Mark 1 Commentary
Mark begins his volume by introducing Jesus as the Messiah and as the Son of God. But then he quotes Malachi’s statement about the forerunner. The forerunner would precede the coming of the LORD Himself. Interesting. He hasn’t said it but the connection to Malachi means the LORD God has stepped down under the guise of the Messiah or the Son of God.
He has taken on the form of man – a man that can be seen and touched.
And in the words of Isaiah, also quoted by Mark, the forerunner’s work is to prepare the way for the LORD. Check Isaiah’s rendition of the term LORD. It’s LORD, all upper case, and not Lord or lord.
John the Baptist is identified as the forerunner. He is the promised Elijah. Compare John’s appearance as described in verse 6 to Elijah’s appearance in 2 Kings 1 verse 8.
John is called the Baptist because of his baptisms. We wonder why Jesus is never called the Baptist! John’s baptism was a curtain raiser! Jesus would baptize willing humanity with or in the Holy Spirit. There is a deep connection to Jesus’ work of creation when He breathed His Spirit into a mound of clay and it became a living thing.
At the fall, of Genesis 3, the LORD withdrew His Spirit and humanity died. The LORD is creating life once again and the process must start all over again. It is a direct reference to Jesus as the Creator. Forget the mountains and the oceans! Focus on an individual who must receive the breath of life (the Spirit) once again in order to have life.
Jesus doesn’t have to be baptized but it’s a teaching aid. When it is done, the Spirit descends and you have the approval of the Father again. This is how it is done. Repentance precedes the coming of the life-giving Spirit.
An outing to the wilderness by the Spirit mirrors the saint’s life in the world. The born-again individual has his own wilderness experience. The Spirit leads the individual there. Matthew and Luke have details of what it means to live anew under the guidance of the Spirit in the world. Mark is a man of few words!
By the statement that Jesus was in the wideness with wild animals, does Mark mask the mention of one specific crawling animal? And the 40 days, could we draw parallels with Israel’s 40 years of waiting for rest?
A trip into the wilderness isn’t all darkness as the angels show up and help. It perfectly connects with the thought that no temptation is beyond what a man can bear. The grace is sufficient.
To be continued tomorrow.
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