There is no better way to kick off the new year than to study the life of our Lord. The Roman emperor who reigned when Christ was born, Caesar Augustus, was hailed as the “son of god,” and the “Great Heavenly Savior.” Of course, this flatly contradicts the Bible. But in today’s age of bespoke spirituality and customized beliefs (metamodernism), it’s somehow possible to hail both the Caesar of today (whoever or whatever that is) and King Jesus at the same time even though it’s incoherent or contradictory. Thankfully though, Mark offers a powerful and refreshing response by uncompromisingly presenting Jesus, not Caesar, as the gospel, as the Savior of the world. Mark proclaims Jesus as the authoritative yet suffering Son of God, to whom we need to respond with repentance and belief.