What is the gospel? Here is the simple answer that Mark gives us: The gospel is about Jesus Christ, in whom we find repentance, forgiveness, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The first thing to notice is that Jesus is the teacher, but He is also the message. Jesus Christ is the announcer of the good news, but He Himself is the good news that is announced.

This makes Jesus different from every other prophet. A prophet has a message, but he does not fulfil it himself. A prophet always points away from himself to someone else who will fulfil it. Jesus is more than a prophet because He points, not away from Himself, but to Himself.

In our journey through Mark’s gospel, we will learn many things. But more than that, we will get to know a person—Jesus Christ. That’s why the resurrection is central to Christianity: You can learn about a figure of history, but you cannot know him or her directly. But if a person is living, then you can know him, speak to him, love him, and enjoy him.

So, when you read Mark’s gospel, you won’t just be saying, “What a fascinating person Jesus was.” No. You will say, “This Jesus I am reading about is the Son of God who, right now, sits at the right hand of the Father. And I can come to Him!”.

When you think about your own approach to Jesus, does it look more like how you'd approach a historical figure or a living person?