Mark 1:1-9

1 This is the beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

2 The prophet Isaiah wrote, "I am sending my messenger ahead of you to prepare the way for you."

3 "A voice cries out in the desert: 'Prepare the way for the Lord! Make his paths straight!'"

4 John the Baptizer was in the desert telling people about a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

5 All Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went to him. As they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.

6 John was dressed in clothes made from camel's hair. He wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.

7 He announced, "The one who comes after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to bend down and untie his sandal straps.

8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River.

Mark 1:1-9 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.