Tinkering in the Scripture - Pt 1

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:9-15 ESV). I like to “tinker”; that is I like to take stuff apart and see how it works. Most of the times I get it back together. And, some of the time I actually get it back together better than it was to begin with. Old furniture and other antiques have benefitted from my tinkering. In fact, it has been said that I am a jack-of-all-trades while being master of none. Be that as it may, it is not unusual for me to read the Scripture and ask some unusual questions of it. Recently the beginning of preparation for the Christmas season brought me to “tinker” a bit with some basic things about the coming of Jesus. Have you ever wondered what Jesus’ purpose in life and death was? How would you summarize it in a single phrase? Maybe you would say that he came to save us, or to give us eternal life, or to forgive our sins. These things are, no doubt, gloriously true, but if we look to the words of Jesus himself, a different answer also turns up again and again. In our reading today, Jesus declares a central theme to his message and ministry. He says that the kingdom of God was now at hand. Well, let’s tinker a bit. What did Jesus mean by this “kingdom”? Why did he choose to describe his mission in this strange way? And why did some people get so excited (and others so irritated) about it? Even more importantly, what does it mean for our world today? In the coming days we’ll look more specifically at three principles: first, the story of God’s kingdom; second, the family God has called into existence as subjects of his kingdom; and third, the kingdom tasks which God has solemnly entrusted to his people. We’ll Bible hop a bit, but seeing the whole makes it wonderful as we apply it to the specific of our present circumstance. Today, concentrate on the first part of mark’s revelation of what Jesus did when he came back from his wilderness experience. He proclaimed the gospel of God. This is that message containing nothing but good news. It is news since nothing quite like it had ever really happened. We see glimpses, but never this. It is good because it places the capstone of God’s redemptive work in place. He finishes his purpose of atonement. What we could not do, Jesus did. Do you know that? You can. Trust in Him today.