Mar 1:4 | KingComments | STEP | 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 ( ). Both the place where John is – the wilderness ( ) – and his clothing and food, show that he has separated himself from the mass of the people (cf. ). Locusts are clean animals ( ) and honey is the food of the land ( ). 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 ( ). 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 ( ; ), because everything here is directly related to the Gospel work of the Lord in grace.

‏ Mark 1:4

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.