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Matthew Henry

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

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

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

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 1:2-8

The ministry of the forerunner. This evangelist enters, upon his treatise with no further preface than is to be found in the first verse. He has to tell the good news concerning Jesus Christ the Son of God. And he begins his narrative at once, with an account of the ministry of that grand, heroic prophet, whose great distinction it was to be the herald of the Messiah, and whose greatness was in nothing more apparent than in this—he was willing to be superseded by his Lord, and to be lost... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 1:4

John came, and preached the baptism of repentance . John came, that is, that he might rouse the people to repentance, and prepare them, by the outward cleansing of their bodies, to receive the cleansing of their souls through Christ's baptism, which was to follow his. So that the baptism of John was the profession of their penitence. Hence they who were baptized with his baptism confessed their sins, and thus made the first step towards the forgiving mercy which was to be found in Christ;... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 1:4-8

The ministry of John. I. OF WHAT IT CONSISTED . In each Gospel the descriptions are very general, and look as if they had been foreshortened in order to give due prominence to the gospel narrative that had to follow. Yet a fairly complete impression may be received of his main doctrines and rules of discipline. Generally in his ministry there are four elements discoverable. 1 . Exhortation. A direct appeal to the moral sense, the chief note of which was "Repent." It is a... read more

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