Two thousand years ago, before Jesus began his public ministry in Israel, God sent John "the Baptist" to prepare people for what was about to happen. Because the nation was not ready for Jesus. In Mark's Gospel, that writer also aims to prepare his readers to meet Jesus. How we come to Jesus--who we think he is, what we think of his teaching, and what we think he came to do--these are vital questions if we want to be ready to meet Jesus, to know Jesus, and to live.