Mar 1:1-13 | KingComments | STEP | If we give a personal description of someone, we can do it from different angles. For example, we can highlight someone as the father of a family. It is also possible to describe the same person as a colleague or neighbor. In this way we see how four evangelists – under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit – report on the life of the Lord Jesus during His stay on earth. Thus, in the four biographies we have in the Bible, Matthew talks in his Gospel about the Lord Jesus as King, Mark presents Him as a Servant, Luke describes Him as the true Man and John finally writes about Him as the eternal Son of God. The purpose of this Gospel is that we look at the Lord Jesus as a Servant. That is why the call: “Behold, My servant” ( ) has been chosen as the subtitle for this book. Whoever reads this Gospel with the desire to see Him as a Servant will come to know Him as the One Who has taken on the form of a slave ( ), to be a Servant for all eternity ( ). Ger de Koning Middelburg, September 2009, new version 2018, translated 2020 Purpose of the Gospel according to Mark Of the four evangelists, Mark gives the clearest account of the historical order of the Savior’s service. He presents Him as the true Servant ( ), in which He stands opposite Israel that has become an unfaithful servant. We see Him in this Gospel in the humble form of a slave ( ; cf. ; ; ). Mark writes to Christians of the Gentiles, that they may learn how to serve in imitation of the true Servant. In comparison with the other Gospels there are not many words of the Lord in this Gospel, but we read more about His work and service. This is expressed concisely in the key verse of this Gospel, which can also serve as a heading for it: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” ( ). This verse is also the connection between the two parts of this Gospel. The part before it is about His service, while the part after it is about Him as the sacrifice, as the sin offering. The writer Mark The fact that especially John Mark was allowed to write this Gospel is a special proof of the grace of God. As a companion of Paul and Barnabas, he abandoned them on their first missionary journey because of the Lord’s work ( ). He even becomes the cause of bitterness and separation between these two servants of the Lord ( ). But God is the God of the second chance. Mark has been restored from this failure ( ; ; ), so that he who himself has been an unfaithful servant can and may now write about the faithful Servant. From the beginning of this Gospel precautions are taken to ensure that we do not forget that the perfect Servant is also the Son of God. Therefore, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Mark first of all presents Him in His glory. He is “Jesus Christ, the Son of God”. He emphasizes this in with some Old Testament quotations. His dignity as the Son of God shows that He voluntarily became a Slave, without being forced to do so by anyone. Also a genealogy is missing here because that is not important for a servant. Nor is anything communicated about His birth and youth. Only one thing is important to a servant, and that is his service. The “beginning” Mark speaks of here does not refer to creation ( ) and even less to His eternal existence ( ). Nor does it refer to His coming to earth ( ). It refers to the beginning of His service on earth (cf. ; ). It is the beginning of the “gospel”, which means “good news”. Jesus Christ comes with a good message from God. In the quote, which comes from Malachi 3 ( ), it becomes clear that He of Whom the way is to be prepared is seen in His Godhead, which is as ‘ Yahweh ’. Here, in Mark, it says “ahead of You” (“You” is the Lord Jesus) and in Malachi it says that God says, “before Me”, that is before Yahweh . The “messenger” is John the baptist. He prepares the way in people’s hearts so that Yahweh can come into their hearts. This humble Man is none other than Yahweh , God Himself. This is also clear from the second quote. In it Isaiah speaks of preparing “the way of the LORD”, and that too is none other than Yahweh Himself ( ). The place of John’s action is “the wilderness”. This place indicates the spiritually dead state of Israel before God. John is nothing more than a “voice”. It is not about who he is, but about his message. Preparing the way must be done in the heart of man through repentance and conversion. In Greek, “straight” is the same word as “immediately”, a word so often used in this Gospel. If we do not go straight paths, paths without turns or detours, we cannot act ‘immediately’. What John does is also a task for us. We, too, should preach that people should prepare the Lord’s way and straighten His paths without delay.

‏ Mark 1:1-13

Introduction

If we give a personal description of someone, we can do it from different angles. For example, we can highlight someone as the father of a family. It is also possible to describe the same person as a colleague or neighbor. In this way we see how four evangelists – under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit – report on the life of the Lord Jesus during His stay on earth. Thus, in the four biographies we have in the Bible, Matthew talks in his Gospel about the Lord Jesus as King, Mark presents Him as a Servant, Luke describes Him as the true Man and John finally writes about Him as the eternal Son of God.

The purpose of this Gospel is that we look at the Lord Jesus as a Servant. That is why the call: “Behold, My servant” (Isa 42:1) has been chosen as the subtitle for this book. Whoever reads this Gospel with the desire to see Him as a Servant will come to know Him as the One Who has taken on the form of a slave (Phil 2:7), to be a Servant for all eternity (Lk 12:37).

Ger de Koning

Middelburg, September 2009, new version 2018, translated 2020

Purpose of the Gospel according to Mark

Of the four evangelists, Mark gives the clearest account of the historical order of the Savior’s service. He presents Him as the true Servant (Isa 53:11), in which He stands opposite Israel that has become an unfaithful servant. We see Him in this Gospel in the humble form of a slave (Phil 2:6-8; cf. Exo 21:6; Lk 12:37; Heb 5:8). Mark writes to Christians of the Gentiles, that they may learn how to serve in imitation of the true Servant.

In comparison with the other Gospels there are not many words of the Lord in this Gospel, but we read more about His work and service. This is expressed concisely in the key verse of this Gospel, which can also serve as a heading for it: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45). This verse is also the connection between the two parts of this Gospel. The part before it is about His service, while the part after it is about Him as the sacrifice, as the sin offering.

The writer Mark

The fact that especially John Mark was allowed to write this Gospel is a special proof of the grace of God. As a companion of Paul and Barnabas, he abandoned them on their first missionary journey because of the Lord’s work (Acts 12:12 ; 25 ; Acts 13:13). He even becomes the cause of bitterness and separation between these two servants of the Lord (Acts 15:37 ; 39). But God is the God of the second chance. Mark has been restored from this failure (Col 4:10; 2Tim 4:11; 1Pet 5:13), so that he who himself has been an unfaithful servant can and may now write about the faithful Servant.

Beginning of the Gospel

From the beginning of this Gospel precautions are taken to ensure that we do not forget that the perfect Servant is also the Son of God. Therefore, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Mark first of all presents Him in His glory. He is “Jesus Christ, the Son of God”. He emphasizes this in Mk 1:2-3 with some Old Testament quotations.

His dignity as the Son of God shows that He voluntarily became a Slave, without being forced to do so by anyone. Also a genealogy is missing here because that is not important for a servant. Nor is anything communicated about His birth and youth. Only one thing is important to a servant, and that is his service.

The “beginning” Mark speaks of here does not refer to creation (Gen 1:1) and even less to His eternal existence (Jn 1:1). Nor does it refer to His coming to earth (1Jn 1:1). It refers to the beginning of His service on earth (cf. 2Thes 2:13; Phil 4:15). It is the beginning of the “gospel”, which means “good news”. Jesus Christ comes with a good message from God.

In the quote, which comes from Malachi 3 (Mal 3:1), it becomes clear that He of Whom the way is to be prepared is seen in His Godhead, which is as ‘Yahweh’. Here, in Mark, it says “ahead of You” (“You” is the Lord Jesus) and in Malachi it says that God says, “before Me”, that is before Yahweh. The “messenger” is John the baptist. He prepares the way in people’s hearts so that Yahweh can come into their hearts. This humble Man is none other than Yahweh, God Himself. This is also clear from the second quote. In it Isaiah speaks of preparing “the way of the LORD”, and that too is none other than Yahweh Himself (Isa 40:3).

The place of John’s action is “the wilderness”. This place indicates the spiritually dead state of Israel before God. John is nothing more than a “voice”. It is not about who he is, but about his message. Preparing the way must be done in the heart of man through repentance and conversion.

In Greek, “straight” is the same word as “immediately”, a word so often used in this Gospel. If we do not go straight paths, paths without turns or detours, we cannot act ‘immediately’. What John does is also a task for us. We, too, should preach that people should prepare the Lord’s way and straighten His paths without delay.

Preaching of John the Baptist

In this section we see the wayfarer and the way he prepares the way. For this John has gone out of the company that he must condemn. The place where he is staying is not Jerusalem, but the wilderness because it corresponds to the condition of the heart of man. The people must leave the city and come to him.

John is here ‘outside the camp’, which is the religious system established by God, but where He has no longer a place. He baptizes unto a living Messiah because only by this the Jews can partake of the promised blessings that are connected with the coming of the Messiah. For this conversion is needed first, with baptism after this.

All those who have the right mind to receive the Messiah come to him from their surroundings and confess their sins. In order to belong to the Messiah it is necessary to go outside the camp, to go out to Him (Heb 13:13). Both the place where John is – the wilderness (Mk 1:4) – and his clothing and food, show that he has separated himself from the mass of the people (cf. 2Kgs 1:8). Locusts are clean animals (Lev 11:22) and honey is the food of the land (Num 13:27).

He does not speak to the crowd here, but gives testimony concerning Christ. The Person of Whom he is the messenger is far above him. In spite of the enormous influx we see in John a deep humility and awareness of unworthiness. This is always so when we walk in the light of the Divine presence.

He also recognizes that the baptism performed by the Person of Whom he is the messenger is far above his baptism. He announces the Lord Jesus as the One Who will baptize with the Holy Spirit, which we see happening on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 (Acts 2:1-4 ; 33). One Who can pour forth the Holy Spirit in this way can be none other than God Himself. There is no mention here of baptism with fire, as there is in Matthew 3 and Luke 3 (Mt 3:11; Lk 3:16), because everything here is directly related to the Gospel work of the Lord in grace.

Baptism of the Lord Jesus

The Lord comes from Nazareth in Galilee. Nazareth is a despised city (Jn 1:46). The land of Galilee is despised because of its intermingling with the Gentiles (Mt 4:13-15), where the people speak a dialect (Mt 26:73). This backward area is the area where He grew up. In that respect, too, He has no prestige. The way of God leads Him from Nazareth in Galilee to the Jordan, for there He is to be baptized by John. From there He will begin His ministry.

In baptism Christ takes the place of His people before God. He has nothing to do with sin. But by letting Himself be baptized He shows His desire to join those of His people who, under the influence of the Word, are taking the first step in the right direction.

Coming up out of the water, He immediately sees the heavens opening, or being parted, and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. The word “immediately” appears about forty times in this Gospel. This word does not indicate haste, but indicates an action without hesitation, a decisive action.

God shows Him that He is parting the heavens. The parting of the heavens occurs only in this Gospel, which presents the Son as the perfect Servant. It shows the full joy of God over Him Who, in His baptism, unites Himself with His repentant people. The Lord Jesus sees the heavens opening, it is meant for Him. Receiving the Spirit is also personal for Him because He is worthy of it personally. The dove is the symbol of cleanness and peace. We receive the Spirit because He made us worthy because of His blood.

Then a voice comes out of the heavens that is also meant for Christ personally. The words are addressed to Him on earth. Earlier there was the voice, of John, in the wilderness to the people. Now the Father gives testimony concerning the Son, while the Spirit descends upon the Son. God shows His delight in His servant (Isa 42:1). This is the first time the Trinity is fully revealed.

Through this testimony of the Father from heaven concerning His Son, no one can misunderstand His baptism, as if He would be one of the many sinners who are baptized. This testimony precedes and supports His service. It is meant for bystanders, but addressed to the Lord Jesus personally. It is a personal encouragement before the beginning of His ministry.

Tempted in the Wilderness

After the Lord Jesus is irradiated by heavenly light, He now, impelled by the Spirit, enters into the presence of the prince of darkness. The first act of the Spirit is to lead Him to a field where He will be tested before He begins His public service. This also happens “immediately”, without delay.

He is also “impelled”, which indicates eagerness, determination to serve. This word indicates the great power of the Spirit that is available to Him as Man to defy the horror of the wilderness where satan tempts Him. It is His natural place to be with God, but love and obedience bring Him everywhere sin has brought us, to our deliverance.

When the first man appeared, he too was almost immediately tempted by the devil, and the first man failed. Now that the second Man appears, He must be tempted by the devil too. Mark speaks of “satan“, for it is about the opposition that Christ will encounter in His service from this enemy who spares no one and nothing. In totally different circumstances than Adam was, He remains standing. The first man was in paradise, the second Man is in a wilderness, in which the world has been changed by the sin of the first man and where satan is host.

He is “with the wild beasts”, animals that have become wild by the sin of man. They acknowledge in Him their Creator. He closed the mouth of lions when Daniel was with these beasts in the den (Dan 6:22). He is with them in majesty, while also being the humble Servant. We also see this fact in the angels who come after the temptations to serve Him. In Eden angels turned against the disobedient man (Gen 3:24), here they serve the obedient Man.

We hear no details about the temptations here, only the fact that He is tempted, the circumstances in which that happens, the result, and that the temptations last for forty days. The number forty represents a full time of trial. Satan uses all his wiles to lead the Lord away from the path of obedience.

We have the introduction to the Lord’s action in the preceding section (Mk 1:1-13). It is a brief introduction, but full of the dignity of His Person. We find four testimonies:

1. The testimony of the Word of God in two quotations which show that He is Yahweh (Mk 1:2-3);

2. the testimony of John: He is more than John (Mk 1:7-8);

3. the testimony of His personal glory as the beloved Son, testified in

(a) the descending of the Spirit upon Him and

b) what the Father says of Him (Mk 1:10-11);

4. the testimony of angels in their serving Him (Mk 1:13).