Mark 1:1-18

Preaching of John the Baptist

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, ¹the Son of God.

2 ²As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "³BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER ^[a]AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY;

3 ⁴THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.' "

4 John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness ^[b]5preaching a baptism of repentance for the ⁶forgiveness of sins.

5 And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

6 John was clothed with camel's hair and wore ⁷a leather belt around his waist, and ^[c]his diet was locusts and wild honey.

7 And he was ^[d]preaching, and saying, "After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals.

8 "I baptized you ^[e]with water; but He will baptize you ^[f]with the Holy Spirit."

The Baptism of Jesus

9 ⁸In those days Jesus ⁹came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

10 Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens ^[g]opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;

11 and a voice came out of the heavens: "¹⁰You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."

12 ¹¹Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.

13 And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by ¹²Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

14 ¹³Now after John had been ^[h]taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, ^[i]14preaching the gospel of God,

15 and saying, "¹⁵The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God ^[j]is at hand; ¹⁶repent and ^[k]believe in the gospel."

16 ¹⁷As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.

17 And Jesus said to them, "Follow * Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."

18 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

Mark 1:1-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO MARK

This is the title of the book, the subject of which is the Gospel; a joyful account of the ministry, miracles, actions, and sufferings of Christ: the writer of it was not one of the twelve apostles, but an evangelist; the same with John Mark, or John, whose surname was Mark: John was his Hebrew name, and Mark his Gentile name, Ac 12:12,25, and was Barnabas's sister's son, Col 4:10, his mother's name was Mary, Ac 12:12. The Apostle Peter calls him his son, 1Pe 5:13, if he is the same; and he is thought to have wrote his Gospel from him {a}, and by his order, and which was afterwards examined and approved by him {b} it is said to have been wrote originally in Latin, or in the Roman tongue: so say the Arabic and Persic versions at the beginning of it, and the Syriac version says the same at the end: but of this there is no evidence, any more, nor so much, as of Matthew's writing his Gospel in Hebrew. The old Latin copy of this, is a version from the Greek; it is most likely that it was originally written in Greek, as the rest of the New Testament.

{a} Papias apud Euseb. Hist. l. 3. c. 39. Tertull. adv. Marcion. l. 4. c. 5. {b} Hieron. Catalog. Script. Eccles. p. 91. sect. 18.

Cross References

• 1. Matthew 4:3
• 2. Mark 1:2-8: {Matthew 3:1-11; Luke 3:2-16}
• 3. Malachi 3:1; Matthew 11:10; Luke 7:27
• 4. Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 3:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23
• 5. Acts 13:24
• 6. Luke 1:77
• 7. 2 Kings 1:8
• 8. Mark 1:9-11: {Matthew 3:13-17; Luke 3:21, 22}
• 9. Matthew 2:23; Luke 2:51
• 10. Psalms 2:7; Isaiah 42:1; Matthew 3:17; Matthew 12:18; Mark 9:7; Luke 3:22
• 11. Mark 1:12, 13: {Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13}
• 12. Matthew 4:10
• 13. Matthew 4:12
• 14. Matthew 4:23
• 15. Galatians 4:4; Ephesians 1:10; 1 Timothy 2:6; Titus 1:3
• 16. Matthew 3:2; Acts 20:21
• 17. Mark 1:16-20: {Matthew 4:18-22;} Luke 5:2-11; John 1:40-42

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "before your face"
• [b]. Or "proclaiming"
• [c]. Lit "he was eating"
• [d]. Or "proclaiming"
• [e]. The Gr here can be translated "in, with" or "by"
• [f]. The Gr here can be translated "in, with" or "by"
• [g]. Or "being parted"
• [h]. Lit "delivered up"
• [i]. Or "proclaiming"
• [j]. Lit "has come near"
• [k]. Or "put your trust in"