GEOFF'S DEVOTIONAL MUSINGS

Mark 1 v1
I can think of many times when I have had to write an essay, letter or email and I have struggled with how to begin. Sometimes it is the first words that are the hardest but once I’ve got them onto the page then the rest seems to flow. Mark didn’t have that problem when he set out to write an account of your life Lord. He went straight to the point and declared his heart in the first few words. His gospel, or ‘great news’ shouts out who you are right at the start. There is no fudging around the issue. Jesus, the Messiah (Christ), the Son of God. It’s a bit like the TV news channel that splashes the breaking news banner across the screen – Great news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Of course, Mark knew the end from the beginning and writes about You from his experience, but even more so You know the end from the beginning. The Alpha and the Omega is such a great name. Nothing, literally nothing, has come before You and nothing can come after You because You have said that there will be no end. We will spend eternity with You.
This certainly is Good News.

Mark Ch 1 v 2
From the dimensions of timelessness, You have set a messenger in time. For us, we look back in to the dim recesses of history – back nearly 2700 years ago, back into the Iron Age to see the time when Isaiah spoke his message of prophecy. But for You, You have always known that he would speak that message. It was planned before the dawn of time, before the first breath of creation. How must Isaiah have felt as he proclaimed the message to a wayward nation? Mystery? Anticipation? Expectation? And yet it was some 700 more years before the message was fulfilled as You came into this world and waited, as it were, in the wings for the warm up act to come on. What an awesome responsibility for John, chosen to prepare the way for You.
And yet You give us the same responsibility as we tell others about Your coming.
Mark Ch 1 v 4a
There had been a gap of nearly 400 years from the prophet Malachi, who had spoken publicly on Your behalf. Of course, there were the events surrounding Your birth and events of the escape into Egypt, but perhaps they were more private, with few realising what was happening apart from the mysterious visitors from the east and the murderous events in Bethlehem. But now, 30 years on, You are ready to unveil Your plan of salvation. And so John steps onto the stage.
It seems such a natural fulfilment to Isaiah’s words spoken over 600 years earlier. But for john, it was his life purpose. His whole life had existed to prepare for this role. And yet we know so little about him. Of course we know that he first sensed Your presence when he was in Elizabeth’s womb, and leapt for joy. There must have been times when You played together as children, but Scripture remains veiled. You were sinless, a life of perfection, and I sense that John would have been very aware of his own imperfections and failings. But I also sense that he would also be conscious to walk in ways that were holy to the Lord. Did he study Your word? Did he spend time in prayer? All is unknown.
And where did he start his ministry? – In Jerusalem? – the very centre of Jewish faith, the place of the temple containing the holy of holies? No – he went into the wilderness where few people lived. He didn’t set himself up in a corner of the temple and confuse the message – instead the people had to come to him.
Sometimes we want to be popular, to preach to big churches and events – but just as You chose the role of a servant, so John chose the desert place.
Mark Ch 1 v 4b
There are so many echoes. Noah stood out in a generation of wickedness and urged people to repent, to turn from their ways and be saved – literally by entering the Ark to survive the coming flood. Moses stood by the Red Sea and the water parted before him and all the people passed through and were saved. But John wasn’t just looking for an outward sign, but an inner response, a change of heart. We read in other places that John was a fierce preacher. This was no soft option, baptism was for real. It marked the person out as having done something already in their heart

In the recent elections in Asia all the people who voted had their finger dipped in indelible ink. It showed that they had voted and could not repeat their action again. Baptism is an indelible mark on our lives; it is not something that we keep doing. Repentance is a change of heart. There is no going back

Suddenly the memories of Malachi made sense. The words of dusty scrolls read in temples and synagogues, expounded by Rabbis and scholars, suddenly took on a sense of fire and power. Revival does that. Suddenly there is an awareness of God as never before. The words of Scripture burn in the heart and instead of feeling smug or self righteous there is a sense of the penetrating, awesome presence of God.

There can be no other response. First one, then more and more came out into the desert to listen to John. Word spread, lives were changed and as they went under the water there was a real sense of sins being washed away reflecting the reality that had taken place in their hearts. (Ezekial said “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you a heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh 36v35)
Instead of John going to the city, the city came to him. And yet John was just the messenger (the prophet Elijah, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord – Malachi 4 v 5)

Mark Ch 1 v 5
There’s nothing like an unusual news story to create interest and get attention. And John certainly was unusual. Somehow, I get the impression of someone wiry and rugged with wild hair and fierce eyes. He certainly ate differently. I could cope with the wild honey but not the locusts. It’s curious how these two items would have stirred up memories in people’s minds of scriptures that they had been taught. A thousand years earlier Jonathon, the son of the first king, Saul, had nearly lost his life because with pangs of hunger he had thrust his staff into a bees nest and ate the honey that clung to it. It brightened his eyes. Even earlier Samson had come across the carcass of a lion in which was a swarm of bees and honey and it became the basis of a riddle “Out of the eater, something to eat. Out of the strong, something sweet”. And of course in Egypt, God had held out the promise of a land flowing with milk and honey. However, there is nothing pleasant about locusts and they were viewed with fear – the deadly enemy that brings famine and destruction.
But John combines the two in his diet. It’s so easy to allow the good things in life to get in the way of our service to God. But John allowed nothing to hinder him in his urgency to preach the message. We know from Lukes’ account that as the crowds flocked out to see him in the desert. Hhe didn’t welcome them with open arms. “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath. Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3 v 7) But instead of being offended or entertained, the message struck home with deadly accuracy deep in their hearts and they knew that the only way to respond was to confess their sins, turn from their ways (repentance) and be baptised.
When revival swept Wales in 1904 there was such a conviction of sin that hardened miners came out of the pits at the end of their shifts with tear-streaked faces, people pleaded with God for salvation, desperate to put their lives right with You, and all normality and daily routine was washed away.
And John was just the messenger, preparing the way. There was greater to come.

Mark 1 v 6 – 8

John was the perfect messenger. He never once thought that he was greater than the message that he proclaimed so forcefully. From humble beginnings, unknown childhood and desert obscurity he rapidly rose to be the most sought after person in the whole of Israel. People had to make a real effort to get to see him, passing through hot and dangerous territory out into the desert and away from civilisation, and yet they came in their thousands. If it happened today he would have been hounded by advertising executives, financial backers and a whole myriad of people wanting to hitch their business to his fame and get a piece of the action.
But John was different – a perfect messenger. He knew that it wasn’t his powers of persuasion that were having an impact – it was God at work. And so amongst the powerful preaching he also proclaimed the whole purpose of his existence – that one was coming who was even more powerful than he was. One to whom the mere act of loosening the thongs on his sandals would be an act that he would be unworthy to perform.
And who was coming? – it was You Lord. There must have been such a huge anticipation in the crowds as they looked around to see the coming messiah that John was proclaiming was already here. Would they recognise You as You waited in the queue in the water to be baptised. I doubt it. A mighty warrior clad in armour ready to rout the Romans? No. A king with a crown? No. A humble servant? They were all looking in the wrong direction. It’s the same today sadly.
Mark Ch 1 v 9 – 11
And then You came. The very starting point of Your ministry here on earth. For 30 years You had led an almost anonymous existence, but now all that is about to change. I picture the scene: It’s hot, especially in the bottom of the desert valley where John had chosen to preach and baptise. It’s crowded. Everywhere You look there are crowds of people jostling and pushing, many in tears, some pressing forward to catch every word. Some wading out into the water, where John’s disciples were plunging people under the surface only for them to come up with joy and praise bursting forth from their mouths.
And then You came. Mark is so matter of fact. Suddenly You are there and are being baptised. We have to look to the other gospel accounts to see the fuller picture, to see the reaction of John when he realises that the one that he has been proclaiming as greater than himself is now standing humbly before him waiting to be baptised. John (the apostle) in his account tells us that John the Baptist did not know who was about to come. One of the purposes of baptism was that it would reveal the true messiah. (I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptising with water was that He might be revealed to Israel. John 1 v 31) In Matthew’s gospel we learn that John protested his unworthiness to baptise You, indeed he urged You to baptise him instead. But this was Your father’s plan, and John relented. Not that You needed to be baptised for the forgiveness of sins because You have never known sin – the perfect, spotless lamb of God.
And so You prayed, and as You came up out of the water so Your Father could not contain Himself any longer and the heaven split open and the Spirit descended like a dove. And a voice from heaven said “You are my Son, whom I love. With You I am well pleased”. Who heard the voice? Definitely You did because Your Father was speaking to You. Did anyone else hear? We are not told. We do know that at least John saw the Spirit descend because he testifies that it is this very sign that he had been told to look out for.
And so fittingly, right at the beginning of the gospel we have the Father, Son and Spirit all working in unison. One day, some day in the future, those of us who know Christ as saviour will hear a similar voice welcoming us into His presence.

Mark 1 Ch 12-13
There is a lovely picture of obedience and servant hood shown here. Mark is fond of using the words “at once” and there is a sense of urgency here as Your ministry begins. One of the hymn writers put it wonderfully when he said “God, contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man” And now You walked among us here on earth but there is no time to explain everything to John for the Spirit that rested on You at baptism now sends You out further into the desert, away from the crowds, away from civilisation, away from any human support. Right at the start of Your ministry You faced a period of testing and temptation by the enemy, Satan, of old a shining angel in the hierarchy of God’s created order. But now fallen, he comes to tempt You and try to cause You to stumble from the task and the path set before You. The other gospels again fill in the details that Mark so hastily passes over in his urgency to tell the wonderful news. Satan used his wiles to trick and tempt and to get You to worship him and each time You quoted memorised Scripture back at him. And yet knowing the full power of the spoken Word of God I fail to do the same and commit verses of Scripture to memory.
Needless to say Satan failed in his task and withdrew to bide his time for later periods in Your life. And so after 40 days and 40 nights of testing and temptation the angels were finally given permission by Your Father to come and minister to You. You had passed the first of many tests that were to follow in the next 3 years.

Mark Ch 1 v 14-15
Isaiah said he was to be the messenger. John himself said, “he must increase but I must decrease”, but now it has happened. The fiery preacher has had his fire snuffed out and he languishes in jail awaiting execution at the whim of a dancer. The stage is set and all the pieces are in place. You must have walked in Galilee many times but now it becomes the backdrop to the most amazing three years that this world will ever see. You came on Your own, amongst a people living under an occupation army and proclaimed Good News. “The time has come. Repent” The message was the same as John’s – “Repent”. The message is the same today. “Repent. There is Good news”. These are the first words that You utter in Mark’s gospel. First words, like last words, always hold a special significance and these were no exception. “The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news”. Curiously no one in the gospels ever attempts to describe Your voice or its characteristics or tone, Neither do they give a detailed description of Your appearance. But every writer focuses on Your words. It is Good News. So we need to do something about it whilst there is still time at hand.