Show Don't Tell: Mark 1:1-8

Instead of saying "John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus," smell the wilderness. Mark wastes no time: "The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God." No birth narrative, no genealogy—straight to action. John appears in the wilderness, dressed in camel's hair with a leather belt, eating locusts and wild honey. Feel the rough cloth against skin, taste the crunch and sweetness of his strange diet. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem stream out to him. They confess their sins; he plunges them under the Jordan's muddy waters. But John points beyond himself: "After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." Something bigger is coming. The messenger prepares the stage, then steps aside.