Day 46
Exodus 39:1-40:38; Mark 1:1-28; Psalm 35:1-16; Proverbs 9:11-12
Mark – The Gospel of Action and Deliverance
It is sometimes asked, “Why do we need four tellings of the Gospel story in the Bible?” It is also said that the four gospels are One Story revealed in four dimensions. Among those dimensions, Mark offers us the action of Jesus’ ministry right up front. (Note how many times in this first chapter that in most translations, the words immediately or at once appears.) Unlike the Hebrews’ emphasis on genealogy setting the characters in proper perspective in Matthew, or the theological prequel of John 1, Mark skips right to where we first meet Jesus: when He comes to be baptized by John. When Jesus comes up out of the water, the heavens are torn open to reveal God’s voice audibly announcing, “This is My Son…”
Interesting to note, however, is that when Jesus is immediately driven into the wilderness, it is the Holy Spirit who sends Jesus there. Wait, it wasn’t the devil who drove Jesus into the wilderness of His temptations? Why would God’s own Spirit send Jesus into such a trial? There may be many answers, but one worth looking into is the answer given in Hebrews 2:18. Because Jesus, as our high priest, “himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” And Psalm 35 today calls us to pray for deliverance from those of evil intent. So when we are driven into our own wildernesses, the One who has gone before us will deliver the faithful from evil pursuers.
Kent Madison