Meditation 231
Mark 1:9-15
The way Mark tells the story of the beginning of Jesus’s ministry sounds like it all happened very quickly. Jesus was baptized by John, he was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days, and he began to preach the good news of God. Mark uses very few words, so we can be sure that the things that he tells us are important. We are told that at Jesus’ baptism the Spirit descended on him like a dove and a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.” We are told the Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness where he was tempted, where he was with the wild beasts and where angels waited on him, and we are told that he proclaimed the Good News of God. Other gospels give us more details than Mark. In Mark’s choice of words, we see that the Spirit of God was active in Jesus’ life, and there seems to be a purpose or mission in what Jesus is doing.
When Jesus was baptized the Spirit identified him as God’s Son, the Beloved with whom God was well pleased. Very early in the work that Jesus did on earth he was publicly identified as God’s beloved son at the time that he took part in the initiation ritual of baptism. Baptism was a known practice in the ancient world, John had a baptism of repentance, and other religious teachers would also baptize their disciples. In the case of the baptism of Jesus, there was more going on than in the usual practice of this rite. Jesus was not becoming a disciple of another teacher, and Jesus was not repenting. One purpose in the baptism of Jesus was to make a public declaration of him as the beloved Son of God who was beginning his ministry.
We are then told that the Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness to be temped. A long period of isolated preparation was a spiritual practice known in Jesus’ day. A person would devote time to prayer and often fast, so that a person’s focus was entirely given to God, and he or she would not be distracted by mundane activity. (In Mark’s gospel we are only told that Jesus went to the wilderness to be tempted, it is in Matthew and Luke that we are told that Jesus fasted. It would be a known practice in that day to fast while praying for a dedicated time) Jesus may have gone to the wilderness to pray so that he would not be distracted by people and the busyness of life. In the wilderness he could be with God, and while he was tempted, he would rely on the strength of God to sustain him. We are told that when Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted that he was with the wild beasts. Was this fact given to underline the fact that there were no people or signs of civilization where he was? We are also told that angles waited on him, the Spirt led him into the wilderness and while there he was helped by angles. Although Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted, he was not beyond the reach of God.
After the temptation was over Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God. All of the preparation, the baptism, the identification by the Spirit, the fasting and the help of the angels had been to ready Jesus for a ministry of proclamation. A proclamation that goes on today. In a few verses Mark tells us about a lot in the life of Jesus. It seems in his telling of this story, that the length of narrative is not as important as the one who is the focus of the telling. Mark is drawing our attention to Jesus, and as we go into the season of Lent, we would do well to do the same. In the days leading up to Easter, keep your focus on Jesus.