THE BEGINNING OF THE GOOD NEWS
Mark 1:1–8 — John Prepares the Way for Jesus
Mark does not begin with the birth of Jesus.
He does not give us a genealogy or tell us about Jesus’ childhood.
He begins with an announcement:
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” — Mark 1:1
Then he takes us into the wilderness, where a man named John is calling people to repent and be baptized.
Why begin there?
Because Mark wants us to understand that Jesus did not suddenly appear with a new religious movement. His coming was part of God’s plan, announced long before through the prophets.
And the man preaching in the wilderness had been sent to prepare the way.
1. THE BEGINNING OF THE GOSPEL — MARK 1:1
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
Mark tells us the subject of his book in the very first sentence.
The word gospel means good news.
In the Roman world, good news could be announced concerning an emperor, a military victory, or the beginning of a new reign.
But Mark is announcing something far greater.
The promised Messiah has come.
The word Christ is not Jesus’ last name. It is a title. It means “Anointed One,” the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah.
Israel had been waiting for the promised King.
Mark announces that He has arrived.
But notice the other title:
“The Son of God.”
In the Old Testament, Israel could be called God’s son (Exodus 4:22). The promised Davidic king could also be called God’s son (Psalm 2:7).
So the title itself must be understood in its context.
What does Mark mean when he calls Jesus the Son of God?
He will answer that question throughout his Gospel.
Jesus forgives sins.
He commands demons.
He rules the wind and the sea.
He raises the dead.
And at His trial, He identifies Himself as the Son of Man who will sit at the right hand of Power and come with the clouds of heaven (Mark 14:61–62).
Mark is not merely introducing another prophet.
He is introducing the Messiah who acts with God’s own authority.
And he begins by showing us that the Old Testament had already prepared the way for His coming.
2. WHOSE WAY WAS JOHN PREPARING? — MARK 1:2–3
Mark writes:
“As it is written in Isaiah the prophet…”
He then brings together two Old Testament passages.
The first comes from Malachi 3:1:
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.”
The second comes from Isaiah 40:3:
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’”
Read those passages carefully.
In Malachi, God announces that He will send a messenger to prepare the way before Him.
In Isaiah, the people are told to prepare the way for the LORD.
In the Hebrew text of Isaiah 40:3, the divine name is used. The way is being prepared for Yahweh, the God of Israel.
Now look at what Mark does.
He introduces John the Baptist as the messenger preparing the way.
And whose arrival does John announce?
Jesus.
That is an important connection.
Mark takes an Old Testament promise about the coming of the LORD and places it at the beginning of his account of Jesus.
He does not stop here to explain every question about the relationship between the Father and the Son.
But he deliberately introduces Jesus within a passage about God coming to His people.
This is one of the reasons we should not read “Son of God” in Mark 1:1 as though it simply means that Jesus was a man created by God.
Mark is going to show us who Jesus is through His words, His actions, His authority, His death, and His resurrection.
And the first clue comes from the prophets.
The promised coming of the LORD is being fulfilled in the coming of Jesus.
3. WHY DOES THE STORY BEGIN IN THE WILDERNESS?
Isaiah spoke of a voice crying in the wilderness.
Mark tells us that John appeared in the wilderness.
That is not an accidental detail.
The wilderness had an important place in Israel’s history.
After God delivered Israel from Egypt, He led them through the wilderness toward the promised land.
Now, centuries later, John is calling Israel into the wilderness again.
He is announcing that God is about to act.
Isaiah 40 originally spoke words of comfort to God’s people and announced that their time of exile and suffering would come to an end.
Mark sees the promised preparation for God’s coming being fulfilled in John’s ministry.
Some readers describe this as the beginning of a new exodus.
That is a useful comparison, provided we allow Mark to explain what this new deliverance involves.
John is not gathering an army to overthrow Rome.
He is calling people to repent.
The problem he addresses is not simply foreign occupation.
It is sin.
And the One coming after John will bring something John himself cannot give.
4. JOHN APPEARS — MARK 1:4
“John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
John did not invent the use of water for religious cleansing.
The Law of Moses included various washings associated with ceremonial uncleanness.
By the first century, Jewish ritual immersion was also a familiar practice.
Archaeologists have discovered many Jewish ritual baths, commonly called mikva’ot, from that period.
But John’s baptism was not simply another ordinary washing.
He was calling people to repent because the promised Messiah was coming.
And he was baptizing them in the Jordan River.
His message was public.
His call was urgent.
And it was addressed to Israel itself.
Being descended from Abraham did not remove the need for repentance.
Matthew records John warning his hearers not to rely on their ancestry:
“Do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’” — Matthew 3:9
John was calling God’s covenant people to recognize their sins and prepare for the coming Messiah.
The issue was not whether they possessed the right family history.
The issue was whether they would respond to God.
5. WHAT DOES “BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE” MEAN?
Mark connects three things in verse 4:
Baptism. Repentance. Forgiveness of sins.
We should not separate them before we have listened to what Mark says.
Repentance means turning away from sin and turning toward God.
It involves more than feeling sorry.
A person may regret the consequences of wrongdoing without deciding to change.
John called people to acknowledge their sins and turn away from them.
Their baptism was an expression of that response to God’s message.
Matthew tells us that those who came to John were baptized while confessing their sins (Matthew 3:6).
They were not coming to announce that they had no need of cleansing.
They were coming because they recognized their need to repent.
John’s baptism was also preparatory.
He was getting people ready for the One who was coming after him.
That distinction becomes important later in the New Testament.
In Acts 19:1–7, Paul encounters men who had received John’s baptism but had not yet understood the fuller message concerning Jesus.
After hearing about Jesus, they are baptized in His name.
John’s baptism pointed forward to Christ.
Christian baptism after Pentecost is proclaimed in light of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and exaltation.
The two belong to the same unfolding plan of God, but they should not be treated as though nothing changed when Jesus completed His work.
6. “FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS” — WHAT DOES “FOR” MEAN?
This is a question worth examining carefully.
Mark 1:4 describes John as preaching a baptism of repentance:
“For the forgiveness of sins.”
The Greek phrase is:
eis aphesin hamartiōn.
The word eis commonly indicates movement toward something, a goal, or an intended result.
In this expression, the natural reading is that repentance and baptism are directed toward forgiveness.
It is not natural to make the phrase mean:
“Because their sins had already been forgiven.”
But we should also be careful about what this verse does and does not establish.
Mark is describing John’s baptism of repentance.
He is not giving us a complete explanation of Christian baptism after the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Nor does the verse explain every question about the precise moment at which forgiveness is received.
What it does tell us is clear.
John was not baptizing people because they had no sins to confess.
He was calling sinners to repent and receive God’s forgiveness as they prepared for the coming Messiah.
Compare Luke 3:3 and Acts 2:38, where the same expression, “for the forgiveness of sins,” appears.
The connection between repentance, baptism, and forgiveness deserves to be understood from the passages themselves rather than decided in advance by a theological tradition.
John called people to turn toward God, confess their sins, and prepare for the Messiah who was coming.
7. WHY WERE SO MANY PEOPLE GOING TO JOHN? — MARK 1:5
Mark says that people from the whole Judean countryside and Jerusalem went out to John.
They were baptized in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
Does that mean every single person in Judea was baptized?
No.
Mark is describing a widespread response.
Large numbers of people were leaving their homes and traveling into the wilderness to hear John.
Think about that.
John was not preaching in the Temple.
He was not inviting people to a comfortable building in Jerusalem.
He was out in the wilderness.
Yet people went to him.
His message was simple:
Repent. God is about to act. Prepare for the coming One.
John’s preaching also challenged the idea that religious ancestry or outward observance was enough.
Matthew 3:7–10 and Luke 3:7–14 show that John called for repentance that produced real changes in conduct.
He told people to share with those in need.
He warned tax collectors against taking more than they were authorized to collect.
He told soldiers not to extort money or accuse people falsely.
Repentance was not merely something people said.
It was something that should become visible in the way they lived.
8. WHY DOES MARK DESCRIBE JOHN’S CLOTHING? — MARK 1:6
Mark tells us that John wore camel’s hair clothing and a leather belt.
He ate locusts and wild honey.
Why include those details?
Compare the description of Elijah in 2 Kings 1:8.
Elijah was described as a hairy man wearing a leather belt.
The resemblance is significant.
Malachi 4:5 had promised that Elijah would come before the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
Jesus later explained that John fulfilled the promised role of Elijah (Matthew 11:13–14; 17:10–13).
John was not literally Elijah returned from the dead.
Luke 1:17 says that John would go before the Lord “in the spirit and power of Elijah.”
Like Elijah, John was a prophet who confronted sin and called God’s people to return to Him.
His simple clothing and wilderness diet also set him apart from the luxury associated with royal courts.
Jesus later asked the crowds whether they had gone into the wilderness to see a man dressed in fine clothing.
Such people, He said, belonged in kings’ houses (Matthew 11:7–8).
John had not come to impress people with his appearance.
He had come to deliver God’s message.
9. JOHN POINTS AWAY FROM HIMSELF — MARK 1:7
John said:
“After me comes He who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.”
John had attracted enormous attention.
People traveled from Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside to hear him.
But John did not make himself the center of his message.
He pointed to someone greater.
Removing another person’s sandals was the work of a servant.
John said he was not even worthy to perform that task for the One who was coming.
What a contrast.
John had been sent by God.
He was the promised forerunner.
Jesus described him as a great prophet (Matthew 11:9–11).
Yet John understood that his own importance came from the One he had been sent to announce.
John was the messenger. Jesus was the One whose coming the messenger announced.
That distinction prepares us for the final statement in this passage.
10. WATER AND THE HOLY SPIRIT — MARK 1:8
John said:
“I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
John could immerse people in water.
But the coming Messiah would do something greater.
He would give the Holy Spirit.
The Old Testament had already promised a time when God would pour out His Spirit upon His people.
Consider Ezekiel 36:25–27.
God promised to cleanse His people, give them a new heart, and put His Spirit within them.
Joel 2:28–29 also promised that God would pour out His Spirit.
John announces that the One coming after him will bring the fulfillment of God’s promise.
Notice the significance.
In the Old Testament, God is the One who promises to give His Spirit.
In Mark, John says that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
Once again, Mark is introducing Jesus as far more than an ordinary prophet.
He is the One through whom God’s promised renewal will come.
11. WHEN WAS JOHN’S PROMISE FULFILLED?
We should allow the New Testament to answer this question.
Before His ascension, Jesus reminded the apostles of John’s words:
“John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” — Acts 1:5
Then, on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles (Acts 2:1–4).
Peter explained what had happened by quoting Joel’s prophecy concerning the outpouring of the Spirit.
He also declared that the risen and exalted Jesus had received the promised Holy Spirit from the Father and poured out what the people were seeing and hearing (Acts 2:33).
John had announced that the coming Messiah would give the Spirit.
Peter announced that Jesus had done exactly that.
Later, when the Holy Spirit came upon Cornelius and his household, Peter remembered Jesus’ words about John baptizing with water and Jesus baptizing with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44–48; 11:15–17).
We should distinguish these accounts from the promise made to repentant believers in Acts 2:38 that they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The New Testament describes the Spirit’s work in several ways. We should not assume that every reference to receiving the Spirit describes an identical event or outward manifestation.
But the central point of Mark 1:8 is unmistakable:
John could prepare people for the Messiah. Jesus would bring the promised gift of the Holy Spirit.
12. WHAT DOES THIS PASSAGE TELL US ABOUT JESUS?
Now return to the beginning.
Mark announces:
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
Then he quotes the prophets concerning the preparation of the way of the LORD.
He introduces John as the promised messenger.
John calls Israel to repentance.
And John announces that someone greater is coming—someone who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
Mark is putting the pieces together.
The coming of Jesus fulfills God’s promises.
Jesus is the Messiah.
He is the Son of God.
He is the One whose coming fulfills the prophetic announcement about preparing the way of the LORD.
And He is the One who brings the promised Holy Spirit.
We do not need to begin by arguing against a particular religious group or by assuming that everyone who disagrees with us has dishonest motives.
We can begin with the text.
Read Isaiah 40:3.
Read Malachi 3:1.
Then read Mark 1:1–8.
Ask whose way was being prepared in the prophets.
Ask whose way John prepared in Mark.
Ask who promised to give the Spirit in the Old Testament.
Then ask who John says will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
Let the passages speak together.
13. WHAT ABOUT JOHN’S BAPTISM AND THE TEMPLE?
One final question deserves attention.
John was calling people to repent and be baptized in the Jordan River rather than directing them to the Temple for this act.
Does that mean John announced that the Temple and its sacrifices were already abolished?
Mark does not say that.
The Temple was still standing.
The Law of Moses was still part of Israel’s covenant life.
And Jesus Himself would later speak of presenting the offering Moses commanded (Mark 1:44).
We should not read later events back into Mark 1 as though they had already happened.
Nevertheless, John’s ministry was preparing Israel for a decisive change.
The Messiah was coming.
The promised new covenant would be established through His death.
And the forgiveness of sins would ultimately rest upon the sacrifice of Christ, not upon the continuing sacrifices of the Temple (Hebrews 9–10).
John was not announcing a new building or a new priestly organization.
He was announcing a person.
The Messiah was coming.
That is where Mark wants our attention.
QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT
Before moving to the next passage, consider these questions.
1. Why does Mark begin his Gospel with the Old Testament prophets rather than with the birth of Jesus?
2. In Isaiah 40:3, whose way is being prepared? How does Mark apply that prophecy?
3. What was John calling people to do, and why were they being baptized?
4. Why does Mark describe John’s clothing and his life in the wilderness?
5. What could John do with water that was different from what Jesus would do with the Holy Spirit?
6. How does Acts 2 help us understand John’s promise about the coming Messiah?
7. What have we learned about Jesus before Mark has even described His first miracle?
THE BIG PICTURE
Mark has introduced us to the good news.
God had promised to come to His people.
He had promised to send a messenger to prepare the way.
He had promised forgiveness, renewal, and the gift of His Spirit.
John appeared in the wilderness and announced that the time of preparation had arrived.
But John was not the center of the story.
He pointed beyond himself.
Someone greater was coming.
And in the very next passage, Jesus steps onto the scene.
NEXT STUDY: Mark 1:9–13 — Jesus’ Baptism and Temptation
Why was Jesus baptized if He had no sins to confess? What happened when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him? And why did the Spirit immediately lead Him into the wilderness?
These are the questions Mark takes up next.
TEXT B4 TRADITION
Read First. Conclude Later.
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