| Mark 1 | |
|---|---|
Mark 2 → | |
 Mark 1:1–5 (Latin) inCodex Gigas (13th century) | |
| Book | Gospel of Mark |
| Category | Gospel |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 2 |
| Gospel of Mark |
|---|
Mark 1 is the firstchapter of theGospel of Mark in theNew Testament of theChristianBible. It recounts the proclamation ofJohn the Baptist, the baptism ofJesus Christ, histemptations and the beginning of his ministry inGalilee.[1]
The original text was written inKoine Greek.This chapter is divided into 45 verses.
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
The opening verse of theGospel of Mark sets outMark'sbelief right from the start:Anglican BishopTom Wright describes this verse as "a great way to start".[4] American academic Robert J. Miller translates it as "Thegoodnews of Jesus theAnointed",[5] on the basis that χριστοῦ means "anointed" and the phrase υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ is not present in some early manuscripts. Some older manuscripts (such asCodex Koridethi (Θ; 038),Minuscule 28) omit "Son of God", but Swedish theologian Tommy Wasserman through research concludes that theomission was accidental.[6][7][8]
The "beginning" could refer to the beginning of the book, or the next verse,[9] or the beginning of the story of Jesus, as Mark is only beginning to tell the reader about Jesus' life, not writing his entirebiography.[10]
By saying he is the anointed, Mark is declaring Jesus theMessiah, the successor to KingDavid. Mark always uses "Christ" which is derived from the Greek translation, he never uses "Messias" (Strong's G3323 – Μεσσίας) which is derived from the Greektransliteration of theAramaic word for "Messiah". "Son of God" can be seen as synonymous with a political messiah, in this case theKing of the Jews, but can also be seen as expressingdivinity,[11] as in the phrase "God the Son". Only thedemonic opponents of Jesus call him this in Mark until thecenturion inMark 15:39. 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.[12]
Henry Barclay Swete'sIntroduction to the Old Testament in Greek, pages 456–457 states:[13]
St Bede remarks on the contrast between Mark's opening verse andMatthew's first verse, where Jesus is described as "Jesus Christ, the Son ofDavid, the Son ofAbraham". Here he is called "the Son of God", but "from both we must understand one Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, and of man".[14]
In the Greek texts of Mark edited byWestcott and Hort,Samuel Prideaux Tregelles and theSociety of Biblical Literature, the prophecies quoted are described as being written "ἐν τῷ Ἠσαΐᾳ τῷ προφήτῃ" (en tō Ēsaia tō prophētē, "in the prophetIsaiah"), as they are inmanuscriptsB,D,L,Δ andא,[17] whereas theTextus Receptus reads "ἐν τοῖς προφήταις" (en tois prophētais, "in the prophets") in line with many other ancient manuscripts andpatristic writings.[17][18]
Some think this might indicate that Mark did not use a completeJewish Bible but instead used a general collection of quotations from them.[19] Protestant theologianHeinrich Meyer suggests that the reference to Isaiah is authentic but it was a "mistake of memory".[17] The quote appears to be a composite from the books ofExodus (23:20),Malachi (3:1) andIsaiah (40:3),[20] linking the gospel of Jesus with afulfillment of the "Old Testament". Mark assumes they refer toJohn the Baptist or applies them to him.
The passage from Malachi describes one who will prepare the way of Godfor God. Mark has changed the statement of Malachi, which refers toElijah 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 withGod.[21]
In more detail, it appears Mark has taken part ofExodus 23:20 of the Septuagint:ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου (Brenton Ex 23:20: "behold, I send my angel before thy face") and combined it with part ofMalachi 3:1 of the Septuagint:ἐπιβλέψεται ὁδόν (Brenton Mal 3:1: "survey the way") to createMark 1:2 in the Westcott-Hort Greek NT:ἰδοὺ ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου ὃς κατασκευάσει τὴν ὁδόν σου. The significant differences areἐπιβλέψεται ("survey" – Brenton) is replaced withκατασκευάσει ("prepare" –NRSV) and a finalσου ("your" – NRSV) has been added: "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,[22] who will prepare your way" (Mark 1:2 in the NRSV). The following quote of Isaiah 40:3 is specifically from theSeptuagint,[23] compareBrenton 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 theMasoretic Text40:3: "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 NRSV40:3: "A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." or thenew 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 inLuke inLuke 3:4–6,Matthew inMatthew 3:3, andJohn inJohn 1:23. This section of Isaiah is about the return journey home from theBabylonian captivity and was a passageJews often used as a way of expressing the help of God. Isaiah probably uses this passage symbolically to describe moral cleansing and renewal.[19] Thus John is linked toIsaiah as well and once again Mark equates the lord of this passage,Yahweh, with Jesus.[24]
Mark describes John's activities, preachingrepentance andforgiveness ofsins andbaptising in theJordan River. He says he worecamel hair, aleather belt, and survived onlocusts and wildhoney. His clothes resemble Elijah's as described in2 Kings 1:8. There is also theprophecy of true prophet's clothing in theBook of Zechariah13:4. His diet may have been his attempt at purity.[19] There has been much speculation that John was anEssene, perhaps alsoJesus, but there is no hard evidence either way. According toLuke, Jesus and John were relatives (Luke 1:36) and John is described as being aNazarite from birth (Luke 1:15). All portraits of him paint him as certainly anascetic, but also as a popular and respected preacher.
This portrait of John is somewhat the same but somewhat different from the oneJosephus 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 ofElijah and merely the herald of who Mark deems the more important, Jesus.[19] According to theQhypothesis John baptising was also found at the beginning of that book as well.[25] John is revered inMandaeism.
Many people fromJudea and (or 'including')[26]Jerusalem come toconfess their sins and be baptised by John. Lutheran pietistJohann Bengel makes the point that "capital cities are [often] not readily wont to follow a new institution [a new mode of life preached for the first time]".[27]
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 theHoly Spirit." Untying someone's sandals was a task commonly done by someone's slave.[19] What baptising with the Holy Spirit refers to, as Jesus never baptises in Mark, is uncertain if one only considers Mark.John 4:1–3 has Jesus'disciples (but not Jesus) baptising at the same time as John the Baptist. (See alsoParaclete,Acts 1:5,1:8,2:4,2:38).Matthew 3:11 andLuke 3:16 specify baptism with holy spiritand fire.
This expression "to stoop down" is peculiar to Mark's Gospel.[29]
Some see John's statement patterned on theBook of Exodus, inExodus 23:20.[19] Other books used this pattern to describe otherprophets, such asHosea inHosea 2:14 and12:9.[5] John refers to his baptism in the past tense (aorist),Greek:ἐγὼ ἐβάπτισα ὑμᾶς,[31] but some versions translate this statement in the present tense,I baptize you.[32]
TheJesus Seminar concluded that this was one of the authentic ("red") acts of Jesus, recorded inMark 1:1–8,Matthew 3:1–12,Luke 3:1–20,Gospel of the Ebionites 1, and which it calls "A voice in the wilderness".
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Jesus is one of the many who come to be baptised, in his case fromNazareth inGalilee. Since John, according to Mark, baptised repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4) 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.John 1:31 has John say his baptism was his method of revealing Jesus toIsrael. Perhaps Jesus is doing this to embrace the doctrine of baptism and repentance of sins and his oneness with those who embrace it.[33] TheEpistle to the Hebrews, inHebrews 4:15, says Jesus was "just as we are — yet was withoutsin" and1 John 3:4–5 states: "...sin islawlessness; ... 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.[5]
John baptizes him and Jesus then sees atheophany. He sees "heaven being torn open" (Greek:σχιζομένους,schizomenous, rent open),[27] "and the spirit descending on him like adove",[34] 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 toPsalm2:7, as well asIsaiah 42:1.[35] The "opening of the heavens"[36] is often seen as the union and beginning of communication between God and the world.[citation needed] Whether anyone else besides Jesus saw this has been often debated:Luke 3:22 says the Spirit descended in "bodily" form;John 1:32–34 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 theEarly Christian practice of baptism, althoughFranciscan theologian Robert J. Karris[37] argues that this is unlikely.[19]
Some have argued that since Mark begins his story here, at the baptism, this could be seen as a form ofadoption, as it is God's action which changed Jesus' life, although Mark is probably confirming their preexistent relationship.[19] 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 theirinfancy narratives to show that Jesus was God's son from the moment ofconception, andJohn 1:1 has him as theword of God from the moment ofcreation.[35]
Thevoice from heaven calls Jesus "beloved". Some see a relationship between this description and that ofIsaac inGenesis22, whereAbraham had shown his devotion to God by beingwilling tosacrifice his son, so God shows his love forhumanity byactually sacrificing his son, see alsoSubstitutionary atonement. There is also the possible link with this and thebeloved servant of God inIsaiah 42:1–7,49:1–6,50:4–11, and52:13–53:12.[38]
The spirit then "at once",kaieuthys, sends him out into the desert to betempted bySatan for forty days. Forty is a commonnumerological device in the Bible, such as the forty days of the flood inGenesis 7 and the forty years of the Israelites wandering in the desert inExodus. Elijah also spent forty days and nights travelling toMount Horeb in1 Kings 19:8. UnlikeMatthew 4:1–11 andLuke 4:1–13 the number of temptations or what they were are not described. Mark does say thatAngels came to minister to him. Karris argues that the angels and the wilderness are related toPsalm 91:11–13.[19]
John is put into prison, presumably byHerod Antipas. Mark uses the termparadothēnai to describe John being "turned over", which Mark also uses to describe Jesus being arrested during hisPassion. 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 thisworld andsupernatural powers.
TheJesus Seminar concluded that parts of these accounts were authentic ("red") acts of Jesus, specifically: "John baptizes Jesus":Mark 1:9–11,Matthew 3:13–17,Luke 3:21–22,Gospel of the Ebionites 4; and "Jesus proclaims the gospel":Mark 1:14–15.
Mark explains the circumstances of John's imprisonment inMark 6:17–18.
Jesus then goes intoGalilee, preaching "Thekingdom of God is near (ēngiken).Repent 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.[40] The words "is at hand" may be read as "has drawn near" (NKJV),[41] or "has come near" (ESV).[42] 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.[43] The gospel is seen as not just God's message but God's actions.[19] Jesus here links the coming of God with the termēngiken (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.[44] See alsoJustification (theology).
Jesus goes to theSea of Galilee and findsSimon (whom he will nameRock (Peter) in3:16) and his brotherAndrew. They arefishing, a large business then in Galilee.[45] He speaks the famous phrase: "Come, follow me,...and I will make you fishers of men." Some have argued their status as fishermen ismetaphorical, based perhaps onJeremiah 16:16, 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.[45] Andrew was adisciple of John the Baptist according toJohn. He only appears three times in Mark, here, and inMark 3:18 andMark 13:3. They follow him and then soon come uponJames andJohn (whom he will name theSons of Thunder in3:17), who also quickly join the group, "they left their father Zebedee in the boat with thehired 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.[46]John's Gospel relates Jesus convincingNathanael to join this group inJohn 1:43–51.
Mark says they had nets inMark 1:16 and they and their father,Zebedee, employed other men inMark 1:20. Karris argues this shows they had money and a high probability of being educated, with a knowledge of theJewish Bible. Others point toActs 4:13 to show that they were unschooled, but Karris argues against reading this too literally.[45]
John 1:35–51 has Andrew and someone else who are with John the Baptist follow Jesus after John calls him theLamb of God. They then bring Simon to Jesus, who gives him the Aramaic nameCephas, meaning Rock (Peter).Philip and Nathanael are then called secondly, not James and John. The calling of disciples is also found inLuke 5:1–11 andMatthew 4:18–22.
TheologianRichard Bauckham makes several observations pertaining to the prominence ofSimon Peter's name in theGospel of Mark:[48]
Jesus and the four go toCapernaum, which Mark presents as Jesus's center of activity, and Jesus teaches in thesynagogue on thesabbath. Eventually, atMark 9:5, in recording theTransfiguration of Jesus, Mark uses the technical termῥαββί,rhabbi, "rabbi", meaning a Jewish teacher ofMosaic Law (see alsoRabboni). 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.[citation needed]
Somearchaeologists 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.[50] Anyone who showed a sufficient knowledge of the scriptures could preach in the synagogue.[45] Mark says the people thought Jesus taught with "authority", which thescribes did not. The scribes would answer questions in a traditional, official manner, see alsoPharisaic Principles and Values. Jesus in Mark operates on no authority but his own judgement.[51] According toJohn 2 Jesus attended theMarriage at Cana before going to Capernaum.
He thenperforms an exorcism on ademon possessed man. Curing people, especially possessed people, will be another major method Jesus uses in hismission in Mark.[52] The demon recognizes Jesus as "theHoly 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.[53] The power of Jesus' word over the demon might be Mark's way of trying to show to his audience, perhaps under the threat ofpersecution, that Jesus' message will overcomeevil.[52] By showing Jesus' teaching first before his exorcism Mark might be placing emphasis onJesus' teachings as more important that anymiracle 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 anothermagician.[54] 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 inHellenistic cultural stories of exorcisms differ in that they usually involve an associateddisease, which is not the case here.John P. Meier sees a clear distinction between these incidents and descriptions of magicians at the time.[55]
They go to Peter and Andrew's house andJesus 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.[53] Mark uses the termēgeiren, "to lift up", to describe Jesus' cure of her, followed bydiēkonei, "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.[45] A story about Peter's mother-in-law might have survived due to the popularity of Peter among early Christians.[56]
Peter is clearly listed here as having a wife, as Jesus healed his mother-in-law.Paul says that otherApostles, Cephas (Peter), andJesus' brothers have wives, but not him, in1 Corinthians 9:5. See alsoClerical celibacy.
It is now night. Mark says "That evening aftersunset …", 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 theMessianic Secret. 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 solitaryprayer. Mark says πρωι εννυχον λιαν (prōi ennycha lian, "very early, it being yet night",[57] a complicated description of time employing threeadverbs).[58] 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 (exēlthon),[59] with itsex- 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.[58] He then travels over all of Galilee, preaching and healing.
Hecures a leper who comes to him asking for a cure and tells him to show thepriests and offer the cleaning sacrificesMoses had commanded (Leviticus 13–14), but not to tell people that Jesus had done it. Jesus here seems to stress the importance of theMosaic law, see alsoExpounding of the Law. This episode is also recorded in theEgerton Gospel 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 asfavus orpsoriasis.[58] Mark says Jesus had "compassion" for the man, although a few manuscripts (theCodex Bezae and three others inold Latin) 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",embrimēsamenos, warning to the man in verse 43. Mark however also shows Jesus' anger in many other places, such asMark 3:5 and theincident at the Temple, see alsoExpounding of the Law#Anger.Bruce Metzger'sTextual Commentary on the Greek NT postulates a possible "confusion" between similar words inAramaic (compareSyriac ethraham, "he had pity", with ethra'em, "he was enraged")". See alsoAramaic primacy. Perhaps more likely, H. A. G. Houghton from theUniversity of Birmingham speculated in "The Latin New Testament: A Guide to its Early History, Texts, and Manuscripts" that the mistake stemmed from a copyist misreading of the Latin word "miseratus", which means "pity", as "iratus", which means "anger".[60] 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.[58]
The chapter ends with Jesus returning to the "deserted" or "lonely" places, (Ancient Greek:επ ερημοις τοποις,ep eremois topois), which have been mentioned throughout the chapter (Mark 1:3–4, 12–13, 35, 45), but the people follow him there too.
Matthew records these events inMatthew 3–4 without an explicit mention of the exorcism and thecuring of Peter's mother-in-law. The curing of the leper then appears inMatthew 8:1–4 after theSermon on the Mount, along with the healing of Peter's mother-in-law inMatthew 8:14–17.
Luke largely has the same order as Mark inLuke 3–5:16 except that Jesus calls his disciples after meeting Peter and curing his mother-in-law. Luke also has Jesus going toNazareth 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 inJohn 1. John also has Jesus' disciples baptising at the same time as John the Baptist and so has more occur before John's arrest than in thesynoptic accounts.
| Preceded by Matthew 28 | Chapters of the Bible Gospel of Mark | Succeeded by Mark 2 |
