As we read the gospel, we encounter Jesus in the desert among wild beast.
Instantly, we should all go back to advent when we read this in the gospel. In advent, as we began our journey of expectation f the birth of Christ, we read the prophecy from Isaiah:
"The wolf shall be guest of the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them; the cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox, the baby shall play by the cobra's den, and the child shall lay his hand on the adders lair; their shall be no harm or ruin on all of my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of Lord, as water covers the sea." (Isaiah 11:6-9)
Mark is telling us that the Messianic hope is being fulfilled in Christ, the beloved child of God, who sits with beast in the desert and leads them.
Jesus is the fulfillment of the messianic kingdom. Advent gives way to lent and the hope we thought we received in the manger is being realized in the desert in the person of Jesus Christ.
This is why the first words of Jesus in his ministry are, "This the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel."
The kingdom of God is not some distant place. The kingdom God is not some territory with particular boundaries and borders. Th kingdom of God is not even a noun. It is a verb. It is a way of living. It is the way of life.
Mark is telling us to watch Christ move in the gospel and we will discover how the kingdom is meant to be a living breathing reality in all of us. We discover that the greatest territory which the kingdom comes to claim is the human heart. It is from the heart that the Kingdom truly reigns.
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