There’s a Christmas song that has grown in popularity in recent years called ‘Mary, Did You Know?’ It recites the things that Christians believe Jesus did, and asks whether his mother Mary could have predicted this when Jesus was just a baby in her arms.
Going by Luke’s account of Jesus’ life, it seems that Mary was aware that Jesus was the Son of God. She believed it, was humbled by it, and pondered it in her heart. What isn’t clear is how deeply she recognised the reality of what that meant. It was probably something that grew as she saw more of the person of Jesus.
At the very start of his account, the Gospel writer Mark declares his story to be ‘the good news about Jesus the Messiah’. He tells us straight away that Jesus is the Messiah, but doesn’t elaborate until we read further. The more we read, the more we see and understand who Jesus is.
At first, it seems that Messiah means healer, as Jesus spends much of his time helping the sick. Then it seems to mean teacher, as the people become amazed at the authority with which he teaches. It is certainly quick to become controversial, with religious leaders wanting rid of Jesus by any means necessary.
Whoever Jesus is, he doesn’t want people to know the full picture just yet. He repeatedly instructs people not to tell anyone else about the miracles he does. When Peter, Jesus’ closest friend, refers to him as ‘Messiah’, Jesus still warns him not to tell anybody. And it’s clear that at this point halfway through Mark’s account, Jesus’ disciples don’t fully know what this term ‘Messiah’ means: they have no category for the suffering or persecution he tells them is part of it.
At the climax of the story, Jesus, this man we have grown to know as the protagonist of Mark’s story, is sentenced to death on a cross.
Is he a defeated hero? A martyr for a cause? Is he the saviour he claimed to be? The centurion at the foot of the cross declares loudly – ‘Surely, this man was the Son of God.’
Amid these varied responses, there are a couple of common threads.
First, we see throughout Mark’s account that Jesus does always elicit some sort of response, whatever it may be.
Second – these responses are varied, and change over time. Nobody can tell you what your response should be. Like the figures in Mark’s account, you have to work it out for yourself.
In chapter eight of Mark’s account, Jesus asks, ‘Who do you say I am?’ It’s a question he continues to ask people today.
This Christmas, why not spend some time reading an account of Jesus’ life? Start here with Uncover Mark, and see for yourself what you make of him.