Where Do We Begin? Of course, what’s driven into us as preachers and seminarians is the difference in the beginnings of all the Gospels. But that’s not always articulated to our congregations. It’s important to note to our listeners, that this is in fact the beginning of Mark’s Gospel. There’s no manger or wise men. No stars, no angels. Just the beginning of the good news. But there’s a nuance to this. When people describe the differences, Mark is often the least talked about of the four gospels. We say, “Mark just jumps right in” and then describe the beginnings of all three others. And in comparison, to the other three, sure, that seems to be the case. But on its own, we should notice that Mark actually begins with a prologue and not right in the story. Mark 1:1-15 is all a prologue. And it’s critically important because it sets us up as a reader to see that Mark’s gospel is an apocalyptic drama.[1] And this is a two-fold apocalyptic view: 1) The immanent end-times that are coming with the Kingdom of God 2) And the revelation of Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God.