December 2nd, 2023

Does it feel like we are already at the beginning of a new year? Probably not. And you probably have a long list of things you would like to accomplish before the end of the calendar year. But if you have been following these writings, or if you have been attending a Lutheran service that follows the three-year series of bible readings, you would know that we are starting something new. We will now be turning our attention toward the Gospel according to Mark.

Perhaps it would be best to start by saying that we will NOT be looking at ‘The Gospel OF Mark’. With such a title, such a thing would belong to Mark. And he was only a secretary. He was only passing along what was given to him by the disciple Peter. And actually, what is written did not ultimately belong to Peter either. In a way, these writings are essentially anonymous. What was written was ultimately given by a gracious Lord who wishes to deal with us with gentle words.

Perhaps the next thing that could be stated is that, even though the Gospel according to Matthew and Mark have some similarities, they are also significantly different. Along with the Gospel according to Luke, these three are named the ‘synoptic’ gospel accounts, that of a similar perspective. I would like to propose that each gospel account has a significantly different perspective in much the same way that the four living creatures –a man, lion, ox, and eagle—surround the throne of Yahweh, and each would have a different perspective when looking up at Yahweh—if they are indeed able to do such a thing (see Ezekiel 1).

A throne is a symbol of the glory and authority of the person sitting upon it. Glory and authority have to deal with ramifications and results. If you remember the beginning of the Gospel according to Matthew, it basically started with a genealogy. It should be no surprise, therefore, that the living creature usually connected to the Gospel according to Matthew is that of a man. A genealogy deals with the ramifications of those who are there in the beginning. And if you are familiar with the genealogy of Jesus, it should also be no surprise that this account has been connected to the lion, specifically the lion of the tribe of Judah (see Genesis 49:8-12).

The Gospel according to Mark is significantly different from the Gospel according to Matthew in that it is significantly shorter. And when things are shorter, they may get somewhat unclear. It is interesting that the Gospel according to Mark is the only gospel account that has been connected to all four living creatures by some ancient writer. (More details about these connections may be found on pages 126 and 127 in the Concordia Commentary on Revelation by the Rev. Dr. Louis A. Brighton; St. Louis, Missouri, USA: Concordia Publishing House, 1999).

It is also interesting that this gospel account is considered by some to be the account that was written first, and then things were added by others, and those writings became the other accounts. And there are also others who consider this account to be written last, as a type of summary of what was important from what the other gospel accounts had to say. Talk about variety! Ultimately, when you are dealing with a gracious God, the chronology is not the important thing.

How does this special gospel account begin? What follows is a somewhat-literal translation of the first few words of the work:

Beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, [Son of God]:

At least you were prepared for something short and vague!

To what does this ‘beginning’ refer? In the excellent Concordia Commentary by the Rev. Dr. James W. Voelz regarding this gospel account, he states that it not only refers to the start of the preaching of John the Baptist, but it also refers to the entire account, since the ending is quite abrupt—spoiler alert (See page 96; St. Louis, Missouri, USA: Concordia Publishing House, 2013).

The words ‘Son of God’ are in brackets above because those words do not appear in some of the manuscripts. Why would you leave out those words? It could be said here that the words appear independently in many places within the gospel account, but they appear together only a few times.

Before stating those instances, it should be noted that the two words ‘Jesus Christ’ appear nowhere else within this account. There are obviously many occurrences of ‘Jesus’ or ‘Christ’ by themselves, but having them both here and together is important.
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It is also interesting that there are basically three other times in this account that Jesus is given this special title of ‘Son of God’. The first two are essentially quotes from demons (3:11; 5:7). And the last one is right after Jesus’ death, the words of the centurion—of all people (15:39). All of these occurrences would follow the immediate and the long-term notion of a beginning. That would seem to imply that you do NOT want the only ones saying Jesus as the Son of God to be these whom the writer has picked.
And this is only the beginning.