Day 2: Hold On For A Moment! (Mark 1:1)
Today’s Passage: Mark 1:1
Want to grab someone’s attention? Unless you are two-years old, you’re going to need a way other than a temper-tantrum.
Shakespeare knew how to do it: Create a new word or redefine a word’s meaning. Apparently, he did that between 1,700 and 2,000 times!
When Mark penned the sentence “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ…”Shakespeare would have smiled.
Just to make sure I am clear. Mark is the first person we know of to: 1. Use the word gospel to indicate a written story, and 2. Apply the word to someone radically different than expected in the culture of his day.
The classical Greek word euangelion, meaning good news, and which we translate as gospel, was used typically as an “announcement”. Gospel meant an epoch-making event.
Let’s try and compare. “The War is Over!” It’s Good News. It’s a headline; an event. It is Gospel. You might read the details about how the war ended, but you immediately understand the message. No additional explanation needed. The world is now different.
But here is a BIG detail. In Mark’s day, this announcement, this word gospel, was used specifically for one group of people—the Emperor. For example, the birth of future Emperor Augustus was described as ‘gospel’, meaning a happening which would change world history. (Donald English, The Message of Mark).
Okay, so here is Mark, capturing a word reserved for announcing the birth of Roman emperors (the person who was venerated as a god, and thought to be the protector of the empire) and applying it to Jesus. Let’s read it again.
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”
Does he have your attention? “I Mark, present Emperor Jesus, King Jesus, Venerated Jesus! Jesus Christ, the person, the epoch-making person, and the world will never be the same again.”
In the past, when I read Mark’s Gospel, I typically blew past its opening. I am learning to slow down.
Slow down, each word of Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit.