The Announcement of the Messiah

The Messiah, the Son of God - Mark 1:1-8

Unlike the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Mark does not contain an account of Jesus' birth. The "beginning" (Gen.1:1; John 1:1) is identified with the ministry of John the Baptist (cf. Acts 1:22) and with the Old Testament prophecies announcing John's coming.

Israel had been without an prophet for 400 years and now God was communicating again. See "The Intertestamental Period - Years of Silence."

"Gospel" is a term belonging to the domain of historical reporting, meaning either "good news" (2 Sam. 4:10; 1 Kings 1:42) or simply "news" (1 Sam. 4:17; Jer. 20:15). The Greeks used the word for significant events, like the birth of an emperor or a major military victory. The Gospel of Jesus is the announcement of God's salvation accomplished by Christ. See "The Gospel: What Is Salvation and How Do I Get It?" below.

Mark uses the phrase "about Jesus Christ." The original has the more (intentionally) ambiguous form "of Jesus Christ." While the content of Mark's Gospel is "about" Jesus Christ, this Gospel is also "of" him in that it emanates from him (Rom. 1:9; 1 Cor. 9:12; 2 Cor. 10:14). The Gospel of Mark thereby lays claim to divine authority and implicitly demands to be received as the Word of Christ through his apostles to the Church (cf. Rev. 1:1). Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, which means "the LORD saves" (Matt. 1:21).

The word "Christ," (cf. Matt. 1:1) is based on the Greek word for "anointed," Christ corresponds to the Hebrew word mashiach, or "Messiah," "the anointed one." In the Old Testament, anointing with oil symbolized God's designation of a person to an office. All three Old Testament offices - prophet, priest and king - were so designated (see 1 Kings 19:16; Exod. 29:7; 1 Sam. 16:13, respectively), but by the time of Jesus, "Messiah" was a designation primarily used for the office of king. The Old Testament promised the coming of the righteous servant of the Lord (Isa. 42:1-9), who would be a prophet like Moses (Deut. 18:18-19), a priest like Melchizedek (Psa 110:4) and a king like David, the Lord's anointed (Isa 55:3-5; Jer. 30:9; Ezek. 34:24; Hos. 3:5; Zech. 12:8). Israel expected a Messiah who would bring victory over its enemies and establish a rule of peace. The Gospel of Matthew claims that Jesus is the "Christ," the promised King and Deliverer - much more than the Messiah of popular expectation. Jesus himself rarely used the title because it was so misunderstood. See HC 35.

As to the phrase, "Son of God," while this can be taken simply as another Messianic title (as Psa. 2:7 applied it to David's dynasty), Mark was surely presenting Jesus at the beginning of his Gospel as the divine, eternal Son (cf. Mark 12:37; 13:32; 14:36; 15:39).

The gospel is the good news about Jesus, the good news of fulfillment of God's promised salvation. Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua which means "the Lord saves". Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew, Messiah, which means "the anointed one". In Jesus' day it referred especially to the expected messianic king who would bring God's kingdom. Sometimes in the ancient world Son of God only meant king, but in Mark's gospel it is clear that it means much more and refers to Jesus as the unique, divine Son of God. See notes on 1:11; 6:48; 12:37; 15:39.

For the phrase "It is written," the Greek tense suggests a meaning such as "it stands written," expressing the unchanging character of God-inspired Scripture. By citing Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1, Mark showed the unified progress of revelation under the divine Lord of history. The Gospel's beginning and source is the Old Testament, and it is the inspired interpretation of the Old Testament's message in the light of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

As to the phrase, "Isaiah the prophet," the citation consists of a chain of texts concerning messengers God sent to prepare his people (Exod. 23:20; Isa. 40:3; Mal. 3:1). Edwards states:

The quotation of is identified as coming from the prophet Isaiah, although it is actually a tapestry of three OT passages. The reference to the sending of the messenger in Mark 1:2 follows the first half of both Exod 23:20 and Mal 3:1, although there is no exact counterpart in the OT to the latter half of Mark 1:2 ("who will prepare your way"). The greater part of the tapestry comes in Mark 1:3, which reproduces Isa 40:3 nearly exactly. Isaiah 40:3 is quoted by all four Gospels with reference to John the Baptizer as the forerunner of Jesus (Matt 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 1:76; John 1:23). The Isaiah quotation in Mark 1:3 was deemed the defining element of the tapestry of quotations.

The Old Testament quotation is a combination of Exod. 23:20, Isa. 40:3, and Mal. 3:10. Mark only mentioned Isaiah, probably because when he explained the meaning of the quotation most of the ideas mentioned were from Isaiah. In Isaiah the messenger was to prepare the way for God himself.

The Old Testament citations teach us to situate John not in some insignificant sectarian movement as some suggest, but in the center of God's plan for dealing with his people.

John preached in the desert to distinguish himself from the corruption of the religious leaders in Jerusalem and symbolically to remind Israel of the exodus (cf. Jer. 2:2 ff) and the promised return from exile (Isa 40:1 ff).

Mark uses the phrase, "baptism of repentance." The Qumran community, with which John may have had contact in his youth, practiced ritual cleansings/baptisms. Gentile converts to Judaism were also baptized. For John, baptism was not only a sign of radical repentance and of turning away from sin and toward good, but it was also an identification with the true remnant of Israel prepared for the Messiah's Kingdom.

John did not actually bestow forgiveness of sins. Here the Greek preposition "for" (in the phrase, "repentance for the forgiveness of sins") signifies "in preparation for" or "with a view to." Definitive forgiveness of sins belongs to the New Covenant (Jer. 31:34), which the Messiah would bring, but which had been "effectual" throughout the entire Old Covenant. See WCF 28.1; WLC 165. As to the term "repentance," Hendriksen states:

The word "forgiveness" means remission or sending away. It is a very comforting expression, reminding one of such passages as Lev. 16 (the two goats); Psa. 103:12 ("As far as the east is from the west, etc."); Isa. 1:18 ("Though your sins be as scarlet "); Isa. 44:22 ("I have blotted out, as a thick cloud your transgressions "); Isa. 55:6, 7 (" for he will abundantly pardon"); and Mic. 7:18 ("Who is a God like thee, pardoning iniquity "). The importance of this divine favor, apart from which life everlasting is impossible, is stressed also in many New Testament passages (Mark 3:29; Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38, 5:31; 10:43; 13:34, 38; 19:4; 26:18; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14). That removal of sin necessitated the shedding of the blood of the Lamb was taught by John the Baptist himself (John 1:29), in thorough harmony with the teaching of Christ and the apostles, as recorded by Mark and other New Testament writers (Mark 10:45; cf. 14:24; Matt. 20:28; 26:28; Luke 22:20; John 6:53, 56; Rom. 3:25; Heb. 9:22; 1 Peter 2:24; Rev. 1:5; 5:6, 9).

In Mark 1:5, he refers to "The whole Judean countryside." Mark used hyperbole to indicate that the covenant people went out to John in remarkably large numbers, no doubt as entire families (Mark 4:1; 6:44; cf. Mark 14:21). As to the importance of families in the covenants of God please see "Chloe's household - 1 Corinthians 1:11."

John's clothing and food identified him with the practices of Old Testament prophets (2 Kings 1:8; Zech. 13:4).

John's clothing was rather distinctive. Cooper states:

His clothing also, especially the leather belt, was reminiscent of another man of the wilderness who was also a prophet preparing the wayElijah (2 Kings 1:8). The explicit identification of John with Elijah is referenced by Mark later in Mark 9:9-13. Not only did John dress like Elijah, but he also understood his ministry to be one of reform and preparation, just as Elijah's was. A popular belief of the time was that Elijah would return from heaven to prepare the way for the Messiah (Mal. 4:5-6). John reminded the people of Elijah because of his dress and behavior.

His food was locusts and wild honey. There are two possible meanings for these words. The locusts could be the actual insect or also a kind of bean or nut that was the food of the poorest of the poor. The honey could actually be from the honeycomb of bees or a kind of sweet sap that distills from the bark of certain trees. Johns diet was very simple and "down to earth."

Who is the One whom John announced and before whom he did not even feel worthy to kneel? The Old Testament prophecies already cited are clear: He is the "Lord . . . [who] will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant" (Mal. 3:1). Earlier in Malachi 3:1 the Lord identified this messenger as "my messenger."

Garland explains saying:

John has only two small speaking parts in the Gospel (Mark 1:7-8; 6:13). The only thing that interests Mark in John's preaching is his announcement that one who is more powerful than he is coming, who will baptize with the Spirit. What is remarkable about this statement is that John hardly seems to rank with those normally deemed to be powerful or mighty. He will end up a prisoner in Herod's dungeon and will be summarily executed, his head handed to the besotted king on a platter (Mark 6:14-29). If he is to be regarded as powerful, then the conventional understanding of power must be completely recast. In John's case, he is powerful by dint of his mighty proclamation of God's will and of what God is about to do. The more powerful one who is to come is powerful because he will be the one who executes God's will. John comes as a voice crying, a lowly servant. Jesus comes as the beloved Son, who also will serve.

The Son possessed the Holy Spirit in full measure (Isa. 42:1; 61:1). The New Covenant also brought a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit to God's people than that given in the Old Testament (Ezek. 37:14; cf. Jer. 31:33-34; Joel 2:28-29). See "The Holy Spirit: Do All Believers Have the Holy Spirit?" and "The Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testaments."

John's clothing (See Zech. 13:4.), his diet, and the wilderness location were all reminders of the prophets of Israel's past and of the wilderness wanderings of Israel. In John's day Gentile converts to Judaism were baptized. Surprisingly, John was baptizing Jews. He was calling them to radical repentance, to turn from a rebellion of sin back to God. When Mark said the wholecountry he exaggerated to make his point. God was beginning to stir the hearts of his people and large numbers were responding. The way was being prepared for the Messiah. See WCF 28.1; WLC 165

John knew that he was preparing the way for the Lord himself. And John knew the Messianic Lord was far more powerful than he was. John also knew that the work of the Lord was greater too. The Lord would baptize with the Holy Spirit. See the article on the Holy Spirit. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy on Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4, 38-39).

When John baptized Jesus, the Father revealed Jesus unique status as the divine Son of God by sending his Holy Spirit to descend upon him like a dove.

In the fullness of time Jesus was baptized (Gal. 4:4). According to John 2:20, one of Jesus' earliest acts of public ministry following his baptism took place when the rebuilding of the temple was in its 46th year. Since Herod began the Temple's construction in 19 B.C., we can conclude that Jesus was baptized in A.D. 26 or 27.

Nazareth was a small town in Galilee, a region that was despised (John 7:41, 52) as "Gentile" (Matt. 4:15) because of its ethnically mixed population. Jesus was "baptized by John." Jesus knew this to be part of the divine plan ("all righteousness"; Matt. 3:15) by which he identified fully with the human condition and began his work of salvation. Hughes asks a significant question here. He says, "Why was Jesus baptized?" His answer:

That is a good question. In fact, Matthew says John asked it: "But John tried to deter him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?' Jesus replied, 'Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.' Then John consented" (Matthew 3:14, 15). Because Jesus was sinless, he needed no baptism of repentance. But in his baptism he associated himself with us sinners and placed himself among the guilty - not for his own salvation but for ours - not for his guilt but for ours - not because he feared the wrath to come, but to save us from it. His baptism meant the Cross!

In Mark 1:10 was we the term "as" (in the phrase, "As Jesus was coming up out of the water"). The NIV frequently does not render this small but important Greek word (euthus) that is characteristic of this Gospel (12 times in the rest of the NT, but 42 times in Mark). It generally means "at once" or "immediately" (Mark 1:12, 18, 20, 23, 29, 42, 43), though here not speed but rather the sureness and inevitability of God's sovereign plan may be in view, recalling that God ordered Jesus' ministry and that Jesus followed that divine plan without hesitation.

The "Spirit" is seen as "descending." This visible token of the Spirit's unction is a sign of Jesus' Messiahship (Mark 1:8). In Jesus' baptism, as later in Christian baptism (Matt. 28:19), all three persons of the Trinity are involved. We see the initiative of the Father, the vicarious work of the Son and the glorifying, enabling power of the Spirit.

In Mark 1:11 we see "You are my Son." The mystery of the person of Jesus finds expression in this divine declaration. He is the second person of the Godhead, the representative believer and the one true and faithful son of Israel. He pleases the Father, and the Father acknowledges him as Son in both a personal and an official, royal sense (Psa. 2:7; Isa. 42:1; cf. Mark 1:1). See "The Full Humanity of Jesus: What Kind of Man Was Jesus?" and "Jesus Christ, God and Man: How Can a Man Be God?"

The phrase, "whom I love" describes the unique relationship between the Father and the Son (cf. Gen. 22:2, 12, 16, where the same phrase is used in the Greek OT). It is underlined by the repetition of the definite article in the original, which, reproduced literally, would be "the son of me, the beloved one." Ryle says:

That voice was the voice of God the Father. It declared the wondrous and ineffable love which has existed between the Father and the Son from all eternity. "The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands" (John 3:35). It proclaimed the Father's full and complete approval of Christ's mission to seek and save the lost. It announced the Father's acceptance of the Son as the mediator, substitute and surety of the new covenant.

There is a rich mine of comfort in these words for all Christ's believing members. In themselves, and in their own doings, they see nothing to please God. They are daily aware of weakness, shortcomings and imperfection in all their ways. But let them recollect that the Father regards them as members of his beloved Son Jesus Christ. He sees no flaw in them (Song of Songs 4:7). He sees them as "in Christ," clothed in his righteousness and invested with his merit. They are "accepted in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6, KJV), and when the holy eye of God looks at them, he is "well pleased."

Nazareth was a small agricultural town in Galilee. It was Jesus' boyhood home on the road from the major city of Sepphoris to Samaria. When Jesus was baptized, the Spirit descended on him. He was anointed and equipped for his messianic ministry. At the same moment the voice of the Father came out of heaven. The voice combined two Old Testament passages. Psalm 2:7 affirmed that Jesus was the royal Son of God. Isaiah 42:1 added the thought that the Father was pleased with his messianic suffering servant. Together they present the thought that was so perplexing to the Jews of Jesus' day. How could the royal Messiah fulfill his victorious calling if he was to suffer?

Jesus' unique character was further demonstrated by the Holy Spirit's sending him into the wilderness, where he not only faced Satan, but also received the ministrations of angels. Whereas the first man Adam in the Garden failed God's test (Gen 3), the second and last man Adam - Christ (1 Cor. 15:45, 47) passes the test of all tests. He did not sin; and could not sin. See "Could Jesus sin?" and "The Sinlessness of Jesus: Did Jesus Have to Be Without Sin?" below.

In Mark 1:12, he uses the phrase "at once" (see Mark 1:10). The original is much stronger, literally "the Spirit drove him." In the choice of these terms one should see the idea of divine necessity. After Jesus' baptism, the Spirit drove him into the desert. In the same way, Israel, God's "son" (Exod. 4:23), was "baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea" (1 Cor. 10:2; see also Exod. 14:13-31), was led from there into the wilderness (Exod. 15:22) and was tested not only then (Exod. 15:25) but also for 40 years thereafter (e.g., Exod. 16:4; 20:20). At many points, Jesus' life "recapitulated" important events in Israel's history.

In Mark 1:13 we observe the phrase "forty days." Granting the above parallels to Israel's experience, a counterpart to the 40 years of Israel's desert wandering (Deut. 1:3) is certainly to be found here. Indeed, Israel even suspended circumcision while in the desert (Josh. 5:2-9), their baptism "unto Moses in the cloud" (1 Cor. 10:2) foreshadowing the sign of the New Covenant to come (Col. 2:11-12).

Jesus was "tempted." The Greek verb can mean either "testing" (a beneficial experience to which God exposes his people) or "tempting" (a malicious ruse of the devil to turn God's servants from their Lord). God's sovereign power turns "tempting" into "testing."

Mark makes a reference to "wild animals." Since the fall, wild animals threaten human life (Lev. 26:22). This detail underscores the fact that the desert symbolizes a place of curse far removed from paradise.

Jesus' ministry was one of "restoring paradise." While the first Adam in the Garden was suppose to till and guard (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15) - but he failed - whereas, the second and last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45, 47), Jesus the carpenter (Mark 6:3), came to re-build and repair it for his family (his seed, Gen. 3:15; Gal. 3:29; cf. Rom. 4:13; 8:17; 9:8; Gal. 3:18). See ""Final Description of Paradise - Revelation 22:1-5" and "The Covenants of Works and Grace: What Is Covenant Theology?" Below.

"Angels attended" Christ, and angels also accompanied Israel in the first exodus (Exod. 14:19; 23:20 [cited in Mark 1:2]; Exod. 32:34; 33:2). The presence of angels reminds us that God always cares for his people in times of temptation and testing. See "Angels: Are There Angels Around Us?" below.

Messiah's Temptation. Mark mentioned the Spirit for the third time in the first 13 verses of the Gospel. The Spirit is only mentioned 3 more times in all the rest of the Gospel. In these opening verses Mark stressed that the long promised Spirit of God (Ezek. 37:14; Joel 2:28, 29) was present in the life and ministry of Jesus. This Spirit compelled Jesus to confront the satanic powers of evil in the wilderness. The word translated compelled is a strong word that is often used to describe casting out demons. The Spirit powerfully directed the Son of God into the wilderness to begin his ministry to lead the people of God through the wilderness to their promised salvation. The history of God's people was about to be changed forever.