Mark 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

of the Christian

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

. 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 The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(325-350; complete) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscript ...

(330-360; omit verse 33) *

Codex Bezae The Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis, designated by siglum D or 05 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 5 (in the von Soden of New Testament manuscript), is a codex of the New Testament dating from the 5th century writ ...

(~400; complete) *

Codex Washingtonianus The Codex Washingtonianus or Codex Washingtonensis, designated by W or 032 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 014 ( Soden), also called the ''Washington Manuscript of the Gospels'', and ''The Freer Gospel'', contains the four biblical gospels an ...

(~400; complete) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(400-440; complete) * Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450; extant verses 18–45)

Opening (1:1)

: ''The beginning of the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, the Son of God;'' The opening verse of the Gospel of Mark states right from the start

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

belief A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to take ...

. American academic Robert J. Miller translates it as "The

good In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. N ...

of Jesus the

Anointed Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body. By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or oth ...

", on the basis that χριστου means "anointed" and the phrase υιου του θεου is not present in a few early witnesses. Some older manuscripts (such as Codex Koridethi (Θ; 038),

Minuscule 28 Minuscule 28 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), ε 168 (in the Soden of New Testament manuscripts), formerly known as ''Colbertinus 4705'', is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, written on vellum. Usi ...

) omit "Son of God", but Swedish theologian Tommy Wasserman through research concludes that the omission was accidental. The "beginning" could refer to the beginning of the book, or the next verse, 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 A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

. By saying he is the anointed, Mark is declaring Jesus the

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

, the successor to King

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

. Mark always uses "Christ" which is derived from the Greek translation, he never uses "Messias" () which is derived from the Greek

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...

of the

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

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 Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

, as in the phrase "

God the Son God the Son ( el, Θεὸς ὁ υἱός, la, Deus Filius) is the second person of the Trinity in Christian theology. The doctrine of the Trinity identifies Jesus as the incarnation of God, united in essence (consubstantial) but distinct in ...

". 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 Henry Barclay Swete (14 March 1835 in Bristol – 10 May 1917 in Hitchin) was an English biblical scholar. He became Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge in 1890. He is known for his 1906 commentary on the ''Book of Revelation'', and oth ...

's ''Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek'', pages 456–457 states: :" 'Good news'' or ''Gospel''in the

LXX The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...

occurs only in the plural, and perhaps only in the classical sense of 'a reward for good tidings' ( lso , , , ; 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."

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."'' ::''"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:'' ::"''Prepare the way of the Lord;'' ::''Make His paths straight.'"'' In the Greek texts of Mark edited by

Westcott and Hort ''The New Testament in the Original Greek'' is a Greek-language version of the New Testament published in 1881. It is also known as the Westcott and Hort text, after its editors Brooke Foss Westcott (1825–1901) and Fenton John Anthony Hort (18 ...

Samuel Prideaux Tregelles Samuel Prideaux Tregelles (30 January 1813 – 24 April 1875) was an English biblical scholar, lexicographer, Christian Hebraist, textual critic, and theologian. Life Tregelles was born at Wodehouse Place, Falmouth, of Quaker parents, but ...

and the Society of Biblical Literature, the prophecies quoted are described as being written "εν τω ησαια τω προφητη" (''en tō Ēsaia tō prophētē'', "in the prophet

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

"), 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 ''Textus Receptus'' (Latin: "received text") refers to all printed editions of the Greek New Testament from Erasmus's ''Novum Instrumentum omne'' (1516) to the 1633 Elzevir edition. It was the most commonly used text type for Protestant deno ...

reads "εν τοις προφηταις" (''en tois προφῆται'', "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 The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Heinrich Meyer Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer (10 January 1800 – 21 June 1873) was a German Protestant divine. He wrote commentaries on the ''New Testament'' and published an edition of that book. Biography Meyer was born in Gotha. He studied theology at Jena, ...

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 Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

(),

Malachi Malachi (; ) is the traditional author of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Nevi'im (Prophets) section of the Tanakh. According to the 1897 ''Easton's Bible Dictionary'', it is possible that Malachi is not a proper name, as it simply mean ...

( 3:1) and

( 40:3), linking the gospel of Jesus with a fulfillment of the "Old Testament". Mark assumes they refer to

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

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 Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...

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 monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

. In more detail, it appears Mark has taken part o
Exodus 23:20 of the Septuagint

"behold, I send my angel before thy face") and combined it with part o

"survey the way") to create in the Westcott-Hort Greek NT: . The significant differences are ("survey" -Brenton) is replaced with ("prepare" -

NRSV The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1989 by the National Council of Churches.Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

, compar
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 The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

: "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 John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

in . This section of Isaiah is about the return journey home from the Babylonian captivity and was a passage

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

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

as well and once again Mark equates the lord of this passage,

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he poss ...

, with Jesus.

John the Baptist

Mark describes John's activities, preaching repentance and forgiveness of

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

s and baptising in the Jordan river. He says he wore

camel hair Camel hair specifically refers to the fur from the body of a camel, but more generally refers to the fibre (and cloth) that may be made from either pure camel hair or a blend of camel hair and another fibre. Camel hair has two components: ''guard ...

, a

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...

belt, and survived on

locust Locusts (derived from the Vulgar Latin ''locusta'', meaning grasshopper) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstanc ...

s and wild

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

. His clothes resemble Elijah's as described in . There is also the

prophecy In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a '' prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or pr ...

of true prophet's clothing in the

Book of Zechariah The Book of Zechariah, attributed to the Hebrew prophet Zechariah, is included in the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Hebrew Bible. Historical context Zechariah's prophecies took place during the reign of Darius the Great and were contemporary ...

. His diet may have been his attempt at purity. There has been much speculation that John was an

Essene The Essenes (; Hebrew: , ''Isiyim''; Greek: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, ''Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi'') were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st ce ...

, perhaps also

, but there is no hard evidence either way. According to Luke, Jesus and John were relatives () and John is described as being a

Nazarite In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or a nazarite ( he, נָזִיר ''Nāzīr'') is one who voluntarily took a vow which is described in . "Nazarite" comes from the Hebrew word ''nazir'' meaning "consecrated" or "separated". Those who put themselves ...

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 Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

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

and merely the herald of who Mark deems the more important, Jesus. According to the Q

hypothesis A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous obse ...

John baptising was also found at the beginning of that book as well. John is revered in

Mandaeism Mandaeism ( Classical Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ ; Arabic: المندائيّة ), sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnostic, monotheistic and ethnic religion. Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam, Abel ...

. Many people from

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sou ...

and (or 'including')

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

come to

confess A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

their sins and be baptised by John. Lutheran pietist Johann Bengel makes the point that "capital cities are ftennot readily wont to follow a new institution 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.”''

Verse 8

:: ''“I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”'' Some see John's statement patterned on the

Book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from grc, Ἔξοδος, translit=Éxodos; he, שְׁמוֹת ''Šəmōṯ'', "Names") is the second book of the Bible. It narrates the story of the Exodus, in which the Israelites leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through ...

, in . Other books used this pattern to describe other

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

s, such as

Hosea In the Hebrew Bible, Hosea ( or ; he, הוֹשֵׁעַ – ''Hōšēaʿ'', 'Salvation'; gr, Ὡσηέ – ''Hōsēé''), son of Beeri, was an 8th-century BCE prophet in Israel and the nominal primary author of the Book of Hosea. He is t ...

in and . The

Jesus Seminar The Jesus Seminar was a group of about 50 critical biblical scholars and 100 laymen founded in 1985 by Robert Funk that originated under the auspices of the Westar Institute.''Making Sense of the New Testament'' by Craig Blomberg (Mar 1, 200 ...

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 Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. 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 The Epistle to the Hebrews ( grc, Πρὸς Ἑβραίους, Pros Hebraious, to the Hebrews) is one of the books of the New Testament. The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle. Most ...

, in Hebrews 4:15, says Jesus was "just as we are — yet was without

" and states: "...sin is

lawlessness Lawlessness is a lack of law, in any of the various senses of that word. Lawlessness may describe various conditions. In society Anomie is a breakdown of social bonds between an individual and their community, in which individuals do not feel bou ...

; ... and in him there is no sin". Mark introduces Jesus without a history or a description, suggesting the intended reader already has heard of him. Mark, like the other Gospels, gives no physical description of Jesus, unlike the short previous description of John. Mark's readers are assumed already to know about the two of them. John baptizes him and Jesus then sees a

theophany Theophany (from Ancient Greek , meaning "appearance of a deity") is a personal encounter with a deity, that is an event where the manifestation of a deity occurs in an observable way. Specifically, it "refers to the temporal and spatial manifest ...

. He sees " heaven being torn open" ( gr, σχιζομένους, ''schizomenous'', rent open), "and the spirit descending on him like a

dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

", and hears a voice telling him that he is God's son, whom God loves, and with whom God is well pleased. The vision could be related to

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

, as well as Isaiah 42:1. The "opening of the heavens" is often seen as the union and beginning of communication between God and the world. Whether anyone else besides Jesus saw this has been often debated: says the Spirit descended in " bodily" form; says John said he saw the Spirit descend onto Jesus. Some have speculated that this event may have been a story that has its origins in the Early Christian practice of baptism, although

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

theologian Robert J. Karris argues that this is unlikely. Some have argued that since Mark begins his story here, at the baptism, this could be seen as a form of adoption, as it is God's action which changed Jesus' life, although Mark is probably confirming their preexistent relationship. Jesus is never declared as God's adopted son anywhere in the book, but Mark does not exactly state how or when Jesus became God's son. Both Matthew and Luke use their infancy narratives to show that Jesus was God's son from the moment of conception, and John 1:1 has him as the word of God from the moment of

creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing * Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it * Creationism, the belief tha ...

. The voice from heaven calls Jesus "beloved". Some see a relationship between this description and that of

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was th ...

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

, where

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

had shown his devotion to God by being ''willing'' to sacrifice his son, so God shows his love for

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

ity by ''actually'' sacrificing his son, see also Substitutionary atonement. There is also the possible link with this and the beloved servant of God in , , , and . Christ in the Wilderness - Ivan Kramskoy - Google Cultural Institute

Christ in the Wilderness - Ivan Kramskoy - Google Cultural Institute

The spirit then "at once", ''kai '', sends him out into the desert to be tempted by Satan for forty days. Forty is a common

numerological Numerology (also known as arithmancy) is the belief in an occult, divine or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events. It is also the study of the numerical value, via an alphanumeric system, of the letters in ...

device in the Bible, such as the forty days of the flood in and the forty years of the Israelites wandering in the desert in

. Elijah also spent forty days and nights travelling to

Mount Horeb Mount Horeb (Hebrew: ''Har Ḥōrēḇ''; Greek in the Septuagint: ; Latin in the Vulgate: ') is the mountain at which the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by Yahweh, according to the Book of Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Bible. It is describe ...

in . Unlike Matthew 4:1- 11 and the number of temptations or what they were are not described. Mark does say that

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

came to minister to him. Karris argues that the angels and the wilderness are related to . John is put into prison, presumably by Herod Antipas. Mark uses the term ' to describe John being "turned over", which Mark also uses to describe Jesus being arrested during his Passion. Mark has already highlighted two themes, Jesus' power from and favor of God, contrasted with his confrontation with Satan and John being arrested, showing his power and mission have already encountered the most extreme challenges both from the authorities of this

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

and supernatural powers. The

concluded that parts of these accounts were authentic ("red") acts of Jesus, specifically: "John baptizes Jesus": , Matthew 3:13- 17, , Gospel of the Ebionites 4; and "Jesus proclaims the gospel": Mark 1:14–15.

Calling of the four disciples

Verses 14–15

:'' Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,'' :'' and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel".'' Mark explains the circumstances of John's imprisonment in . Jesus then goes into Galilee, preaching "The kingdom of God is near (''ēngiken'').

Repent Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a co ...

and believe in the gospel (''euangelion'')!" The "kingdom of God" is a major theme of Jesus' teaching and of subsequent debate among interpreters and scholars, with discussion often 'centering around the nature of the kingdom (whether earthly, heavenly, or both) and the kingdom's arrival (present, future, or both)', as well as the relationship between the kingdom of God and Jesus himself. The words "is at hand" may be read as "has drawn near" (NKJV), or "has come near" ( ESV). The kingdom can be seen as a physical or spiritual place. It could also be translated as "God's imperial rule", indicating the power of God over all things. The gospel is seen as not just God's message but God's actions. Jesus here links the coming of God with the term ''ēngiken''
Strong's G1448
, which some see as meaning "near" as in "upcoming in the future" but others argue it means "near" as in Jesus himself is near and the coming of God has arrived. These are then linked with repentance, a change of heart, and then belief. Belief and repentance are thus what Jesus says God desires. See also

Justification (theology) In Christian theology, justification is the event or process by which sinners are made or declared to be righteous in the sight of God. The means of justification is an area of significant difference amongst the diverse theories of atonement ...

. Jesus goes to the Sea of Galilee and finds

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

(whom he will name

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

(Peter) in ) and his brother

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

. They are

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, a large business then in Galilee. He speaks the famous phrase "Come, follow me,...and I will make you fishers of men". Some have argued their status as fishermen is

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...

ical, based perhaps on , but Karris argues that their occupations as fishermen was historical and related by Mark to show the costliness of being a disciple, as they had to leave a presumably thriving business. Andrew was a

disciple A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

of John the Baptist according to

. He only appears three times in Mark, here, and in and . They follow him and then soon come upon

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

and

(whom he will name the Sons of Thunder in ), who also quickly join the group, "they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men". Peter, James, and John will play a prominent part in several incidents in the Gospel. Mark does not relate that Jesus convinced them to follow him in any way: he simply has them follow him without question. Kilgallen argues that historically this calling was not so sudden, with perhaps a prior meeting, but Mark has shortened it for extra effect to emphasize total devotion to Jesus. John's Gospel relates Jesus convincing

Nathanael Nathanael is a biblical given name derived from the Hebrew נְתַנְאֵל (''Netan'el''), which means "God/ El has given" or "Gift of God/ El." Nathaniel is the variant form of this name and it stands to this day as the usual and most common s ...

to join this group in . Mark says they had nets in Mark 1:16 and they and their father,

Zebedee Zebedee ( ; grc, Ζεβεδαῖος, Zebedaîos; he, , Zəḇaḏyâ), according to all four Canonical Gospels, was the father of James and John, two disciples of Jesus. The gospels also suggest that he was the husband of Salome: whereas Mar ...

, employed other men in . Karris argues this shows they had money and a high probability of being educated, with a knowledge of the

Jewish Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Lamb of God. They then bring Simon to Jesus, who gives him the Aramaic name Cephas, meaning Rock (Peter). Philip and Nathanael are then called secondly, not James and John. The calling of disciples is also found in and Matthew 4:18– 22.

Verse 16

:''And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.'' Theologian

Richard Bauckham Richard John Bauckham (born 22 September 1946) is an English Anglican scholar in theology, historical theology and New Testament studies, specialising in New Testament Christology and the Gospel of John. He is a senior scholar at Ridley Hall, ...

makes several observations pertaining to the prominence of

Simon Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...

's name in the Gospel of Mark: * The name is first mentioned in this verse. * It is also the first among disciples' name to be noted * Mark consistently uses 'Simon' until 3:16 when

changes the name to 'Peter', which is since used more often until the last mention in Mark 16:7 * The appearance of 'Simon' (first time) in this verse and 'Peter' (last time) in Mark 16:7 form a literary ''inclusio'' of eyewitness testimony to indicate Peter as the main eyewitness source.

Jesus in Capernaum and the tour of Galilee

Jesus and the four go to

Capernaum Capernaum ( ; he, כְּפַר נַחוּם, Kfar Naḥum, Nahum's village; ar, كفر ناحوم, Kafr Nāḥūm) was a fishing village established during the time of the Hasmoneans, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It ...

, which Mark has as Jesus's center of activity and Jesus teaches in the synagogue on the sabbath. Eventually, in , at the

Transfiguration of Jesus In the New Testament, the Transfiguration of Jesus is an event where Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant in glory upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels (, , ) describe it, and the Second Epistle of Peter also refers to it (). In these ...

, Mark uses the technical term , ', "

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

", meaning a Jewish teacher of Mosaic Law. See also Rabboni. Gathering disciples (students) and teaching are thus the first part of what Jesus does to proclaim the kingdom of God. Mark does not relate what Jesus taught, which could mean he left it out because he did not deem it important enough for his book or because he did not know what Jesus taught there. Some archaeologists believe a synagogue in Capernaum that has been excavated lies on top of the synagogue that existed at this time that would have been the one Jesus would have gone to. Anyone who showed a sufficient knowledge of the scriptures could preach in the synagogue. Mark says the people thought Jesus taught with " authority", which the

scribes A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promin ...

did not. The scribes would answer questions in a traditional, official manner, see also Pharisaic Principles and Values. Jesus in Mark operates on no authority but his own judgement. According to Jesus attended the

Marriage at Cana The transformation of water into wine at the wedding at Cana (also called the marriage at Cana, wedding feast at Cana or marriage feast at Cana) is the first miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John. In the Gospel account, Jesus Chris ...

before going to Capernaum. He then performs an exorcism on a demon possessed man. Curing people, especially possessed people, will be another major method Jesus uses in his

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

in Mark. The demon recognizes Jesus as "the

Holy Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

one of God", the first time Jesus' supernatural opponents are shown to know his true identity. Jesus simply says "Be quiet, and come out of him!", healing the man with words alone. The people are amazed. This follows a path Mark often uses, that of a description of the affliction, Jesus' cure of the affliction, and then a demonstration of the cure to others. The power of Jesus' word over the demon might be Mark's way of trying to show to his audience, perhaps under the threat of persecution, that Jesus' message will overcome

evil Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...

. By showing Jesus' teaching first before his exorcism Mark might be placing emphasis on Jesus' teachings as more important that any

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

he could perform. There were several people who were claimed to have the ability to perform exorcisms in the ancient world and many ancient opponents of Christianity dismissed Jesus as just another magician. Most descriptions of exorcisms at the time tended to involve the exorcist tricking the spirit or demon into leaving the victim by convincing them the exorcist had more power than the being, not a method Jesus employs. Parallels in

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

cultural stories of exorcisms differ in that they usually involve an associated

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

, which is not the case here.

John P. Meier John Paul Meier (August 8, 1942 – October 18, 2022) was an American biblical scholar and Roman Catholic priest. He was author of the series ''A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus'' (5 v.), six other books, and more than 70 articles ...

sees a clear distinction between these incidents and descriptions of magicians at the time. Kapernaum Domus Petri

They go to Peter and Andrew's house and Jesus cures Peter's sick mother-in-law. The house was presumably near the synagogue. She then gets up and helps Jesus and his companions. Attending to her guests would have been her social duty in the Jewish culture. Mark uses the term ', "to lift up", to describe Jesus' cure of her, followed by ', "she served", which some have seen as a theological message about Jesus' power requiring service. Karris argues for this event's historicity, perhaps based on an eyewitness. A story about Peter's mother-in-law might have survived due to the popularity of Peter among early Christians. Peter is clearly listed here as having a wife, as Jesus healed his mother-in-law.

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

says that other Apostles, Cephas (Peter), and Jesus' brothers have wives, but not him, in . See also Clerical celibacy. It is now night. Mark says "That evening after sunset …," one of his examples of redundancy as evening and after sunset are really the same thing repeated. Neither Luke and Matthew retain this redundancy. By this time word has spread and the people have brought the sick and possessed for Jesus to heal, which he does. Mark says the "whole city" came to see Jesus, which is probably an exaggeration. Both Luke and Matthew just state there were many people. The demons leaving the possessed people are not allowed to tell people who Jesus is, a common theme of Mark called the

Messianic Secret The Messianic Secret is a motif in the Gospel of Mark, in which Jesus is portrayed as commanding his followers to maintain silence about his Messianic mission. Attention was first drawn to this motif in 1901 by William Wrede. Part of Wrede's theo ...

. Jesus is able to cure every affliction of the people who come to see him. He then leaves town very early in the morning for solitary

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ...

. Mark says πρωι εννυχον λιαν (''prōi ennycha lian'', "very early, it being yet night", a complicated description of time employing three

adverb An adverb is a word or an expression that generally modifies a verb, adjective, another adverb, determiner, clause, preposition, or sentence. Adverbs typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, etc., answering ...

s. His disciples find him and tell him that everyone is looking for him. He says "Let us go somewhere else", to the nearby villages and he will preach to them there also. He says "That is why I have come", using the word εξηλθον ('),Mark 1:38 - εξεληλυθα (''exēlthuma'') is used in the

with its ''ex''- prefix focusing on the place from which he has come, which some see as meaning a statement about Jesus' divine mandate or possibly a rejection of Capernaum: there is no general agreement on these points. He then travels over all of Galilee, preaching and healing. He cures a leper who comes to him asking for a cure and tells him to show the priests and offer the cleaning sacrifices Moses had commanded (), but not to tell people that Jesus had done it. Jesus here seems to stress the importance of the Mosaic law, see also Expounding of the Law. This episode is also recorded in the

Egerton Gospel The Egerton Gospel (British Library Egerton Papyrus 2) refers to a collection of three papyrus fragments of a codex of a previously unknown gospel, found in Egypt and sold to the British Museum in 1934; the physical fragments are now dated to the ...

2:1-4. People have seen Jesus telling the man to be quiet about what had happened as related to the Messianic Secret, although it could be Jesus just telling the man to immediately go to the priests. Leprosy could mean many skin diseases, such as

favus Favus (Latin for " honeycomb") or tinea favosa is the severe form of tinea capitis, a skin infectious disease caused by the dermatophyte fungus ''Trichophyton schoenleinii.'' Typically the species affects the scalp, but occasionally occurs as ...

psoriasis Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by raised areas of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small, localized patches to complete ...

. Mark says Jesus had "compassion" for the man, although a few manuscripts say he was angry, and some have argued that angry was the original word intentionally changed to make Jesus look less angry, as he is described as giving a "stern", ', warning to the man in verse 43. Mark however also shows Jesus' anger in many other places, such as and the incident at the Temple, see also Expounding of the Law#Anger.

Bruce Metzger Bruce Manning Metzger (February 9, 1914 – February 13, 2007) was an American biblical scholar, Bible translator and textual critic who was a longtime professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Bible editor who served on the board of the ...

's ''Textual Commentary on the Greek NT'' postulates a possible "confusion between similar words in

(compare

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

ethraham, "he had pity," with ethra'em, "he was enraged")." See also

Aramaic primacy The Aramaic original New Testament theory is the belief that the Christian New Testament was originally written in Aramaic. There are six versions of the New Testament in Aramaic languages: #the ''Vetus Syra'' (Old Syriac), a translation fr ...

. The man then seems to disobey and spreads the news, increasing Jesus' popularity even more. Whether or not he ever made it to the priests Mark does not say. This is the first of many times in Mark that Jesus unsuccessfully tries to conceal his workings by telling people to keep what he has done a secret. Karris argues that one could also read it as Jesus "spreading the news", not the man.

Verse 45

The chapter ends with Jesus returning to the "deserted" or "lonely" places, gr, επ ερημοις τοποις, ''ep eremois topois'', which have been mentioned throughout the chapter (), but the people follow him there too.

Comparison with other canonical gospels

Matthew records these events in

Matthew 3 Matthew 3 is the third chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It is the first chapter dealing with the ministry of Jesus, with events taking place some three decades after the close of the infancy narrative related in the previo ...

- 4 without an explicit mention of the exorcism and the curing of Peter's mother-in-law. The curing of the leper then appears in Matthew 8:1- 4 after the Sermon on the Mount, along with the healing of Peter's mother-in-law in . Luke largely has the same order as Mark in except that Jesus calls his disciples after meeting Peter and curing his mother-in-law. Luke also has Jesus going to Nazareth after his temptation and arguing with the people there. Matthew says he left Nazareth and went to Galilee, but does not relate what happened there. John records Jesus' baptism and calling of disciples in

John 1 John 1 is the first chapter in the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. The author of the book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that John composed this gospel.Holman Illust ...

. John also has Jesus' disciples baptising at the same time as John the Baptist and so has more occur before John's arrest than the

Synoptics SynOptics Communications was a Santa Clara, California-based early computer network equipment vendor from 1985 until 1994. SynOptics popularized the concept of the modular Ethernet hub and high-speed Ethernet networking over copper twisted-pair a ...

do.

References

Sources

* * Bauer, Walter ''et al.'' ''A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature'' University Of Chicago Press; 3rd edition (January 15, 2001) * * * * * *Nestle, Eberhard; Nestle, Erwin; Åland, Kurt; ''Novum Testamentum Graece'' American Bible Society; 27th edition (June 1993)

External links

Jewish Encyclopedia: Jesus: As Healer and Wonder-Worker
traditionally considered the site of the calling of the fisherman * King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate

''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) *

NRSV The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1989 by the National Council of Churches.New American Standard Bible The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is an English translation of the Bible. Published by the Lockman Foundation, the complete NASB was released in 1971. The NASB relies on recently published critical editions of the original Hebrew and Gre ...

* 1881 Westcott-Hort Greek NT
1851 Brenton Septuagint in English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mark 01 Gospel of Mark chapters Capernaum Sea of Galilee Temptation of Christ