Going into rereading the gospel according to Mark as translated by David Bentley Hart, I for some reason had it in my head that I’d be encountering the most boring of our four canonical renditions of Jesus. Yet four chapters in, I like this Guy. Picking up where John the Baptizer left off, He’s self-assured—or God-assured, as it were—and He has pepper on His tongue. He has a smile on His face every time He speaks because He knows He’s speaking zingy, head-turning, liberating truth. He’s loving every minute of these early days of His ministry.