Mark 1:1-8

¹ The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, ² as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”—³ “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” ⁴ And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁶ John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ 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. ⁸ I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Messenger Comes 

Welcome to our Lenten Devotional for 2023. This year we will prepare our minds and hearts for Easter by studying Mark’s record of Jesus’ coming, teaching, death and resurrection. The first thing Mark brings into focus is the Old Testament prophecy and promise that a “messenger” will come “ahead” of Jesus. He has the specific assignment to “prepare the way” of the Lord by helping the people be ready for the coming of Jesus. That is no simple task. We might ask ourselves, “How can he do this?” Look at what happens.

In verse 3, the prophet Isaiah identifies that the Messenger will be a “voice” calling in the wilderness. The Messenger has a specific message that he is to speak. The verse continues and identifies the message as: “prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” The message is both a warning and an instruction. The specific things they were to do in preparing for the coming of Jesus are to “repent” and to “make straight paths for him.” John preaches a message of “forgiveness of sins” and “baptism”.  Preparing for the coming of Jesus will involve dealing with sin by God’s forgiveness. Of course, we know that the very reason Jesus came was to “save his people from their sins”. Have we prepared ourselves for his coming according to this message? Have we made the paths in our own lives “straight”? Lent is a time for us to remind ourselves that he came and will come again. We must prepare and make our paths straight to be ready for his coming.

The final part of John’s message clearly identifies that John was not the one who could do this deep, eternal, spiritual work in their lives; he only baptized them with water. But Jesus, the Coming One, would baptize them with the Holy Spirit. This happens as he forgives our sins and the Holy Spirit enters our heart crying out “Abba, Father” and our soul responds back, “Abba, Father”. Have we heard the message? Have we prepared and made our paths straight for his coming? Have we experienced the coming of Jesus into our lives? Does his Holy Spirit live in us? This is the message that begins the Gospel of Jesus in Mark.