptist. This indicates that John’s preaching of the baptism of repentance was also a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It terminated the dispensation of law and changed it to the dispensation of grace. Hence, the dispensation of grace began with the ministry of John before the ministry of the Slave-Savior.
The beginning of the gospel is the termination of law and the germination of grace. The beginning of the gospel terminated the dispensation of the law and started the dispensation of grace. Not only did the beginning of the gospel start the dispensation of grace, but it also germinated the dispensation of grace. To start something is outward, but to germinate something is to cause it to have an inward beginning in life.
The beginning of the gospel is the termination of the entire old dispensation, the dispensation of the law. But in order for a termination to be called a beginning, the termination must be followed by germination. This germination involves a divine injection, and this injection was the initiation of the Slave-Savior.
Mark 1:3 speaks of “a voice of one crying in the wilderness.” The beginning of the ministry of the gospel of the Slave-Savior was only a voice, not a great movement. Furthermore, the preaching of the gospel of the Slave-Savior began not in any center of civilization, but began in the wilderness, beyond the influence of human culture.
It was according to prophecy that John the Baptist began his ministry in the wilderness. This indicates that the introduction of God’s New Testament economy by John was not accidental, but was planned and foretold by God through Isaiah the prophet. This implied that God intended His New Testament economy to begin in an absolutely new way. John the Baptist did his preaching not in the holy temple within the holy city, where the religious and cultured people worshipped God according to their scriptural ordinances, but in the wilderness, not keeping any regulation of the old way. This indicates that the old way of the worship of God according to the Old Testament was repudiated, and a new way was about to be brought in. The wilderness is a place without culture, religion, or anything of human society or civilization. The use of the word “wilderness” here indicates that the new way of God’s New Testament economy is against religion and culture.
Verse 4 says, “John the baptizer came in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins.” John was born a priest (Luke 1:8-13, 57-63); hence, he should have lived a priestly life in the temple to do the priestly service. But he went to the wilderness and preached the gospel. This indicates that the age of the priesthood to offer sacrifices to God was replaced by the age of the gospel to bring sinners to God so that God may gain them and that they may gain God. Verse 6 says, “John was clothed in camel’s hair and had a leather girdle around his loins; and he ate locusts and wild honey.” The way John lived signifies that his living and work were altogether in a new dispensation, not according to the way of the old religion, culture, and tradition. As a priest, John, according to the regulations of the law should have worn the priestly garment, which was made mainly of fine linen (Exo. 28:4, 40-41; Lev. 6:10; Ezek. 44:17-18). He also should have eaten priestly food, which was composed mainly of fine flour and the meat of the sacrifices offered to God by His people (Lev. 2:1-3; 6:16-18, 25-26; 7:31-34). However, John did altogether otherwise. He was clothed in camel’s hair, he had a leather girdle around his loins, and he ate locusts and wild honey. These things are uncivilized, uncultured, and not according to religious regulations. For a priestly person to wear camel’s hair was an especially drastic blow to the religious mind, for the camel was regarded as unclean under Levitical regulations (Lev. 11:4). In addition, John did not live in a civilized place, but lived in the wilderness (Luke 3:2). All this indicates that he had completely abandoned the Old Testament dispensation, which had fallen into a kind of religion mixed with human culture. His commission was to introduce God’s New Testament economy, which is constituted solely of Christ and the Spirit of life.
As one who signified the termination of the old dispensation with the old culture and religion, John the Baptist preached a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins. Repentance is to change the mind, turning it to the Slave-Savior, and baptism is to bury the repenting people, terminating them, for the Slave-Savior to germinate them by regeneration (John 3:3, 5-6). The Greek word rendered “for” in this verse also means unto. Repentance with baptism is for, and results in, forgiveness of sins so that the obstacle of man’s fall may be removed and man may be reconciled to God.
In his preaching John the Baptist emphasized repentance. To repent is to turn our mind from anything other than God, including our culture, religion, knowledge, education, and social life, and turn it to God. Religion, culture, civilization, society, knowledge, and education all distract us from God. Now that the old dispensation has been terminated, we must repent and turn our mind to God.
According to the Gospel of Mark, John the Baptist did not teach the repentant ones what they should do. Instead, he simply buried them. This burial signifies termination. In the wilderness John preached repentance and terminated all those who repented. This is included as part of the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Mark 1:1 speaks of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. “Jesus Christ” denotes the Lord’s humanity. The gospel is of a Man named Jesus Christ. This Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Mark 1:1 does not say, “Jesus Christ and the Son of God”; it says, “Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The comma here indicates that “Son of God” is in apposition to “Jesus Christ.” This indicates that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that the Son of God denotes Jesus Christ. The title “the Son of God” denotes the Lord’s deity. Hence, the fact that the gospel is of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, means that it is of humanity and deity. This gospel is full of humanity and also full of the Godhead. This compound title used in relation to the gospel reveals that both human virtues and divine attributes are in this gospel. This gospel is full of the Lord’s humanity in its virtue and perfection and also full of His deity in its glory and honor. Therefore, the gospel is of humanity full of virtue and perfection and of deity full of glory and honor. All these aspects can be seen in the sixteen chapters of the Gospel of Mark.
If we read 1:1 and 2 carefully, we shall see that the beginning of the gospel was the coming of John the Baptist to preach the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. When John came out in an uncultured and unreligious way announcing repentance, that was the beginning of the gospel. As we have seen, the beginning of the gospel involves the termination of the dispensation of law and the germination of the dispensation of grace. The dispensation of law ended with the coming of John the Baptist, and the dispensation of grace began also with him.
Among theologians there has been a debate about the beginning of the dispensation of grace. Some say that this dispensation began at the day of Pentecost, and others claim that it began with the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Others hold still different opinions. According to the Bible, the beginning of the gospel, which is the beginning of the dispensation of grace, was the coming out of John the Baptist. Hence, the coming of John the Baptist was a landmark dividing the dispensation of law and the dispensation of grace. His coming marked the end of the dispensation of law and the beginning of the dispensation of grace.
Mark 1:2 indicates that John the Baptist came to prepare the Lord’s way, and verse 3 says, “A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ready the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.” In these verses we have the way and the paths. To make ready the way of the Lord is to change the mind of the people; it is to turn their mind toward the Slave-Savior and make their heart right, straightening every part of their heart through repentance so that the Slave-Savior may enter into them to be their life and take possession of them (Luke 1:17).
We need to understand the difference between the way and the paths. To prepare the way of the Lord is to repent. We have seen that to repent is to change our mind, to have a turn in our thinking. To turn our mind is to prepare the way for the Lord’s coming. The way in verse 3 refers to our mind. We need to prepare the way, make ready the way, of the Lord through repentance. John the Baptist did an excellent job of preparing the mind of the repentant ones for the coming of the Lord.
The paths are all the minor, inner sections of our being: thoughts, likes and dislikes, intentions, desires, decisions. If we compare the mind to a highway, we may compare the paths to small streets and roads. The highway and all the streets in our being need to be prepared for the Lord.
As human beings we are not simple. Rather, inwardly we are very complicated. Consider how many “streets” and “lanes” we have within us. Consider also how people’s minds are away from God and occupied with things of philosophy and culture. How is it possible, then, for Christ to come into people? In order for Christ to enter into a person, the way and the paths within him need to be prepared.
The gospel is not merely an objective matter, for the gospel is actually Jesus Christ Himself as the embodiment of the living God. As such a One, He is waiting for people to open to Him so that He may come into them. However, people have their minds occupied and filled with many things. Therefore, the best evangelist is one who can cut the way in a person’s mind and thereby prepare him to receive the Lord. If we preach the gospel properly, eventually the way will be prepared for Christ to come into people and occupy them.
Mark 1:5 says, “And all the country of Judea went out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.” Judea was a region with the holy city, the holy temple, and high culture; hence, it was a region of honor. Nevertheless, verse 5 says that all the country of Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to John the Baptist. When they repented through John’s preaching, John immersed them into the death-water to bury them, to terminate them. In this way he prepared them to be raised up by the germinating of the Slave-Savior with the Holy Spirit, through the confession of their sins.
To baptize someone is to immerse him, to bury him in water. Thus, baptism signifies death. John the Baptist baptized the people in order to indicate that the repentant ones were good only for burial. This baptism also signifies the termination of the old person and signifies that a new beginning may be realized in resurrection through Christ as the Life-giver. Hence, following John’s ministry, Christ came. John’s baptism not only terminated those who repented, but also ushered them to Christ for life. Baptism in the Bible implies death and resurrection. To be baptized in water is to be put into death and buried, and to be raised up from the water means to be resurrected from death.
Mark 1:7 says of John the Baptist, “And he preached, saying, One stronger than I comes after me, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.” Although John preached a baptism of repentance, the goal of his ministry was a wonderful Person, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. John did not make himself the center of his ministry; he did not try to attract others to himself as a magnet. He realized that he was only a messenger sent by Jehovah of hosts to bring people to His Son Jesus Christ and exalt Him as the goal of his ministry.
John the Baptist preached repentance, and he baptized all those who repented. Through baptism the old life of the repenting ones was terminated. This termination prepared the way and straightened the paths for the Slave-Savior to enter into the repenting people. In his ministry John ushered the people to the Slave-Savior. Therefore, he told them that his ministry was not for himself, but was for another One, a great One, who was coming. John even said that he was not worthy to stoop down and unloose the thong of the sandals of this One.
According to 1:8, John the Baptist said, “I baptized you in water, but He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.” Water signifies death and burial for the termination of the repenting people. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of life and resurrection for the germination of the terminated people. The first was a sign of John’s ministry of repentance; the latter, a sign of the Slave-Savior’s ministry of life. John buried the repenting people into the death-water; the Slave-Savior raised them up for their regeneration in the Spirit of His resurrection life. The death-water, pointing to and signifying the all-inclusive death of Christ, into which His believers are baptized (Rom. 6:3), buried not only the baptized people but also their sins, the world, and their past life and history (just as the Red Sea buried Pharaoh and the Egyptian army for the children of Israel — Exo. 14:26-28; 1 Cor. 10:2), and separated them from the God-forsaking world and its corruption (just as the flood separated Noah and his family from the world and its corruption — 1 Pet. 3:20-21). The Holy Spirit, into whom the Slave-Savior baptized those who believed in Him, is the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:9). Hence, to be baptized in the Holy Spirit is to be baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3), into the Triune God (Matt. 28:19), and even into the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13), which is joined to Christ in the one Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). It is through baptism in such a water and in such a Spirit that the believers in Christ are regenerated into the kingdom of God, into the realm of the divine life and the divine rule (John 3:3, 5), that they may live by the eternal life of God in His eternal kingdom.
Mark 1:9 says, “And it came about in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.” Galilee was called “Galilee of the Gentiles,” a region without honor; hence, a despised region (John 7:52). Nazareth was a despised city of this despised region (John 1:46). The lowly Slave of God came from this source and grew up in it.
As a Slave of God, the Slave-Savior was baptized. His baptism signifies that He was willing to serve God, and that He would not serve in a natural way, but would serve through death and resurrection. Such a baptism was the initiation of His service.
The Lord was baptized in order to allow Himself to be put into death and resurrection so that He might minister not in the natural way, but in the way of resurrection. By being baptized He lived and ministered in resurrection even before His actual death and resurrection three and a half years later.
Since the baptism of John was the baptism of repentance, some may wonder why it was necessary for the Lord Jesus to be baptized by him. They may say, “This is a baptism of repentance. Does the Slave-Savior need to repent? Certainly He does not need to repent.” If we have such a concept, we may not see the real significance of repentance. Repentance is the termination of our thought, concept, philosophy, and way of doing things. Hence, to repent is not merely to regret wrongdoing. That understanding of repentance is too shallow. Even if someone is not wrong, he would still need to repent, to change his mind and no longer do things by himself or be someone in himself. To repent means that we turn from living, working, and having our being in ourselves and for ourselves. If we realize this, we shall see that the Lord’s coming to be baptized indicates that He did not want to live, act, speak, or work by Himself. The Lord wanted to put Himself to an end and be buried. Therefore, the Lord’s baptism indicates that He would not live, speak, or do anything by Himself, but would live by God, walk by God, and minister by God. He would be a Slave to God and by God. This was the reason He was baptized. The Lord’s baptism was the first step of His initiation into His gospel service, which is the ministry of the gospel.
In 1:10 and 11 it is written concerning the Lord Jesus, “And immediately, coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens being parted, and the Spirit as a dove coming down to Him. And a voice came out of the heavens: You are My beloved Son; in You I delight.” Mark’s record of a Slave does not reflect the splendor of the status of this Slave’s Person, but reflects the diligence of His service. The word “immediately” is used in his record forty-one times and two more times in alternate manuscripts.
The heavens being opened to the Slave-Savior signifies that His willing offering of Himself as a Slave to God was fully accepted by God, and the Spirit as a dove coming down to Him signifies that God anointed Him with the Spirit for His service to Him (Luke 4:18-19). A dove is gentle, and its eyes can see only one thing at a time. Hence, a dove signifies gentleness and singleness in sight and purpose. By the Spirit of God descending upon Him as a dove, the Lord Jesus ministered in gentleness and singleness, focusing solely on the will of God.
In verses 10 and 11 we have the Triune God. While the descending of the Spirit is the anointing of Christ, the speaking of the Father is a testimony of Him as the beloved Son. Here is a picture of the divine Trinity: the Son went up from the water, the Spirit descended upon the Son, and the Father spoke concerning the Son. This proves that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit exist simultaneously. This is for the accomplishment of God’s economy.
We have seen that the first step of the initiation of the Lord into His ministry was baptism. Now we must go on to see that the second step was His being tested. After the Lord was baptized, He needed to be tested in order that His integrity might be proved.
Concerning this, verse 12 says, “And immediately the Spirit thrusts Him out into the wilderness.” After God’s acceptance and anointing, the first thing the Spirit did with this Slave of God was to thrust Him into a test to prove His integrity. The word “thrust” is a strong word. This word indicates that after His baptism the Lord was altogether under God’s hand. Because He did not live and move by Himself, the Spirit of God could thrust Him out into the wilderness. The Lord was submissive in being thrust out into the wilderness. If He had a strong will to resist this thrusting out, He could not have been thrust out by the Spirit. But because He was so submissive, the Holy Spirit could thrust the baptized Jesus out into the wilderness. His submission to the Spirit proves that He was completely faithful to His baptism. With the Lord, it was no longer “I” but God.
Verse 13 says, “And He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to Him.” The number forty signifies a time of testing and suffering (Deut. 9:9, 18; 1 Kings 19:8). Satan, the enemy of God, was used for the testing and proving of God’s Slave. The beasts of the earth, in a negative sense, and the angels from heaven, in a positive sense, were also used for this test. Praise the Lord that He passed the test in the wilderness!
Through the two steps of His initiation — baptism and being tested — the Lord was ushered into His service. After He had been tested and it had been proved that He was the right person to carry out this service, He could now enter into His service for God.
