Mark 1:9-15 - The Beginning of Ministry
Mark 1:9) In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10) And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11) And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” 12) And the Spirit immediately drove him out of into the wilderness. 13) He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. 14) Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15) and saying, “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
Issues in Mark: It is important to remember that throughout Mark the central issue is the power of God at work in Jesus for the salvation/wholeness of humankind. To begin the accounts of Jesus’ miraculous acts, Mark sets the stage by reminding the reader of the drama and tension of the times and the supercharged activity surrounding John the Baptist. In using the word kairos (time) in verse 15, he tells us that all that humanity has been waiting for, has arrived in Jesus. The language in Greek is urgent, immediate and straightforward. All of the powers of the universe are at play in these few verses. Mark needs us to know from the outset that Jesus has broken Satan’s power.
The wilderness: In Old Testament theology, the wilderness, desert or desolate place was the place of sin. It was the danger zone. It was into the desert that the scapegoat was sent on the Day of Atonement to carry Israel’s sins away from the community. Demons were thought to live in the wilderness.
Temptation and testing: Temptation and testing are used in four basic ways in the Scriptures: 1) as a test by God of the believer’s loyalty (such as the testing of Abraham in the sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis 22); 2) by Jesus’ enemies to get something they can use against him; 3) by Satan as an enticement to sin or the abandonment of God’s purpose; 4) human beings are warned not to test God. The word used in verse 13, peirazo, is most often associated with the third category.
Satan: In the Old Testament, Satan is not understood as a personified evil figure at war with God for the hearts of humankind. In the Old Testament that kind of concept would have seemed too close to poly-theism (rival gods). Satan was understood as a legal prosecutor in the employ of God (all power came from God) for the purpose of testing the faith of human beings to determine the strength of their integrity and witness. The understanding of Satan as a distinct supernatural adversary appeared between the time of the Old and New Testaments and grew as believers struggled with oppression and persecution. As people wrestled with suffering and sin in their lives and circumstances, the idea of Satan as one who tested faith gave way to the understanding of Satan as one at war with God whose role was to lure people away from the rule of God and the wholeness that resulted from union with God.
Word Study
Vs. 12 – Drove – very strong word sometimes translated as expelled, impelled, sent away.
Wilderness – desolate place, desert (see above)
Vs. 13 – tempted – tested and tried (see above)
Wild beasts – some see this clause as indicating a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy that the lion and lamb shall lie down together, others see the beasts as a simple indication of the extreme danger of the wilderness into which Jesus is sent. The Christians of Mark’s day may have already been enduring persecution to death in the arena in Rome. Often these “sporting event/state executions” included the battle to the death between Christians and wild animals. Mark’s readers might have found comfort in their terrors by knowing that Jesus, too, had faced the wild beasts.
Angels – these were supernatural messengers from God
Waited on – Greek diakonew. This is the word for table service, often translated as ministered, or served. It is the word from which we get our word deacons.
Vs. 15 – time – kairos – a word that does not mean time on a clock or calendar, but special time, right time, time of enormous import.
Kingdom of God – not a place but a state of being ruled by God
Repent – to change one’s mind, purpose, paradigm and way of seeing
Believe – this is a relational concept. It means to entrust oneself to, like a child.
Questions for Personal Reflection
1. What are the wilderness places in your life? Where are you most subject to making choices that don’t really reflect who you are and what you believe is right?
2. Have there been times in your life when you felt you were being especially tested? Looking back can you see anything in particular that led up to that time? Can you identify any positive outcomes?
3. What are the most frustrating temptations you face? Are they different from ones you faced ten years ago? What are the situations in which you find yourself most confused about how to behave or respond? Take some time to ask God to give you clarity and power to face temptation.
4. How (or through whom) has God ministered to you in times of testing or temptation? Do you think you are aware of what God is doing on your behalf in those kinds of times? Do you ever have difficulty receiving God’s assistance?