1st SUNDAY OF LENT (B)

"This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

Mk 1:12-15

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert.

SPIRIT
We say that Jesus saved us. That is true. But it is also true that the Holy Spirit and the Father saved us because all of them are involved in the work of salvation. In fact it was the Father who sent Jesus and it was the Holy Spirit who guided Je-sus as we see in this gospel episode.

WILDERNESS OR DESERT
It was considered the home of Satan. By going to the desert, Jesus confronted the power of Satan.

He remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan.

40 DAYS
40 is a biblical number. The great flood came with 40 days and 40 nights of rain. The people of Israel wandered 40 years in the desert. Elijah walked 40 days and 40 nights to Mt. Horeb.
Here 40 days mean as many or as much as needed, that is, Jesus stayed in the desert for was long as needed to accomplish the purposes of God.

TEMPTED
Unlike Matthew and Luke Mark does not tell us how Satan tempted Jesus. Matthew says that the temptation occurred at the end of the 40 days, while Mark says it took place throughout the 40 days.

Temptation usually means luring someone to commit sin. The bible also uses the word “temptation” to mean purifying or proving or testing someone to see if he is fit for the task. Graduates of medical school are tested to see if they are ready to practice medicine. The temptation in the desert proved that Jesus is capable of carrying out the work of Savior.

He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.

WILD BEASTS
The mention of the wild animals may have two purposes. The first is to stress the dreariness of the wilderness. The second is to recall the harmony in creation which Adam disrupted and which Jesus will restore.

ANGELS
The angels who ministered to Jesus recall the angel who protected the people of Israel during the Exodus: “The angel of God, who had been leading Israel's camp, now moved and went around behind them” (Ex 14:19).
They are a sign of divine assistance.

After John had been arrested.

John the Baptist dared to tell Herod that it was not right for him to take as his own wife, Herodias, who was the wife of his brother, Philip. For this, Herod had him arrested.

Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God.

GALILEE
Jesus concentrated his preaching ministry in Galilee. He only went to Jerusa-lem which was in Judea to celebrate the great feasts (Passover).

GOSPEL OF GOD
The gospel is not only good news coming from God. The good news is the power of God for salvation of man (Rom 1:16). It proclaims the action of the Fa-ther in Christ.

This is the time of fulfillment.

There are two words for time in Greek: chronos and kairos.

What time is it? It’s 7:30 in the morning. This is chronos.

Kairos, however, refers to the time fixed by God when he will fulfil his prom-ises. It is the word “kairos” that Jesus is using in his proclamation.

The kingdom of God is at hand.

The kingdom of God is not a territory. That is why the better translation is “reign of God”. In this case, entering the Kingdom of God means accepting the reign of God. This implies recognizing God as Lord over me and therefore, I am willing to obey him.

Repent, and believe in the gospel.

REPENT
To repent is to turn away from sin in order to return to God. Repentance re-quires a change of mind and heart that leads to a change in behaviour.

BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL
It is not only to believe in the message of the Gospel. It is above all to believe in the messenger of the Gospel, Jesus Christ our Lord.