Mark 1:9-11

The Baptism of Jesus

9 ¹In those days Jesus ²came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

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

11 and a voice came out of the heavens: "³You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."

Mark 1:9-11 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. Mark 1:9-11: {Matthew 3:13-17; Luke 3:21, 22}
• 2. Matthew 2:23; Luke 2:51
• 3. Psalms 2:7; Isaiah 42:1; Matthew 3:17; Matthew 12:18; Mark 9:7; Luke 3:22

Footnotes

• [a] Or "being parted"