Mark 1:1-8 (NKJV) The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in the Prophets:
“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.”
3 “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make His paths straight.’ ”
4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5 Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 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. 8 I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
V1 “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The Gospel is “Good News.” This good news is about Jesus, what He taught, did, and accomplished in His ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension. He came to seek and to save (Luke 19:10). All people are born sinners and on their way to eternal hell of conscious, tormenting punishment. This can be avoided if we heed Jesus’s message: (Acts 16:30-31 (MSB)) Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” [31] They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household.”
V2 “As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.” God gave the prophets a message far in advance so that when it happened, the message would be authenticated. God does know the future, not because He decreed everything. This messenger is John the Baptist. He is the forerunner preparing the people to repent and accept the soon appearance of the Messiah, Jesus.
V3 “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.’ ” This has the commission for John the Baptist. Make his paths straight carries the idea of preparing all the materials needed to build a desk. When all has been gathered (prepared), then the building of the desk begins. Verses 2-3 are a combination of Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1.
V4 “John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” What is the baptism of repentance? Literally, it is the baptism at repentance. The Greek word for it (G1519) εἰς ice, which means motion into or towards someplace or thing, duration or towards a specific place or regarding the senses, etc.. It is translated many different ways. It is translated “at” in 16 places (see Luke 8:26; Luke 9:61; John 11:32; Acts 4:6; Acts 8:40; Acts 18:22; Acts 20:14; Acts 20:15; Acts 20:16; Acts 21:3; Acts 21:13; Acts 25:15; Acts 27:3; Acts 28:12; Romans 4:20; 2 Timothy 2:26).
Arnold Fruchtenbaum:
“Q: What was the “baptism of repentance” John proclaimed to the Jews repenting of?
A: The word “repentance” means “to change one’s mind.” In essence, John the Baptist was calling upon the Jewish people to repent or change their minds about which Judaism they were going to follow: Pharisaic Judaism or biblical Judaism.
“Those who were willing to make the commitment and follow biblical Judaism would undergo water baptism to show their new identification with John’s kingdom message. This message was based upon biblical Judaism, the only Judaism that would qualify the people for Messiah’s kingdom.”
The Greek word “for” is (G1519)εἰς eis (ice), which means into, to, etc.
(Wuest’s Word Studies): “One needs to be careful as to the exact import of this baptism. John’s words as given in the A. V. of Mat 3:11, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance,” make the rite the cause of repentance in the heart of the individual who is baptized. This is due to an unfortunate translation of Eis which has various uses. A comparison of this passage with Mat 12:41 where the same preposition Eis is translated “at,” namely, “the men of Nineveh repented at, (because of) the preaching of Jonah,” makes it clear that John said, “Repent, and be baptized because of the remission of sins.” The same holds true of Peter’s words in Act 2:38, where the same preposition is used. This is confirmed by the context in Matthew (Mat 3:7-9) where John refuses to baptize the Pharisees and Sadducees because they did not show evidences of repentance. This is also shown to be the correct interpretation and translation of Eis here, by the testimony of Josephus who declared that John taught the Jews that the rite of baptism would not wash away sins, but was for those who had already had their souls purified beforehand. Thus, we have here the import of water baptism. Submission to this rite is the testimony of the person to the fact that he has been saved.”
Another common example is “If you saw a poster saying Jesse James wanted for robbery, it could mean Jesse is wanted so he can commit a robbery, or is wanted because he has committed a robbery. The latter sense is the correct one. So too in this passage, the word for signifies an action in the past. Otherwise, it would violate the entire tenor of the NT teaching on salvation by grace and not by works.”
V5 “Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.” Those from every area of Judea and Jerusalem, not each and every person. Those who went had been convicted by the Holy Spirit and are responding correctly. Their attitude and actions show their faith (they believed the message) and commitment (by being baptized).
V6 “Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.” A wilderness man, not a man of wealth or status. The most important part of his ministry is the blessing and grace of God for this ministry. Zechariah 4:6 (MSB) So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.”
V7 “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.” He testifies that Messiah is coming very soon, even in these people’s lifetime. John testifies that Jesus is greater, so much so that John felt unworthy to even do the work of a slave by removing his sandals and washing His feet.
V8 “I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” John had an outward ritual of commitment; Jesus gave an inward reality of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Spirit is not revealed by tongues but by the fruit of the Spirit (Matthew 12:33-37 and Galatians 5:22-23).
We learn:
- Who John the Baptist is and his ministry.
- The purpose of baptism.
Questions:
- Have we believed the Gospel?
- Have we shown commitment to Jesus and His worldview, lifestyle, beliefs, and rules?
- Do others know we are Christ followers?