Mark 1:1-8
Introduction
As we begin our study of Mark's Gospel I want to begin with a few general points about it:
- The author of the gospel was Mark and he was a companion of the Apostle Paul.
- His was the first gospel to be written.
- It is the shortest, most succinct gospel in the New Testament.
With that said, I am going to break down Mark's gospel into fairly short passages and then go through each passage verse by verse. In this first study we're going to look at John the Baptist preparing the way for the Messiah. As we go through this study you need to have your Bible open at the beginning of Mark's Gospel.
Verse 1
In the opening verse, Mark tells us what he is writing about and he uses three key words or phrases. They are 'gospel', 'Jesus Christ' and 'Son of God'. So, it's worth examining what they mean in order to appreciate what Mark is saying.
Let's start with gospel. Gospel means 'good news' and the good news that Mark is talking about is the message and teaching of Jesus Christ. And that leads us on to Jesus Christ. In those times in Israel names had meanings and were chosen to tell us something about the person who had the name. In this case there are two words used; Jesus and Christ. Jesus means 'saviour' and Christ means 'anointed one of messiah'. So this tells us that Jesus is the saving Messiah. However, it should be noted that Jesus is not his real name. His real name is Yeshua. Jesus is a Latin name taken from or based on his real name Yeshua.
Then Mark gives us some more information about Jesus through the title, 'Son of God'. This tells is firstly that Jesus is God. It also tells is that He is the second person of the Trinity. The other two persons are the Father and the Holy Spirit. Three persons in one God. So, right at the beginning Mark tells us that he is writing about the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and we need to keep this in mind as we make our way through Mark's Gospel.
Verses 2 and 3
Whenever we study a passage of scripture we need need to bear in mind what kind of writing it is. In the case of these two verses we have prophetic writing. So I want to take this opportunity to talk about prophecy in general. There are two kinds of prophecy in the Bible. The first kind involves God telling us what He is going to do in the future and the second kind involves God speaking to us in the present. The second kind often involves God warning us or telling us to change our behaviour. It's worth bearing in mind that about one third of the Bible is made up of prophetic writings.
In these two verses Mark is reminding us of some prophecies from the past. They speak of someone in the future who will announce the arrival of the promised Messiah. And the purpose of this is to say that John the Baptist is that someone. John is the herald that prepared the way for the Messiah.
From this we learn some important facts about the kind of biblcal prophecy that speaks of the future. The first thing we learn is that God likes to reveal His big plans for mankind. Unlike fortune telling the plans he reveals are detailed and they always come to pass. For His prophecies to be fulfilled, God must make it happen and it usually involves people doing what He wants. So, I want you to think about this. Where does our free will fit in?
Verses 4 and 5
In these verses we see John the Baptist preparing God's people for their Messiah. He does this through teaching and baptism because the people needed to hear God's message and they needed to be cleansed of their sins because God is holy.
Notice how John did this in the wilderness. He chose the wilderness for two reasons; to fulfill prophecy and to hear from God. As a prophet, John needed to hear from God about what he was to say to the people and the wilderness is a good place to do this.
This a useful lesson for us. As Christians we are meant to hear from God. We do this when we make ourselves available to God in prayer. And it helps if we can get away from the distractions all around us. Deserts, mountains and simple spaces make it easier for us to do this.
Verse 6
In this verse we see that John was clothed with Camel's hair and he wore a leather belt aroound his waist. Why was this? In my opinion he did it to show that he was a prophet. We also see that he ate locusts and wild honey. Locusts are sometimes seen as an instrument of judgement and honey can represent salvation. Locusts are a plague on the land and the promised land was said to flow with milk and honey. So, I suggest that he ate these things as a prophetic witness. But you might see it differently.
Verse 7
Remember that one of the tasks given to John was to announce the imminent arrival of the Messiah and this is what John is talking about in this verse. The person he is talking about is Jesus who is the Messiah. John tells us that Jesus is mighty and holy and he emphasises this when he talks about untying His sandals. In those days, the task of untying someone's sandal fell to a master's slave. It was carried out by the lowliest person in society.
John is a great example to us in this respect. Like John, we should be humble, fear God and serve others.
Verse 8
In this verse we see John making a very important prophecy about Jesus when he says that Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. We see Jesus speak about it in Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:4-8. And then in Acts 2:1-4 we see this prophecy fulfilled for the first time.
Have you been baptized with the Holy Sprit? How do you know if you have been baptized with the Holy Spirit? Jesus tells us that the purpose of the baptism with the Holy Spirit is to empower believers and to enable them to witness. It is also through the baptism with the Holy Spirit that we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Is this true of you? Is this your experience?