In this series, I’ll be going through Mark with you and sharing some things I’ve been learning from God as I’ve been pondering this book. Please read along with me!

Mark 1: The desert place

Mark 1 starts “in the desert place.” Many of you will probably know the song “Blessed be your name”, and the phrase “Blessed be your name when I’m found in the desert place.” That’s beautiful, and it is a wonderful song. In the song, the desert place is something that happens to people. It’s just an unavoidable facet of life. In Mark chapter 1, on the other hand, people consciously go to the desert.

First, you have John the prophet. He was a minimalist who lived on locusts and honey. He advocated having no more than one jacket. This was a man who did not let himself be distracted by any other considerations than God’s glory. He did not preach to people in the villages but chose to make his abode in the Galilean desert.

He did not come to people, but the people came to him. They consciously had to leave their own towns and villages and go to the desert to listen to him. They had to leave their distractions and full lives and come to a place of emptiness. They had to strip themselves of their old lives to make room for the new.

Then they came to John. They listened to him preach, and they were baptised. The Greek word here means to be immersed in water. They were put under the water, and left their old lives, and entered a new life. They did this “confessing their sins”. The Greek word for this means to publicly affirm. As it says in HELPS word studies (http://biblehub.com/greek/1843.htm):

eksomologéō (from 1537 /ek, “wholly out from,” intensifying 3670 /homologéō, “say the same thing about”) – properly, fully agree and to acknowledge that agreement openly (whole-heartedly); hence, to confess (“openly declare”), without reservation (no holding back).

Imagine publicly listing your sins. It sounds like that is what these people did. More than that, they admitted these things were wrong. They changed their mind about their previous lifestyle, which is repentance. This is how they got ready for Jesus. It says that John the Baptist prepared a way for the Lord.

How it applies to our life

This passage  also points out how we can get ready for the Lord to work in our lives. Firstly, it points toward the importance of coming to a place of emptiness. We need to let go our pride, of distractions that keep us from Jesus, and also of our own works. We need to admit that we ourselves are empty and incapable of pleasing God in our own power.

This goes along with the second lesson we can learn from this passage, namely that we have sinned, and it is good and proper to admit that. Of course, this is first of all towards God. Personally I don’t feel like publicly admitting my sins, but it could be a good thing, though we are no longer used to it in our churches! Other bible verses talk about confessing your sins to each other: “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” – James 5:16. There is something healing in admitting your sins to other believers, though only confession to God is necessary for His forgiveness.

Emptiness, repentance, and confession are a way toward freedom. Let’s all go that path so that we can see God at work in our lives more.

Questions to think about:

Have you ever felt like you were in a desert place in your life?

How can you go to a desert place? Are there distractions you need to remove from your life? Could you perhaps go away for a while to a retreat?

What sins have you not yet admitted?

What do you think about public and open confession? Have you ever confessed your sins to others?