Mark 1:1

Mark 1:1 says; The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;  Mark does not begin with the birth of Jesus, but with the beginning of His ministry, which he accurately refers to as the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Recognizing Jesus for Who He truly is will always be the beginning of the gospel. We can learn all about the historical Jesus, but unless we acknowledge that He is the Son of God it does us no good.  Verse two adds, As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.  Mark tells us that the Old Testament prophets wrote of the coming of a messenger to prepare people for the coming of Jesus Christ.  Verse three continues, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.  This messenger was to call on them to prepare the way of the Lord and make His paths straight.  Though this messenger, whom we know to be John the Baptist, was calling on them to make ready for the ministry of Jesus then, we as Christians have the same commission to proclaim the gospel today and call on people to make ready for the return of Jesus Christ and to make their paths straight in accordance with God's word. We do not accept Jesus Christ and then just go our own way, but we must follow the leadership of God through the guidance of the Holy Spirit once we are saved by God's grace.  Verse four states, John did baptize in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Mark said John baptized for the remission of sin by repentance. The physical act of baptism did not bring about the remission of sin, but repentance through faith in the coming Messiah did.  It still does today, though now it is in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, Who has already come. Verse five adds, And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.  Mark tells us that many people from throughout the land of Judea and Jerusalem came to John to be baptized after confessing their sins. We still must call the lost to repentance today and also to put their faith in Jesus Christ, the only way to salvation. Verse six continues, And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; John was baptizing people for repentance, but he was not what we might expect a preacher to look and act like.  He was not concerned with the wealth of the world and what would be considered normal behavior but was dedicated to preaching about the coming of the Messiah.  We may need to be less concerned with what society says is normal today and more concerned with proclaiming the gospel.   Verse seven says, And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.  John was not preaching to call attention to himself, but to call attention to the coming Messiah, whose shoes John said that he was unworthy to stoop down and unfasten.  This is the same Messiah, or Savior, that we put our faith in today, so we can never afford to become filled with self-righteousness.  We are still unworthy to unfasten the shoes of Jesus Christ.  Verse eight adds. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.  John said he baptized with water, symbolizing the forgiveness of sin, but the coming Messiah would baptize with the Holy Ghost.  We may go through a physical baptism when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, but the important fact is that as soon as we accept Him, we are baptized with the Holy Ghost.  This is true of all those who put their faith in Jesus Christ, and not just a select few at a later time.