What is the gospel – this good news in Marks prologue (1:1-13)? One of the features of good news in the prologue is Jesus’ arrival as Messiah - it is he who was prophesied to create a new exodus, to liberate Israel from exile, and to establish the Kingdom of God in a world dominated by the forces and powers of evil.
To confirm the newness of what God is doing in this good news, the narrator first of all moves readers of the prologue backwards – reversing the flow. In the impending drama of this story, there had been an assurance in what was already announced that this new time would arrive – the famous day – the long awaited moment – when One would come to mark out the fulfillment of this promise. The time of preparing for the coming of the Lord to liberate his people had now taken place and Christians were, and still are, invited to embrace and embody this thrilling occasion.
The narrator selects well known OT texts that are a key to the gospel’s arrival—a conflation of Malachi 3:1, Exodus 23:20 and Isaiah 40:3 appear under the heading, “As it has been written in Isaiah.” The mention of Isaiah may be due to the aim of the narrator to underscore the prophetic character of three lines now converging in time.
The first line streams from the life of Israel’s Exodus and the direction received during wanderings in the wilderness/desert. The second line evokes, at the end of the OT, one who will come and judge Israel for its sinful ways. And the third line highlights, at the end of Israel’s exile, that God would come to release his people. This streaming, evoking and highlighting are configured in this potent manner to suggest that a new exodus, in the shattering of Israel’s exile, is now going to happen.
The uploading of this picture sets out the development of what is to follow in the prologue, but it also is of considerable importance for the unfolding of the story of the gospel of Jesus Christ as recounted in Mark.
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