Mark 1:1

Posted by DJL on Apr 17, 2012 in Daily Bread | 0 comments

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

I don’t know if he knew it or not, but Mark was actually inventing a whole new literary category with this opening sentence. Actually, it’s not even a sentence – no verb – but more of a phrase, almost a title. But with it Mark invents a new way to tell a story.

In the Greek the word is euangelion – “eu” means good; angelion (from where our word “angel” comes) means message. So the euangelion is, quite literally, “good message,” “glad tidings,” or, most simply, “good news.”

The word itself wasn’t new. But previous to Mark, it really was a word used to describe a message – as in, some news – not a larger narrative story. In particular, it was the word used to describe a military victory, some other joyous political event, or simply great news that had broad social, cultural, and political ramifications. This news usually came to the people as a royal announcement or proclamation from the king or emperor and occasioned thanksgiving to the gods.

Mark picks it up to describe Jesus’ message about God’s coming kingdom and reign. But Mark can’t capture what Jesus is saying – or the implications of his life – in a single announcement. In order to share this message, he has to tell Jesus’ story. And before you know it, he’s off to the races, providing something that is part ancient biography (which, by the way, is very different from modern biography), and part theological reflection on Jesus’ life, ministry, and death.

In short, Mark offers a narrative message rather than just an announcement. Before long, the Christian church picks up this word – euangelion, good news, or gospel (which comes from the Old English god [good] + spel [news]), to represent a new literary genre that tells the story of God’s redemption through the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

All this has implications for how we read Mark. Jesus will talk a lot about God’s coming kingdom, you see, but to understand what he means we can’t just “think” about it, or even “listen” to it, but rather we need to travel with Jesus, see how Jesus himself embodies this kingdom in word and deed, and then join Jesus in living in a “kingdom” way. Otherwise, it ends up being just news, not necessarily good news.

So Mark actually does quite a bit in this little opening phrase – announcing something grand that God is doing, pointing us to Jesus’ life as a narrative message of God’s grace and redemption, and inviting us to come along for the ride and, ultimately, join in. After all, as Mark says, this is “just the beginning of the good news.”

Prayer: Dear God, we give you thanks for your servant Mark, through whom you announce the good news of your work to save us and all the world through your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.