TODAY'S BIBLE TWEET

BIBLE TEXT: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Mark 1:1-3 KJV)

BIBLE TWEET: Mark’s Gospel begins with “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” which Mark marks with the commencement of the ministry of John the Baptist, Christ’s forerunner whose ministry was foretold by the prophets. (Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3:1; 4:5-6)

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: This not only explains why Mark’s Gospel has no information about the birth or childhood of our Lord, but also explains the words of our Lord in Luke 16:16: “The Law and the Prophets were until John, since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached” (ESV English Standard Version). 

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was never preached in the Old Testament, prior to Christ’s Incarnation. Granted, it was promised, predicted, pointed to, and pictured in the Old Testament, but never preached, since Christ had not yet come. It began to be preached, however, when God broke the four hundred years of silence between the Testaments with the voice of John the Baptist “crying out in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” Afterward, it was preached by Christ and His disciples (Matthew 4:23; 9:25; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 9:1-6). Ever since, it has been preached by Christ’s church to the ends of the earth, in obedience to Christ’s Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).