Mark 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It recounts the proclamation of John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus Christ, his temptations and the beginning of his ministry in Galilee.Sub-headings in the New Revised Standard Version
Text The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 45 verses.
Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: Papyrus 137 (2nd/3rd century; extant verses 7–9, 16–18) Codex Vaticanus (325–350; complete) Codex Sinaiticus (330–360; omit verse 33) Codex Bezae (~400; complete) Codex Washingtonianus (~400; complete) Codex Alexandrinus (400–440; complete) Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450; extant verses 18–45)
Opening (verse 1) The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;: King James Version (KJV)
The opening verse of the Gospel of Mark sets out Mark's belief right from the start: Anglican Bishop Tom Wright describes this verse as "a great way to start".Wright, T. (2001), Mark for Everyone, SPCK, p. 1 American academic Robert J. Miller translates it as "The good news of Jesus the Anointed", on the basis that χριστοῦ means "anointed" and the phrase υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ is not present in some early manuscripts. Some older manuscripts (such as Codex Koridethi (Θ; 038), Minuscule 28) omit "Son of God", but Swedish theologian Tommy Wasserman through research concludes that the omission was accidental.Wasserman, Tommy (2011), "The 'Son of God' was in the Beginning (Mark 1:1)", Journal of Theological Studies, NS, Vol 62, Pt. 1, pages 20–50.Wasserman, Tommy (2015). "Historical and Philological Correlations and the CBGMas Applied to Mark 1:1", TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism. Vol. 20. pp. 1–8. .The original version of this verse in the Codex Sinaiticus did not include the phrase "the Son of God", but later it was added by a corrector ("S1").
The "beginning" could refer to the beginning of the book, or the next verse,"The gospel of Jesus the Anointed begins with something Isaiah the prophet wrote:" 1:1–2a Scholars Version, Miller 1994, p. 13 or the beginning of the story of Jesus, as Mark is only beginning to tell the reader about Jesus' life, not writing his entire biography.
By saying he is the anointed, Mark is declaring Jesus the Messiah, the successor to King David. Mark always uses "Christ" which is derived from the Greek translation, he never uses "Messias" () which is derived from the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic word for "Messiah". "Son of God" can be seen as synonymous with a political messiah, in this case the King of the Jews, but can also be seen as expressing divinity, as in the phrase "God the Son". Only the demonic opponents of Jesus call him this in Mark until the centurion in . The "good news" could refer to the news about Jesus or from Jesus or Jesus as the good news or a combination of them all.
Henry Barclay Swete's Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek, pages 456–457 states: " [Good news or Gospel] in the LXX occurs only in the plural, and perhaps only in the classical sense of 'a reward for good tidings' ( [also , , , ]); in the NT it is from the first appropriated to the Messianic good tidings (Mark 1:1, ), probably deriving this new meaning from the use of in , , 60:6, 61:1."
St Bede remarks on the contrast between Mark's opening verse and Matthew's first verse, where Jesus is described as "Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham". Here he is called "the Son of God", but "from both we must understand one Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, and of man".Bede, quoted in Thomas Aquinas, Catena aurea: Gospel of Mark, Chapter 1, J.G.F. and J. Rivington, London, 1842, accessed on 11 November 2024
Announcement of the prophets Verses 2–3 As it is written in the Prophets: "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You." NKJV "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.'" NKJV
In the Greek texts of Mark edited by Westcott and Hort, Samuel Prideaux Tregelles and the Society of Biblical Literature, the prophecies quoted are described as being written "ἐν τῷ Ἠσαΐᾳ τῷ προφήτῃ" (en tō Ēsaia tō prophētē, "in the prophet Isaiah"), as they are in manuscripts B, D, L, Δ and א,Meyer's NT Commentary on Mark 1, accessed 9 November 2017 whereas the Textus Receptus reads "ἐν τοῖς προφήταις" (en tois prophētais, "in the prophets") in line with many other ancient manuscripts and patristic writings.
Some think this might indicate that Mark did not use a complete Jewish Bible but instead used a general collection of quotations from them. Protestant theologian Heinrich Meyer suggests that the reference to Isaiah is authentic but it was a "mistake of memory". The quote appears to be a composite from the books of Exodus (), Malachi (3:1) and Isaiah (40:3),Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland, "Kata Markon 1", 27th edition, 1979, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft Stuttgart, p. 88. See article on: Novum Testamentum Graece linking the gospel of Jesus with a fulfillment of the "Old Testament". Mark assumes they refer to John the Baptist or applies them to him.
The passage from Malachi describes one who will prepare the way of God for God. Mark has changed the statement of Malachi, which refers to Elijah returning to prepare God's way, to one in which John is seen as Elijah, because the spirit of Elijah rested on him and "my" way has been changed to "your" way, i.e. Jesus' way. Mark thus might be equating Jesus with God.
In more detail, it appears Mark has taken part of Exodus 23:20 of the Septuagint: (Brenton Ex 23:20: "behold, I send my angel before thy face") and combined it with part of Malachi 3:1 of the Septuagint: (Brenton Mal 3:1: "survey the way") to create in the Westcott-Hort Greek NT: . The significant differences are ("survey" – Brenton) is replaced with ("prepare" – NRSV) and a final ("your" – NRSV) has been added: "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,Gk. before your face who will prepare your way" ( in the NRSV). The following quote of Isaiah 40:3 is specifically from the Septuagint,Novum Testamentum Graece, p.88; also Catholic Encyclopedia: Septuagint Version: "We know also that the writers of the New Testament made use of it, borrowing from it most of their citations; it became the Old Testament of the Church and was so highly esteemed by the early Christians that several writers and Fathers declared it to be inspired. The Christians had recourse to it constantly in their controversies with the Jews, who soon recognized its imperfections, and finally rejected it in favour of the Hebrew text or of more literal translations (Aquila, Theodotion)." See also Hexapla compare Brenton Isa 40:3: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God." to the Masoretic Text : "Hark! one calleth: 'Clear ye in the wilderness the way of the LORD, make plain in the desert a highway for our God." or the NRSV : "A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." or the new JPS Tanakh (1985) 40:3: "A voice rings out: Clear in the desert A road for the Lord! Level in the wilderness A highway for our God!"
All four gospels use the quote from Septuagint Isaiah: it is in Luke in , Matthew in Matthew 3:3, and John in . This section of Isaiah is about the return journey home from the Babylonian captivity and was a passage Jews often used as a way of expressing the help of God. Isaiah probably uses this passage symbolically to describe moral cleansing and renewal. Thus John is linked to Isaiah as well and once again Mark equates the lord of this passage, Yahweh, with Jesus.
John the Baptist
Mark describes John's activities, preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins and baptising in the Jordan River. He says he wore camel hair, a leather belt, and survived on locusts and wild honey. His clothes resemble Elijah's as described in . There is also the prophecy of true prophet's clothing in the Book of Zechariah . His diet may have been his attempt at purity. There has been much speculation that John was an Essene, perhaps also Jesus, but there is no hard evidence either way. According to Luke, Jesus and John were relatives () and John is described as being a Nazarite from birth (). All portraits of him paint him as certainly an ascetic, but also as a popular and respected preacher.
This portrait of John is somewhat the same but somewhat different from the one Josephus gives us. Josephus states that John baptized, but not for the forgiveness of sins and that he was a great leader of the people, making no mention of Jesus regarding John. This difference might show how Mark views John, as a representative of Elijah and merely the herald of who Mark deems the more important, Jesus. According to the Q hypothesis John baptising was also found at the beginning of that book as well. John is revered in Mandaeism.
Many people from Judea and (or 'including'): New Living Translation Jerusalem come to confess their sins and be baptised by John. Lutheran pietist Johann Bengel makes the point that "capital cities are [often] not readily wont to follow a new institution [a new mode of life preached for the first time]".Bengel, J. A., Bengel's Gnomon on Mark 1, accessed 27 May 2018
John tells them, "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." Untying someone's sandals was a task commonly done by someone's slave. What baptising with the Holy Spirit refers to, as Jesus never baptises in Mark, is uncertain if one only considers Mark. has Jesus' disciples (but not Jesus) baptising at the same time as John the Baptist. (See also Paraclete, , , , ). Matthew 3:11 and Luke 3:16 specify baptism with holy spirit and fire.
Verse 7
And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.": NKJV This expression "to stoop down" is peculiar to Mark's Gospel.Maclear, G. F. (1893), Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on Mark 1, accessed on 12 November 2024
Verse 8 "I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.": NKJV
Some see John's statement patterned on the Book of Exodus, in . Other books used this pattern to describe other prophets, such as Hosea in and . John refers to his baptism in the past tense (aorist), ,Bible Hub, Text Analysis: Mark 1:8, accessed 25 February 2023 but some versions translate this statement in the present tense, I baptize you.: New International Version
A 1980's theological collaboration called the Jesus Seminar concluded that this was one of the authentic ("red") acts of Jesus, recorded in , Matthew 3:1–12, , Gospel of the Ebionites 1, and which it calls "A voice in the wilderness".
Jesus' baptism and temptation
Jesus is one of the many who come to be baptised, in his case from Nazareth in Galilee. Since John, according to Mark, baptised repentance for the forgiveness of sins () some have argued Jesus also is coming to be forgiven for his sins; but Mark notes that John says that he is unworthy (Mark 1:7–8). Mark also has John's function as preparing the way for Jesus, and some argue this baptism is meant to forward the fulfillment of Jesus' plan. has John say his baptism was his method of revealing Jesus to Israel. Perhaps Jesus is doing this to embrace the doctrine of baptism and repentance of sins and his oneness with those who embrace it. The Epistle to the Hebrews, in Hebrews 4:15, says Jesus was "just as we are — yet was without sin" and states: "...sin is lawlessness; ... and in him there is no sin".