Title: The One Who Brings the Gospel
Mark 1:1 - 8
It has been over 10 years since my father passed away. Even when I was young, my father was always busy, so there are not many stories about him and me. Fortunately, there were more conversations and events before my father went through 6.25 as a chaplain.
Now it is gradually getting fainter. A few times a year, in front of the Cheonan Park Cemetery, where my father was buried, I reminisce about the stories I had with my father that still remain.
On the way to escape with my father, I got very sick while eating rice flour on a rock in the Gaecheon Stream, my father’s tears I saw when my younger brother Ok-i passed away, Hangeul taught on straw, old stories and fairy tales of the Grimm brothers,
Because I can't know all the stories of the person who was my father, in the end, only the stories that are important to me are remembered.
The same will be true of Mark. Perhaps the first complete Gospel was written by Mark around AD 70. Of course, this record may also be biased. However, there is something in this record that I want to make clear. It is revealed that God sent his only begotten Son to this earth in the flesh, lived a life of love and mercy, and that through death on the cross and resurrection, sins can be forgiven and salvation can be obtained. But Mark, like the Gospels, realized that Jesus' life could not be understood without a holistic view. Therefore, it testifies that the words of the Old Testament prophets focus on Jesus.
The gospel is good news. Numerous events in human life have new understanding and interpretation in the Gospel.
The attitude we need to learn today is that we must understand the flow of history in order to meet the Lord. We must realize that the Old Testament story is not just a story of the past, it is the story of our lives today. Since the story of our lives today is not resolved, we must prepare for a new life with purity.
While waiting for the Messiah, John the Baptist lived on locusts cooked in salt water and grilled over charcoal and wild honey. He wore camel hair and lived in the wilderness. Why did John the Baptist lead such a life? Because there was someone who brought the Gospel. The waiting for the season of Advent is not a vague waiting. It's not a goalless wait.
The waiting of Advent is like the waiting of John the Baptist. Waiting lasts, but the fulfillment of waiting is accomplished by grace. Waiting brings the wonderful turning point of the gospel. This transformation is the transformation of the kingdom of God. Let's wait for the gospel.