Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

1:1 Rather than emphasizing the events leading up to Jesus' public ministry in terms of his genealogy and family roots (as do Matthew and Luke) or in terms of its theological foundation (as does John), Mark focuses on its actual beginning. The gospel is the good news of the fulfillment of God's promises. In the OT (Isa. 40:9; 52:7; Nah. 1:15) "good news" is connected with the saving intervention of God to help his people. of Jesus Christ. The gospel is proclaimed by Jesus, the Messiah, but in a secondary sense the good news is the report about Jesus. Mark communicates both at the beginning and end of his Gospel (Mark 1:1; 15:39) that Jesus is the Son of God.

1:2-3 Mark identifies John the Baptist as the predicted one who prepares the way of the Lord (cf. Isa. 40:3; Mal. 3:1). Isaiah the prophet is named because he was more prominent and more of the quoted material comes from him. When the text is expounded in the following verses, Mark refers only to the Isaiah citation. John will be identified by Jesus as the one who comes in the spirit of Elijah (Mal. 4:5; Matt. 11:13-14; Mark 9:11-13; cf. also note on Luke 3:2). The path or "way" is to be readied for "the Lord," and surprisingly the one who comes after John is both the Lord and the Messiah (Mark 8:29). The following Gospel account demonstrates that Jesus, the Messiah, is also a member of the Godhead.

1:4 John prepares the way by calling people to repentance (see notes on Matt. 3:2; 3:5-6): turning away from sin and turning to God for forgiveness of sins. Repentance had to precede baptism, and thus baptism was not the means by which sins were forgiven but rather was a sign indicating that one had truly repented. John labors in the wilderness as a place of purification and fulfillment of prophecy (Isa. 40:3).

1:5 all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem. John's ministry represents a fulfillment of the promise of a new exodus (cf. Isa. 11:11-15; 40:3-11; 42:16; 43:2, 5-7, 16-19; 48:20-49:11; 51:10) in which Israel is delivered from the wilderness, and, so to speak, enters into the river Jordan again (as in Josh. 3:1-4:24) to receive God's promises of end-time salvation. confessing their sins. God was working in people's hearts, calling them to turn back to himself, in preparation for the coming Messiah.

1:6 John's clothing and food correspond to that of other preachers in the desert (cf. 1 Kings 17:4, 9; Mal. 3:1; 4:5-6). On locusts, see note on Matt. 3:4.

1:7-8 John's expectation of the mightier one is connected with Isa. 40:3. The coming one (Isa. 40:3; Mal. 3:1) is both human (sandals) and divine ("the Lord," Isa. 40:3) and will baptize . . . with the Holy Spirit (see note on Matt. 3:11). Untying the straps of sandals can be the responsibility of a low servant, but it was something that a Jewish person was not supposed to do. The baptism with the Spirit represents the fulfillment of God's promises in the OT (see Isa. 32:15; 44:3; Ezek. 11:18-19; Joel 2:28).

1:9 was baptized. Jesus identifies with the sins of his people, even though he himself is free from sin (10:45). On Nazareth, see Luke 1:26. Galilee is the region west of the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee and north of Samaria. In the NT era Galilee was successively ruled by Herod the Great (see note on Matt. 2:1), his son Herod Antipas (Matt. 14:1; Mark 6:14), and then by Herod Antipas's nephew Herod Agrippa I. Jordan. See note on Matt. 3:13.

1:10-11 Immediately is a favorite word of Mark's (he uses Gk. euthys, "immediately, at once," 41 times). It imparts a sense of speed and urgency and often introduces a new incident or a surprising turn of events within an incident. The Spirit of God descends upon Jesus in his baptism (see notes on Matt. 3:16; Luke 3:22). Jesus is thus commissioned for a unique service (cf. Isa. 11:2; 42:1; 61:1). Mark's allusions to the OT here involve a claim to be the Son of God (Ps. 2:7) and the servant of God (Isa. 42:1). The heavenly voice confirms the eternal, love-filled Sonship of Jesus (see note on Matt. 3:17). Note that all three persons of the Godhead--the Spirit, the Father, and the Son--are involved here.

1:12-13 At the commencement of Jesus' public ministry, God the Spirit paradoxically drives him into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan (see note on Matt. 4:1). Jesus' battle against the powers of darkness has begun. "Being tempted" indicates that the temptations happened over the 40-day period and were not confined to the three temptations mentioned by Matthew (Matt. 4:1-11) and Luke (Luke 4:1-13). Surrounded by evil and in danger from wild animals, Jesus is nevertheless not abandoned, for he has the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the angels were ministering to him (see note on Matt. 4:11).

1:14-15 These verses summarize Jesus' preaching ministry. The gospel (see note on v. 1) is the "good news" that the kingdom of God is at hand, meaning that God's rule over people's hearts and lives is now being established, and people should repent and believe in the gospel (on repentance and faith, see notes on Matt. 3:2; Acts 2:38). The kingdom is more than simply the rule of the Spirit within people, since the kingdom will ultimately include the restoration of all creation (see Rev. 21:1). However, Jesus has not yet revealed the fact that the kingdom will come in stages. How Jesus relates to this kingdom will be seen in the following chapters. Initially, he is the one who proclaims the coming saving rule of God.