Mark 1:1-15

Read Psalm 98

Introduction to Mark:
400 years of silence: No prophets, no message from the Lord. There were 400 years of silence during the time between the Old Testament and New Testament. During this time the political turmoil was intense. Judaism was threatened with extinction, both from being exiled and having foreign rulers occupying the land, forbidding the Jews from worshipping. These 400 years were a time of great bloodshed, with many of the Jews leading revolts against the foreign occupiers because of the fierce attempts that were taken at eradicating Judaism. Antiochus was the leader of the country occupying Israel at one time during these years. Some of Antiochus’s more noteworthy feats against the people of Israel included his fierce attempts to destroy all copies of the Torah and requiring offerings to the Greek god Zeus. When Antiochus erected a statue of Zeus in the Temple and sacrificed pigs to it the people revolted, thus leading to a 24 year-long war. The war was long and devastating, yet the Jews won. Despite this great victory enabling them to restore the country and their worship, less than 50 years after the war had ended the Romans came and took control of the area. The political turmoil and bloodshed were intense during this time, and not hearing a word from the Lord added to the heartache of the people who believed themselves to be chosen by God. Needless to say, Israel’s future looked bleak, with the Lord’s promise to them looking as though it would go unfulfilled.

Verses 1-8
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 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:
'Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,'"
4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

1. The other 3 Gospel accounts begin quite differently than Mark does. Matthew and Luke begin with the birth of Jesus and give some background as to where Jesus came from. John begins his Gospel by testifying to Jesus being God and being the Father before the world was created. Mark, however, chooses to begin his Gospel quite differently. Mark begins by attesting to God doing something new on the earth. Mark begins with the Gospel, or good news, of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. For Mark, the Gospel begins with the preparation for the Son of God to come. Mark quotes Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3, two passages that attest to the coming of the Messiah. Malachi 2:17-3:5 attests to the coming of the Messiah needing a messenger to declare His coming so that they will not receive judgment when the Messiah arrives. Isaiah 40:1-5 is a passage declaring the work of restoration that God is going to bring through His act of pardoning sin.
a. Malachi 2:17-3:5
b. Isaiah 40:1-5
c. Why might Mark have chosen to quote these two verses together?
d. What message is Mark trying to convey with the two verses he quotes?
2. What is it that John the Baptist is doing and proclaiming?
3. How is the message of repentance necessary to prepare the way of the Lord?
4. In what ways does repentance prepare the way of the Lord in our lives?
a. “Not without hating sin and turning against his faults shall a man taste the grace of God.” (Calvin, p. 115, Volume 1 on the Synoptic Gospels)
5. What is the response of the people to John’s message?
a. “The Jewish historian Josephus reports that Herod became alarmed by the size of the crowds; fearing that John’s movement might turn into a political revolution, he had John executed.” (Douglas R.A. Hare, Mark, p.15)
6. What does John’s appearance tells us about him?
7. What would it be like to take the words of someone like John seriously?
8. How might people on the outside looking in have perceived those who listened to and received John’s message?
9. (Verses 6-8) Jewish people would not untie other people’s sandals. They viewed doing so to be only the job of servants or slaves, which is something they commonly believed themselves to be above doing. It would be very unheard of to hear of a Jewish person untying someone’s sandals.
a. If John does not even consider himself worthy enough to do a task for the Messiah that was normally viewed as too lowly for any Jew to do, what is John’s view of himself in relation to the Messiah?
10. In what ways are we called to be like John the Baptist?

Verses 9-15
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” 12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

1. Mark 1:9-15 is, in some senses, a parallel to the Exodus story. The people are waiting for God to deliver them from slavery. They need a move of God. Jesus, stepping into the role the Father has given Him, goes to John to get baptized. Jesus’ baptism is like the splitting of the Red Sea which allowed the Jews to escape physical slavery. Jesus is beginning the process of leading the people out of their slavery to sin. In His coming to get baptized, Jesus is acknowledging “in a public way the legitimacy of God’s judgment on the sin of His people and to consecrate [or set apart] Himself to God’s sovereign rule” (Douglas R.A. Hare, Mark, p.17). This baptism certifies before all that the pleasure of God is on Jesus, delighting in Him and leading Him on His mission.
2. (Verse 9-11) “Heavens opened”
a. The ancient Hebrew understanding of the sky was that it was an inverted bowl separating the natural world from God’s heavenly domain. After 400 years of silence, this baptism was the announcement that the Messiah had come and that God’s Spirit would again be present with them.
3. (Verses 9-11) What is it like to hear God speak or to have a spiritual breakthrough after it seems as though God has been silent with us for a long time?
4. Verse 12 tells us that the Spirit is the one who drove Jesus into the wilderness. After the Father blesses Jesus and announces that He is the Messiah, Jesus is immediately sent into the wilderness to be tempted.
a. How does hearing that we have favor with God through Christ prepare us to be sent into our own wildernesses?
b. Why does God sometimes send us through our own wilderness journeys?
5. John ministry had to end before Jesus could begin His ministry on earth. Why did John’s ministry have to end before Jesus’ ministry could begin?
6. “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand” means that the time of God’s saving activity has arrived. The kingdom of God is both a present and future reality.
7. In what ways is the kingdom of God connected to Jesus?
8. What does repent mean in verse 15?
a. “Repentance means not merely turning away from specific sins but turning toward God in faith and obedience.” (Douglas R.A. Hare, Mark, p.22)
9. In verse 15, what does Jesus mean when he says to “believe in the gospel”?
a. More than mental assent. Confident trust and commitment to Christ and the work he did on our behalf.
10. “For Mark, Jesus’ entire ministry, including his death and resurrection, signifies that the time has come and that God’s rule is at hand. His ministry in itself constitutes a call for repentance and faith.” (Douglas R.A. Hare, Mark, p.20)

Summary
1. What has happened in verses 1-15?
2. What is the overall message of verses 1-15?
3. What are some practical things we can take from these verses to apply to our lives?