Mar 1:4-9 | TNotes | STEP | 1:4 John ’s mission as the Lord’s messenger was to prepare people for the Messiah’s coming (see Luke 1:76-77 ) by instructing them to confess their sins , turn to God for forgiveness, and be baptized . Those who did this were prepared to receive Jesus’ message (see Luke 7:29-30 ). • That John was in the wilderness , probably the desert area around the Jordan River north of the Dead Sea, shows that he was the “voice” of whom Isaiah had spoken (Mark 1:3 ). • be baptized: The exact origin of John’s baptism is unclear. The Qumran community had an initiatory “baptism” which was repeated regularly, but John’s baptism was once for all. Jewish proselyte baptism has also been seen as a possible source, but it is more likely that such baptisms were not practiced until after John’s ministry.

1:4 ^a John’s mission as the Lord’s messenger was to prepare people for the Messiah’s coming (see Luke 1:76-77 ^b) by instructing them to confess their sins, turn to God for forgiveness, and be baptized. Those who did this were prepared to receive Jesus’ message (see Luke 7:29-30 ^c).

• That John was in the wilderness, probably the desert area around the Jordan River north of the Dead Sea, shows that he was the “voice” of whom Isaiah had spoken (Mark 1:3 ^d).

• be baptized: The exact origin of John’s baptism is unclear. The Qumran community had an initiatory “baptism” which was repeated regularly, but John’s baptism was once for all. Jewish proselyte baptism has also been seen as a possible source, but it is more likely that such baptisms were not practiced until after John’s ministry.
1:5 ^e All of Judea: John the Baptist created a lot of interest. It was generally believed that there had been no prophet for over 400 years, so prophets were associated with Israel’s past and with the future reign of the Messiah. John preached repentance like the ancient prophets, and he dressed like the great prophet Elijah (1:6 ^f), who was predicted to return in the last days (Mal 4:5 ^g).
1:6 ^h camel hair ... leather belt: Cp. Elijah (2 Kgs 1:8 ⁱ).

• For food John ate what was available in the wilderness; locusts were allowed as food (cp. Lev 11:20-24 ^j).
1:7 ^k Someone is coming: John knew that he was preparing for the Messiah’s coming, but he did not yet know that Jesus was he (cp. Luke 7:18-23 ^l).
1:8 ^m John’s baptism prepared people for God’s Kingdom by calling them to repentance. The baptism of Jesus brought the gift of the Holy Spirit, through whom sinful people become God’s children (Rom 8:15-16 ⁿ; 1 Cor 12:13 ^o; Gal 4:6 ^p).
1:9 ^q Jesus’ home at this time was in Nazareth, a small town in lower Galilee (Matt 2:19-23 ^r; Luke 2:39 ^s). Jesus soon left Nazareth for Capernaum, a city on the Sea of Galilee (Matt 4:13 ^t).

• John baptized him: Jesus’ reason for receiving the baptism of repentance is explained in Matt 3:14-15 ^u.