Reflection through the Gospel of Mark (2)

Mark 1:9-15 (NASB)
⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
¹⁰ Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; ¹¹ and a voice came out of the heavens: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased." ¹² Immediately the Spirit *impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.¹³ And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.¹⁴ Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, ¹⁵ and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

This is like a movie setting. After Mark had John the Baptist come out of the scene, he had him exit in the next scene. Jesus, the main character, takes over the rest of the story. Remember, this is the good news of Jesus Christ. It is His Story.

In this scene, it seemed to me that Jesus was playing a role whereby He was the receiver: He was baptized by John. After that, He was endorsed by the Father and then He was impelled by the Holy Spirit to the wilderness after which He was tempted by Satan. He was also ministered by the angels.

It reminds me that sometimes, we need to take a ‘receiving’ role. For some of us, we find it hard to receive but we have to learn to receive. Whether we are receiving from a person of a ‘lesser’ level or a ‘higher’ level, we receive. However, we need to understand that while Jesus was being tempted by Satan, He did not give into the temptations. In the same way, we must discern what is of God’s and what is of the Devil’s.

In this context, I would like to suggest that what is of God’s will always lead to the furthering of the gospel while Satan will always try to frustrate and hinder God’s plan and gospel.

After this scene is passed, we see in verse 14 that John is out of the scene and Jesus takes the active role preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.

There are times that we need to be like John, fading away the spotlight so that Jesus has all the glory.

There are times that we need to receive because after receiving, we are to take the active role of giving and contributing.

There are times that we need to resist because we understand that not all things are from God.