1. Son of God Here begins the Gospel of Jesus Christ THE SON OF GOD (1.2). This is the most popular title given to Jesus today and it has the full weight of 2000 years’ thought behind it. Perhaps the title is too easily used today. In Mark’s Gospel it is, like ‘Christ’, a rare title. As with the title ‘Christ’ the origin goes back to the Old Testament, where the nation Israel, which thought of God as a father, is often referred to as the ‘son of God. By the time of Jesus the ‘Son of God’ was regarded as being a Messianic title referring to the one who was to come to do all that the Messiah would do. It is the title that expresses the closest possible relationship between Jesus and God. There are five major texts in the Gospel which deal with this title ‘Son of God’. 1 Here begins the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God (1:1). Mark starts his Gospel in a way which reminds us of the book of Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament. In Genesis it is the beginning of creation. In Mark it is the beginning of the ‘Good News’ (this is what the word Gospel means) which begins with the coming of God’s Son. This is Mark’s own statement of faith. The Son of God is a divine person. He is from God. So Mark opens his Gospel with this statement of divine sonship. He begins his Gospel with the title ‘Son of God’ and repeats the title at the moment of death: ‘Truly this man was a son of God’ (15:39). 2 Truly this man was a son of God (15.39). This is the climax of the Gospel. At the moment of death on the cross the Roman centurion, who had watched the event of the crucifixion, makes this same confession with which the Gospel began. Jesus is the Son of God. In between these beginning and concluding statements of faith in Jesus, the title is used three times.

2. 3 Thou art my Son, my Beloved; on thee my favour rests (1:11). At the moment of Jesus’ baptism, Mark describes how the voice of God speaks words which show the close relationship between God and Jesus. He is the ‘Beloved Son’. Jesus, as the anointed one (Messiah), is chosen and appointed by his Father for all His work. 4 This is my Son, my Beloved; listen to him (9:7). When Jesus, accompanied by Peter, James and John was up the mountain (he voice of God spoke again of the close relationship between himself and Jesus. This is the crowning glory of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel. He is God’s ‘Beloved Son’ and as such his disciples are commanded to listen to him. 5 He had now only one left to send, his own dear (beloved) son. In the end he sent him (12:6). In the parable of the Wicked Husbandmen or The Tenants in the Vineyard, which deals with the theme of the history of man’s salvation, the beloved son is sent by the owner of the vineyard (God), after all attempts to communicate with the tenants (Jewish leaders) through the servants (prophets) had failed. This was to fail too for the tenants ‘seized him and killed him and flung his body out of the vineyard’. It is very important to note that the word ‘beloved’ is used on all three occasions. This indicates the closest possible relationship between Jesus and his Father. In summary, the meaning of the title ‘Son of God’ in Mark’s Gospel is that Jesus is a special person; a person in the tradition of the Old Testament, a person chosen and given a mission by God. Mark makes this person especially important by showing the personal relationship in which Jesus stands as the ‘Beloved’ — a Son, special beyond words.