All posts by Luella Campbell

MARK’S GOSPEL…THE SERVANT’S FOLLOWERS -5

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The Servant was a rabbi. A rabbi must have disciples.

Mark 1:16-20 NIV
[16] “As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. [17] “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” [18] At once they left their nets and followed him. [19] When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. [20] Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.”

Mark 2:13-14 NIV
[13] “Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. [14] As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.”

Of the many who trailed after this unusual, authoritative, and charismatic rabbi, Jesus selected His final group of twelve after a night of prayer…and they were certainly not the “who’s who” of the religious world!

Mark 3:13-19 NIV
[13] “Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. [14] He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach [15] and to have authority to drive out demons. [16] These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), [17] James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), [18] Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot [19] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”

Why, Jesus? Why such a motley bunch?

Why not those who were already schooled in the things of God? Why not those who were familiar with the opinions of the rabbis with authority? Why not those who were schooled in debate and had formed their own ideas about God, themselves, and the world? Why not men who had the whole Tanach at their fingertips, committed to memory from childhood and ready to draw from at any time?

Exactly! Jesus had no interest in those who were already cemented in their religious opinions. He needed raw, fresh, unmolded clay… guys who would be open to truth, ready to receive the kingdom without the clutter of religious notions gathered from people without the Spirit.

Jesus wanted disciples who would, first, love Him, then believe in Him, and be loyal to Him even if it meant suffering. This was not about doctrine. This was, about a person… Jesus, God’s Son and Servant, who would become to them everything He was, did, and taught.

How different from the rabbis of His day whose model was, “Do as I say,” more than “Do as I do.”

So, Jesus’ method of training was simple.

Mark 3:14 NIV
14] “He appointed twelve that they might be WITH HIM and that he might SEND THEM OUT to preach [15] and to have authority to drive out demons.”

Jesus had a mission to fulfil so important, so far-reaching, and with such eternal consequences that He needed followers who would faithfully imitate Him in life and practice, and teach others down the generations to do the same.

2 Timothy 2:1-2 NIV
[1] “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. [2] And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”

Jesus’ choice of followers, who would live and walk intimately with Him for years, learn who He was, what He thought, taught, and did, as closely as they could, was unusual. He chose fishermen, not scholars… young guys, not well seasoned students of Tanach…rough, unrefined peasants, not sophisticated boffins.

He also chose political rebels, a hated tax collector, hot-heads like James and John, riff raff from the outskirts of society, smelly fishermen.. and slowly but surely, He molded and welded them into a unit of men just like Himself…after Pentecost.

His mission was decisive and specific…

John 17:6-9, 11 NIV
[6] “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. [7] Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. [8] For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. [9] I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.
[11] I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so THAT THEY MAY BE ONE as we are one.”

What a tall order! Was this ever possible with such an unruly bunch?

Jesus was patient, persistent, often frustrated, sometimes even angry at their unbelief, but He never gave up on His purpose, knowing that they would become what He desired them to be when the Holy Spirit came. He wanted men who would believe in Him, love Him, and be sold out for Him.

So… He taught, demonstrated, and gave them opportunity to practise what He taught them so that, empowered and unified by the Holy Spirit, they would be fully equipped to continue where He left off.

Jesus was no ordinary rabbi. He was God’s Servant and Son, sent by the Father to restore God’s rule in the hearts of those who would believe in Him. How imperative, then, that His followers understand His yoke, commit fully to passing on His teaching intact and uncorrupted, and model what He taught through the power of God’s Spirit in them as He was in Jesus.

On the eve of His departure to the Father, He commissioned them to go, empowered by His Spirit, into a hostile world to be to the world what He was to them.

Acts 1:8 NIV
[8] “… You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Jesus differed from us in one thing…He saw the finished product and kept in mind what His disciples would become rather than what they were. He fully trusted the Holy Spirit who would be in them, to complete the work He had begun. We see the “now”. He saw the “then” and worked steadily towards the pre-determined end.

As with them, so also with us. Whatever we are now is part of the process. What we shall be in God’s perspective, when Jesus returns is already complete.

1 John 3:2 NIV
[2] “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

Armed with this assurance, Jesus was committed, with patience and determination, to mold unworked clay into vessels of honour, who wouid faithfully imitate their rabbi and pass in His legacy to the next generation.

MARK’S GOSPEL… THE PREPARATION -4

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To do His work efficiently and effectively, the Servant of the Lord needed training and equipment, and He needed to choose to whose authority He would bow. No servant is thrown into an important task without knowing what to do.

Luke 2:51-52 NLT
[51] Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And his mother stored all these things in her heart. [52] Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.

His training lasted for 30 years under the watchful eye of His heavenly Father. Mark said nothing about those years but the Father did…. In His verbal and audible affirmation at His Son’s baptism, the Father owned His Son with love and pleasure.

Mark 1:11 NIV
[11] “And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

To fulfill His commission, Jesus needed a motive and a modus operandi.

There couid be no greater preparation for so enormous a task than the Father’s threefold blessing…providing His Son with the motivation to carry out His mission faithfully with the Father’s approval. No matter how difficult the task, how much opposition He faced, and how severe the temptation to compromise, quit, or act on His own, Jesus never faltered in His purpose because the Father trusted Him and accompanied Him throughout every moment of His journey. Even though His human companions would forsake Him, He was assured that the Father would never abandon Him.

John 16:32 NIV
[32] “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.”

Without this assurance, Jesus could easily have given up and gone home…but He did not! Knowing that He was not alone, that He was loved, affirmed, and trusted to finish what He came to do, He endured the suffering and the cross for the reward the Father had promised Him.

His motive was clear. Love and loyalty to the Father would steady and steer Him though every obstacle, both His own humanity and the ferocious opposition of He enemies, to and through the cross, to ultimate victory.

His modus operandi was equally tested and determined before He ever set out on His public ministry. Without this pre-planned and tested method, He would have been driven by circumstances rather than by principles.

The test was severe. He was pitted against His most lethal adversary to defend His most sacred relationship, in the most unforgiving terrain, during His most vulnerable human condition, to test His unwavering commitment to unity with His Father.

The first Adam’s test was child’s play, in the most comfortable and conducive of environments, the Garden of Eden, compared with what Jesus, the last Adam, was up against…and he failed. Jesus, was tested, at the limit of His endurance after forty days of deprivation…and He passed the test with flying colours!

So, what was the test?

Under what authority, would He do the work the Father had assigned Him? Whose word would He obey?

Again, the first Adam was given the same option…whose word would he follow? He chose to follow the deceiver, and the outcome was chaos. Jesus, the last Adam, was offered the same choice.

First test…

Matthew 4:3 NIV
[3] “The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Since you are the Son of God, test YOUR word to see if it works.

How real was this test?

Satan started with the physical, the “flesh”, Jesus’ weakest point at that moment. He was starving…forty days without food! “Check the power of your own word.” How easy it would have been to do a little miracle with no one watching…

… but what was the real issue?

Whose word will you heed, Jesus, mine or God’s? To do the little thing, the obscure, unimportant thing like making a little bread to ease your hunger without the Father’s approval, or to do the big thing, protect your unity with the Father despite gnawing hunger, no matter the cost!

The bottom line…who is in charge…who is Lord? Whose word counts? Satan’s word or God’s word?

Jesus made His choice.

Matthew 4:4 NIV
[4] “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

” It is written… ” How simple yet how decisive!

Second test…

Matthew 4:5-6 NIV
[5] “Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. [6] “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

With what defiance the devil mimiced Jesus’ stance! “So… It is written! Now test it. You have chosen God’s Word, now use it!”

Luke 4:12 NIV
[12] Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Satan taunted, “You test God’s Word.” What arrogance! Jesus responded, “It is not my place to test God’s Word but to obey it!” What humility!

Third test…

Luke 4:5-7 NLT
[5] Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. [6] “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. [7] I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”

Satan threw down the gauntlet. “I will give you everything you want if you give me what I want most…worship.” So, that’s what these tests were really about. “If you do what I say, you will show me who is really Lord and who will take ownership of the universe.”

The first Adam conceded to the devil his God-given right to manage the earth. Jesus, the last Adam, did not!

Luke 4:8 NIV
[8] “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”

Armed with His victory, His modus operandi… to do the Father’s will no matter what the cost… Jesus returned from forty gruelling days in the wilderness, as Luke records, “… In the power of the Holy Spirit,” to function under divine protection, divine authority, and divine power, to usher in God’s kingdom and to make possible the reconciliation of God and man by His own blood.

MARK’S GOSPEL…THE INAUGURATION – 3

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Mark 1:9-11 NIV
[9] “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. [10] Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. [11] And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

How fitting that the Father, whose commission Jesus, His Servant, had come to fulfil, should authenticate Him at the start of His public ministry! How better than to own and affirm Him as His Son! Jesus, the man, was not just any man… not even a special man chosen for the job. He was God’s own Son, very God Himself, born in human form, to carry out a mission so risky and so sacred that only one person could pull it off.

This Servant needed the Father’s affirmation to secure Him and the Holy Spirit’s anointing to empower Him. Following the act of baptism, immersion in the waters of “mikvah”, for Him the Jordan River, He was set apart for His work to which He dedicated Himself with unwavering faithfulness.

According to Google,

“Jesus’ baptism, as recorded in the Gospels, was a significant event with multiple layers of meaning. It marked the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, symbolized his identification with humanity and their need for salvation, and demonstrated his submission to the Father. Furthermore, it was a pivotal moment where the Holy Spirit descended upon him, and the Father’s voice affirmed Jesus as his beloved Son.”

Like the action of ordinary humans when they submitted to the ceremonial washing of the “mikvah”, Jesus also drew a line in the sand. His action was much more than obedience to a ritual demanded by the religious culture of His people. It was a declaration of intent, His dedication to the greatest purpose of the Father symbolically expressed in the act…the washing away of sin, not by water but by His own blood.

Like the believers who would follow Him, His baptism would forever cut Him off from any other pursuit than to do the will of the Father. His role as the Ebed Yahweh was cemented in that act.

Matthew 3:13-15 NIV
[13] Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. [14] But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” [15] Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.”

Jesus was secured in the Father’s love and affirmation, after thirty years of living in a Galilean village in obscurity, by “the Father’s blessing”. He would have been insecure and adrift without the verbal affirmation from the Father, of His belongingness and approval. Armed with the Father’s words ringing in His soul, Jesus could step out into a hostile world with the assurance that He was beloved and supported by the greatest power on earth and empowered by the Holy Spirit Himself to carry out the Father’s will.

So, from that moment, Jesus set His face, ultimately, towards Jerusalem, the centre of Israel and the place where all the prophetic visions of the Messiah would come together to fulfill God’s great plan of salvation. Though His earthly ministry would range across Israel and beyond, beginning at the Jordan River, and crisscrossing the territory of His people, it would culminate, from the heart of God to the heart of His nation, in the mighty return of His Spirit in Jerusalem, to indwell His people and to finish what He started.

MARK’S GOSPEL…THE MESSAGE – 2

Bible Study,

Mark 1:7-8 NIV
[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.”

According to Matthew, John the Baptist also predicted the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 3:11-12 NIV
[11] “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. [12] His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

John’s message, as reported by Mark, was short and to the point. His baptism of repentance was a symbol of something much greater.

In Lluke’s expanded version of John’s message, Jesus’ appearance on earth would herald not only a great awakening but also a great cleansing.

Luke 3:16-18 NIV
[16] “John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. [17] His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” [18] And with many other words, John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.”

As grim as the outcome of Jesus’ appearance would be, the separation of wheat and chaff and the utter destruction of the chaff, everything John preached about the advent and work of God’s Servant was included in the bundle of “good news”.

What was the essence of this good news?

First, John’s immersion of God’s people in the “mikvah” of the Jordan River prepared the hearts of the repentant ones for the good news of a cleansing far greater than the cleansing of a flowing river. Water on the outside to cleanse the body was symbolic of the Holy Spirit on the inside, purifying the soul.

Adam’s greatest loss, after his declaration of independence, was the departure of God’s Spirit, God’s presence in him, breathed into him at his creation. He retained his physical life for a season but his connection with God through the Spirit was broken. He was dead to the spiritual dimension and lost to God’s presence and purposes. He was afloat on the treacherous and stormy ocean of life and left alone to navigate his own way.

The coming of the Servant heralded something new in Israel, prophesied in the Old Covenant but only effected by Jesus…God’s decisive remedy for sin.

Second, John’s message included the good news that, not only would Messiah usher in God’s rule again in the hearts of His people but He would also immerse them in His Spirit just as their bodies were immersed in water.

Third, His work would also include separating the chaff from the wheat, not unbelievers from believers as some would suggest, but separating the chaff of the “outer man”, the thoughts and actions that spring from the evil desires of the old, sin nature, from the inner man, the shrine of God’s presence. Chaff and wheat are part of the same seed, chaff the outer husk and wheat the inner grain. By the fire of His Word, He would cleanse the soul of the old life, the chaff, and restore His own image in them.

So, in a nutshell, John heralded the Messiah’s coming with the promise of a thorough work of grace…This was impossible through the law of Moses which could not rein in the wickedness of the old nature, but would be made possible through the work of the Messiah and His Spirit.

For thecl people of God, the coming of the Holy Spirit to deluge and transform all people was not an unknown or unexpected event. Joel spoke of His coming centuries before John’s announcement.

Joel 2:28-32 NIV
[28] “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. [29] Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. [30] I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. [31] The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. [32] And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.”

Peter matched this prophecy with the astonishing events of the day of Pentecost, witnessed by thousands of Jews from all over the Roman Empire.

The Holy Spirit had indeed come, as John had predicted, to restore God’s people to fellowship with Himself by removing their sin, cleansing their hearts and conscience from guilt and shame, and restoring His own presence in them through His Holy Spirit…

Acts 2:14-17 NIV
[14]” Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. [15] These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! [16] No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: [17] “ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams… “

…leading to the momentous event when the church of the Lord Jesus, His body, was born as they called on His name and received His gift of salvation.

MARK’S GOSPEL… THE PREPARATION – 1

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Mark1:1 NIV
[1] “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God…”

Mark begins his story about Jesus, God’s Son and Messiah with a blunt announcement…

… Not a birth notice in the daily newspaper or even an excited disclosure after an ultrasound scan, “We are pregnant!” but…

Just a bald statement, “The beginning of the Good News,” as if Jesus had just appeared on earth from heaven as a full grown man!

Mark said nothing about His childhood, or even His background and ancestry as a human. Why did he omit all the exciting and miraculous details surrounding His conception and birth?

Mark did not specifically state the purpose of his gospel but, in the divine plan of the Father, it fits in perfectly into the fourfold revelation of Jesus in the four gospels as the king of Israel (according to Matthew), the Servant of Yahweh (according to Mark), the Son of Man (according to Luke), and the Son of God, (according to John).

In keeping with a servant, to Mark  Jesus’ ancestry was irrelevant. Servants are just that, servants, not celebrities. Yet, at the same time, this servant had an ancestry in God clearly prophesied in the Tanach, the Old Testament Scriptures. He was the Father’s divinely appointed Servant, chosen before time to carry out His will, whose character, work, and suffering were predicted centuries before His coming.

Isaiah saw and predicted in four, possibly five “Servant Songs”, called  the Ebed Yahweh, contained in the chapters from 40 to 66 of his prophecies.

Google explains…

“In Isaiah’s prophecies, the “Ebed Yahweh” or “Servant of the Lord” refers to a figure who is both a servant and a chosen one of God, playing a significant role in God’s plan of redemption. This figure is depicted in four distinct poems within the book of Isaiah, each highlighting different aspects of his character and mission. While the identity of the Ebed Yahweh is not explicitly stated, many interpretations identify him as a messianic figure, with some seeing a connection to Jesus Christ.”

“The term “Ebed Yahweh” literally translates to “Servant of the Lord” and appears in Isaiah 42:1-4, 49:1-6, 50:4-9, and 52:13-53:12.”

Appropriately, this Sevant of God needed a forerunner to prepare His way. He would not appear out of nowhere unannounced. Certain details predicted by the prophets, would identify this forerunner so that there would be no mistake in recognising this Servant when He came.

Mark 1:2-4 NIV
[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.”

And so John came…out of the wilderness…a wild man…

Mark 1:6 NIV
[6] “John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.”

… with a radical message of repentance, not new for Israel but with a new focus and a new announcement.

Mark 1:7-8 NIV
[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.”

Baptism! Israel’s way of drawing a line in the sand…washing off the old, stepping into the new. John’s baptism was new but not new.

Mark 1:5 NIV
[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.”

What was the meaning of John’s baptism? Over the centuries, the people of Israel had gone through the ritual washing of “baptism”, in the “mikvah”, the pool of water designated to be the place of washing.

Google explains…

“In the Old Testament, a mikvah is a pool of water used for ritual immersion to achieve purification from spiritual or ritual impurity. It’s a place where individuals immerse themselves to become ritually clean, often after experiencing states of impurity due to bodily functions or before engaging in sacred activities. The concept is rooted in the idea of “living waters” or natural bodies of water, though modern mikvahs are often specially constructed pools.”

“A mikvah in the Hebrew Bible is a gathering or collection of water. The word came to refer to a pool of water used for ceremonial cleansing. One who is impure or ceremonially unclean before immersion will be pure or ceremonially clean after immersion in a mikvah. A person would have to be ceremonially clean before entering the temple. Ceremonial cleansing is prescribed in the Bible on a number of occasions: women after childbirth or their monthly cycle and men after sexual discharge (Leviticus 15:19–30) and after contact with a dead body (Numbers 19:18–19). Clothing and utensils could also be cleansed by ritual immersion (Leviticus 11:32). Later, ritual immersion—baptism—became part of a proselyte’s conversion to Judaism.”

(Source: https://www.gotquestions.org
Question: What is a mikvah?)

John, then, operating within the culture of Israel, introduced to “mikvah” the concept of repentance for the forgiveness of sins using the Jordan River as his “mikvah”. This was much more than ceremonial cleansing. This was the forerunner of the work of the Servant…cleasing of the heart and conscience through the forgiveness of sin in preparation for immersion in the Holy Spirit.

God has promised, in the terms of the New Covenant…

Jeremiah 31:31-34 NIV
[31] “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. [32] It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. [33] “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. [34] No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

… and…

Joel 2:28-29 NIV
[28] “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. [29] Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”

The people of Israel had only known ritual cleansing through the sacrifice of animals. The Servant would come with the Good News of heart cleansing through the blood of the Lamb.

Hebrews 9:13-14 NIV
[13] “The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. [14] How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”

So, Mark shines the light on Jesus as God’s Servant, serving the Father  in His life, His works, and in His death… always at work, fulfilling His Messianic role as predicted in Isaiah’s prophetic songs. His work of salvation from sin, introduced by John the Baptist through his message and the baptism of repentance, would fulfil everything the Old Covenant had promised, ushering in the kingdom of God, the realm of God’s rule restored to earth.