Mark 1:1-8 (NRSV)
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Chapter 1The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Verse 2As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
Devotion
The Gospel of Mark is considered the earliest gospel book. Mark's narrative is sparser than that of Matthew, Luke or John. It contains puzzling and awkward stories about Jesus and his disciples. The author of Mark anchored the account of the life of Jesus in the words of the prophet Isaiah so that its Jewish hearers could understand his noble heritage and his connection to Judaism. Mark even starts the story with the fact that fellow Judeans were flocking to John the Baptist to confess their sins and to get baptized. The author seems to be telling the audience, see, this is your people! This is a story for you! In this story we Christians today are bound to the Jews. Just as the words of Isaiah connected the Judean people to their ancient ancestors, so Mark's words connect us to our ancient Jewish forebears.
Prayer
God, please help us prevent history from getting in the way of our family ties with the Jewish people and their struggles. You have chosen them and grafted us on. Thank you for the great gift of the Jews in our Christian tradition. Amen.