February 18, Lent 1B (Mark 1:9–15)

Sometimes I wish I could engage in a writing workshop with Mark so I could critique his biblical accounts. Your readers need more detail, I would tell him. We need scenes. I’d especially like to offer him feedback on his report of Christ’s temptation in the desert, which in Mark’s short gospel comes in the early verses of the first chapter, whereas Matthew and Luke each wait to share this story until chapter 4. Mark describes the entire incident in one verse, while the other two synoptic gospels take 11 to 13.

Slow down, I could tell Mark. I understand that he was in a hurry because of the siege of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple, but for me as a writer, the magic happens in the revision, and Mark seems to have skipped that part in his haste to get his account into the world.

On the other hand, in his brevity Mark packs a punch with powerful verbs. During Jesus’ baptism, Mark writes that the heavens are torn open. He deliberately evokes Isaiah 64:1, “Oh that you would tear open the heavens and come down.” The verb tear suggests a violent in-breaking, not a peaceful scene with a bird. With just one word, Mark accomplishes much with his listeners, showing that Christ fulfills the hopes of the Old Testament.