By
Herbert E. Douglass
A Commentary on the Sabbath
School Lesson for March 26–April 1, 2005
Among Gospel writers, Mark is often the favorite.
One cannot read Mark’s Gospel without sensing the flow
of events, like whitewater—especially with his frequent
use of "straightway" (often translated "immediately").
One can easily read the sixteen chapters in one sitting. The
impact is always powerful as well as illuminating, no matter
how many times it is read. One senses that Mark’s portrait
is the Gospel in action with vivid pictures of Jesus in daily
snapshots—primarily in the way he uses the Greek verb
not often recognized in English translations.
It is commonly assumed that Mark wrote what
Peter remembered, both being prompted by the Holy Spirit.
Sort of a summation in later years, Peter saw the big picture
wrapped up in the one word, gospel. Luke and John never
used the word gospel, Matthew used it four times, and
Mark fourteen times. Mark further clarifies the gospel as
a message that involves repentance. This is a fundamental
umbilical cord that has been unfortunately cut by many Christian
theologians in the past two thousand years!
Perhaps Peter and Mark understood the gospel
in a deeper way than others. We know Peter’s IMAX experience;
the drama is unforgettable. We can role-play Mark’s youthful
goofs when he complained about going to a tough place like
Perga; Paul did not want wimps on his tours to hostile territory
(Acts 13:13; 15:36–40). But tears and years later, Mark
redeemed himself and Paul considered him a valuable co-laborer
(2 Tim. 4:11).
The word gospel translates euaggelion,
a common Greek word that means "a message of good news."
That is, good news of any kind. But Mark quickly tells us
what that good news is all about—"Jesus Christ,
the Son of God."
In verses 14 and 15, he quotes Jesus, who told
the world that his "good news" was about a "kingdom
of God…[that] is at hand." How does one enter the
kingdom? By "repent[ing] and believ[ing] the gospel."
Isn’t it a pity that these two words, repent
and believe, have each contributed to the many divisions
within the Christian church for more than two thousand years?
Test it out: compare how the Roman Catholic Church understands
these two words, or Presbyterians, or Methodists, or Unitarians,
or Evangelicals, or Adventists.
It can be argued that almost all theological
divisions within the Seventh-day Adventist Church today would
vanish if we had a clear, biblical understanding of what is
meant by repentance and the gospel. Misunderstanding repentance
distorts the gospel. And vice versa. The answer will not be
found in resorting to theologians, past or present, who work
from their conflicting answers to key questions such as (1)
why did Jesus come? and (2) why did he die?
Limited gospels grow out of limited understandings
of the plan of salvation. Because of a limited understanding
of the gospel, unfortunate definitions of the English words
repentance and gospel have arisen and divided
Christians, never more so than today.
When we understand the plan of salvation as
God’s answer to a cosmic controversy, our minds go beyond
how we are going to be "saved" to how we can be
part of God’s answer to Satan’s charges that God
has been unfair and untrustworthy (Rev. 15:3; 19:2).
Jesus came with "good news." In fact,
one could say that Jesus was the gospel. He came to tell us
God’s side of the controversy and how we could be part
of the solution and be part of "the kingdom of God."
Almost like code words, he said, "repent
and believe." What does he mean?
Repent is more than feeling sorry. Another Greek
word, metameleomai, describes being sorry for one’s
sins as used by Judas (Matt. 27:3). Repentance (metanoia)
is a combination of two Greek words—change and
mind. The Greek understood what Jesus was saying: "If
you want to belong to the Kingdom of God, a fundamental change
of thinking and acting must happen wherein you recognize that
you have been at cross purposes with God leading to sad consequences."
Clearly, repentance is more than confession,
a short-cut that many find satisfying.
To put it another way, "Entrance to the
Kingdom of God is through a door called ’repentance’—a
door that opens to loyal followers of Christ, not merely to
forgiven criminals, because only people who can be trusted
with eternal life will be saved." For the sake of justice
and security of the universe, rebels are not safe to save.
All this leads to what Mark and Jesus meant
by the word believe. If there is only one word that
has divided all churches past and present, believe
takes the prize. Almost all English translations of the Greek
word pistis miss the point. The correct translation
is "faith" as the noun, and if our English grammar
were more accurate, the verb rendering would be "faithing."
We do it in so many other noun-verb renditions such as the
swimmer, swims; the runner, runs; the singer, sings, and so
forth.
To have faith in someone or in some idea means
far more than merely believing that something happened. One
can believe that the moon is round, but one does not need
faith in that fact. One can believe that Jesus died on the
Cross, but that does not mean that the "believer"
has New Testament faith in that event. The words of Jesus
are not merely to be "believed"; they are meant
to lead to repentance, to change lives and to develop an abiding
companionship that erases all conflicts with the will of God.
New Testament faith (pistis) is a word
that embraces knowledge, appreciation, trust, and commitment
of obedience. Our Lord’s good news is that the time has
come for the clearest understanding of how God intends to
save men and women from dire consequences. The only response
God requests will not be found in rigorous journeys to special
holy places, or in withdrawals from worldly responsibilities,
or in manufactured legalisms. The door is open to those who
truly recognize their sinfulness and genuinely make a U-turn
in their lives.
And how is that done? By having faith in
the gospel. What does that mean? By accepting the pardon
and power that comes from the God of grace, the Jesus who
hung on the Cross. We call this offer of pardon and power—the
gift of grace.
Only people who grasp his pardon and his power
to live the life that repentance has opened will enjoy the
assurance of salvation now. Only people who have such faith
will be entrusted with eternal life.
Questions:
-
Is there any other place in the four Gospels
where Christ’s mission and message is so clearly
recorded?
-
What was there about this cameo message
that seemed so compelling to rugged fishermen?
-
Does it seem that compelling to us today?
If not, why?
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