Mark 1

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Mark chapter one introduces John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus, who is baptized by John and declared the Son of God. Jesus then begins His ministry, calling disciples, teaching with authority, and performing numerous healings and exorcisms throughout Galilee. His fame quickly spreads, though He often seeks solitary places for prayer and continues to preach in various towns.

The Beginning of the Gospel 1–8

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way;

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight;

John came, who baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins.

And there went out unto him all the country of Judæa, and all they of Jerusalem; and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leathern girdle about his loins, and did eat locusts and wild honey.

And he preached, saying, There cometh after me he that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

I baptized you in water; but he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit.

The Baptism of Jesus 9–11

And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in the Jordan.

And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens rent asunder, and the Spirit as a dove descending upon him:

and a voice came out of the heavens, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased.

The Temptation in the Wilderness 12–13

And straightway the Spirit driveth him forth into the wilderness.

And he was in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry 14–20

Now after John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,

and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe in the gospel.

And passing along by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishers.

And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

And straightway they left the nets, and followed him.

And going on a little further, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending the nets.

And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him.

Jesus' Authority in Capernaum 21–28

And they go into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught.

And they were astonished at his teaching: for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes.

And straightway there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus thou Nazarene? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.

And the unclean spirit, tearing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.

And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this? a new teaching! with authority he commandeth even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.

And the report of him went out straightway everywhere into all the region of Galilee round about.

A Day of Healing 29–39

And straightway, when they were come out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

Now Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever; and straightway they tell him of her:

and he came and took her by the hand, and raised her up; and the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.

And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were sick, and them that were possessed with demons.

And all the city was gathered together at the door.

And he healed many that were sick with divers diseases, and cast out many demons; and he suffered not the demons to speak, because they knew him.

And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose up and went out, and departed into a desert place, and there prayed.

And Simon and they that were with him followed after him;

and they found him, and say unto him, All are seeking thee.

And he saith unto them, Let us go elsewhere into the next towns, that I may preach there also; for to this end came I forth.

And he went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out demons.

Jesus Heals a Leper 40–45

And there cometh to him a leper, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

And being moved with compassion, he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou made clean.

And straightway the leprosy departed from him, and he was made clean.

And he strictly charged him, and straightway sent him out,

and saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to spread abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into a city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Mark 1

Verse 1

the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God — Euangelion is good news, the word Jesus preaches in vv.14–15 and sends out in 16:15. The title 'the Son of God' is confirmed at both ends of the book: by the Father's voice, 'Thou art my beloved Son' (v.11), and by the centurion at the cross, 'Truly this man was the Son of God' (15:39).

Verse 2

my messenger — Angelos, usually 'angel', here a man sent ahead; the Lord applies the line to John (Matt 11:10). Its first words are from Mal 3:1, 'Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me', where 'the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple'; v.3 adds Isa 40:3. Mark names both under 'the prophets'.

Verse 4

the baptism of repentance — Metanoia is a change of mind; aphesis, 'remission', is a release, the word of 'deliverance to the captives' (Luke 4:18). The baptism points beyond itself: 'John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him' (Acts 19:4).

Verse 7

the latchet of whose shoes — The latchet (himas) is the strap that ties a sandal. 'Stoop down' is kupto, found elsewhere only in John 8:6, 8, where Jesus himself 'stooped down'. The comparison is with the one 'mightier' who comes after: 'he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost' (v.8).

Verse 10

the heavens opened — Schizo, to split or tear. In Mark it is used again only of the temple veil 'rent in twain from the top to the bottom' at his death (15:38). Isa 64:1 asks, 'Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down'. The Spirit comes 'upon him', as in Isa 42:1: 'I have put my spirit upon him'.

Verse 13

tempted of Satan — Peirazo, to test; Heb 4:15 says he 'was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin'. The forty days recall Moses, who 'was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights' (Ex 34:28). The angels 'ministered' (diakoneo), the verb of 10:45: 'to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many'.

Verse 14

after that John was put in prison — The verb is paradidomi, to deliver up, the verb used of Christ: 'The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men' (9:31; also 14:41). The forerunner is delivered up first; then Jesus comes 'into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God'.

Verse 15

The time is fulfilled — Kairos is an appointed season. 'Is fulfilled' and 'is at hand' (eggizo, to draw near) are both perfect tenses: a thing done, now present. Compare 'when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son' (Gal 4:4). 'Repent' (metanoeo) and 'believe' are present commands.

Verse 17

fishers of men — Simon and Andrew were 'casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers' (v.16), and the calling uses their trade. 'Come ye after me' is literally 'come, behind me'. In Luke 5:10 the promise is 'thou shalt catch men', zogreo, to take alive.

Verse 22

as one that had authority — Exousia is the right to act, and it runs through the chapter: for teaching here, for commanding 'the unclean spirits' (v.27), and for forgiving sins in 2:10. 'Astonished' is ekplesso, struck out of composure, the reaction recorded again at the close of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 7:28–29).

Verse 24

the Holy One of God — A title the unclean spirit gives him. Peter later charges the Jews, 'ye denied the Holy One and the Just' (Acts 3:14), and Ps 16:10, 'neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption', is applied to him in Acts 2:27. 'I know thee' is not faith: 'the devils also believe, and tremble' (Jas 2:19).

Verse 32

at even, when the sun did set — Both time marks place this after the sabbath of v.21, because a sabbath is kept 'from even unto even' (Lev 23:32), and Nehemiah shut the gates when they 'began to be dark before the sabbath' (Neh 13:19). Only then do they carry the sick to him. 'Possessed with devils' renders one participle, daimonizomai, 'being demonized', as also in Matt 8:16.

Verse 34

suffered not the devils to speak — Aphiemi, to let, in the imperfect: he kept on not allowing it. 'Because they knew him' gives the reason. The restraint recurs in 3:11–12, where the spirits cry 'Thou art the Son of God' and he 'straitly charged them that they should not make him known'. Paul silences a like testimony in Acts 16:16–18.

Verse 35

a solitary place — Eremos is the word translated 'wilderness' in vv.3, 4, 12, 13 and 'desert places' in v.45: the place of John's preaching and of the temptation is where he now goes to pray. 'Prayed' is imperfect: he was praying. 'A great while before day' (ennuchon) occurs only here. Compare Luke 5:16.

Verse 38

the next towns — Komopolis, a town without walls, occurs only here. 'For therefore came I forth' is a perfect tense; Luke 4:43 gives the purpose as 'I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent', and John 16:28 has 'I came forth from the Father'.

Verse 41

moved with compassion — Splagchnizomai, from splagchnon, the inward parts, the seat of pity. The leper had said, 'If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean' (v.40); the answer is 'I will; be thou clean'. He touches the man the law set apart: 'he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be' (Lev 13:46).

Verse 44

shew thyself to the priest — The command follows Lev 14:2: 'This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest', with the offering that follows (Lev 14:4, 10). It is 'for a testimony unto them' (marturion): the priest's examination is the witness to the cleansing.

Verse 45

began to publish it much — The verb is kerusso, 'to preach', used of John (v.7), of Jesus (vv.14, 38) and here of the healed man. The result is that Jesus 'could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places' (eremos, as in v.35), and 'they came to him from every quarter'.