Mark 1:1-13

1 The beginning of the Good News of Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of God:

2 It is written in the prophet Yesha`yahu, "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare the way before you."

3 "The voice of someone crying out: `In the desert prepare the way for ADONAI! Make straight paths for him!'"

4 So it was that Yochanan the Immerser appeared in the desert, proclaiming an immersion involving turning to God from sin in order to be forgiven.

5 People went out to him from all over Y'hudah, as did all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim. Confessing their sins, they were immersed by him in the Yarden River.

6 Yochanan wore clothes of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; he ate locusts and wild honey.

7 He proclaimed: "After me is coming someone who is more powerful than I -- I'm not worthy even to bend down and untie his sandals.

8 I have immersed you in water, but he will immerse you in the Ruach HaKodesh."

9 Shortly thereafter, Yeshua came from Natzeret in the Galil and was immersed in theYarden byYochanan.

10 Immediately upon coming up out of the water, he saw heaven torn open and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove;

11 then a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, whom I love; I am well pleased with you."

12 Immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness,

13 and he was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by the Adversary. He was with the wild animals, and the angels took care of him.

Mark 1:1-13 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.