Mark 1:1 – The Beginning
- Posted by forhisglorycc
- 0 Comments
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…Call me Ishmael…It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife…Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
These are recognizable first lines of literary masterpieces. What about this one?
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God…
Mark 1:1. Twelve words.
That the Bible is a piece of literature is undeniable – it is a written work which possesses merit beyond that of ordinary language. That is it is much more than a work of literature must also be clearly affirmed. It is robust in its historicity. It is useful for equipping man for every good work (2 Tim 3:16). It is living and active (Heb. 4:12). It speaks the truth about existence and reality itself, and contains the answer for the great problem of life: sin. We affirm that it is the infallible, authoritative self-expression of Yahweh God.
So can anything be gained from studying a passage of Scripture as literature? Diction (word choice), syntax (word arrangement), character, themes, style, tone and all that? I believe so, because while the Word of God will not come under and be wholly contained within any field of scholarship, genuine scholarship can be a means of understanding, enjoying and ultimately glorifying God’s Word (nevermind the fact that we have 1000 words max on this platform, so no space to tackle it from all angles). Let’s experiment on Mark 1:1.
From the outset, we get a sense of Mark’s style: concise, unadorned, to the point. The statement in Mark 1:1 is pared down to the minimum number of high impact words needed to express the message. In contrast to Matthew and Luke, John Mark skips the birth narrative of Jesus, and goes straight for the bottom line: the Gospel. It is something we can expect from the rest of Mark: quick, vivid, arresting accounts. He has a great affinity for the word “immediately,” which he uses no less than seventeen times in sixteen chapters. John Mark is the Ernest Hemingway of biblical authors.
A pair of literary devices also greet us. John Mark uses the phrase “the beginning,” echoing perhaps the most eminent first line ever: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). This is a device the gospel of John also employs. What do these words imply? This is an account with universal implications, on par with the creation of the world. This story pertains to the world, to creation, as opposed to a celestial or other plane. This has reverberations to the foundation of the universe. The arc of creation takes a pivotal turn here. Essentially, this will rock your world.
The second device is an enticing hook: euaggelion, gospel. Eu-, the Greek root for good or well (as in euphoria), and aggello, which means to bring tidings. It is translated Gospel, from the Old English word “godspel”: good news. As readers, we are attracted to this word. According to biblical scholar William Lane, the etymology of the word gospel goes like this:
Among the Romans it meant ‘joyful tidings’ and was associated with the cult of the emperor, whose birthday, attainment to majority and accession to power were celebrated as festival occasions for the whole world. The reports of such festivals were called ‘evangels’ in the inscriptions and papyri of the Imperial Age. A calendar inscription from about 9 B.C., found in Priene in Asia Minor, says of the emperor Octavian (Augustus): ‘the birthday of the god was for the world the beginning of joyful tidings which have been proclaimed on this account.’ This inscription is remarkably similar to Mark’s initial line and it clarifies the essential content of an evangel in the ancient world: an historical event which introduces a new situation for the world. In this perspective the Roman would understand Mark’s proclamation of Jesus the Messiah.
As readers, we latch onto this little word, gospel. It propels us forward in the narrative. What, we ask, is this good news introducing a new world order?
John Mark proceeds to identify the central character and theme of this work: Jesus Christ. We find out some startling things about this character. We find out that he was a historical, living human being with a first name: Jesus. Apparently, he is both the originator and the content of earth-shattering good news, because that preposition “of” can be used to indicate both source and possession. Further, He is Christos, “the anointed one”. Anointed for what office, you ask? The Son of God. Son of God in what sense? Not the Roman emperor, remember? Pretty sure his name wasn’t Jesus at the time. The Son of God as Rabbi, teacher. The Son of God on the cross as divine necessity for human propitiation. The Son of God as Messiah, the long-awaited one. These are all themes in Mark. Wait whaaaat?! You mean to say that I am about to read a story about world changing good news (regarding my world) involving the Son of God himself? Or, in the more refined words of F.F. Bruce,
This verse may be taken as the superscription of the whole Gospel, and as meaning: Here begins the Gospel concerning Jesus Christ the Son of God … This title takes the place of the opening chapters in these Gospels [Matthew and Luke]. It is all that Mark offers to gratify the curiosity to which these chapters owe their origin. Who is this remarkable Personage of whom you write? He is ‘the Son of God.
Well then, if this is the case, this book is scandalous and must be read! Not only will I devour this work, I will look forward to devouring it because it contains good news. And not only will I look forward to devouring, I plan to take it seriously because it pertains to an earth-shattering event in my life.
This is not a case for the literary study of the Bible, as much as it is a case of studying the Bible period. A little bit of effort and words I might have glossed over as the necessary prelude to the take-home message contained within the gospel, turns out to be the take home message. The words now have a gravity, weight, dearness, beauty, position in my mind and heart which they did not have before. Study Mark historically. Study Mark forward, backward and upside down, but study the Word of God.
0 Comments