Mark 1:1-8 comments (revised)

 

Introduction

The writer of this gospel is most likely John Mark. John is a Hebrew name and Mark or Marcus is a Gentile name. (Timothy’s name was also Timotheus). His mother’s name was Mary.

Acts 12:12  And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying…. 25  And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.

He was Barnabas’s nephew.

Colossians 4:10  Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)

He may be the same Mark that Peter refers to;

1Peter 5:13  The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.

Is Mark/Marcus actually Peter’s offspring making Peter Barnabas’s brother in law or was he referring to Mark like Paul referred to Timothy?

1Timothy 1:2  Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord…18  This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

 

2Timothy 1:2  To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

It is thought that Mark, not being an eyewitness to events, wrote at the instruction of Peter, guided by the Holy Spirit, as He, the Holy Spirit, has done with all of the Bible writers, not by word-for-word dictation but by wisdom and understanding.

Job 32:8  But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

2Peter 3:15  And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

Mark, chapter 1

Mark 1:1 ¶  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; 2  As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 3  The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 4  John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5  And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. 6  And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; 7  And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. 8  I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

This is not a gospel that works easily with the church age as you will see. Some have called it a transitional gospel. It is fast-paced and very Jewish oriented.

Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

John is preparing the way for the entry of the Messiah, who is God Himself in human flesh.

John 10:30  I and my Father are one.

John 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

Titus 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Titus 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

2Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:

2Peter 1:11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

2Peter 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

Now, look at Isaiah 43 where Jehovah God is speaking.

Isaiah 43:1 ¶ But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. 2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.4 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. 5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; 6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; 7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him. 8 ¶ Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. 9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth. 10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

If there is one God, Jehovah, and there is no Saviour besides Him and Jesus Christ is the Saviour, then who is He?

John the Baptist is that “messenger”. He is also an Old Testament prophet.

Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

Jesus declares that John is Elijah.

Matthew 11:10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Elias is the New Testament translation of Elijah in the Old. John was prophesied before his birth to come in the spirit and power of Elijah.

Luke 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

In spite of the fact that John didn’t know it.

John 1:21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

In the same way, when we get to the gospel of John the Apostle we’ll see that Judas didn’t know he was a devil. Elijah will show up at the triumphant return of Christ.

Matthew 16:28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. 17:1 ¶ And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.

Then, going on toward the end of the great tribulation.

Revelation 11:3 ¶ And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. 6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. 7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. 11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Isaiah 40:3 ¶ The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

You’ll find this in Matthew 3:3, Luke 3:4, and John 1:23, as well.

John’s ministry is to plow and to make the way clear for Christ. His preaching is very, very hard, much harder than most Americans can handle. The people’s hearts are very hard because they have a long religious tradition and are very self-righteous.

We are to also prepare the way for Christ’s return with our preaching. But the Christian’s preaching is to have a different tack to it although the flesh might hunger for John’s methods. But you aren’t John the Baptist, a unique individual in history. You are a Christian, probably a Gentile, and not a Jewish prophet calling on a nation that belonged to God to turn back to God. You are trying draw lost sinners individually out of a lost world to the light of Christ.

2 Timothy 2:24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Titus 3:2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. 3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

It may not appeal to you. You might find the flesh more liking screaming and shouting anger and paranoia, imagining you are doing the work of a latter-day John the Baptist. But consider what God says in His word, not what your favorite pulpiteer wants you to emulate.

Furthermore, the way the Bible applies Old Testament verses to Christ is our key in understanding Old Testament verses. Examine closely the context and see how individual statements are found inside of a larger context which refer not only to the situation in which the verse is located but also to a later time and a different subject. This is tough, I know, as it creates an air of subjectivity in interpreting the Bible.

However, the key issue in Bible interpretation is not the salary or education of the preacher and scholar or that of the Bible reader but their spiritual condition. You will get truth from the Bible the closer you are and the more submitted you are to Christ and His words. You will get falsehood from the same text and even heresy the less submitted you are to Christ and His words. If you come to the Bible with an agenda; patriotism over loyalty to God’s teachings, a lust for power and control over others, or seek to justify the way you were raised or your own cultural world view then you will get from the Bible what you bring to it.

Proponents of slavery used the Bible to justify slavery. Warmongers use the Bible to justify military adventure. Those possessed by a lust for money use the Bible to justify extreme notions of capitalism. Men who want to beat their wives will use the Bible as an additional weapon.

Come to God’s word expecting God to give you something from it, not wanting an excuse, or to apply your experience to your interpretation. Pray about what you receive. Compare it to other verses. Don’t come to a conclusion based on one verse’s incomplete statement on a subject like marriage and divorce but on all the verses on a subject within the dispensational framework of what is written to you specifically as a Christian. Remember, your religion is how you express your faith. Do not apply your idea of religion to the Bible to justify your practice but apply the Bible to change your idea of what your religion should be. Finally, look for Christ in every chapter, in every verse, and in every word.

4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

John’s baptism is the one that the apostles use in the early church when dealing with Jewish proselytes. It is a baptism for the nation of Israel to turn from their sins. It is not the baptism that Gentile Christians received after believing. This is for the remission of sins to the nation of Israel.

Acts 2: 37 ¶ Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Luke 7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. 29 And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

Acts 18:24 ¶ And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.

This is remission, in context, as in “your cancer is in remission”. The sins aren’t gone but are remitted by the blood of bulls and goats until the final work of the Lord Jesus Christ, at which time they are eliminated by being placed on Him. Then, remission and forgiveness are synonymous.

Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Christ’s sacrifice for our sins is not redone every year. It is once and for all. Read Hebrews, chapters 9 and 10, which I won’t copy here. Try to understand remission’s two applications and under what conditions sins were temporarily remitted and under what conditions they are eliminated completely.

Hebrews 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

John the Baptist was not offering to take away the sacrifices or the visits to the temple or the observance of the law for the Jews. Only the Lord Jesus Christ would do that, and that for all mankind. John was speaking to a corrupt nation to turn from their sins.

 

5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

I was given a vial of water by a former high school classmate who was a sort of tour guide who used to conduct pagan religious ceremonies for tourists at places like the pyramids in Egypt. It is water from the spot on the Jordan River where tradition says Christ was baptized by John the Baptist contained in a vial purchased at an abbey or church at Glastonbury in England that tradition says was founded by, among others, Joseph of Arimathea. This meaningless relic I mention only as a curiosity.

Here is the word “all” is used without distinction. This is not “all” without exception, as in every person in Judea. Some obviously did not.

See how “all” is used here. Here is “all” without exception.

Romans 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

The one exception is Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;

Here John the Baptist is dressed like Elijah, as well as coming in the power and spirit of Elijah.

2 Kings 1:8 And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.

This Elijah plows hearts to prepare the field for the sower of the seed.

7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

This is where we get the phrase, “I’m not worthy to untie [a certain person’s] shoes.”

John the Baptist is truly humble. Most of the time when you hear a Christian get up in church and say, “I’m a wicked sinner”, you know he doesn’t believe that. He believes he’s ‘all that and a bag of chips’ with God.

8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

Here are two distinct baptisms mentioned. One, literally with water, and two, literally with the Holy Ghost. In Matthew 3:11 there are three baptisms in one verse;

11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

You don’t want the third baptism. You don’t want anything to do with the Lake of Fire.

Ephesians 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

There is one true Lord but many lords;

1Corinthians 8:5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)

The true baptism that Mark tells you about Jesus doing puts you into Jesus Christ. It’s not by water but by the Spirit.

1Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

You will be baptized with the Holy Ghost when you receive Christ. Please see my comments on Acts on how that happened at a different point in salvation for some in the early church.