Mark 1:4-5

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Mark 1:1-8

We may observe here, I. What the New Testament is?the divine testament, to which we adhere above all that is human; the new testament, which we advance above that which was old. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God, Mark 1:1. 1. It is gospel; it is God's word, and is faithful and true; see Rev. 19:9; 21:5; 22:6. It is a good word, and well worthy of all acceptation; it brings us glad tidings. 2. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the anointed Saviour, the Messiah promised and... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Mark 1:1-4

1:1-4 This is the beginning of the story of how Jesus Christ, the Son of God, brought the good news to men. There is a passage in Isaiah the prophet like this--"Lo! I send my messenger before you and he will prepare your road for you. He will be like a voice crying in the wilderness, 'Get ready the road of the Lord. Make straight the path by which he will come'." This came true when John the Baptizer emerged in the wilderness, announcing a baptism which was the sign of a repentance through... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Mark 1:5-8

1:5-8 And the whole country of Judea went out to him, and so did all the people of Jerusalem, and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, while they confessed their sins. John was clad in a garment of camel's hair, and he had a leather girdle round his waist, and it was his custom to eat locusts and wild honey. The burden of his proclamation was, "The one who is stronger than I is coming after me. I am not fit to stoop down and to loosen the strap of his sandals. I have baptized you... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Mark 1:4

John did baptize in the wilderness ,.... Of Judea, Matthew 3:1 , where he first appeared as a preacher; and is the same wilderness Isaiah has respect to in the above prophecy, Isaiah 40:3 . The words are best rendered in the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions; "John was in the wilderness, baptizing and preaching the baptism of repentance, for the remission of sins": according to which, the account of the Baptist begins with his name, John; describes the place where he was where he made... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Mark 1:5

And there went out unto him all the land of Judea ,.... The people of the land, a great number of them: and they of Jerusalem ; the inhabitants of Jerusalem, hearing of this new preacher, the new doctrine that he taught, and the new ordinance that he administered: and were all baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins ; that is, as many of them as were brought to a sight and sense of their sins, and made a confession of them, these he baptized, or immersed, in the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Mark 1:4

John - The original name is nearly lost in the Greek Ιωαννης , and in the Latin Johannes , and almost totally so in the English John. The original name is יהוחנן Yehochanan , compounded of חנן יהוה Yehovah chanan , the grace or mercy of Jehovah: a most proper and significant name for the forerunner of the God of All Grace. It was John's business to proclaim the Gospel of the grace of God, and to point out that Lamb or sacrifice of God which takes away the sin of the world. For... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Mark 1:5

All the land - See on Matthew 3:4-6 ; (note). Confessing their sins - It was an invariable custom among the Jews to admit no proselyte to baptism, till he had, in the most solemn manner, declared that he forever had renounced all idolatrous worship, all heathenish superstitions, and promised an entire and unreserved submission to the law of Moses. This was necessary for a proselyte adult - a child dedicated to God by baptism must be brought up in this faith. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 1:1-8

Glad tidings. I. THEY ARE THE FULFILMENT OF LONG HOPES . Human nature is ideal; it is a creature of wishes and of hopes, and made for enjoyment. The love of the living God is at the root of all our instincts. Faith is our expression of the sense of this. It begets hope amidst suffering and sorrow, sustains the soul in patience. God seeking man, man in turn seeking God,—this is the secret life of Scripture and of history. History is sacred because it is the reflection of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 1:1-8

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. "The gospel" is a revelation of the Divine love; the "beginning" of it is therefore hidden in the depths of the eternal love of God. The whole gospel was buried, the end from the beginning, in the Divine purpose; and it was contained seminally in the first promise. Every Divine promise is equal to the event. But the manifestation of the gospel in time, or the historic "beginning of the gospel," is the theme of this prologue. Thought of within... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 1:1-8

Parallel passages: Matthew 3:1-12 ; Luke 3:1-18 . The ministry of John the Baptist. I. THE BEGINNING OF ST . MARK 'S MEMOIR . 1 . The commencement. It is a remarkable circumstance and a curious coincidence that the first words of this Gospel are an echo of Peter's confession, in that confession, as recorded by St. Matthew, Peter expresses his belief in the very remarkable words, "Thou art the Christ , the Son of the living God. " In nearly the same words St.... read more

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