Paddle Into 2018
As we roll into 2018, Harbor West is going to be journeying through the book of Mark. The guy who wrote it, a guy named John Mark, wrote it AS a journey—a journey through the life of Jesus. And he has a really specific goal on this journey. We see it right away, look at verse 1: The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. That’s not a word we use a lot, even people who go to church only really use it when they talk about church or quote Nacho Libre. That word, gospel, was used a lot more back when this book was written. Mark was written sometime around 50 AD, just after the life of Jesus, and this word, Gospel, was a military word. It meant “good news of victory.” If a city sent an army out to fight an enemy, if the army won the battle they’d send back one messenger to the city with the gospel, the good news of victory. And that person would roll into town and proclaim the good news. It was meant to be proclaimed, that a victory had been won for the people. Life had been won for the people, they won’t be killed. And the people would all rejoice and party.
So when Mark writes this, he’s saying that he’s got good news of victory for all of us. For you this year. A victory has been won for you. A victory that brings you life. And it has to do with this guy Jesus. Now, Mark calls him Jesus Christ. That’s not Jesus’ last name. Most people at this time would just call him Jesus son of Joseph or Jesus of Nazareth. This word, Christ, that’s a title. Like Jesus the great or Jesus the conqueror. But this word, Christ, means an anointed royal figure. Like a king. And at this point, the Jews and all of humanity had been waiting for the Christ since almost the beginning; since there was a battle to be won. So Mark’s saying that this is THE King, the King of all Kings, who has now arrived.
That’s pretty intense, but then he says something even more bold: Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Everyone would have understood what that phrase right there meant. He’s saying that this Jesus, the King we’ve been waiting for, is actually God himself.
That’s who we’re going to meet on this journey through Mark. If you join with us, you’re going on a journey with the man Jesus, the anointed King Jesus, the God of the Universe, Jesus. If you give him your life, then you become a disciple of Jesus. You’ll be a learner, a follower, and your whole life will become a journey with God.
Mark’s the shortest gospel journey. It’s fast paced, it doesn’t have a lot of Jesus’ teachings, but it has a lot of his actions; what he actually did; a lot of his life. And his life, his journey, really helps to make sense of ours. Join us on the journey of seeing why Jesus’ life is all gospel; why it’s all really, really good news.