The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Mk. 1:1 KJV).

Humanity carries gifts given to no other creature, yet we have not been given power to justify our existence. The gospel, which is the power of God,¹ supplies this necessity, so that we may give over faulty, fallen attempts to self-justify, and at last rest assured in the faith that makes us whole. In this gospel, we feel complete: Truth’s perfection is known; our ancient yearning is met and satisfied. In the first chapter of Mark, whose topic is “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” the way is introduced.

As in much of Scripture, the text here brings types and figures of spiritual conditions and processes into view, so we can more easily recognize and name inward truths that otherwise might remain hidden and obscure. The text does provide historical and geographical information, but such objective facts lack spiritual significance if not related to inward realities. The Bible and early Friends writings are texts about humanity’s spiritual malaise and its return to vigor; to view these spiritual resources primarily as fields in which scholars harvest ideas to increase our store of knowledge is to disregard the value and purpose of the writings. Since the 1990s, spiritual exposition of biblical or Friends writings has been largely co-opted by academic reductionism that has kept pace with our society’s veering toward the materialism of technology. Should Friends return to gospel order, the present time in hindsight likely will be seen as a period in which scholarly pursuit stood in place of prophetic faith, and information pinch hit for wisdom. Friends knew “that being bred at Oxford and Cambridge was not enough to fit and qualify men to be ministers of Christ.”² Yet in their time and in ours, the loss of the gospel allows scholars to step into the void. Early Friends were adept at drawing parallels between the events and persons in Scripture and inward, spiritual life, because they themselves had traveled the complete path to salvation. That inward journey opened Scripture’s imagery for them, and using that imagery, they were enabled to record and communicate their experiential discovery of Christ Within, a discovery they knew to have universal significance, beyond information that is intellectually gathered, dispersed, and received.   

In the following paragraph, early Friend Margaret Fell provides an example of writing that offers spiritual wisdom about the human condition. She correlates the messenger-prophets referred to in the first chapter of Mark—those who prepare the way of the Lord—to the “measure of the Substance” present within each person.

So a measure of the Substance, and of the life of all the types and figures, thou hast in thee, if thou be faithful and obedient when it checks and calls thee to repentance. For the baptism of repentance, which washeth away the filth of the flesh, thou art not yet come to: no, nor the first principle that leads to it, which is the messenger that goes before him to prepare the way for him which baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire.³

As do the outward messenger-prophets in Scripture,⁴ the inward “measure of the Substance . . . checks and calls [one] to repentance.” All must first come to this measure of the Substance in themselves, as all in Judea and Jerusalem outwardly came to John, “confessing their sins” (5). Fell states this is the “first principle that leads to being “baptize[d] with the Holy Ghost,” a work to be done by Jesus, says John (8): a work to be done inwardly by Christ, the Light.

Baptism indicates a new state has been entered, and John’s baptism of Jesus signals his divine acceptance: “Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (11). Inwardly, baptism with the Holy Ghost reveals this divine relationship. And entering into it, one “immediately” finds oneself driven by that same Spirit (12) into a solitude where there is longtime temptation (13) to become one among the many “wild beasts”⁵ (12). The badgering, hounding ploys of Satan, however, cannot degrade those who attend to the support heaven offers (13).

The beginning of Jesus’s ministry (15-20)

Jesus’s ministry begins with his announcement describing the spiritual situation: “[t]he time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand,” and it continues with instruction to his hearers to find their place within this new situation: “repent ye, and believe the gospel” (15).

His next step is to gather disciples, two sets of two brothers: Simon and Andrew, then James and John. Calling two simultaneously is a narrative devise to signify Jesus has the stature to lead. If only one disciple were called at a time, the reader’s attention would be diverted from Jesus to that disciple. (What was it about that particular man that made Jesus call him?) The intent here, however, is to present Jesus as the adept, rightful leader. That a second pair of brothers (James and John) is called immediately after the first pair (Simon and Andrew) simply underscores Jesus’s position as leader. “Come ye after me” is his call (17).

The nature of his work (21-39)

Both beginning and ending verses of this passage provide the same information: “[Jesus] entered into the synagogue, and taught” (21), and “he preached in their synagogues” (39). Teaching and preaching is his work (38), and he does so with authority (22), because he has the gospel, the power of God, to direct his speech. In the intervening verses (23-34), however, he does other work: he heals “them that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils” (32). That these healings are sandwiched between the beginning and ending statements that describe his work as verbal communication is to say that the Word of God, Christ, heals the soul. The outward healings in this passage figuratively manifest the inward, spiritual healing that the Inward Christ effects.

The first healing is of a man with an unclean spirit (23-26). What distinguishes this man as devil-possessed is his conscious opposition to goodness. “I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God,” he addresses Jesus. “[A]rt thou come to destroy us?” Fully aware of his own defiance, the demon is determined to continue unchallenged: “Let us alone,” he pleads. His use of plural pronouns, “us” and “we,” throughout indicates the presence of a divided self: he’s aware of the might and right of the holy (“the measure of the Substance”) within his conscience, and he rebels against it.

That Jesus commands the man to be silent (“[h]old thy peace” [25]) shows the first step toward healing is to block false gains afforded by the practice of evil. The demon’s speaking gains him control and power, an idol frequently worshiped by the devil-possessed. Jesus’s command to be silent, prepares the way, makes the path straight (3-4), so the demon can be dismissed (“come out of him” [25]). Having been deprived of power, the demon has no reason to remain. This story is an example of an inward, spiritual process that is described through figurative imagery.

The second type of healing that Jesus does is simpler: it is healing of a disease. Peter’s mother-in-law “lay sick of a fever” (30). A disease differs from devil-possession, in that there is nothing to be gained from being ill: one is simply unable to feel and function well; there is a loss of power, not a false gain. Jesus heals the woman by taking her hand and lifting her up (31). Unlike the devil-possessed man, she doesn’t speak; there is no false assertion of power. Once healed, however, she is empowered to minister (31). There is a self-awareness in the woman; she feels her debilitated state, and thus Jesus can return her to health in a simple manner: by taking her hand, a gesture of comfort, and lifting her up (31), signifying resurrection to life.

At the end of the day, as both “the diseased and them that were possessed with devils” (32) are brought to Jesus, we understand that all humanity is in need of healing and to be found in one of the two groups described: the “diseased” figuratively representing the suffering of those who are dispirited, not knowing the Spirit of Christ; and those “possessed with devils” figuratively representing all who defy their consciences for some illicit gain. Jesus extends healing to both.

The leper (40-45)

In the final passage of the chapter, both Jesus’s work and social position becomes more complex. He is now approached by someone who has heard of his healing power and beseeches him to heal him of leprosy. The leper exhibits the salient traits found in each of the two former healings: like the devil-possessed (23, 26-27), he’s said to be unclean (40-42), and like the humble woman, he shows humility in kneeling before Jesus. The combined features of the two in the one to be healed indicate the onset of the increasing complexity Jesus will be required to handle as his ministry expands.

Further complications become evident when the leper disregards Jesus’s instruction to “say nothing to any man” and to honor the tradition by following its prescriptions (44). Jesus has power to heal, but he does not control the social ramifications of his healing, and this passage foreshadows the conflict with the worldly religious hierarchy that will beset and complicate his mission.

This chapter’s telling of the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ began with its prophetic context, revealed its origin to be divine acceptance, and intimated that there are predatory temptations in a spiritually deserted world. Jesus showed himself adept as a leader, a preacher and teacher, and a healer. The chapter details a steady increase of Jesus’s power and scope but concludes on an ambiguous note. His success is described in terms of limitation: he “could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter” (45). May we each “from every quarter” go to the inward, “desert places” where Christ and his teaching and healing are found.

1. “The gospel is the power of God which turns against that which bondageth, to wit, the corruptions, and so gives liberty and freedom to the captives; and this, which is the power of God, is glad tidings . . . that which gives liberty and freedom to all, is glad tidings.” George Fox, The Works of George Fox (Philadelphia: Marcus T. C. Gould, 1831), 3:442.
2. Works, 1:71.
3. Margaret Fell, Undaunted Zeal, ed. Elsa F. Glines (Richmond, Ind.: Friends United Press, 1974), 58-59.
4. Verse 2 echoes Malachi 3:1a: “Behold I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple.” Verse 3 echoes Isaiah 40:3: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
5. “Some men have the nature of swine wallowing in the mire. Some have the nature of dogs, to bite both the sheep and one another. Some have the nature of lions, to tear, devour, and destroy. Some the nature of wolves, to tear and devour the lambs and sheep of Christ: and some the nature of the serpent, (that old adversary,) to sting, envenom and poison. . . . Some men have the natures of other beasts and creatures, minding nothing but earthly and visible things, and feeding without the fear of God. Some have the nature of a horse, to prance and vapour in their strength, and to be swift in doing evil. Some have the nature of tall sturdy oaks, to flourish and spread in wisdom and strength, who are strong in evil, which must perish and come to the fire.” Works, 1:106-7.