Turf was laid, bedding plants planted, railings painted, paths swept and floors polished. A member of the royal family was coming to open a new extension to the place where I used to work. Before royalty comes to visit, preparations are made. Crowds come out to greet royal visitors because the great arrival is announced in advance. 

When the long-expected Messiah arrived to bring in the kingdom of God, it was John the Baptist who came to announce his arrival (vs 7–10) and to make the preparations for his coming.  

You might have expected God to prepare the way for the Messiah by sending someone impressive to announce the forthcoming arrival to the religious or political establishment, but instead this rather odd figure appears in the wilderness. John calls people to turn away from their sins and accept God’s forgiveness – symbolised in baptism (v 4). John announces the coming of someone greater than himself, who does something more radical. John’s baptism of water was only an outward symbol; the coming Messiah would pour out the Holy Spirit, changing people from the inside (v 8).  

‘Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth.’¹

The first sentence of the writers’ guidelines for Encounter with God reads: ‘The aim of Encounter with God is to help readers to approach God’s Word each day with awe and expectancy.’ The opening words of Mark’s Gospel invite readers to read on with awe and expectancy. The sheer familiarity of the words and the common meaning of the word ‘gospel’ tend to blunt our ability to see Mark’s words for what they are. Mark is proclaiming good news. Breaking news.

The news is old in one sense. It has its roots in Old Testament prophecy. The quotation in verses 2 and 3 is a blend of the Septuagint, ‘See, I am sending an angel ahead of you’ (the Greek word for ‘angel’ also means ‘messenger’), and the Prophets.² Malachi identifies the messenger as Elijah³ whom Jesus then recognises in John the Baptist.⁴ John’s clothing and lifestyle recall Elijah.

However, there is a profound sense in which the good news is new. John’s baptism of repentance called for people to make external changes to their behaviour. What Jesus brings is radically different – a complete inner transformation of our whole selves. Living under Jesus isn’t a matter of conforming to a checklist of good practices. In the readings that follow in Mark we will meet the religious leaders whose only concern was with external appearances, and the true disciples whose lives were turned upside down by the Holy Spirit. If we belong to Jesus Christ he continually changes our natural, selfish desires, replacing them with the love, joy and peace that we read of in Galatians 5. If the initial pouring out of the Holy Spirit was dramatic and spectacular,⁵ the Spirit’s continued work is quiet and gradual as we submit to Jesus daily, recognising, like John, that we are not worthy even to untie his shoelaces.

How can you tell the ‘good news’ in a contemporary way as you share it with someone who is not a Christian?

¹ Isa 42:10  ² Exod 23:20; Mal 3:1; Isa 40:3  ³ Mal 4:5  ⁴ Mark 9:13  ⁵ Acts 2