Mark's Gospel as sequel: Understanding the backstory, part I: Moses

 


     From the very first verses of his Gospel, Mark plugs his story into the narrative of the Hebrew Scriptures (i.e., Old Testament).  Mark has written a story (Gospel) about a first-century Jew who lived in Northern Palestine (Galilee).  Mark is presenting the story of Jesus as the fulfillment of the story of Israel, which began in Gn. 12.1-3 with God’s calling of Abra(ha)m.  Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and all the other OT characters were part of the “people of God”, the family that God promised to give to Abraham that would be God’s agent of salvation in the world.  God revealed his name (Yahweh) to Moses in Ex. 3.14, and as the Israelites gathered at the base of Mt. Sinai, Yahweh renewed and expanded the covenant that he had first established with Abraham (Ex. 19—20; cf. Gn. 12, 15, 17).  A covenant is a sacred agreement made between God and his people, with promises of blessing for faithfulness and cursing for unfaithfulness (cf. Dt. 28—30).  Mark’s “Gospel” (i.e., “good news”) is the astounding and incredible news that Yahweh has kept the promises he made to his people throughout the 20 centuries which had passed since Abraham.  Yahweh has proved himself faithful (i.e., “righteous”, “just”) to his covenant promises, despite the persistent unfaithfulness of his people Israel.

     To fully understand Mark’s “sequel” to the Scriptures of Israel, we need to look at 7 previous “episodes”, 7 OT characters which shed light on what Mark is saying about John the Baptist and Jesus in chapter 1.  The first character from the “original story” is Moses (cf. Mk. 9.2-8).  Following the entrance of the people of God into the Promised Land of Canaan following four hundred years of slavery in Egypt (13th century B.C.), whenever biblical authors want to evoke memories of that time, they refer to “the wilderness”.  Mark begins his Gospel by quoting a verse from the prophet Isaiah (40.3) which describes “a voice crying out in the wilderness” and then introduces us to John the Baptizer who “appears in the wilderness” (1.3-4; cf. 1.12-13).  Any Jewish reader would immediately associate John’s activity with that of Moses, 13 centuries earlier.  After rescuing the Israelites from Egypt, Moses had accompanied the people of God on a 40-year-long journey through the wilderness en route for the Promised Land (cf. the books of Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy).  The “exodus” from Egypt (which coincided with the inauguration of the Feast of Passover) and the events which transpired during the next forty years were seminal and formative for the newly-constituted nation of Israel (cf. Ex. 14—20).  The “wilderness years” are often evoked as a “honeymoon period” when Israel’s relationship with Yahweh was new, untried and “ideal” (cf. Jer. 2.1-2; Hosea 11.1-2).  Referring to “the wilderness” evokes a whole series of events: Yahweh’s great act of liberation when he freed his people from slavery to a pagan empire, Yahweh’s covenant with Israel, and the Law of Moses (including the 10 Commandments) – the foundational charter of how the people of God were to live as an example to all the nations of the world (cf. Ex. 19.1-6).  Speaking of “the wilderness” reminds us of God’s plan for his people and his world; it brings us back to the basics, to the essential events and ideas that have shaped the people of God and given birth to the Scriptures, that long, rambling story in search of resolution.

     Not only does Mark place John “in the wilderness”, but he also describes John’s activity as follows: he was “baptizing” people in the Jordan River (1.5).  The Jordan is another highly significant and evocative geographical reference.  After their 40-year-long journey across the desert (Sinai Peninsula), the Israelites arrived at the Eastern bank of the Jordan, in the land of Moab, where Moses died (cf. Numbers 22—36; Dt. 34).  The Jordan River was the final obstacle between the Israelites and the Promised Land, their destination, the Land that was destined to be their home.  In the book of Joshua (who succeeded Moses as the leader of God’s people), we find the story of the miraculous parting of the river, reminiscent of the division of the waters of the Reed Sea during the “exit” from Egypt (Joshua 1—3; cf. Ex. 14—15).  So, by plunging people into the waters of the Jordan River “in the wilderness”, John is evoking, calling to mind the entire history of the people of God from the time of the Exodus.  Mark is placing the story of Jesus within the overarching story of Israel, the story of Yahweh and his people.  Mark’s Gospel is the sequel to the Scriptures, it is the next chapter in the story…

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