The Essential Gospel - ENTERING THE DANCE

Mark 1.1-15 looks at the Gospel of Jesus and we saw 3 things

(1) The Gospel is an announcement of of a victory that brings great joy. The word is ‘Euangelion’ and it is made up of the word ‘Eu’ which means joyful and ‘Angelos’ which means ‘one announcing news.’ A battle has been won and fought and we receive news (from heralds) of the victory and it changes everything about who we are and every aspect of our lives.

(2) The Gospel is opposed to religion. The Gospel is news about something that has been done for us that we live in the good of. The battle has been won and we reap the benefits. Religion (even athiesm) is advice - advice about how we should live, connect to God, prove ourselves etc. The Gospel brings liberation and joy (we’re free…Hallelujah!), Religion brings (a) inadequecy, guilty and condemnation (when we fail) or (b) pride and superiority (when we succeed)! Either way, whether through guilt or pride, religion stops people connecting to God but the gospel forgives our sin and shatters our pride.

(3) The Gospel is the climax to a story. The moment of victory comes against the backdrop of hopeless and despair.  Mark sets the victory of Jesus in it’s Old Testament context (vs1-3: he quotes Malachi and Isaiah who prophesied about a king who would come and restore and renew the whole world) but through the baptism of Jesus (vs9-13) he alludes back to the original creation (Gen 1.1-3) where the Father, the Son (the word) and the Spirit (fluttering like a dove - Aramaic translations) were present. Here the Word (Jesus) receives words of Love from the Father and Power from the Spirit. What we see at Jesus is the dance of God - each member of the trinity delighting and adoring and centering their lives upon and orbiting the other. This is what has been going on from all eternity with the divine community of love and joy. Mark locates Jesus within the oldest story there is - the story of the world. We were created to be part of the dance of God - to share in his love and joy. But we chose a stationary self-centred life. We lost the dance. And all of life started to unravel. We wanted to be king and have everyone orbit around us and all the ‘bad news’ in the world came from this. But there was the promise of the king who would come and restore and renew all things - Jesus was that king, proclaiming the return of his kingdom, here to put things right again (vs14-15). We can now re-enter the dance (repent and believe) and orbit our lives around him and other people.

What is the moment of victory and climax within the story? It is the moment that for the only time in all eternity the dance stopped. The Father and the Son were separated, so you could join back in. Through the cross and resurrection Jesus achieves a victory that we now stand in - that is the climax to THE STORY and every other story. It is the answer to all other bad news. This is the gospel message that affects all of life.

Discussion and Application

(1) Why did you become a Christian? What was the good news you believed and responded to?

(2) Why do many people think Christianity is bad news?

(3) How are religion and the gospel opposed?

(4) In what ways do we slip into religion? What fruit does that reap in our lives?

(5) Describe the greatest moment of climax/victory in your favourite story (whether book, film, bible-story, moment in history etc). How is that moment of victory only a shadow of Jesus’ victory?

(6) What areas in your life or in your friends life do people want to know good news? In what ways the cross and resurrection (and re-entering the dance) good news to these areas?

(7) Why is it important to understand the ‘the big bible story’ if we are to understand fully of what Jesus has done? Which bits of the bible story do you not understand (or struggle with)?

(8) Pray that you might have the opportunity this week to share some aspect of the good news with people you are reaching out to