Mark’s Prologue
In the prologue to Mark’s Gospel (1:1-15), the author sheds a lot of light on who he believes Jesus to be. It is loaded with the evangelist’s Christology (belief about the person and nature of Christ), though it can be easy to miss. In this post, I’m going to look at three verses, and four dimensions of how Mark views the identity of Jesus: as the Messiah, as the Son of God, as the God of Israel, and finally as the One through whom we have access to the Father. Due to space, I will not go in depth with these, but touch on them briefly (readers may argue this point, however!).

Verse 1 The Messiah, Son of God.
The opening verse of Mark’s Gospel serves as a type of title to the Gospel as a whole. In this short statement, “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,”¹ we have two very strong statements of Mark’s view of Jesus. The first is commonly looked over today- Jesus the Messiah. The word used by Mark here is Christ², which many people today use as if it were part of Jesus’ name. The term is actually a title, which means “annointed one” or “messiah.” This is the term used in the Septuagint³ to translate the Hebrew term ‏מָשִׁיחַ (mashiach, annointed). Mark’s use of the term implies his understanding of Jesus as the one who is the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. This term appears throughout the four Gospels, but particularly in Mark, it serves as the “hinge” between the two halves of the Gospel in the infamous confession of 8:29- “But who do you say that I am?” and Peter answered, “you are the Messiah (Christ).” At this point in the narrative, Jesus begins his journey to Jerusalem, teaching about his impending death on the cross, and its centrality to discipleship. It is worth noting that there is no mention of title at all between 1:1 and 8:29, yet after Peter’s confession it appears 5 times. The entire Gospel asks the question, “who is this man?” As my friend Brad has commented, he gives us the answer right here in verse 1, and we don’t even realize it. It then resurfaces at Peter’s confession as the narrative focuses on the movement to the cross. Why is this? It is because for Mark, the identity of Jesus is unable to be separated from his work.

The second Christological thrust in this verse comes in the next phrase, “the son of God.” This phrase is one of the most significant titles in the New Testament, and is the most prominent title used in the Gospels. The idea of divine sonship will appear later on in this passage at Jesus’ baptism, where God declares Jesus to be his “beloved son.” The phrase “with whom I am very pleased” (1.11) shows that in this title is understood some role of obedience and submission. This obedience and submission is shown most radically through the crucifixion event, where Jesus prays for the Father’s will to be done hours prior (Mark 14). On the day of crucifixion, Mark records the centurion as saying “Truly, this was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39). This marks the first of two bookend phrases in the prologue that open and close Mark’s Gospel. The term “son of God” also serves the purpose of identifying Jesus as the true Israel. It echoes God’s declaration of Israel as his first-born son to Pharoah in the Exodus⁴ and the “prophecy” of God bringing his son out of Egypt,⁵. As such, the term points to the reality that promises given to Israel, as well as Israel’s mission (particularly to the nations) were fulfilled in, or will be fulfilled in Jesus himself. This idea cannot be separated from the previously made point of obedience however. He is the true Israel precisely in His obedience where Israel the nation had failed. This is presented in stark relief as the very next scene after God’s declaration in verse 11 is the wilderness temptation. Whereas the first generation of Israelites were not able to enter the promised land because of their wilderness experience, Jesus is successfully obedient in his. ⁶

Verse 3 The God of Israel.
The third Christological statement comes in the form of a quote. The interesting thing here is what Mark is saying without saying anything. In fact, the statement comes in what Mark leaves out. Verse three is a quote directly from the Septuagint version of Isaiah 40:3. Here are the verses in parallel:

Notice the differences in bold? Mark’s editorial work on the quote has substituted “his” for “our God’s.” This is not an incidental substitution- it is a deliberate way of showing that Jesus (“his”) is the same as the God of Israel (“our God”). This is an unmistakable allusion to the deity of Jesus. In a paradox that rivals John’s prologue, the Messiah is both the Son of God (v. 1), and also God himself (v. 3). If we continue on in Isaiah, we find this statement in verse 5: “And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.” This is true most primarily in the incarnation, when God himself took on human flesh. Jesus is the fullest revelation of God and his glory⁷, and we await again that revelation at his second advent.

Verse 10 Access to the Father.
The Biblical narrative is one of fractured and broken relationships between God and creation. It moves from the garden where there is unrestricted access between God and people, to the fall and the need to reconciliation, to a city where once again the presence of God is among his people. How does this reconciliation come about? The narrative is clear that sinful people cannot reconcile themselves to God, so how can they? That is what the Gospel answers.

In this verse, Mark describes the scene after Jesus’ baptism. The heavens are “torn open” or “split apart,” the voice of the Father is heard, and the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus. The word Mark uses for “torn open” is σχίζω- the second of the two “bookends” Mark uses to open and close his Gospel. That Mark uses this term instead of the more regular term used ἀνοίγω (to open), and that it serves as a bookend term, points to a purpose behind his vocabulary. The other appearance of the term comes in Mark 15:38- “and the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.”

This event of the tearing of the curtain is found in all three of the synoptic Gospels,⁸ which shows that it is an important event. In the Old Testament, the curtain was used to keep the Israelites from having access to the glory and presence of God because of their sinfulness. This is a picture of the broken relationship between God and people. Only the High Priest could enter in behind the curtain, into the place called the Most Holy Place, and they could only do so once a year. On this day, Yom Kippur, they would make atonement for the sins of the people. The reason the evangelists include this story in their gospels is to show that in Christ, that curtain is no longer needed; we all, through faith, have access to the Father. As the author of Hebrews says, “With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever”⁹

As I said, the word that Mark uses for the tearing of the veil, which symbolizes access to God, is the same word that Mark uses here to graphically describe the tearing of the heavens at Jesus’ baptism. It seems to me that in framing the Gospel narrative this way, Mark is using the same symbolism at the beginning of the end. Here in verse 10 and in 15:38 Mark is telling his readers, “Here is the One through whom we have access to God. Not through any other, but this One.”

Conclusion
There is certainly much more that can be pulled out from these verses, but it is astounding what we have seen about Jesus in just these three verses. According to Mark’s prologue, Jesus is the Messiah, the promised one who is to come to save his people. He is also the Son of God- and therefore fulfills the role that Israel failed to do in full obedience. He is not only the Son of God, however, he is also paradoxically the God of Israel himself- which finds explanation only in the mystery of the trinity. Finally, it is this Son of God, who is somehow God himself, who came in the form of a person so that we could be reconciled to God. He did so by willingly and obediently going to the cross, taking on the iniquity and sins of mankind, and offering atonement for those who believe. It seems, then, in Mark’s prologue we do not just get an introduction to the person and work of Jesus- we get the gospel itself.