(PRT)Pastor Rick’s Translation:

1 The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, God’s Son: 2 Just as it has been written in Isaiah the prophet, “Look, I send my messenger ahead of you who will thoroughly prepare the way for you. 3 He will be the voice crying in the desert places, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make the neglected, run-down paths straight for Him. 4 John came baptizing in the desert places and preaching a repentance-baptism that leads toward forgiveness of sins. 5  And everyone from the region of Judea and from Jerusalem went out to him and, openly acknowledging their sins, they all were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John clothed himself in camel-hair robes with a leather belt around him, and he lived on locusts and honey from the wilds. 7 And he proclaimed by saying, “The one who comes after me is mightier than me; he is that very one for whom I am not deserving even to kneel and untie his shoe-straps.” 8 “I baptize you in water; however, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Mark 1:1-8

14 And Herod the King heard the reports for the name of Jesus became well-known; and he considered aloud that John the Baptizer has come back from the dead. It’s by means of this that miraculous powers are active in him. 15 Other people, though, said he is Elijah while others declared he is a prophet like the prophets before. 16 Still, rumor had it that Herod declared that John, who I beheaded, has come back from the dead.

Mark 6:14-16

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

Mark 1:1-8

The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, God’s Son:

Mark begins right where the purposes of God intersect with the needs of man. We need a Savior; we need Good News.

Mark is the first to call the Savior Jesus Christ and focuses on divinity right away.

“archae” – It begins. For the word Gospel, it is the news broadcast to bring hope and delight. Mark actually crafted a brand new form of literature when he wrote this: fully historical, but with the purpose of applying the historical to the needs of the hearers; contemporaneous and eternal; blending proclamation and demonstration along with the responses of those contemporaries.

1:2 Just as it has been written in Isaiah the prophet, “Look, I send my messenger ahead of you who will thoroughly prepare the way for you.

1:3 He will be the voice crying in the desert places, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make the neglected, run-down paths straight for Him.”

Isa. 40:3 and Malachi 3:1 combined. This is the only time Mark quotes the prophets on his own (chapter 15 has one, too). It’s common to list only the primary prophet when quoting a combined related prophecy. This shows how sensitive Mark (and Peter, since he was a major source for this Gospel) were to the nations. It was already a movement beyond the borders of Judea and Galilee.

1:4 John came baptizing in the desert places and preaching a repentance-baptism that leads toward forgiveness of sins.

The word signifies that John didn’t just happen. His arrival was epochal. He was The Forerunner. It was a changing of the guards.

1:5  And everyone from the region of Judea and from Jerusalem went out to him and, openly acknowledging their sins, they all were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

This baptism was a “prep” baptism for what the Savior would bring. It was a revival of repentance. It was society-wide with people from every class saying yes to God’s call.

This was a huge call to repent. John was calling “the people of God” to re-enter the Kingdom, re-establish a relationship with the God of the Covenant by turning, confessing and outwardly declaring it with baptism. This was culture shifting.

1:6 John clothed himself in camel-hair robes with a leather belt around him, and he lived on locusts and honey from the wilds.

Kind of like what Elijah wore. He came like Elijah.

1:7 And he proclaimed by saying, “The one who comes after me is mightier than me; he is that very one for whom I am not deserving even to kneel and untie his shoe-straps.”

The servant who got this job is the lowest on the list.

1:8 “I baptize you in water; however, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Mark 6:14-16

6:14 And Herod the King heard the reports for the name of Jesus became well-known; and he considered aloud that John the Baptizer has come back from the dead. It’s by means of this that miraculous powers are active in him.

Interesting that Herod considered himself loosely a Sadducee. But he was still concerned about the whole “come back from the dead” issue, even though they didn’t believe in the resurrection.

He was guilty of John’s beheading and he as much as admitted his guilt here.

6:15 Other people, though, said he is Elijah while others declared he is a prophet like the prophets before.

And the people agreed that this was God’s retribution against his guilt in beheading a prophet like John.

6:16 Still, rumor had it that Herod declared that John, who I beheaded, has come back from the dead.