Something struck me as I was teaching yesterday. It wasn’t anything new; actually it’s something that I’ve written about here. But it made a special impression for some reason.
Here it is: centuries pass in the Bible and they seem to be no big deal. For example, Mark begins his Gospel this way:
The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”—
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (NIV)
Did you catch the significance of John the Baptist? “And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness . . .”—John is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. But Isaiah lived 700 years before John!
Imagine someone who lived in 1318 preaching about a particular person. And then in 2018 that person finally arrives. Seven hundred years! What about the events that happened in between? Mark doesn’t say a word about them. The story picks right up, rather nonchalantly, seven centuries later: “And so John the Baptist appeared.”
What is the meaning of treating time this way? We are always in a hurry for things to get done, but God will do things in his time. And that may mean some things we want to happen will happen far beyond our lifetimes.
After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. My latest book focuses on Paul’s work as a tentmaker and what it means for today.