Mark 1¶
Overview:¶
Written by John Mark (Peter's Gospels) Time of Writing: 45-60 A.D. Theme: Christ is the Servant of Man Key Scripture: 10:45 "Immediately" or "straight away" mentioned 40 times. Fast-paced and action driven.
Chapters 1-9: Intro and Ministry in Galilee Chapter 10: Journey to Jerusalem Chapters 11-16: Ministry in Jerusalem leading up to Jesus' Death and Resurrection
Purposes: 1. To show the Romans that Jesus is God 2. His Authoritative Action over nature, sin, and religion confirms this
Message: 1. Christian Authority is to be used for servanthood (opposite of Roman Empire) 2. Christ's ministry was his mission
theosu¶
Big Idea¶
The good news centers on Jesus the Messiah, who shows himself to be the Son of God by inaugurating God’s kingdom age. He is declared as such first by Old Testament prophecy and then by the wilderness voice, his forerunner John the Baptist.
Key Themes of Mark 1:1–8¶
- Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God, which is the core of the kingdom message.
- As messianic forerunner, John introduces the fulfillment of the Isaianic promise by preparing the way for the coming of Jesus.
- As wilderness prophet, John introduces the nation to the need for repentance and confession for forgiveness.
v.1¶
The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
v.2¶
It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way"—
Referring primarily to Isaiah 40:3, what follows also incorporates Exodus 23:20 (on the “messenger of the covenant,” an angel in Exodus) and Malachi 3:1 (on the messianic “preparer”). Isaiah 40 is the turning point in that book, pivoting from the prediction of the exile (39:5–6) to God’s promise to “comfort” his people (40:1). The supreme comfort is to be found in the final return from exile to be accomplished in the coming of Jesus Christ.
Here this applies to John the Baptist, the messianic forerunner. This is the only fulfillment passage in Mark (Matthew has eleven), and this shows that every element of the launching of Jesus’s messianic ministry comes on the basis of God’s predetermined plan. John is the God-sent “messenger” (angelos) from Exodus 23:20, fulfilling the role of the angel in the exodus who went before the nation on the way through the wilderness. This may well depict the coming of Jesus (“your way” refers to Israel in Exod. 23:20 but to Jesus here, perhaps as the true Israel), so a “new exodus”2 is taking place in his arrival. From Malachi 3:1 comes the prophecy that God will send this messenger to “prepare the way before me” as he arrives to bring judgment to a recalcitrant nation. Again this forerunner is John, who comes bearing a message of deliverance through repentance and of judgment. But the primary figure is Jesus, who is the presence of God arriving in justice and judgment, bringing with him a new exodus from sin.
grantosborne #teachthetext¶
v.3¶
"a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"
The themes binding the three Old Testament texts are of a messenger from the wilderness preparing the way for the Messiah. Isaiah 40:3 is the primary text, and it was a core text for both Qumran (1QS 8:13–14) and Christianity (the early church even called itself “the Way” [e.g., Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23], probably on the basis of this). It stated God’s intention to bring the exiles home on a divinely prepared highway from Babylon to Zion, with God removing all obstacles. Here both the return from exile and the exodus are fulfilled in Jesus, and John is the wilderness voice proclaiming the return to God through the arrival of Jesus of those exiled from God through their sin and unbelief. The final promises of God are now inaugurated, and this is a kind of Roman “triumph,” a victory procession as the king comes. The wilderness is the place of testing and messianic crisis (the Essenes went into the desert to signify the necessity of purifying an unclean nation) and also of divine succor and comfort (1 Kings 19:4–18; Rev. 12:6, 14). Both ideas are part of the wilderness motif in Mark. #grantosborne #teachthetext
This is the answer to my question about why the early Church called Christianity "the Way" after all this time! It is a reference to Jesus' fulfillment of these prophecies from Malachi and Isaiah.
jj¶
v.4¶
And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
John’s baptizing was a startling event. At Qumran adherents went through daily lustrations in a ritual pool (1QS 5:12–14), and Jewish people experienced many ceremonial washings (e.g., Num. 19). Neither provides close parallels. Gentile proselytes experienced a one-time baptism as an initiation rite, and that would provide an interesting parallel (John would be saying that the nation had become like Gentiles), but there is no evidence of such a practice before AD 50.3 It may be best to see this as a unique event, as God led John to provide a brand-new metaphor on spiritual purity attained through repentance (a change of heart involving not only sorrow for sin but also a new lifestyle) signified by baptism (as in 2 Kings 5:14, where Naaman immerses himself in the Jordan). Repentance and confession (1:5) for forgiveness (the judicial result) are God’s requirements for anyone to be right with him, and this is closely connected with “believe the gospel” in 1:15 below.
grantosborne #teachthetext¶
v.8¶
I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
v.12-13¶
At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
Sources suggest that many believed that demons were especially attracted to places like pagan temples, bathhouses, graveyards and deserts. Readers would thus sense the suspense as Jesus battled with Satan on Satan’s own turf. Safety among beasts showed God’s protection (Ezek 34:25; Dan 6:22).
craigkeener¶
It is debated whether this continues the idea of the wilderness testing, with the animals as hostile predators, or whether this is part of a “paradise” theme, as the animals are reconciled (Isa. 11:6–9) and the wilderness transformed with Jesus, the new Adam. As part of a new creation theme, the latter view has merit. There are two negative elements (the wilderness, Satan) and two positive elements (the animals, the angels).
grantosborne #teachthetext¶
Mark's account of the temptation is brief, recording no specific temptation and no victory over Satan. This emphasizes that Jesus' entire ministry was one continuous encounter with the devil and not limited to a few temptations in the desert... Only Mark mentions the "wild animals"—a touch that heightens the fierceness of Jesus' entire temptation experience.
walterwessel¶
v.15¶
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
In Mk 1:15 the kingdom is emphasized as having drawn near in the person of Jesus. The only appropriate response is repentance and faith. There is an urgency about the nearness of God's kingdom. Since it ushers in the End, it speaks of judgement
walterwessel¶
There are four elements, the first two providing God’s part and the last two our part. This verse refers to “the fullness of time,” as in Galatians 4:4, the decisive moment of salvation history when all the hopes of the Old Testament would be fulfilled. Luke 3:1 tells us that Jesus began his ministry in the fifteenth year of the emperor Tiberias, and John 2:20 that it was the forty-sixth year after Herod began to rebuild the temple. This would correspond to AD 27–28, when Jesus was thirty-three or thirty-four (he probably was born in 6 BC).
Mark often stresses the encounter with Christ, and the only proper response is to repent (see 1:4 above) and come to a faith decision. As in 1:1, the kingdom message is called the “gospel” or “good news.”
grantosborne #teachthetext¶
v.20¶
Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
v.22¶
The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as teachers of the law.
See more in preaching#Maclaren on Mark 1 22 Mark1 v 22.
v.23-24¶
Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
The place that Jesus encounters his first demon may shock Mark’s readers: it is in a religious setting.
Demons (also occasionally called “unclean spirits,” e.g., *Jubilees 10:1) were often associated with *magic, and magicians tried to subdue other spiritual forces by invoking their names. If the demon here is trying to subdue Jesus in this way (“I know who you are” was used to subdue spiritual powers in magical texts), as some scholars have suggested, this ploy does not work... in Jewish literature, demons recognized their inability to harm those who walked close to God.
craigkeener¶
v.34¶
and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
His plan—to reveal Himself as the Messiah, God, and the Son of God—was not served by the testimony of His enemy. One of Satan's favorite tools is to twist the truth to his own ends. Jesus would not let the demons lay a hand on the truth to twist it.
bibleref¶
v.35¶
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
See more in morning#Barnes on Mark 1 35 Mark1 v 35.
Could it be that the intensity of the previous evening's ministry gave Him an even greater urgency to be with His Father in the morning? One thing seems clear: It wasn't an especially long night. Even when His body craved more sleep, Jesus knows his true source of revitalization would not be on His back but on His face.
bobsorge¶
Jesus, after a busy evening of healing and exorcisms got up early the next morning and sought a quiet place to pray (cf. 6:46; 14:32-41). He was facing a crisis—the shallow and superficial response of the people who were only interested in what he could do to heal their physical afflictions. So he sought the strength that only communion and fellowship with the Father could provide. The disciples did not understand Jesus or his need for communion with the Father, so they went to look for him. Apparently the thought Jesus would be pleased to know that everyone was looking for him (v.37). They did not understand that this popular and shallow reception of him was the very reason he withdrew to pray.
walterwessel¶
v.38¶
Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."
v.40-41¶
A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” 41Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”
Having no doubt that Jesus could heal him, he wondered only whether Jesus was willing. It is sometimes easier to believe in God's power than in his mercy.