Mark starts his gospel... um... pretty
unremarkably...
"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ" (Mk.1:1).
But there's more here than meets the eye.
And it's pertinent to us today...
If you were to ask most Christians what the gospel is, they'd probably say something like:
"The good news that Christ lived, died, and was raised from the dead for the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life."
... And that would be absolutely true...
... As far as it goes.
But the gospel is more than that.
Mark's first
verse says so!
By writing "the beginning of the gospel," he's actually saying that everything he writes in the book that bears his name is "gospel."
And... what he gives in the book is more than just an account of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
It tells us significant things about what Jesus came to
do...
... Like bind the strong man so this world would be reclaimed for God's glory (Mk.3:27).
And... he writes telling us important things about how we're to live...
... As summarized in the Great Commandment (Mk.12:28-31).
So... from all that Mark writes, we see the gospel is
more than just fire insurance... or a system for managing sin.
It's a declaration that Christ has reclaimed this world.
He's it's ruler.
Or you might even say, it's new emperor.
And all the world's inhabitants are to live accordingly.
Because the day is coming when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil.2:11,12).
And at a time when the Christian message is becoming more and more marginalized, that ought to be encouraging.
So...
Don't let
your understanding of the gospel be too small.
Yes... Jesus came to save us from our sins.
Praise God.
But He also came to turn this world right side up.
And He plans on using you in the process... as you do whatever He calls you
to do in the power of His Spirit.