Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 1:2
As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
2. in the prophets ] The citation is from two prophets, (1) Mal 3:1, (2) Isa 40:3. Some would read here in Isaiah the Prophet according to certain MSS. Observe that St Mark in his own narrative quotes the Old Testament only twice, here and Mar 15:28. See Introduction, p. 12.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
As it is written in the prophets – Mark mentions prophets here without specifying which. The places are found in Mal 3:1, and in Isa 41:3. See the notes at Mat 3:3.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Mar 1:2
As it is written in the prophets.
The appropriateness of this double prophecy
Its authors were-
I. The first prophet (Isa 40:3) and the last (Mal 3:1.) who wrote. John was the last prophet of the old dispensation and the first of the new who spoke.
II. The one like John was a prophet of hope; the other like him again was the prophet of despair.
III. Isaiah set the door ajar for Christianity which John flung wide open: Malachi began to shut the door on judaism which John closed. (Anon.)
Which shall prepare Thy way before Thee.
Need of preparation for Christ
In the East, few good roads are ever made; and such roads as have been made are generally kept in most wretched repair. Hence, when a sovereign is about to visit any part of his dominions, it is requisite that a messenger be sent on before to get the way made ready. Such, in things spiritual, was Johns mission. Mens ways were in a wretched state. Encumbrances and stumbling blocks lay everywhere scattered about. Mud and mire were the order of the day. It seemed impossible for anyone to get along through life with unpolluted garments, or without stumbling and falling, and getting bruised and broken. The real preparation that was needed was in the hearts of the people. (J. Morison, D. D.)
How to prepare the way for Christ
How was John to prepare the people to receive Christ?
1. By foretelling them that Christ was to come immediately after him.
2. By preaching the doctrine of Christ, touching His Person and offices.
3. By preaching the doctrine of faith in Christ, stirring up the people to believe in Him as the Messiah.
4. By preaching repentance, exhorting them to turn unto God from their sin, that so they might be fit to receive Christ.
5. By administering baptism. (G. Petter.)
Mans part in the work of spiritual preparation
Though the preparation of the heart for Christ is the special work of Gods Spirit, yet He requires that we also should do that which lieth in us toward this preparing of ourselves: though God only can work this preparation, yet He will have us use the means by which it may come to be wrought. He does not work in us, as in stocks and stones that have no sense or motion; but He first moves us by His Spirit, and enables us to the preparation of our hearts, so that we being moved by Him may, after a sort, move ourselves in using the means to prepare our hearts.
1. We must labour to be truly humbled in the sense of our sins, and of our natural misery without Christ. We are never fit to embrace Him, till we feel how wretched we are without Him.
2. We must labour to forsake all sin in heart and affection, and we must purge the love of it out of our hearts.
3. We must get a hungering and thirsting desire after Christ.
4. We must use all means to get faith, whereby to receive Christ into our hearts. (G. Petter)
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The heart prepared to receive Christ
Labour we daily in preparing our hearts unto Christ: strive we to make Him a plain way, and a straight path into our heart. To this end, remove the annoyances of this way of Christ: thy sins and corruptions are the hindrances: take away these by true repentance, that they stop not up the way of Christ, and bar Him out of thy heart. Labour also for true faith in Christ, that by it thou mayest be fitted to receive Him, and that He may come to dwell in thee. Do not think that ever Christ will come into thy heart to dwell there, or that thou canst ever be fit to receive Him, if thou be not careful of preparing thyself to entertain Him. Will any earthly prince go to take up his lodging in such a house or city, where he knows there will be no preparation for his entertainment? No more will Christ in a heart unready to receive Him. (G. Petter)
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Preparing the way of the Lord
The reference may be to the state of the Jewish Church and the Gentile nations. But what is applied generally to the nations is equally applicable to every human heart.
I. There are formidable obstacles to be removed.
1. Prejudice. The gospel is often viewed under a false light, or through a perverting medium. The self-denial, the purity, the separation from the world which Christianity inculcates begets prejudice in many.
2. Carnality. Base desires, carnal affections, etc., present formidable obstacles to the claims of the Lord (Luk 14:18-20).
3. Hardness of heart. By nature impenitent, blind to its own extreme sinfulness, and, even after confession of sin, unwillingness to forsake them (Isa 46:12-13; Eze 11:19).
4. Self-righteousness. Though spiritually diseased and dying, men imagine themselves whole, and without need of a physician. They will not accept salvation by simple faith in the merits of another (Rom 10:1-2).
II. Repentance is necessary to the removal of these obstacles. (A. Tucker.)
Christs way to be prepared, not ours
See what all ministers of the Word must chiefly labour in, even to prepare men for Christ; and this is the main thing to be aimed at in our preaching-we are not to preach ourselves, but Christ; we are not to prepare our own way, or the way of any other, but the way of Christ in the hearts of our people. To this end, we are to speak so to the consciences of our hearers that we may (if possible) by our ministry work faith and repentance in them, and so make way for Christ to enter into their hearts. (G. Petter.)
Preparatory work needful for spiritual progress
When you see a party of men engaged in taking levels and measuring distances along a particular line of country, and a little afterwards, other men laying rails, and building bridges, and cutting tunnels, it is not difficult to guess that the great tide of commerce is about to surge over that region. When loads of wood and stone are laid down on a vacant lot, it is at once evident that a building is about to be erected. So the Old Testament prophecies and Johns preaching showed that the way was being prepared for the coming of Jesus. After the Romans had reduced a country to the position of a province, one of their first cares was to construct a strong military road into it. Thus the way was always prepared for their legions. In the East when some great chief is passing through the country, it is not uncommon to make new ways for his passage. Travellers in unsettled parts of the country soon learn to appreciate as never before the advantages of having roads along which to journey. Ways must be constructed for the progress of Christs truth in the world and in the heart. (The American Sunday School Times.)
Road building in the East
To prepare the way before a sovereign is, and always has been, so universal a practice in the East that wherever an unusually good spot of road is found, or indeed any piece of way that shows signs of labour, a tradition or fable is almost invariably found to lie along it to the effect that that piece of road was built expressly for the passage of such a royal personage, either the sovereign of the realm which includes the territory, or one of his guests of equal exaltation. On going from Cairo to the pyramids, over an exceptionally good road, the traveller will not fail to be told that it was built for the Prince of Wales, or for the Empress Eugenie, or for the Khedive himself, or even, rarely, for Napoleon the Great. (The American Sunday School Times.)
The law of preparation
God doesnt need mans help in anything; but He chooses to call for it in a great many things. And when God does leave a place for mans work, man must do his part-or take the consequences. God is ready to give a crop to the farmer; but He calls on the farmer to plough and plant and harrow and hoe in preparing the way for Gods sun and shower, and power of increase. If the farmer fails to so prepare the way of the Lord for a harvest, he must prepare for a famine-or starve. God is ready to give a blessing on our homes; but we must prepare the way of the Lord for a blessing there, by our love and our faithfulness and our industry. It is not enough to bang up a framed chromo on the dining room walls: God bless our home! As in the field and in the home, so in our hearts. If we want Gods presence and blessing there, we must prepare the way for them. We must plan to find room for the Lord in our hearts. We must make ready to do His bidding We must decide to give up all habits of life that are inconsistent with His service, We must make a proffer of ourselves, of our time, of our talents, of all our posses sloes, to the Lord. If we refuse to do this, we must not wonder that whoever else has a blessing we are without it. (The American Sunday School Times.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 2. As it is written in the prophets] Rather, As it is written by Isaiah the prophet. I think this reading should be adopted, instead of that in the common text. It is the reading of the Codex Bezae, Vatican, and several other MSS. of great repute. It is found also in the Syriac, Persic, Coptic, Armenian, Gothic, Vulgate, and Itala versions, and in several of the fathers. As this prophecy is found both in Isaiah and Malachi, probably the reading was changed to , the prophets, that it might comprehend both. In one of ASSEMAN’S Syriac copies, both Isaiah and Malachi are mentioned. See all the authorities in Griesbach, 2d edit.; and see the parallel place in Matthew, Mt 3:3, where the Prophet Isaiah is mentioned, which seems fully to establish the authority of this reading.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The prophets Malachi and Isaiah (saith the evangelist) prophesied of this beginning of the gospel. Malachi prophesied that before the great King should come unto Zion, a harbinger should come before him, to prepare his way. The angel, Luk 1:17, expounds both their prophecies, and also that Mal 4:5; And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. John by his preaching turned the ears of the people to the sound of the gospel, and so prepared them for Christ. For further explication of these words:
See Poole on “Mat 3:3“. See Poole on “Mat 11:10“. This name given to John the Baptist, A voice crying, gives us the right notion of a gospel minister. Here is but a voice crying, speaking what God hath first suggested to him. Thus God saith to Moses, Exo 4:15, Thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2, 3. As it is written in theprophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shallprepare thy way before thee (Mal 3:1;Isa 40:3).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
As it is written in the prophets,…. Malachi and Isaiah; for passages out of both follow; though the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Persic versions read, “as it is written in the prophet Isaias”; and so it is in some Greek copies: but the former seems to be the better reading, since two prophets are cited, and Isaiah is the last; to which agree the Arabic and Ethiopic versions, and the greater number of Greek copies. The following citations are made to show, that according to the writings of the Old Testament, John the Baptist was to be the harbinger of Christ, to come before him, and prepare his way; and also the propriety of the method the evangelist takes, in beginning his Gospel with the account of John’s ministry and baptism: the first testimony stands in Mal 3:1, and the words are the words of the Father to the son, concerning John, pointing out his character and his work:
behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. John the Baptist is here called a messenger, and the message he was sent and came with, was of the greatest moment and importance, and required the closest attention to it; wherefore this passage is introduced with a “behold!” signifying that something momentous, and what should be strictly regarded, was about to be delivered: and indeed, the work of this messenger was no other, than to declare that the long expected Messiah was born; that he would quickly make his public appearance in Israel; that the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom of the Messiah, was at hand; and that it became the Jews to repent of their sins, and believe in Christ: he is called the messenger of God, “my messenger”; because he was sent, and sanctified by him; he was called unto, and qualified for his work by him; see Joh 1:6, his father Zechariah says, he should be called the prophet of the Highest, Lu 1:76. The reason of his being called the messenger of God, may be observed in the text itself, “behold, I send”: the words in Malachi are by us rendered, “behold, I will send”, Mal 3:1: because this was at the time of the prophet’s writing a thing future, but in the times of the evangelist a thing done: and indeed, it is a more literal version of the Hebrew text, to render it “I send”, or “am sending”; and it is so expressed, to denote the certainty of it, and because in a little time it would be done: the words “before thy face”, are not in the original text of Malachi, nor in the Septuagint version, but are inserted by the evangelist; who might do it with authority, since Christ had done it before him, Mt 11:10, and which, as Surenhusius c observes, is for the greater elucidation of the matter. The prophet does not say before whom he should be sent, though it is implied in the next clause, but here it is expressed: besides, this messenger had now appeared before the face of Christ, had prepared his way in the wilderness, and had baptized him in Jordan; all which is designed in the following words, “which shall prepare thy way before thee”, by his doctrine and baptism: in the text in Malachi it is, “before me”, Mal 3:1; which has made it a difficulty with the interpreters, whether the words in the prophet, are the words of Christ concerning himself, or of his Father concerning him. But sending this messenger before Christ, may be called by the Father sending him before himself, and to prepare the way before him; because Christ is the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and is the angel of his presence, or face; besides, Jehovah the Father was greatly concerned, and the glory of his perfections, in the work the Messiah was to do, whose way John came to prepare. That the prophecy in Malachi here cited, is a prophecy of the Messiah, is owned by several Jewish writers d; who expressly say, that those words which follow, “the Lord whom ye seek”, are to be understood of the king Messiah: and though they are divided among themselves, who should be meant by this messenger, [See comments on Mt 11:10], yet some of them are of opinion, that Elias is intended, even Abarbinel himself: for though in his commentary he interprets the words of the prophet Malachi himself, yet elsewhere e he allows Elias may be intended: indeed he, and so most that go this way, mean Elijah the prophet, the Tishbite; who they suppose will come in person, before the Messiah appears: yet not he, but one in his Spirit and power is designed; and is no: other than John the Baptist, in whom the passage has had its full accomplishment.
c Biblos Katallages, p. 229. d Kimchi & Ben Melech in Mal. iii. 1. Abarbinel, Mashmia Jeshua, fol. 76. 4. e Abarbinel, Mashmia Jeshua, fol. 76. 4.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In Isaiah, the prophet ( ). The quotation comes from Mal 3:1 and Isa 40:3. The Western and Neutral classes read Isaiah, the Alexandrian and Syrian, “the prophets,” an evident correction because part of it is from Malachi. But Isaiah is mentioned as the chief of the prophets. It was common to combine quotations from the prophets in testimonia and catenae (chains of quotations). This is Mark’s only prophetic quotation on his own account (Bruce).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “As it is written in the prophets,” (kathos gegraptai en to Esaia to prophete) “Just as or even as it has been (inscribed) or written in Isaiah the prophet,” that it would occur or come to pass, Isa 40:3, even as it was foretold, Psa 119:160.
2) “Behold I send my messenger before thy face,” (idou apostello ton angelon mou pro proposopou sou) “Behold I send, commission, or mandate my messenger (to go) before thy face (appearance).” The word (apostello) “send” means, by and with Divine authority, to deliver a message and do a special work, Mal 3:1; Joh 5:39.
3) “Which shall prepare thy way before thee.” (hos kataskeusaie ten hodon sou) “Who will prepare thy way,” or make ready for thy appearance, saying, “get ready,” Isa 40:3; Mal 3:1.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(2) In the prophets.The better MSS. give the more accurate reference, in Esaias the prophet. On general grounds, however, it seems more probable that the general reference should have been specialised by a transcriber than the reverse. With one exception, and that very doubtful as to its genuineness (see Note on Mar. 15:28), this is the only quotation from a prophet made by the Evangelist himself in this Gospel. The fact that St. Mark wrote for Gentiles furnishes a partial explanation of his silence in this respect, as compared with the other Gospels. (See Introduction.)
Behold, I send my messenger.See Notes on Mat. 11:10-11.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. As it is written The second and third verses, by a strong inversion, should come after the fourth: “John did baptize as it is written,” etc. The prophecy is quoted from Isa 40:3, and Mal 3:1. As we have explained in the corresponding passage in Matthew, the quotation is a prophecy concerning John, the harbinger of the Messiah Jesus. I send my messenger This I in the prophet is spoken by Jehovah. But this Jehovah is the Messiah. So that we have here a true Jehovah-Jesus.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make you ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight’.” ’
The ‘even’ connects back to ‘the beginning’. He is saying ‘This is it! This is what was promised by the prophets. This is the beginning of the new action, even as it was promised by God and it is therefore central in His purposes.
‘As it is written.’ The phrase stresses that the words were from God Himself. ‘It is written’ (perfect tense – ‘it has been and now is’) establishes it as God’s truth and means ‘written with God’s authority, and by God through His messengers’. The use of the passive tense to avoid using the sacred name of God was common practise among some Jews. Rather than say ‘God wrote’ they would say, ‘it is written’.
The first part of the citation actually comes from Mal 3:1, with part of Exo 23:20 (word for word from LXX) in mind. In Mal 3:1 the original reads ‘Behold I send My messenger to prepare the way before Me ’, that is, in order to prepare for God’s final activity on behalf of His people. But this is connected by Mark with the passage referring to ‘the Angel of YHWH’ (Exo 23:20) and then joined by him to the following citation, which is from Isaiah, to give it extra force. The fact that it is Isaiah who is mentioned as the prime author demonstrates that it is ‘the voice crying in the wilderness’, (which comes from Isa 40:3), that is to be seen as central. But the ideas from Exodus and Malachi amplify it.
But again in the original of Isa 40:3 we learn that the way is to be prepared, and the paths were to be made straight, for God. It stressed that ‘God is on His way’. So the fulfilling of God’s coming to act on behalf of His people is being described in terms of Jesus Christ, His Son. Mark wants us now to know that God is coming in the coming One, the One expected and prepared for by John, and the changes he makes reflect this application. To Mark ‘the Lord’ is Jesus Christ.
‘In Isaiah the prophet.’ The mention of Isaiah demonstrates that it is the second, Isaianic, part of the promise that is the main concentration, that being thus mainly in mind, for that is what the coming messenger will proclaim. The first part is introductory and explanatory (so much so that both Matthew and Luke drop it out as unnecessary). The joining of two or more Scriptures in one quotation or reference in such a way is authorised by the voice from heaven in Mar 1:11 which does the same. All was Scripture and therefore all could be combined together. This attitude is general in the New Testament. Compare Rev 15:3-4 where various Scriptures are combined. Note also the use made of Scripture in Gal 4:21 onwards, especially Gal 4:30 where the words of Sarah are quoted as the voice of God, and in Matthew in Mat 27:9-10 where ideas from Zechariah and Jeremiah are combined, and see Paul’s use in Rom 3:10-18. To the New Testament writers all Scripture could be seen as one word from God.
‘Behold I send My messenger -.’ In Exo 23:20 the messenger is the angel of YHWH, but in Mal 3:1 the coming messenger is thought of in terms of Elijah (Mal 4:5), who will come before ‘the great and terrible day of the Lord.’ He is to prepare the way for God to act. The coming of this new, greater Elijah (compare how the coming of the new David is similarly promised elsewhere and refers, not to a returned David, but to a greater David) was one event eagerly anticipated by the Jews in 1st century AD, an event which would fully restore prophecy and bring them hope. For many saw the voice of prophecy as having been silent, or at least wavering, from the time of Malachi (see the Jewish history 1Ma 4:46 ; 1Ma 9:27 ; 1Ma 14:41 for this idea), and longed once again to hear a firm strong voice. And they saw Elijah as the exemplar of the prophets. They were thus in constant anticipation of his coming and looked for him in any great prophetic figure who arose (Mar 6:15; Joh 1:21; Luk 9:19; Mat 16:14). Even today at the Passover the Jews leave an empty seat for Elijah in anticipation of his coming. For them he has still not come, for when he came they passed him by, as they did Jesus Himself.
But Mark clearly depicts John the Baptiser as Elijah. He comes in the wilderness (compare 1Ki 19:4; 1Ki 19:8-9; 1Ki 19:15) and wears camel’s hair with a wide leather belt around his loins and eats locusts and wild honey. We can compare with this how in 2Ki 1:8 Elijah ‘was a man wearing hair and with a leather belt about his loins’ (compare also Zec 13:4 for the ‘hairy cloak’ of the prophet). ‘Locusts (or locust beans) and wild honey’ were wilderness food. This identification is confirmed by the angel in Luk 1:15-17, and later by Jesus Himself (Mar 9:12-13; Mat 10:14; Mat 16:10-13).
‘The great and terrible day of the Lord.’ While the coming of God’s day would be good news for the faithful, for the remainder it would be a great and terrible day. Thus the coming of Jesus, and especially the treatment that He received, while good news to the believing, also warned of a great and terrible day for the unbelieving. And so it proved. Their treatment of Him would lead to the destruction of Jerusalem, and to great suffering for the Jews and their further scattering (Luk 21:24). Furthermore those who refused to come to Him would cease to be His people thus losing all that they in the end lived for (Mat 21:43; Joh 15:1-6). The coming of John was intended to avert this, but it could only do so for those who responded and believed.
And the fact is that from that day the Jews have truly suffered ‘great tribulation’ as they await the final judgment (Mar 13:19; Mat 24:21; Luk 21:22-24 – note that ‘these are the days of vengeance’ clearly referred to the period on and after 70 AD), just as Jesus declared they would. But we must not forget that many in Israel did come to Him, so that the new Israel of His people was founded on the old, and there are also indications that in the last days He will continue to restore many of old Israel to Himself. It is the Israel who are within Israel who will be called (Rom 9:6-7).
But all this was to finally lead on to the end of the ages. So His coming was to be seen as both a glorious day and a terrible one, as both saving and judging at the same time (compare Joh 3:17-21) and as climaxing God’s purposes. In Jesus the ‘last days’ have begun, and will eventually result in the final consummation.
‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness.’ Note that John is ‘the voice’, whereas Jesus is the Word itself (Joh 1:1-14). John is the shadow, Jesus is the substance.
‘In the wilderness.’ It was in the wilderness that Moses first heard the voice of God (Exo 3:1-6), and where the great covenant with Israel was established and the ten commandments were given (Exodus 20), and it was to the wilderness that Elijah was driven (1Ki 17:3-7), and in which he heard the still small voice (1Ki 19:3-12) and from where he came to denounce Ahab and Jezebel. The wilderness is ever represented as a place where God may be met with, for it is a place unmarred by man’s activity. That is why Jesus Himself will go into the wilderness in order to meet with God (Mar 1:11-12) and why it will be in the wilderness that He will miraculously feed His people (Mar 8:4) as the ancient people had been so fed long before (Deu 8:3). It is not through worldly authorities that God will advance His purposes. It is as men come alone with Him.
There is a specific emphasis on ‘the wilderness’ in these first few verses of Mark (see Mar 1:2; Mar 1:4; Mar 1:12-13) so that Jesus can be seen as emerging from the wilderness in order to proclaim the Good News (Mar 1:14-15), just as Moses was seen as emerging from the wilderness in order to bring deliverance to God’s people in Exodus. Here is the beginning of a new Exodus (compare Mat 2:15 along with Hos 11:1-9), which is intended to result in the establishment of the Kingly Rule of God.
But one thing further needs to be said about this ‘voice’. It is a voice from the wilderness, from man going alone with God, crying out for men to respond to God so that God’s will might be accomplished. But this time there will also be a voice from Heaven declaring that the One has come Who will fulfil that will (Mar 1:11). The world is soon to be faced up with the fact that ‘God reigns’ (Isa 52:7).
‘Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.’ When a great king was to travel in state, preparations would be made to ease the way before him. The roads would be levelled and straightened, and the potholes would be filled in. Thus was the coming messenger of the Lord to ease the way for the Messiah, by preparing the hearts of the people in readiness for His coming (Luk 1:16-17).
‘The way of the Lord.’ In the original passage ‘the Lord’ refers to God, but it is probable that here Mark sees it as referring to Jesus Himself, as being the only Son of God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
John’s ministry in agreement with prophetic vision:
v. 2. As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee.
v. 3. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.
v. 4. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Two of the prophets of olden times had distinctly described the person and the work of John the Baptist, and the evangelist combines their prophecies for the purpose of brevity. The first prophecy, Mal 3:1, is one in which the God of Israel promises to send His personal messenger before the Messiah. And this messenger, by the message which should be imparted to him and which he was to proclaim before the people of the nation, had the purpose, the object, of preparing the way for the Messiah. A thorough preparation of the way was necessary and should be accomplished by the message entrusted to the herald. In the second prophecy, Isa 40:3, the distinctive contents of the message are given. It is a voice, preaching, which is heard; not a soft, gentle, and obscure whispering as of one not at all sure of his ground, and not filled with the conviction of the divinity of his message, but a loud calling, to awaken sinners from their sleep of security and indifference. A distinguishing feature: It would be heard, not in the midst of the capital or in the halls of the learned of the people, but out in the wilderness, far from the abodes of men. Simple, but impressive its import: Make ready the way of the Lord; make smooth the highway before Him. It is a spiritual coming of which the prophet speaks; it is the heart and mind that must be prepared for the coming of this Lord, who intends to establish His throne in the hearts of the believers. Only the penitent humble sinners are admitted into this Kingdom. The rocks of self-righteousness, of pride and self-conceit, of a religion of works, will not permit the King to enter into the hearts. These must be removed so thoroughly that not a trace is left behind. That is the sum of the herald’s preaching, of his work in preparation for Christ’s coming. In fulfilling this prophecy, John the Baptist was out in the wilderness; he appeared out in the arid regions between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, where the hills slope downward to the Jordan; he began his ministry as one that baptized. He made use of this rite, by God’s express command, to emphasize still more strongly his preaching. For his was a proclamation of the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. It was not a mere proselyte baptism, nor was it altogether identical with that of Jesus and the New Testament sacrament. Those that really repented of their sins received remission, forgiveness of their sins, and this remission was sealed unto them by the baptism which was administered unto them by John.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Ver. 2. As it is written in the prophets ] Isaiah and Malachi; so that there was no cause why that dead dog Porphyry should here bark and blaspheme, as if this testimony should be falsely fathered on all the prophets, when Isaiah only was the author of it.
Behold, I send my Messenger before thy face ] Malachi saith, “Before my face,” in the person of Christ; to show that He and the Father are one.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2, 3. ] This again stands independently, not . . ( ) .
The citation here is from two Prophets , Isa. and Mal.: see reff. The fact will not fail to be observed by the careful and honest student of the Gospels. Had the citation from Isaiah stood first, it would have been of no note, as Meyer observes. Consult notes on Mat 11:10 ; Mat 3:3 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 1:2-4 . introduces a prophetic citation as protasis to the historical statement about John in Mar 1:4 = in accordance with, etc., John appeared. The prophetic reference and the historical statement are given in inverse order in Matthew. , in Isaiah, the actual quotation being from Isaiah and Malachi (Mar 1:2 ) conjointly. An inaccuracy doubtless, but not through an error of memory (Meyer and Weiss), but through indifference to greater exactness, the quotation from Isaiah being what chiefly occupied the mind. It is something analogous to attraction in grammar. It is Mark’s only prophetic citation on his own account. begins the quotation from Mal 3:1 , given as in Mat 11:10 , with , after and , changed into .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mark
THE STRONG FORERUNNER AND THE STRONGER SON
Mar 1:1 – Mar 1:11
The first words of In Memoriam might be taken to describe the theme of Mark’s Gospel. It is the ‘strong Son of God’ whom he sets forth in his rapid, impetuous narrative, which is full of fiery energy, and delights to paint the unresting continuity of Christ’s filial service. His theme is not the King, as in Matthew; nor the Son of Man, as in Luke; nor the eternal Word manifested in flesh, as in John. Therefore he neither begins by tracing His kingly lineage, as does the first evangelist; nor by dwelling on the humanities of wedded life and the sacredness of the family since He has been born; nor by soaring to the abysses of the eternal abiding of the Word with God, as the agent of creation, the medium of life and light; but plunges at once into his subject, and begins the Gospel with the mission of the Forerunner, which melts immediately into the appearance of the Son.
I. We may note first, in this passage, the prelude, including Mar 1:1 – Mar 1:3 .
Whether we regard Mar 1:2 – Mar 1:3 as connected grammatically with the preceding or the following verses, they equally refer to John, and define his position in relation to the Gospel. The Revised Version restores the true reading, ‘in Isaiah the prophet,’ which some unwise and timid transcriber has, as he thought, mended into ‘the prophets,’ for fear that an error should be found in Scripture. Of course, Mar 1:2 is not Isaiah’s, but Malachi’s; but Mar 1:3 , which is Isaiah’s, was uppermost in Mark’s mind, and his quotation of Malachi is, apparently, an afterthought, and is plainly merely introductory of the other, on which the stress lies. The remarkable variation in the Malachi quotation, which occurs in all three Evangelists, shows how completely they recognised the divinity of our Lord, in their making words which, in the original, are addressed by Jehovah to Himself, to be addressed by the Father to the Son. There is a difference in the representation of the office of the forerunner in the two prophetic passages. In the former ‘he’ prepares the way of the coming Lord; in the latter he calls upon his hearers to prepare it. In fact, John prepared the way, as we shall see presently, just by calling on men to do so. In Mark’s view, the first stage in the gospel is the mission of John. He might have gone further back-to the work of prophets of old, or to the earliest beginnings in time of the self-revelation of God, as the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews does; or he might have ascended even higher up the stream-to the true ‘beginning,’ from which the fourth Evangelist starts. But his distinctly practical genius leads him to fix his gaze on the historical fact of John’s mission, and to claim for it a unique position, which he proceeds to develop.
II. So we have, next, the strong servant and fore runner Mar 1:4 – Mar 1:8.
So, on the whole, Mark’s picture brings out prominently the following traits in John’s personality and mission:-First, his preparation for Christ by preaching repentance. The truest way to create in men a longing for Jesus, and to lead to a true apprehension of His unique gift to mankind, is to evoke the penitent consciousness of sin. The preacher of guilt and repentance is the herald of the bringer of pardon and purity. That is true in reference to the relation of Judaism and Christianity, of John and Jesus, and is as true to-day as ever it was. The root of maimed conceptions of the work and nature of Jesus Christ is a defective sense of sin. When men are roused to believe in judgment, and to realise their own evil, they are ready to listen to the blessed news of a Saviour from sin and its curse. The Christ whom John heralds is the Christ that men need; the Christ whom men receive, without having been out in the wilderness with the stern preacher of sin and judgment, is but half a Christ-and it is the vital half that is missing.
Again, Mark brings out John’s personal asceticism. He omits much; but he could not leave out the picture of the grim, lean solitary, who stalked among soft-robed men, like Elijah come to life again, and held the crowds by his self-chosen privations no less than by his fierce, fiery eloquence. His desert life and contempt for ease and luxury spoke of a strength of character and purpose which fascinated commoner men, and make the next point the more striking-namely, the utter humility with which this strong, self-reliant, fiery rebuker of sin, and despiser of rank and official dignities, flings himself at the feet of the coming One. He is strong, as his life and the awestruck crowds testified; how strong must that Other be! He feared not the face of man, nor owned inferiority to any; but his whole soul melted into joyful submission, and confessed unworthiness even to unlace the sandals of that mightier One. His transitional position is also plainly marked by our Evangelist. He is the end of prophecy, the beginning of the Gospel, belonging to neither and to both. He is not merely a prophet, for he is prophesied of as well; and he stands so near Him whom he foretells, that his prediction is almost fact. He is not an Evangelist, nor, in the closest sense, a servant of the coming Christ; for his lowly confession of unworthiness does not imply merely his humility, but accurately defines the limits of his function. It was not for him to bear or to loose that Lord’s sandals. There were those who did minister to Him, and the least of those, whose message to the world was ‘Christ has come,’ had the honour of closer service than that greatest among women-born, whose task was to run before the chariot of the King and tell that He was at hand.
III. We have the gentle figure of the stronger Son.
The brief account of these is marked by the Evangelist’s vivid pictorial faculty, which we shall frequently have to notice as we read his Gospel. Here he puts us, by a word, in the position of eye-witnesses of the scene as it is passing, when he describes the heavens as ‘being rent asunder’-a much more forcible and pictorial word than Matthew’s ‘opened.’ He says nothing of John’s share in the vision. All is intended for the Son. It is Jesus who sees the rending heavens and the descending dove. The voice which Matthew represents as speaking of Christ, Mark represents as speaking to Him.
The baptism of Jesus, then, was an epoch in His own consciousness. It was not merely His designation to John or to others as Messiah, but for Himself the sense of Sonship and the sunlight of divine complacency filled His spirit in new measure or manner. Speaking as we have to do from the outside, and knowing but dimly the mysteries of His unique personality, we have to speak modestly and little. But we know that our Lord grew, as to His manhood, in wisdom, and that His manhood was continually the receiver, from the Father, of the Spirit; and the reality of His divinity, as dwelling in His manhood from the beginning of that manhood, is not affected by the belief that when the dovelike Spirit floated down on His meek head, glistening with the water of baptism, His manhood then received a new and special consciousness of His Messianic office and of His Sonship.
Whilst that voice was for His sake, it was for others too; for John himself tells us Joh 1:29 that the sign had been told him beforehand, and that it was his sight of the descending dove which heightened his thoughts and gave a new turn to his testimony, leading him to know and to show ‘that this is the Son of God.’ The rent heavens have long since closed, and that dread voice is silent; but the fact of that attestation remains on record, that we, too, may hear through the centuries God speaking of and to His Son, and may lay to heart the commandment to us, which naturally follows God’s witness to Jesus, ‘Hear ye Him.’
The symbol of the dove may be regarded as a prophecy of the gentleness of the Son. Thus early in His course the two qualities were harmonised in Him, which so seldom are united, and each of which dwelt in Him in divinest perfection, both as to degree and manner. John’s anticipations of the strong coming One looked for the manifestations of His strength in judgment and destruction. How strangely his images of the axe, the fan, the fire, are contrasted with the reality, emblemed by this dove dropping from heaven, with sunshine on its breast and peace in its still wings! Through the ages, Christ’s strength has been the strength of gentleness, and His coming has been like that of Noah’s dove, with the olive-branch in its beak, and the tidings of an abated flood and of a safe home in its return. The ascetic preacher of repentance was strong to shake and purge men’s hearts by terror; but the stronger Son comes to conquer by meekness, and reign by the omnipotence of love. The beginning of the gospel was the anticipation and the proclamation of strength like the eagle’s, swift of flight, and powerful to strike and destroy. The gospel, when it became a fact, and not a hope, was found in the meek Jesus, with the dove of God, the gentle Spirit, which is mightier than all, nestling in His heart, and uttering soft notes of invitation through His lips.
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar 1:2-8
2As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way; 3The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight.'” 4John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And 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. 6John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey. 7And he was 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. 8I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Mar 1:2 “As it is written” The word “written” is perfect tense, which was a Jewish idiom used to denote God’s eternal revelation (i.e., Scripture).
“in Isaiah the prophet” This quote is a combination of Mal 3:1 and Isa 40:3. It is not from the Hebrew Masoretic Text or the Greek Septuagint of Isa 40:3. Because of this some scribes changed the text to “written in the prophets” (i.e., in the Prophets section of the OT canon). The singular is found in the Greek uncial manuscripts , B, L and D, but the plural is in MSS A, and W.
Isaiah 40-66 has two major eschatological emphases: (1) the Suffering Servant (i.e., especially Isa 52:13 to Isa 53:12) and (2) the new age of the Spirit (especially Isaiah 56-66). In the following brief opening of Mark there are several possible allusions to Isaiah.
“‘send My messenger ahead of You'” The term “messenger” can refer to an angel (cf. Exo 23:20 a, which would be another allusion to the Exodus), but here it refers to a “messenger” (cf. Mal 3:1). This may be a word play on the term gospel (i.e., good message). This is one of the few OT quotes in Mark which was written primarily to Romans. It refers to the ministry of John the Baptist (cf. Mar 1:4). It shows that the OT prophetic tradition is being fulfilled (this is also reflected in Jesus’ healings and exorcisms, which are also Messianic prophecies in Isaiah). The ministry of John the Baptist is mentioned in all four Gospels.
Mar 1:3 “‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness'” This is a quote of Isa 40:3 from an unknown source. The term “wilderness” means uninhabited pasture land rather than dry, windswept, sandy desert.
“‘Make ready the way of the Lord'” This is an aorist active imperative, which denotes urgency. In the MT, Lord (i.e., adon) is read, but YHWH (Lord) is in the Hebrew text. The phrase originally referred to physical preparation for a royal visit (cf. Isa 57:14; Isa 62:10). It came to refer metaphorically to the ministry of John the Baptist spiritually preparing the way for Jesus the Messiah who is also called “Lord” (i.e., kurios).
“‘Make His paths straight'” The MT and LXX have “make straight the paths of our God.” Mark (or Peter) modified the text (or quotes an unknown textual form) to make it specifically relate to Jesus, not YHWH.
Mar 1:4 “John the Baptist” Why did John baptize with water?
1. OT precedent to signify the inauguration of the “new covenant” (cf. Exo 19:10; Exo 19:14; Isa 1:16; Jer 31:34; Eze 36:25)
2. a cleansing act from ceremonial defilement (cf. Leviticus 15).
3. a prophetic eschatological metaphor of life-giving water from God (e.g., Isa 12:2-3; Jer 2:13; Jer 17:13; Eze 47:1; Zec 13:1; Zec 14:8; Rev 22:1)
4. imitation of proselyte baptism as the initiation rite to become part of the people of God
5. a rabbinic way of preparing all pilgrims to approach YHWH in His temple (possibly by immersion, cf. Miqvaot tractate in Mishnah). This ritual bath is still practiced by Muslims before entering a mosque.
“appeared” This may be Mark’s way of alluding to the prophecy of the surprising appearance of Elijah before “the sudden appearance” of Messiah (cf. Mal 3:1).
“preaching” This is the term “heralding” (kruss), which means “to proclaim widely or publicly a message” (cf. Mar 1:4; Mar 1:7; Mar 1:14; Mar 1:38-39; Mar 1:45). Mark does not use the verb form of gospel (euaggeliz).
John came preaching a baptism for repentance (se Special Topic following). This same message was continued by Jesus, but with the added emphasis of “faith” (see Special Topic at Mar 1:15). The twin covenant needs of repentance and faith shown by baptism becomes the items of the Apostolic sermons in Acts (i.e., the kerygma)
1. Peter
a. first sermon of the church (Act 2:37-39)
(1) repent
(2) be baptized
b. second sermon of the church (Act 3:16; Act 3:19)
(1) faith
(2) repent
2. Philip (Act 8:12)
a. believe
b. be baptized
3. Paul
a. Philippian jailer (Act 16:31; Act 16:33)
(1) believe
(2) be baptized
b. goodbye to the Ephesian elders (Act 20:21)
(1) repentance toward God
(2) faith in Christ
c. testimony before Agrippa (Act 26:18)
(1) turn from darkness (Satan), i.e., repent
(2) to the light (God)
For me the requirements of the New Covenant are
1. repent
2. believe
3. obey
4. persevere
The goal of the New Covenant is Christlikeness now so that others will see the change and be attracted to faith in Christ!
“baptism of repentance” The baptism is not the mechanism of forgiveness, but the occasion of the believers’ public profession of faith. This is not a sacramental act, but a new attitude toward sin and a new relationship with God. It is an outward sign of an inner change.
SPECIAL TOPIC: REPENTANCE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
“for the forgiveness of sins” The term “forgiveness” literally means “put away.” This is one of several biblical terms for forgiveness. It has metaphorical connections to the OT Day of Atonement (cf. Leviticus 16) where one of the two special goats is driven away from the camp of Israel, symbolically bearing the sin away (cf. Lev 16:21-22; Heb 9:28; 1Pe 2:24).
The phrase “of sins” is an objective genitive.
Mar 1:5 “all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem” This is an oriental overstatement (i.e., hyperbole), but it shows the tremendous impact of John’s preaching. He was the first prophetic voice since Malachi some 400 years earlier. This is imperfect tense which means that people were continually coming because they recognized John as a prophet.
“being baptized” This is also imperfect tense which speaks of continuous action in past time. Many Jews were sensing a new day of God’s activity and were preparing for it.
“confessing their sins” This is a present middle participle, which literally means “to say the same.” This was their public profession of their need for spiritual forgiveness.
There is the implication that if these Jews repented and changed their lifestyles, YHWH would fully forgive their sins (cf. Mar 1:4; Mat 3:6; Luk 3:3). This is surely the OT pattern. It involved full forgiveness through repentance, faith, lifestyle change, and now baptism as an outward symbol! This OT pattern is modified by Jesus’ Messianic ministry. The same items are still valid, but now personal faith in Jesus as the Christ is the central issue (cf. Act 2:38; Act 3:16; Act 3:19; Act 20:21). The four Gospels form a transitional period. Mar 1:14-15 is in the John the Baptist period, but it theologically foreshadows the finished gospel message (i.e., repent, believe, and live a new life). The main issue is who Jesus is! He is YHWH’s representative, revealer, and agent of redemption and judgment. This is the reason for the Messianic Secret in Mark. Jesus is fully God from the very beginning (i.e., virgin conception), but this was not fully revealed until after His resurrection and ascension.
SPECIAL TOPIC: CONFESSION
Mar 1:6 “John was clothed with camel’s hair” This was his normal everyday clothing (i.e., perfect middle participle). This was not the skin of a camel, but cloth woven from its hair (cf. 2Ki 1:8; Mat 3:4). He was a man of the desert and a prophet (cf. Zec 13:4). John dressed like Elijah, who Mal 3:1; Mal 4:5 said would be the forerunner of the Messiah.
“locusts and wild honey” This was typical food of desert people. Locusts were levitically clean and acceptable food (cf. Lev 11:22). He ate what was naturally available.
Mar 1:7 This verse and Mar 1:8 show the preparatory theme of John’s message. He recognized his role and place in relation to God’s Coming One (cf. Joh 3:30). He felt himself to be a servant, a slave (i.e., only slaves took off another’s shoes). John’s self-depreciation is recorded in all four Gospels (cf. Mat 3:11; Luk 3:16; and Joh 1:27; also in Paul’s preaching in Act 13:25). This was probably included by the Gospel writers because a heretical following later developed around John the Baptist (cf. Act 18:24 to Act 19:7).
Mar 1:8 “I baptized you with water” Remember, John’s baptism was preparatory. This does not refer to Christian baptism. John was the last OT prophet (cf. Luk 16:16), a transition preacher, not the first gospel preacher (cf. Luk 16:16; Act 19:17). He, like the quotes from Isaiah, links the old covenant and the new covenant.
“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” This is in contrast to John’s baptism. The Messiah will inaugurate the new age of the Spirit. His baptism will be with (or “in” or “by”) the Spirit. There has been much discussion among denominations as to what event in the Christian experience this refers. Some take it to refer to an empowering experience after salvation, a kind of second blessing. Personally I think it refers to becoming a Christian (cf. 1Co 12:13). I do not deny later fillings and equippings, but I believe there is only one initial spiritual baptism into Christ in which believers identify with Jesus’ death and resurrection (cf. Rom 6:3-4; Eph 4:5; Col 2:12). This initiating work of the Spirit is delineated in Joh 16:8-11. In my understanding the works of the Holy Spirit are:
1. convicting of sin
2. revealing the truth about Christ
3. leading to acceptance of the gospel
4. baptizing into Christ
5. convicting the believer of continuing sin
6. forming Christlikeness in the believer
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
As. T Tr. WH R read “According as”.
it is written = it has been written; i.e. it standeth written,
in. Greek. en. App-104.
prophets. Plural because it is a composite quotation Mal 3:1. Isa 40:3. See App-107.
messenger = angelos. before Thy face. A pure Hebraism (compare Amo 9:4, &c.) Unknown to pure Greek.
before. Greek. pro. App-104.
which = who.
before Thee. Omitted by L T Tr. WH R
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
2, 3.] This again stands independently, not . . () .
The citation here is from two Prophets, Isa. and Mal.: see reff. The fact will not fail to be observed by the careful and honest student of the Gospels. Had the citation from Isaiah stood first, it would have been of no note, as Meyer observes. Consult notes on Mat 11:10; Mat 3:3.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 1:2. , as) Mark shows, from the prophets, that the beginning of the Gospel ought to have been such as it actually was; and having proved that point, all the rest is proved. The Apodosis is at verse 4.[4]- , in Isaiah the Prophet) Mark brings forward a testimony first [Mar 1:2] from Malachi, next [Mar 1:3] from Isaiah. Therefore some have written thus, , in the prophets. But yet, in the same way as Mat 21:4-5, quotes Zechariah under the title of one prophet [That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold thy King cometh unto thee, meek, etc.], and at the same time blends with Zechariahs words something out of Isa 62:11 [Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold thy salvation cometh, etc.]; and as Paul also, in Rom 9:27, quotes Isaiah by name, and yet has interwoven with Isaiahs words something out of Hos 2:1 : so Mark quotes two prophets, and yet mentions by name only the one, the prophet Isaiah (as I have long since been of opinion):[5] however it is not without show of probability, that Beza conjectures that the passage of Malachi crept from the blank space in the margin [ex albo] into the context of Mark. Isaiah is more copious and better known, and his testimony, which has been quoted by Mark, used to be read in public on the Sabbath; and Mark here produces the testimony of Malachi in a kind of parenthetic way, equivalent to a supplement, intending, as he did below, to omit that section of the Gospel history in which Malachi is properly [in the peculiarly appropriate place] quoted in Mat 11:10, and Luk 7:27 : whereas the quotation of Isaiah, as in Matthew, Luke, and John, so also here in Mark, is peculiarly appropriate to this place. John the Baptist himself quoted Isaiah, not Malachi, concerning himself.
[4] As it is written, etc., Behold I send my messenger, so John did baptize, being that messenger.-ED.
[5] Porphyry, an infidel of the third century, in charging Mark, on the ground that he has ascribed to Isaiah the words – , by the very fact of this charge establishes the fact, that the reading at that early date in the Greek or Syriac copies was , and therefore that it was not a reading spuriously reproduced from the Latin copies, as may be seen at greater length in J. D. Michaelis Enleitung, etc., T. i., p. m. 162, 586, 587.-E. B.
is the reading of BD (omitting the second )L Vulg. be, Syr. Memph. Origen, Iren. 191: in Eseiam (Esaiam) prophetam in ad. But Rec. Text , with A P, and Iren. 187, 205, expressly. Lachm. from Orig. 4,15e, which represents Mark, in accordance with his wonted style, abruptly to pass from the beginning of the Gospel, etc., Mar 1:1, to John, Mar 1:4, is of opinion Mar 1:2-3 were inserted by pious readers. See Lachm. Gr. Test., vol. ii. p. 6.-ED. and TRANSL.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
written: Psa 40:7, Mat 2:5, Mat 26:24, Mat 26:31, Luk 1:70, Luk 18:31
in: Several manuscripts have, “by Isaiah the prophet.” See the parallel texts.
Behold: Mal 3:1, Mat 11:10, Luk 1:15-17, Luk 1:76, Luk 7:27, Luk 7:28
Reciprocal: Deu 32:41 – I will Isa 40:3 – The voice Mar 9:12 – restoreth Joh 3:28 – but Joh 6:45 – written Act 13:24 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Chapter 2.
The Forerunner
“As it is written in the Prophets, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Juda, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; and preached, saying, There cometh One mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.”-Mar 1:2-8.
The preceding chapter dealt with “the beginning of the Gospel.” Mark finds his “beginning” in: our Lord’s first public appearance at the baptism of John. It is quite natural therefore that he should begin the story of our Lord’s life with a brief account of the Forerunner and his work.
John the Baptist.
Let us think together for a short time about that John of whom these verses speak. With his usual habit of going straight to the point, Mark omits what the other Evangelists have to say about John’s birth and training, and introduces him to us actually engaged in that stupendous work to which God had called him from the womb.
-His Work.
And what was that work? It was the work of preparing the way for Jesus Christ. The commentators tell us that in the East the roads are usually so wretchedly kept that, whenever a royal personage wishes to visit any part of his dominions, a messenger must first of all be sent forward to make the road fit to travel on. And that is the function which Mark tells us (quoting the words of ancient prophecy) John fulfilled for Jesus. He went before Him to prepare the way. He travelled in advance to make things ready for the King’s coming.
Other Preparers of the Way.
We are not to suppose that John was the only one who prepared the way. In a very deep and real sense all history prepared the way for Jesus. The Jewish nation, with its unconquerable hope of a coming Redeemer; the Greek nation, with its incomparable language; the Roman nation, with its system of law and its unifying of the peoples-all prepared the way for Jesus. And the preparation that we see on the broad field of world history, we see still more clearly when we concentrate our attention on sacred history. What is the Old Testament? It is just a record of how God had been preparing the way. Begin in Genesis with the first promise of the “seed of the woman” who is to bruise the serpent’s head, and read on till you come to Malachi with his announcement, “The Lord… shall suddenly come to His temple” (Mal 3:1), and you will see how by means of prophet and psalmist and seer, God had been preparing the way. In this respect John only comes at the end of a long line.
John’s Preeminence.
And yet John was in a very special sense our Lord’s forerunner. John’s message was to the very same generation as that to which Christ preached. The men who flocked to John’s baptism were the men who subsequently listened to Christ.
How He prepared the Way.
How did John prepare the way for Christ? By preaching the baptism of repentance. John’s preaching was terrible preaching. Sin was his theme, and repentance his call. And by this terrible preaching he made straight the way of the Lord. It was sub-soil ploughing. He broke through the hard crust of conventionalism and self-righteousness, and made the ground of the heart soft and ready to receive the good seed of the Kingdom. And it is noticeable that it was from the ranks of those who had been baptised by John that our Lord gathered His first disciples. John had created within them a genuine sorrow for sin, an eager expectation of Messiah, and so when Jesus appeared they were ready to leave all and follow Him.
-A Great Work, but only Preparatory.
It was a great work John did-but yet it was an imperfect work. It was a preparation, but it was only a preparation. John’s call to repentance was no satisfaction to the craving of the soul. It needed the Gospel to perfect and complete it. John was himself conscious of the imperfection of his work, and always pointed on towards a great Another who was to come. “There cometh after me He that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose…. He shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost” (Mar 1:7-8, R.V.). The utmost even the best of men can do is point to Jesus.
The Greater One and His Work.
For there is only One who can really cleanse and regenerate the soul-“He shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.” “With the Holy Ghost”-and except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. “And with fire”-to burn out all the dross and uncleanness of the heart and to inspire us with flaming zeal. Is not this the baptism we all want? For inward peace and efficiency in service, is not this the baptism we all want? This is the question of questions, Have ye received the Holy Ghost? For this gracious baptism we must look higher than man. We must look to the Greater One.
“‘Tis Thine to cleanse the heart,
To sanctify the soul-
To pour fresh life in every part,
And new create the whole.”
Fuente: The Gospel According to St. Mark: A Devotional Commentary
2
This verse states the beginning point that was referred to in the preceding verse, that it was the time when Jesus was ready to start in his public work. But since that was to be preceded immediately by the work of the forerunner, John the Baptist, the author opens his story with several verses about that great man. This verse cites a prophecy in Malachi 1, referring to John the Baptist as a messenger to go before the face of Christ to prepare the way for him.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
[As it is written in the prophets.] Here a doubt is made of the true meaning: namely, whether it be in the prophets; or in Esaias the prophet. These particulars make for the former:
I. When two places are cited out of two prophets, it is far more congruously said, as it is written in the prophets; than, as it is written in Esaias; but especially when the place first alleged is not in Esaias; but in another prophet.
II. It was very customary among the Jews (to whose custom in this matter it is very probable the apostles conformed themselves in their sermons) to hear many testimonies cited out of many prophets under this form of speech, as it is written in the prophets. If one only were cited, if two, if more, this was the most common manner of citing them, as it is written in the prophets. But it is without all example, when two testimonies are taken out of two prophets, to name only the last, which is done here, if it were to be read, as it is written in Esaias the prophet.
III. It is clear enough, from the scope of the evangelist, that he propounded to himself to cite those two places, both out of Malachi and out of Esaias. For he doth two things most evidently: 1. He mentions the preaching of the Baptist; for the illustrating of which he produceth the same text which both Matthew and Luke do out of Esaias. 2. He saith that that preaching was “the beginning of the gospel,” to prove which he very aptly cites Malachi, of “sending a messenger,” and of “preparing the way of the Lord.”
But what shall we answer to antiquity, and to so many and so great men reading, as it is written in Esaias the prophet? “I wonder (saith the very learned Grotius), that any doubt is made of the truth of this writing, when, beside the authority of copies, and Irenaeus so citing it, there is a manifest agreement of the ancient interpreters, the Syriac, the Latin, the Arabic.” True, indeed; nor can it be denied that very many of the ancients so read: but the ancients read also, as it is written in the prophets. One Arabic copy hath, in Isaiah the prophet; but another hath, in the prophets. Irenaeus once reads in Isaiah; but reads twice, in the prophets. And “so we find it written,” saith the famous Beza (who yet follows the other reading), “in all our ancient copies except two, and that my very ancient one, in which we read, in Esaias the prophet.”
The whole knot of the question lies in the cause of changing the reading; why, as it is written in Esaias the prophet; should be changed into, as it is written in the prophets. The cause is manifest, saith that very learned man, namely, because a double testimony is taken out of two prophets. “But there could be no cause (saith he) of changing of them.” For if Mark, in his own manuscript, wrote, as it is written in the prophets; by what way could this reading at last creep in, as it is written in Esaias; when two prophets are manifestly cited?
Reader, will you give leave to an innocent and modest guess? I am apt to suspect that in the copies of the Jewish Christians it was read, in Isaiah the prophet; but in those of the Gentile Christians, in the prophets; and that the change among the Jews arose from hence, that St. Mark seems to go contrary to a most received canon and custom of the Jews: “He that reads the prophets in the synagogues let him not skip from one prophet to another. But in the lesser prophets he may skip; with this provision only, that he skip not backward: that is, not from the latter to the former.”
But you see how Mark skips here from a prophet of one rank, namely, from a prophet who was one of the twelve, to a prophet of another rank: and you see also how he skips backward from Malachi to Isaiah. This, perhaps, was not so pleasing to the Christian Jews, too much Judaizing yet: nor could they well bear that this allegation should be read in their churches so differently from the common use. Hence, in Isaiah the prophet; was inserted for in the prophets. And that they did so much the more boldly, because those words which are cited out of Malachi are not exactly agreeable either to the Hebrew original or the Greek version, and those that are cited from Isaiah are cited also by Matthew and Luke; and the sense of them which are cited from Malachi may also be fetched from the place alleged out of Isaiah.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Mar 1:2-3. In Isaiah the prophet. The common reading (prophets) arose from the fact that only the second prophecy (Mar 1:3) is from Isaiah; the first is from Malachi (Mar 3:1). Isaiah is named, because his prediction is the more important and striking, and the key note of Malachis prophecy. Matthew and Luke quote the latter in a different connection (Mat 11:10, see the notes there for an explanation of the prophecy; Luk 7:27). On Mar 1:3, see Mat 3:3.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
St. Mark begins his gospel with an account of St. John the Baptist’s preaching and ministry, and declares, 1. That the prophets of old, particularly Isaiah and Malachi, did long before foretell the Baptist’s message and ministry; that he should go before Christ as his harbinger to prepare the way for him: Behold, I send my messenger to prepare thy way.
Where note, 1. The dignity and authority of the ministers of Christ: they are his messengers sent by him to deliver his mind and will unto his people. This ministerial mission is twofold, extraordinary and ordinary; the former when God immediately by himself calls men to the holy function; the latter, when he uses the ministry of men in order thereunto.
Observe, 2. The work and office of the ministers of Christ declared, and that is, to prepare people to receive Jesus Christ, offered and tendered to them in the gospel. Behold, I send my messenger, to prepare thy way before thee.
Learn thence, That the great design and end of the ministry of the word, is, to prepare and fit men for entertaining the holy religion of Christ in their hearts, and to oblige them to walk according to the rules and directions of it in their lives. St. Mark begins his gospel with an account of St. John the Baptist’s preaching and ministry, and declares, 1. That the prophets of old, particularly Isaiah and Malachi, did long before foretell the Baptist’s message and ministry; that he should go before Christ as his harbinger to prepare the way for him: Behold, I send my messenger to prepare thy way.
Where note, 1. The dignity and authority of the ministers of Christ: they are his messengers sent by him to deliver his mind and will unto his people. This ministerial mission is twofold, extraordinary and ordinary; the former when God immediately by himself calls men to the holy function; the latter, when he uses the ministry of men in order thereunto.
Observe, 2. The work and office of the ministers of Christ declared, and that is, to prepare people to receive Jesus Christ, offered and tendered to them in the gospel. Behold, I send my messenger, to prepare thy way before thee.
Learn thence, That the great design and end of the ministry of the word, is, to prepare and fit men for entertaining the holy religion of Christ in their hearts, and to oblige them to walk according to the rules and directions of it in their lives.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
HEALING OF PETERS MOTHER-IN-LAW
Mat 8:14-17; Mar 1:2-34; & Luk 14:3-35 Mark: And immediately coming out of the synagogue? came into the house of Simon and Andrew and James and John. The mother-in-law of Simon was lying down scorched with a fever; and immediately they speak to Him concerning her; and coming to her and taking her by the hand, He raised her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she continued to minister unto them. And it being evening, when the sun went down, they continued to carry to Him all the sick and the demonized; and the whole city was gathered at the door. And He healed many sick with various diseases, and continued to cast out many demons; and did not suffer the demons to speak, because they knew Him. Matthew gives a wonderful prophecy of Isa 53:4 :
He took our infirmities, and carried our diseases.
That prophecy, corroborated by our Savior, is really wonderful on Divine healing, certainly setting forth our blessed privilege in the atonement to have our bodies healed. We need physical health in order to do the work the Lord has given us, to bless mankind and glorify God in this life; our faith being the measuring-line of blessings for body as well as soul. This case of Peter’s mother-in-law, in his house in Capernaum, was really notable.
Luke says, She was afflicted with a great fever. The healing was so decisive that she got up at once, and proceeded to do her housework. I have seen that very case duplicated repeatedly. Last August, at Scottsville (Texas) Camp-meeting, we prayed for a lady in her tent who was burnt with a terrible fever, at the same time anointing her with oil. The fever left her immediately she got up and went to meeting within fifteen minutes. I saw her in the meetings constantly till the adjournment of the camp, with no sign of fever, and testifying to her healing. We see here that when the sun went down, they continued to bring the sick; as this was midsummer, and the sea of Galilee is seven hundred feet below the Mediterranean and surrounded by highlands, it gets exceedingly hot on the coast. Hence the importance of waiting until sunset, and perhaps in order to command necessary help, as men have more leisure at night than during the day. We see here that Jesus cast out the demons and healed the sick, thus ministering both to soul and body, converting, saving, and sanctifying the soul and healing the body. He is the same, Yesterday, today, and forever. O what a Savior we have! His mercies are boundless and free. It is our glorious privilege, not only to have all the demons cast out of our souls, but to have our bodily ailments healed. We should go to the ends of the earth, as our Lord commissioned us, casting out demons and healing the sick. We see here that, while all of those demons wanted to confess the Christhood of Jesus, His Divine Sonship, He prohibited them. How did they know Him? All these demons were once angels, as God never created a devil. During the bygone ages, before they forfeited their probation and were cast out of heaven, they all beheld the bright glory of the Son of God. Hence they recognized Him; but I am not astonished that He was unwilling for these fallen spirits to become the heralds of His Divinity. He preferred to let His mighty works vindicate His claims to the Messiahship.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 2
Prophets. Mark, writing, as is supposed, at Rome, and for readers not particularly acquainted with the Jewish scriptures, alludes to the sacred books but seldom, and then in general terms.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
The term translated “written” is the term we gain our term “graphic” from. It is the written character. The tense used here is the perfect indicative which would indicate sometime past the writing took place and that the writing will continue into the future to a point of culmination. The indicative is a statement of fact – it is a sure thing.
The term “prophets” would refer back to the Old Testament prophets since the New Testament Prophets prophesied due to gifts of the Spirit which had not been given at the time of the beginning of the Lord’s ministry, nor do we have any indication that any of those prophets wrote down any of their proclamations.
“Behold” is a verb in the imperative – do it – behold it – this is important. Pay attention to this information. Some preachers need to use this term before they start their message, maybe thepeople would pay more attention to his thoughts.
“Messenger” is the word “angleos” which is normally translated angel. It is the same term translated angel in Rev 3:1 where John mentions the angel of the church at Sardis. Since verse six of Mark one identifies this messenger to be John the Baptist, we know it is not in this context referring to an angel. We might further remember that John was born of a woman, again proving that he was not an angel.
We see two terms translated “before” in this verse. The first is the Greek word “pro” or before but the second word is another Greek word that has the thought of before one in your presence or one going before that you can observe. This certainly pictures the Baptist and the Lord. They knew well what each other were doing, and John was preparing the way for Christ. (They were related by blood, in that Mary and Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s mother were cousins according to Luk 1:36 “And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.”.) Whether they knew each other as relatives or even fellow ministers is not clear. We will see in this section that John states he did not know the Lord – by sight at least.
Just how did he prepare the way might be a great subject to delve into. We will not try to do that now, but suffice it to say now that whatever the Lord Jesus came to do, John was to smooth the way for that work – he was to assist by making the way easier.
Galatians declares the same truth in another manner. 4.4 “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” In “the fulness of the time was come” we find that the Lord came at just the right moment in history, at the precise time that God decreed it. Many historians have said that there would not have been a better time for Christ to come.
Politics was right for free travel, there was a common language across the land, the roads that the Romans built were the best in the world and allowed the Gospel to spread adequately. Everything in history was set – some might say the stage was set by God to accept His Son into history. In Mark we see that there was one there to precede the Son of God in ministry to make the way straight. Mat 3:3 also mentions this fact as well as naming the prophet in question.
“For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” As you study one gospel you will need to look at the other three gospels as well for they shed light upon one another.
The prophecy is found in Isa 40:3 “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see [it] together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it].” It is also recorded in Mal 3:1.
Life Application Bible makes a good point as to why Mark mentions the forerunner John. “Whydoes the Gospel of Mark begin with the story of John the Baptist and not mention the story of Jesus’ birth? Important Roman officials of this day were always preceded by an announcer or herald. When the herald arrived in town, the people knew that someone of prominence would soon arrive. Because Mark’s audience was primarily Roman Christians, he began his book with John the Baptist, whose mission it was to announce the coming of Jesus, the most important man who ever lived. Roman Christians would have been less interested in Jesus’ birth than in this messenger who prepared the way.”
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
1:2 {1} As it is written in the {a} prophets, Behold, {b} I send my messenger {c} before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
(1) John goes before Christ as it was foretold by the prophets.
(a) This is the figure of speech called metonymy, by which is meant the books of the prophets Malachi and Isaiah.
(b) The prophet uses the present tense when he speaks of a thing to come, as he is as sure of it as if he had already seen it.
(c) A metaphor taken from the practice of kings, who used to have ushers go before them.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
B. Jesus’ preparation for ministry 1:2-13
Mark proceeded to record three events that the reader needs to understand to appreciate Jesus’ ministry correctly. They are John the Baptist’s ministry, Jesus’ baptism, and Jesus’ temptation. Two words that recur through this section of the text are key to understanding Mark’s emphasis: desert and the Spirit. [Note: See Frank J. Matera, "The Prologue as the Interpretive Key to Mark’s Gospel," Journal for the Study of the New Testament 34 (October 1988):3-20.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
1. The ministry of John the Baptist 1:2-8 (cf. Matthew 3:1-6, 11-12; Luke 3:3-6; 15-18)
The writer pointed out that the ministry of Jesus’ forerunner fulfilled prophecy. It made a significant impact on those whom John contacted. [Note: For parallels between the ministries of John the Baptist and Elijah, See Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, 1:255-56.] Then Mark recorded the essence of John’s message.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Mark began with a quotation from the Old Testament. A proper understanding of Jesus’ ministry requires understand of prophecy concerning Messiah. He wrote literally, "It stands written" (perfect tense in the Greek text). The early Christians believed that the Old Testament was God’s authoritative Word.
This quotation is a blend of words taken from the Septuagint version of Exo 23:20, Mal 3:1, and Isa 40:3. Mark shaped this quotation to stress the messianic emphasis in these Old Testament passages. He probably introduced this quotation by referring to Isaiah because the Isaiah part contains the main point he wanted to stress (Mar 1:3) or perhaps because Isaiah was the more prominent of the prophets he quoted.
The desert where God met with His people was a significant Old Testament motif. Messiah would come out of the desert. "The Lord" proved to be Jesus. Mark’s introduction of the word "way" (Gr. hodos, lit. road or highway) begins one of his themes, namely, the path through life. This is what a disciple of Jesus must follow (cf. Mar 8:27; Mar 9:33; Mar 10:17; Mar 10:32; Mar 10:52; Mar 12:14).
This is the only time Mark quoted an Old Testament passage other than when he quoted Jesus referring to the Old Testament. The one in Mar 15:28 lacks ancient manuscript authority. What a contrast with Matthew!
"The point of the whole quotation is that John’s preparatory ministry, in fulfillment of prophecy, authenticated Jesus’ Messiahship and prepared for the beginning of His official ministry as the Messiah." [Note: Hiebert, p. 29.]