Mark 1:2-11
Summary for Mark 1:2-8: 1:2-8 a This account is not primarily about John the Baptist, the messenger, but about the one he announces as “Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God” (1:1 b).Summary for Mark 1:2-3: 1:2-3 c Mark includes Old Testament prophecies to support his account of the Good News about Jesus Christ. John the Baptist’s role as the prophetic messenger reveals that Jesus is the promised Lord—Christ, the Son of God.
• Isaiah: Mark follows the Jewish practice of mentioning only the most prominent of the sources that make up the quotation (Mal 3:1 d; Isa 40:3 e).
1:3 f John the Baptist was the voice shouting in the wilderness for people to prepare the way for the Lord’s coming. In Isaiah, this prophecy refers to the coming of the Lord, the God of Israel. Here it refers to the Lord Jesus (see 12:35-37 g). The early church called itself “the Way,” probably in reference to this promise (see Acts 9:2 h; 19:9 i, 23 j; 22:4 k; 24:14 l, 22 m; cp. Acts 2:28 n; 18:25-26 o; Rom 2:20 p; 2 Pet 2:2 q, 21 r).
1:4 s John’s mission as the Lord’s messenger was to prepare people for the Messiah’s coming (see Luke 1:76-77 t) 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 u).
• 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 v).
• 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 w 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 x), who was predicted to return in the last days (Mal 4:5 y).
1:6 z camel hair ... leather belt: Cp. Elijah (2 Kgs 1:8 aa).
• For food John ate what was available in the wilderness; locusts were allowed as food (cp. Lev 11:20-24 ab).
1:7 ac 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 ad).
1:8 ae 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 af; 1 Cor 12:13 ag; Gal 4:6 ah).
1:9 ai Jesus’ home at this time was in Nazareth, a small town in lower Galilee (Matt 2:19-23 aj; Luke 2:39 ak). Jesus soon left Nazareth for Capernaum, a city on the Sea of Galilee (Matt 4:13 al).
• John baptized him: Jesus’ reason for receiving the baptism of repentance is explained in Matt 3:14-15 am.
1:10 an The expression the heavens splitting apart indicates Jesus’ unique access to God the Father; in 15:38 ao, the same verb includes believers in that access through Jesus’ death.
• All four Gospels refer to the Spirit descending on him like a dove. The Spirit, who was involved in the first creation, acted with Jesus in bringing the new creation (Gen 1:2 ap; Rom 8:15-17 aq; 1 Cor 6:11 ar; Eph 1:13-14 as; 2 Thes 2:13 at).
1:11 au You are my dearly loved Son: By age twelve, Jesus was aware of his unique relationship with God the Father (Luke 2:49 av).
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