Mark | Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Repent and Believe the Good News

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Mark 1: ¹⁴ After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.¹⁵ “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

And so we see Jesus for the first time in Mark’s Gospel. And the first thing Jesus says in this first appearance is “repent.”

He tells people that it is now the right time to live as citizens in the Kingdom of God, as subjects of the King, their lives surrendered to him.

What they have to do is to repent, to stop doing the wrong they were doing, and to believe in what Jesus taught.

All very well. It’s when the wrong thing is so profitable, or convenient or comfortable or easy or tempting, that repentance is hard.

And of what should we repent? I sometimes imagine the waterfall of God’s spirit, and power flow through me. What impediment might it find? Of that, I need to repent.

* * *

Time to pause and reflect.

Because a little bit of sin and wrong-doing is like mould. It will spread and spread, and overwhelm one’s immune system, and cause seriously respiratory illnesses, and even death.

Better clear the mold out of one’s life immediately!

Hebrews 12¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

* * *

And the second imperative is like the first. Believe the good news.

And what is so good about the news Jesus told us?

That we are told that God cares for the birds of the air, that not a sparrow falls to the ground without his eye being on it.

That just as he puts it into our hearts to care for them, to put out fat and nuts and seeds for them, he himself cares for them.

And even more for us

And we are not just urged but commanded not to worry.

That prayer to our Father works.

That we are to forgive those who sin against us, and not carry the backpack of hatred and longing to revenge. That we can hand that backpack to God to deal with as he pleases.

That, incredibly, unbelievably, we are forgiven, because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins on the cross.

It’s all good news, isn’t it? And, luckily, we are commanded to believe it.

The Spirit Sent Him into the Wilderness

By Anita Mathias

⁹ At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

¹² At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, ¹³ and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted^[g] by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

This is exactly how the spiritual life works, and knowing it can help us be on guard.

There are moments of high exaltation when God seems close enough to touch. With the eyes of faith, we see him. Heaven seems opened above our heads, the Spirit descends on us, and God demonstrates to us, and to the world, that he is blessing us. We hear a voice from heaven say, “You are my daughter, whom I love, with you I am well-pleased.”

Why the affirmation? Because he loves us.

Yeeeeees.

And?

Because he know we are going to need it. For after the moments of affirmation comes the days of testing.

The affirmation, the experience of God’s love and the open heaven is to strengthen us for our season in the desert.

The season of loneliness, hunger, thirst, cold, self-doubt, solitude, silence. Of temptation of every kind from Satan.

Inevitably, the season of hardship and temptation follows close on the heels of the season of blessing and affirmation.

But we are never completely abandoned by Christ. Even in the desert, we have the companionship of animals, and are attended by angels.

The Spirit Sent Him into the Wilderness

By Anita Mathias

¹² At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, ¹³ and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted
Blog Through the Bible Project

Mark 1:9

⁹ At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

I like this Trinitarian passage.

Most of us have a strong relationship with one member of the Trinity.

With me, it is Jesus.

With some, it is the Father, the love and acceptance and wisdom of the Father covering up the lacks they have experienced.

For whole denominations, it is the Holy Spirit, and the manifestations of Holy Spirit–tongues, healings, guidance, goosebumps–cause much joy and excitement.

I think this is probably fine, though I would imagine a balanced Christian spirituality would need a sense of the Father’s love, a sense of his glory, and an acceptance of his sovereignty. A thorough acquaintance with the way Jesus, God made flesh on earth thought, with what he valued, and what he taught us about life. And an experience of the Holy Spirit’s guidance, comfort and advocacy.

In this passage, we see all three things coincide–Jesus in humility is baptized by John, identifying with sinful man; the spirit descends on him and fills him. And he hears his Father’s affirmation, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Let’s pause, and see ourselves grafted into Jesus, as by faith we are. Let’s feel the Spirit descend on us and fill us. And let’s hear the Father say, “You are my daughter, whom I love. I am very pleased with you.”

I can hear those words intellectually, but sadly, not yet with my whole heart.

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit

By Anita Mathias

Mark 1:8 Blog Through the Bible Project

^{Mark 1: 8} I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

John’s baptism is a symbol of renouncing sin, and now belonging to God.

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the real thing.

It is perhaps one of the peak experiences of the Christian life.

A flooding of one’s soul with joy. Which lingers to offer endurance through life’s inevitable difficulties.

It is often accompanied by gifts–the gift of tongues, and an increased ability to understand, remember and love Scripture, in my case. The panoply of gifts which accompanies this experience is as varied and rich as the Giver himself.

It is generally a separate and distinct experience from the believer’s baptism–and in my opinion (though not experience) can be experienced more than once.

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit

By Anita Mathias

^{Mark 1: 8} I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

John’s baptism is a symbol of renouncing sin, and now belonging to God.

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the real thing.

It is perhaps one of the peak experiences of the Christian life.

A flooding of one’s soul with joy. Which lingers to offer endurance through life’s inevitable difficulties.

It is often accompanied by gifts–the gift of tongues, and an increased ability to understand, remember and love Scripture, in my case. The panoply of gifts which accompanies this experience is as varied and rich as the Giver himself.

It is generally a separate and distinct experience from the believer’s baptism–and in my opinion (though not experience) can be experienced more than once.

The Message of the Free Man

By Anita Mathias

^{Mark 1:7} : Blog Through the Bible Project

And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.

We live in an age of scrambling for scraps of attention or notoriety. For 15 minutes of fame.

In this world of ours, how refreshing is the message of John the Baptist.

He does not exalt himself; his message is not about himself; he points to someone greater than himself.

Being in love with Jesus, focusing on Jesus frees one from excessive focus on oneself.

The work I do–blogging and writing–is a form of communication. It needs attention and readers to be successful communication. But how blessed to do it quietly and peacefully, my eyes on Jesus, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.

Oh Jesus, help me to retain my focus on you through my day.