In the second chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, after exhorting us to support each other in love, and reminding us of the humility and obedience demonstrated by Christ, he tells us (Philippians 2:12-13) … my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much rather in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both the willing and the working according to [his] good pleasure.

In the gospel of John, chapter 1, when John the baptizer sees Jesus walking by, he tells his disciples “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” The next morning, Andrew (Peter’s brother) and John (son of Zebedee) are with him, and he says the same thing; and Andrew and John set off immediately to follow Jesus. When Jesus notices them, He asks them one of the deepest questions we will ever face, a question we must all sooner or later face: “What do you seek?”

We ended last time with Jesus’ warning that you cannot put new wine in old wineskins. The New Covenant prophesied in Jeremiah 31 cannot fit into the mould of the Old one. Does that mean that the Old one was somehow wrong or bad?

Mark’s gospel begins with John the Baptizer proclaiming that the prophesied coming of the Lord was about to become a reality. We know from the other gospels that his call to action to the people was: “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand”. Mark tells us Jesus took up that call to action after John was jailed. What does that call require of us?

Chapter 1 of the Gospel of Mark ended with the story of the healing of the Leper. It is a story that all of us can appreciate because we all have been sick. And we understand that anyone could end up in that situation: through no fault of our own at the mercy of a faceless, arbitrary, deadly enemy. I don’t know anyone who would not shout “Praise the Lord” at the outcome of that story. But chapter 2 is going to raise the bar: It is going to challenge some of our assumptions… about “no fault of our own” and the “facelessness” of the enemy.

Whenever the opportunity presents itself to recommend to someone where to begin reading the Bible, my first answer is the Gospel according to John. It is deep, it is thought provoking, it is challenging, it is eye-opening… because it is not just the story of the Life of Jesus but also a detailed presentation of how that Life fits into God’s original and still unfolding plan for us. However, in terms of getting acquainted with the story of Jesus, for the first time, probably the easiest route is the Gospel according to Mark.