In the coming weeks we will begin our study of Mark's Gospel. We will go verse by verse. The aim is not to go into deep theological discussions, but simply to read the Word, listening to what God wants to say to you and me today. A few thoughts will help bring this closer to you.
Today we will deal with the first 5 verses. Read them before we continue together.
Mark 1:1-5
"Behold, I send my messenger befor your face, who will prepare your way." Mk 1:2
Today it is a great honour to be an ambassador. It means being a high-ranking diplomat sent by your own country to represent your country in another country. To act on behalf of your country.
In ancient and medieval times, this honour was a little more dangerous. They often suffered, were beaten and even killed.
John the Baptist
It is at such a time that John the Baptist arrives.
Already in the Old Testament, God promised to send his messenger before him. "I will send my messenger who will prepare the way before me." (Mal 3:1).
The promised messenger appeared in the person of John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus Christ. But what is the task of a messenger?
John the Baptist came to prepare the way for Jesus. John the Baptist is not the point, as he himself later says, the point is Jesus Christ. John the Baptist was warning the Jewish people that because they were a chosen people, they were living apart from God and they need repentance, conversion and baptism.
If these words are not quite clear to you, let's see what John the Baptist meant by them:
- Convergence - a complete turnaround in one's life, a deliberate change of mind, resulting in a change not only in thinking but also in behaviour. A complete life change.
"Produce therefore fruit fit for conversion." (Mt 3:8) - Forgiveness - your obligation, the barrier that your sins have put up, is removed by the blood of Jesus, wiping it out of the way, so you are free to have a relationship with God.
- To baptize - to immerse, an act of publicly expressing that your old life is over and you are starting a new life with Jesus.
This concept was not new to the Jews either, as proselytes who wanted to convert to Judaism were baptized as a ritual to cleanse them of the filth of their past.
Nowaday "John the Baptist"
God also sends us as ambassadors to prepare the way. When you invite a colleague to coffee at work, or help him with a task, or protect a classmate from an abusive peer at school, you are preparing the way for Jesus. You begin to build a bridge between man and the gospel.
Of course, it is not enough to do good deeds, but also to say in words that there is a God who can help him. Who died on the cross to provide a solution for his sins. That there is hope in a broken life. That God has a plan for a future that seems hopeless. Tell him how much God loves him. Or if you are in such a situation, know that God loves you too and wants to give you a future with hope.
Listen to the God to whom you are led to be a messenger of Jesus in a person's conversion.
Reflective questions
- Are you already a child of God? Has what John the Baptist does here happened in your life? Have you confessed your sins, repented and been baptized? If not, I encourage you that it is time Jesus offers you new life. Find a pastor or believing friend to help you.
- If you're already a child of God, that's a fantastic thing. I'm very happy for you, we will meet one day. But in the meantime, look around your life, you see your family members, friends, co-workers, classmates who don't yet know Jesus as their Savior, all going to hell. Do you feel this pain for them? Well, start praying. Who is it you need to be a follower to, to prepare to meet Jesus? Jesus has called you to be a messenger in this world. Good work.
Judit