Chapter 1

[Rabbi Eric]

ACCORDING TO MARK

The Preaching of John the Baptist
(Mt 3:1-12, Lk 3:1-9, 15-17, Jn 1:19-28)
   1.1. The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Messiah Son of God.  2. Just as it has been written by the prophet Isaiah,
   “Behold I send My messenger  before You,
      who will prepare Your way:” (Ex 23:20, Mal 3:1)
3.   “a voice crying out in the wilderness,
      ‘You must immediately prepare the way of the Lord,
      you must make His paths straight,’” (Is 40:3)
4. John the Baptist was in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism  of repentance for forgiveness of sins.  5. And all the country of Judea and all the people from Jerusalem were going out to him, and, confessing their sins, they were being baptized by him  in the Jordan River.  6. And John was wearing clothing woven of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist and eating locust beans and wild honey.  7. And he was preaching saying, “The One stronger than I is coming after me, I am not worthy to bend down to loose the thongs of His sandals.  8. I baptized you in water, but He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus
(Mt 3:13-17, Lk 3:21-22)
   1:9. And it happened in those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.  10. And immediately while He was rising straight from the water he saw the heavens being split and the Spirit descending upon Him as a dove: 11. and there was a voice from out of the heavens, “You are My beloved Son, in You I take delight.”

The Temptation of Jesus
(Mt 4:1-11, Lk 4:1-13)
   1:12. And the Spirit immediately led Him out into the desert.  13. And He was in the desert forty days being tested by Satan,  and He was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to Him.

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry
(Mt 4:12-17, Lk 4:14,15)
   1:14. And after John was arrested Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the Good News of God 15. and saying that “The time has been fulfilled and the kingdom of God has drawn near: you must continually repent and believe in the Good News.”

The Calling of Four Fishermen
(Mt 4:18-22, Lk 5:1-11)
   1:16. Then while He was passing beside the lake of Galilee He saw Simon, and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net in the lake: for they were fishermen.  17. And Jesus said to them, “Come, follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”  18. And immediately leaving their nets they followed Him.  19. And after He went a little way He saw Jacob  the son of Zebedee and his brother John, and they were in the boat mending their nets.  20. And He immediately called them.  And leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired hands they followed Him.

The Man with an Unclean Spirit
(Lk 4:31-37)
   1:21. And they went into Capernaum:  and immediately on the Sabbaths, when He entered the synagogue, He was teaching.   22. And they were amazed at His teaching: for He was teaching them in a manner as having authority and not like the scribes.  23. And straightway in their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit and he cried out 24. saying, “What has this to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know Who You are, the Holy One of God.”  25. And Jesus rebuked him saying, “You must now hold your peace and you must come out of him at once!”  26. And the unclean spirit collapsed him, then calling out in a loud voice it came out of him.  27. And they were all amazed, so they discussed among themselves saying, “Who is this?  A new teaching, with authority: and He commands the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”  28. Then the report about Him came out immediately everywhere in all of the Galilee.

The Healing of Many People
(Mt 8:14-17, Lk 4:38-41)
   1:29. And immediately when they came out from the synagogue they went into Simon and Andrew’s house with Jacob and John.  30. And Simon’s mother-in-law was lying down, suffering with a fever, and right away they told Him about her.  31. And when He came over and took her hand He raised her: then the fever left her and she was serving them.  32. Then as it became evening, when the sun went down, ending the Sabbath, they brought to Him all those who had evil  and those who were demon possessed: 33. and the whole city was gathered at the door.  34. And He healed many having evil and various diseases and He cast out many demons and He was not allowing the demons to speak, since they knew Him.

A Preaching Tour
(Lk 4:42-44)
   1:35. And very early morning while it was still very dark, when He got up He came out and went into an isolated place and He was praying there.  36. And Simon and those with him searched for Him, 37. and they found Him and said to Him that “Everybody is looking for You.”  38. And He said to them, “We should go elsewhere to neighboring market towns, so that I could also preach there: indeed I came for this.”  39. And He went preaching and casting out demons in their synagogues in all Galilee.

The Cleansing of a Leper
(Mt 8:1-4, Lk 5:12-16)
   1:40. And a leper came to Him begging Him and kneeling down and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You are able to cleanse me.”  41. And having pity, as He stretched out His hand He touched  him and said to him, “I am willing, be cleansed immediately:” 42. and the leprosy went from him instantly, and he was cleansed.  43. Then, warning him sternly, He immediately sent him away 44. and said to him, “See that you tell nothing to anybody, but you must go, you must show yourself to the priest, and you must offer on behalf of your cleansing what Moses commanded, in witness to them.” (Lv 14:2-32) 45. But when he left he began to proclaim openly many times and to spread the word abroad, so that no longer was He able to come openly into a city, but He was outside in wilderness places: and they were coming to Him from all directions.
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  (Title) Written about 50-60 AD, Mark, is very basic, factual, getting right to the meat, not presenting background information like Luke and Matthew. In Scriptural interpretation this is the literal reading. This book would be the most appropriate first gospel of the New Testament. See Book Order in Glossary.
  (v.2) This could also be translated ‘angel.’
  (v.4) Baptism was and still is Jewish and calls for total immersion. See Baptize in Glossary.
  (v.5) John stood on the bank of the river and as people repented they went into the water and immersed. See Baptize in Glossary.
  (v.13) See Satan in Glossary.
  (v.19) The name in the Greek text is Iakob, which is Jacob in English. See Jacob in Glossary.
  (v.20) Literally, ‘went after Him,’ which is an idiom meaning they became His disciples.
  (v.21) Capernaum is the Latin spelling of the Hebrew name Kafer Na-um. Kafer means town or village and Na-um means pleasant.
  (v.21) Right away He started teaching in a synagogue every Sabbath. See Sabbath in Glossary.
  (v.32) The Greek word kakos, meaning evil, is commonly translated sickness.
  (Caption) This is not the disease called leprosy today. See Leprosy in Glossary.
  (v.41) Touching a leper would have made anyone else unclean, but Jesus’ touch cleansed the leper. See Cleanse in Glossary.