Mark jumps right into the story of the good news of Jesus. But he doesn’t start with the announcement of Jesus, or his birth. Actually he doesn’t even start by talking about Jesus, but he begins by quoting a prophecy from Isaiah, and then he writes about John the baptizer, clearly identifying John as the messenger that was promised over 700 years earlier. This is important to Mark’s gospel because it informs those who might not know the history of God’s chosen people that what he is about to write about God had planned to happen from the beginning.
Yet John was not the Christ, the promised anointed one from God. He clearly stated that the One who was coming would be much greater that he was. John’s job would be to simply prepare the hearts of the people to be ready to receive the Christ, to hear Him, and to believe in Him for their salvation.
Listen to John’s message! Prepare for the coming of the Christ! Repent of your sins and believe in His forgiveness! May God grant this to us during this Advent season.