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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
THE GOSPEL OF MARK
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BEGINNING OF THE GLAD TIDINGS
1:1-8. Beginning of the glad tidings concerning Jesus in the authoritative proclamation of John the Baptist. Prophecies of this preliminary work in the Old Testament, the appearance of John, his proclamation of repentance, his baptism, and his announcement of the coming One mightier than he.
It is evident that the key to this paragraph is found in this announcement of the One mightier than John. Who and what the man was who made it, the general character of his mission to the nation, into the course of which it was introduced, and the way in which it fulfilled prophecy in regard to the preparation for the Messianic advent, we are told of course, but the theme itself is the announcement. That is the beginning of the good news about Jesus which is the title of the section. There are two renderings of our EV. which obscure this intention of the paragraph, viz., the translation gospel for εαγλο, v. 1, and preach for κρσω v. 4, 7. The technical meaning which both these words have acquired in our language renders them frequently unfit to translate the Greek words, but especially in this passage, the character of which is such as to make a close adherence to the specific meaning of the original words quite necessary. The statement is, that with the proclamation, κρσεν of the coming One by John began the glad tidings, εαγλο, concerning Jesus. Furthermore, it is stated that this beginning is in accordance with prophecy, which foretold the sending of a messenger, ἄγλς to prepare the way of the Lord. The prophecy is further identified with the event by the description of the messenger in the second part of the prophecy as a voice crying in the wilderness, corresponding to the statement about John that he made his appearance in the wilderness. The general work of John is shown to consist in his baptism of the crowds (including mostly the people of Judaea) who came to him, his proclamation being that of a baptism of repentance for remission of sins. That is, he performed a rite of outward purification, and explained that it meant an inward purification looking to the forgiveness of sins. This message would be understood by the people to foreshadow the coming of the expected deliverer, since repentance was the acknowledged condition of national deliverance, and this public call to it would naturally therefore create expectation of his advent. As for John’s appearance, his wilderness life and food and his rough dress recall Elijah, as they are evidently intended to do, the item about the leather girdle reproducing the language of the LXX, in regard to Elijah’s dress (2 K. 1:8). It is obviously the picture of a man who has revolted from the evil world and prefers hardness to the unclean associations of its comforts. It is a significant commentary on the manners of the place and time that they should lead to such revolt not in Greece or Rome, but in Judaea. It is such a man as this, who in the midst of his own great work of impressing on the nation his sense of its sin, and issuing to it the old prophetic cry, Wash you, make you clean, interjects the beginning of the evangel, the first news that the Messiah is actually at hand. This announcement takes the form of a comparison between himself and the personage announced by him. There comes one stronger than he, with whom he is not to be compared. So far, the announcement is in line with Jewish expectation, but there is an absence of the material, and an emphasis of the spiritual element in what follows, which does not spring from Jewish Messianism, and would not have led to John’s later doubt. It is a comparison between his baptism and that of Jesus, making the latter to be the spiritual reality, of which John’s was merely the ritual expression. It was to be a baptism in the Holy Spirit, the element of spiritual purification, while John’s baptism was in the material element of water, which could only represent that purification in a figure.
1. This verse is a title or heading of the paragraph in regard to the work of John the Baptist.1 That work, but especially the announcement of the coming of the one mightier than he, is the beginning of the εαγλο, the good news about Jesus Christ.
εαγλο.—This word, which in the later Greek means glad tidings, is in the N.T. restricted to the good news about Jesus, or of the kingdom which he came to establish, or of the salvation accomplished by him. It is under this last head, that it comes to have the technical sense of the scheme of truth relating to him and to his saving work, which has come to be so associated with the word gospel as to render that a misleading translation in a passage like this. This word is also associated with the written accounts of our Lord’s life, the Gospels, which is also confusing here.1
ἸσῦΧιτῦ—This gen. may be either subj. or obj., the good news brought by him, or that concerning him. Here it is evidently the latter, as John is the bearer of the εαγλο. Ἰσῦ is the personal name of our Lord (Mat_1:21). It is a descriptive name, as the passage in Mt. indicates, meaning Saviour. It is used once in the N.T. as the Greek form of Joshua (Heb_4:8).2 Χιτῦthe official title of Jesus, denoting him as the Messiah, the Anointed. The word itself is of frequent occurrence in the O.T., where it is applied to kings as anointed of God. But as a title of the coming King, the hope of the Jewish nation, it does not occur. It is first used of him in the Book of Enoch 48:10, 52:4, about the close of the second century b.c.,3 and afterwards frequently in the uncanonical literature. It appears from this literature, that the general national expectation of deliverance and greatness characteristic of the O.T. period had at this time taken the definite shape of an expected deliverer in the Davidic line. And the N.T. furnishes abundant evidence that this expectation was common at the coming of Jesus, and during his life. The title Χιτςbecame a personal name later, and the absence of the art. would indicate that this is the use here.
υο τῦΘο—Son of God. RV. puts this into the text, and omits it in the margin, which seems a good statement of the critical evidence. This term, Son of God, like the title Messiah, is applied to the Messianic King in the uncanonical Jewish literature. But its use is purely theocratic and official, corresponding to the O.T. use to denote any one whose office specially represents God among men, such as kings and judges (see J. 10:36). Its use to denote the relation to God springing from the miraculous conception is confined to Luk_1:35, and its application to Jesus’ metaphysical relation to God is not found in the Synoptics. The term is applied by Jesus to himself in his discourse without any explanation, whereas it would require explanation if it was intended to convey any other meaning than the historical sense with which the people were familiar. It is applied to him in the theophany at the baptism, where the aor. εδκσ, meaning I came to take pleasure in thee, limits the title and statement to his historical manifestation, his earthly life. It is used by Peter in his confession, where its association with the title Christ, or Messiah,—thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,—also indicates the theocratic sense. In the question of the High Priest at the trial of Jesus, whether he is the Christ, the Son of God, the same collocation involves the same conclusion. In fact, there is nowhere in the Synoptics any indication that the title is used so as to involve any departure from the current theocratic sense; and indications, such as the above, are not wanting, that the title does retain its common meaning at the time. When we get outside of these historical books, we come upon the metaphysical sonship as possibly the prevalent meaning of the term. Son of God means here, then, that the Messianic kingdom is a theocracy, in which God is the real ruler, and the Messianic king represents God. Only, with the new meaning that the life and teaching of Jesus had put into all these current phrases, it would signify to a Christian writer that this representation was real, and not merely official, that in Christ the ideal of the theocratic king had been realized, a prince who really represented the mind and spirit of God, and established the Divine law among men after the Divine method.
υο τῦΘο T. R. AEFGHKM etc. and Versions generally. υο Θο RV. Treg. WH., marg. א BDL 102. Omit Tisch. WH. RV.marg. א 28, 255. Omission confirmed also by passages in Iren. Epiph. Orig. Victorin.
2. ἐ τῖ ποήας—There is no doubt that this is a correction of the original, to meet the difficulty of ascribing the double quotation from Malachi and Isaiah to Isaiah alone. The reading of all the critical texts is ἐ τ Ἡαᾳτ ποήῃ
ἐ τ Ἡαᾳτ ποήῃTisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBDL Δ33 Latt. Memph. Pesh. Hier. Harcl. marg.
This quotation is intended to prove from prophecy that the good news about Christ had its appointed beginning in the proclamation of a forerunner who was thus to prepare the way for him. The first part is from Mal_3:1, the second from Isa_40:3. In the original, the passage from Mal. reads, Behold, I send my messenger who shall prepare the way before me. Jehovah is the speaker, and he is not addressing some one else, whose way is to be prepared by God’s messenger; but he declares that he is coming himself to his temple to purge it of the profanations of the priests, and that he sends his messenger to prepare the way for him. Moreover, the messenger is the prophet himself, my messenger being in the Heb. מלאבי Malachi, the traditional name of the prophet. The prophecy has thus a distinct historical sense. The evil of Malachi’s time, as is evident from the entire prophecy, was this abuse of their office by the priests, and the prophet announces that God is coming to do away with this abuse, and the prophecy is to announce this coming, and make ready for it. Here, it is adapted to Messianic use by the change of my and me to thy and thee, and is applied to the mission of the forerunner to prepare the way for the Messiah. This Messianic use of a passage having another primary sense is the rule, and not the exception, in Messianic prophecy. The principle underlying it is, that the Messianic kingdom founded by Jesus is the real culmination of Jewish history, and that its prophecies of near events somehow all point forward also to him. And especially, in this case, the underlying fact is that the Jewish nation is a theocracy, and that the crises in its history are due to a Divine appearance and intervention; a coming of God, moreover, for which way is made by his messengers the prophets. This common feature being shared by the culminating intervention, gives the Messianic turn to the original prophecy.
ἐποθνσυis omitted by Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. It is supported by few good authorities, and is an evident emendation. The quotation is a free translation from the Heb. The LXX. reads Ἰο ἐαοτλωτνἄγλνμυ κὶἐιλψτιὁὸ πὸποώο μυ The form in which it is quoted by Mk. is also that of the other places in which it is cited in the N.T. (Mat_11:10, Luk_7:27), pointing to some common Greek source, not the LXX. with which the evangelists had become familiar. See Toy, Quotations in N. T., p. 31.
3. φν βῶτςἐ τ ἐήῳThe voice of one crying in the wilderness. This passage is quoted directly from the LXX. of Isa_40:3.Isa_40:1 Here, as in the quotation from Mal., the coming to be prepared for is that of God to his people. The purpose of his coming is to deliver his people from their captivity in Babylon by the hand of Cyrus.2 It is the note of deliverance which is common to this with the Messianic advent and intervention, and the preparation for this by the prophetic message is shared by this with the passage from Mal.
ἐ τ ἐήῳin the Heb. belongs with ἑομστ. See Isa_40:3, RV. But it is evident that Mk. intends to join it with βῶτς as this makes the prophecy anticipate the appearance of John in the wilderness.
Κρο—the Lord, stands for Jehovah, or Yahweh, in the original, this being the LXX. rendering of that name of God. But it is probable that Mk. understands it to refer to Jesus, this being one of his familiar titles. In this way, the passage becomes more directly adapted to his purpose, making the advent, and the mission of the forerunner both figure in prophecy.
4. In this verse, the art. should be inserted before βπίω, without any doubt. Whether κὶshould be dropped before κρσω, on the other hand, admits of much doubt. If it is dropped, the passage reads, John the Baptizer came preaching. If it is retained, it reads, John came, who baptized and preached, RV. On the whole, the reading without κὶis preferable.
ὁβπίω Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBDL Δ33, Memph. κὶκρσω Treg. (κὶ Tisch. RV. אADLP Δ Verss. generally. Omit κὶWH. Treg. marg. B. 33, 73, 102.
In order to get at the right connection of this verse, we must read it as if the preceding quotations were omitted—Beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ …John came, etc. ἐέτ—there came, or appeared. The verb is used to denote the appearance of a person on the stage of history. The wilderness in which he made his appearance is the wilderness of Judaea, on the southern banks of the Jordan, just before it empties into the Dead Sea. κρσω—proclaiming. The word means to exercise the office of a herald, to proclaim officially, and with authority. John is not represented as preaching, taking baptism for his text, but as making public proclamation, calling men to his baptism.1
βπιμ μτνίςa baptism of repentance. This rite of immersion in water signified the complete inward purification of the subject. It took up into a symbolical rite the figurative washings of such passages as Isa_1:16, Isa_4:4, Jer_4:14, Eze_36:25, Eze_36:5 Zec_13:1, Psa_51:2. Outwardly, it had its counterpart in the Levitical washings of the law (Exo_29:4, Lev_14:8, Lev_14:9, Lev_14:15:5, Lev_14:8, Lev_14:10, Lev_14:13, Lev_14:16, Lev_14:21, Lev_14:22, Lev_14:27, Lev_14:16:26, Lev_14:28, Lev_14:17:15 etc.). But its use by John was quite unique.2 μτνίςof repentance. The gen. denotes the significance of the rite, the inward act of which it is the outward sign and pledge. The word denotes primarily a change of mind, such as comes from an afterthought. A person does something from failure to consider certain things necessary to wise action, and when afterwards these neglected things come to him, there comes the corresponding change of attitude and purpose. It denotes in the N.T. a change, arising from such reconsideration, from a life of sin to rectitude and holiness. Such a call to repentance was not unexpected by the Jews, who believed that it was the sin of the nation which delayed the coming of the Messianic King. The call to repentance therefore, by one wearing the prophetic appearance and authority, would signify to the nation that the deliverer was at hand, and that they must prepare for his coming. εςἄει ἁατῶ—for remission of sins. This states the purpose of the baptism of repentance. It is the repentance evidently which is the real cause of the remission, repentance being the normal and constant Scriptural condition of forgiveness.1 Baptism is related to the repentance as the outward act in which this inward change finds formal expression. Baptism is an act of profession, and is related to repentance as the declaration of forgiveness is to forgiveness itself. It is contended sometimes (so Meyer and Weiss) that this is an anticipation of the significance of Christian baptism, in which the forgiveness of sins was first realized. But surely, if this was a baptism of repentance, it would result in forgiveness, since repentance and forgiveness are necessarily connected.
5. πνε should be removed from its position after ἐατζνο so as to follow Ἱρσλμτι and the verse reads, …and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and were baptized. …
Ἱρσλμτιπνε κὶἐατζνοTisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBDL Δ28, 33, 102, Latt. Memph. etc.
πσ …πνε—all. These words are to be taken rhetorically. We know that John’s severity must have turned many away (Mat_3:7-10, Luk_3:7-14). And the leaders of the people did not believe in him (Mar_11:27-33). But the λό, the people, all recognized John as a prophet (Mar_11:32). This general outpouring was to be expected from the nature of John’s proclamation, since a prophetic call to national repentance would be hailed as a call to national deliverance. ἐοοοομνιconfessing.2 This confession of sins gave reality to the baptism, making it a baptism of repentance.
6. τία κμλυcamel’s hair. Since it says camel’s hair, and not skin or fur, we are to understand probably a coarse cloth made of the hair. There are examples moreover of the cloth, but not of the skin, being used in this way. ζννδραίη—a leather girdle. This is selected to describe Elijah’s general appearance in 2 K. 1:8. And it is a distinguishing mark of coarse dress, the girdle gathering in the loose robe about the waist being generally a place for luxury and display in dress. There is some reason to suppose, too, that the description, hairy man, may refer to Elijah’s dress, which would be another correspondence. So RV.marg. κὶἔθνἀρδςκὶμλ ἄρο—and was eating locusts and wild honey.1
ἔθνTisch. Treg. WH. אBL* Δ33.
This food was wilderness food, and corresponds to the coarse dress. Together, they represent the spirit of the man, his contempt of ease and luxury, his revolt against a sinful generation, everything which caused him to dwell apart from men, and to contemn their manners. Locusts were an article of food especially allowed by the Levitical Law, and they are still eaten, prepared in various ways, by Eastern peoples. By wild honey may be meant that made by wild bees, and deposited in hollow trees, and other places in the woods; but as a matter of fact, the term μλ ἄρο seems to be applied generally to the sweet sap of certain trees.2
7. ἐήυσ—he was proclaiming. The translation preached is especially out of place here, since what follows is not the general subject of the Baptist’s preaching, but only that particular announcement of the coming of the Messiah which has led the writer to say that the proclamation by John in the wilderness was the beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ. He was making proclamation by virtue of his office as κρξ the herald of the Messianic King. The whole work of the Baptist in this Gospel is treated as this ἀχ εαγλο, a peculiarity which is obscured in our version.
ἐήυσ continues the impfs. ἦ ἐδδμνςand ἔθν denoting John’s habit of life and speech in the wilderness.
ὁἰχρτρςμυ—he that is mightier than I (RV.). This description of the coming one is common to all the Synoptics, but in Mt. and Lk. it is introduced between the statement of John’s baptism and that of Jesus’ baptism in such a way as to show more distinctly than in Mk.’s account that in these different baptisms is contained the point of the ἰχρτρς Jesus is mightier than John by reason of his baptizing in the Holy Spirit. Mk.’s order shows this also, but not so distinctly. ὀίωμυafter me.1 ο οκεμ ἱαὸ—of whom I am not fit. …This is a rhetorical statement of John’s depreciation of himself by the side of the coming one. He was not fit to tie his shoes.
ἱαό denotes any kind of sufficiency or fitness. Fit is a good translation in this case.
ἱάτ τ ὑοηάω—the thong of the sandals. The sandals protected the soles only, and were bound to the feet by a thong. κψς—This apparently superfluous addition about stooping serves to heighten the impression of the menial character of the act.
8. ἐὼἐάτσ ὕαιI baptized you with water.
Omit μνafter ἐὼTisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBL 33, 69, 124, Lat. Vet. mss. Vulg. Memph. Pesh. etc. Omit ἐ before ὕαιTisch. Treg. marg. WH. אBH Δ16, 33, 56, 58, 258, Vulg. etc.
Without the prep. the element ὕαιbecomes the instrument with which the act is performed. See Win. 31. 7. d.
ἐ Πεμτ Ἁί—in Holy Spirit. We are not to look for Christian terms, nor Christian uses of terms, in John’s teaching. The line that divides them in this matter of the Holy Spirit is fine, but distinguishable. In the Jewish conception, personality is ascribed to the Holy Spirit only figuratively. In the Christian use, on the other hand, the impersonal sense is the figurative one, e.g. where it speaks of a pouring out of the Holy Spirit (Tit_3:5, Act_2:17, Act_2:18). But the Spirit of God, or of Yahweh, or the Spirit of holiness, figures more or less largely in the O.T. as the animating power in the universe, as the inspiration of the prophet, the soldier, the king, and even the workman. And the possession of this Spirit by all men is prophesied as one of the marks of Israel’s golden age. See Job_26:13, Job_33:4, Psa_104:30, Isa_42:1, Isa_61:1, Mic_3:8, Jud_1:3:10, Jud_1:6:34, Isa_11:2, Joe_2:28, Isa_59:21, Exo_31:3. John’s reference to the Holy Spirit, the רַּקדש, would not therefore be strange to his Jewish hearers. The absence of the art. indicates that the Spirit is regarded here as an element, a pervading presence, like the air, in the ocean of which we are submerged. The epithet holy would not in itself suggest moral quality, as it denoted what is invested with awe or reverence, and only secondarily and rarely, moral purity. But in the connection, since the Spirit is regarded here as the purifying element, it is evidently holiness in the moral sense that is predicated of it. The contrast between the work of the Baptist, and that of the Messiah, amounts to this, that the mightier one who is to follow John will do the real work of which the Baptist is able to perform only the sign. Water cleanses only the body, and represents figuratively the inward cleansing of the man. But the Holy Spirit is the element in which man is cleansed inwardly and really, and it is this real baptism which the coming one was to perform. So far as it is given us in the Gospels, John’s annunciation of the Messiah includes only the spiritual side of his anticipated work, and thus corresponds with the historical fact. But John’s later doubt could have arisen probably only from the failure of Jesus to carry out the kingly part of the Jewish Messianic expectation. See Mat_11:2-19. And it would be quite improbable that John would be so far separated from his time as to expect a purely spiritual Messiah.
In this paragraph, the signs of Mk.’s use of the Logia are not wanting. In the first place, O.T. citations are not common in Mk., but are quite characteristic of the Logia. And especially, the first part of the double quotation is, in Mar_1:2, Mar_1:3, Luk_7:27, taken unquestionably from that source. The somewhat clumsy junction of the two passages is due apparently to bringing together what was separated in the original source. And Mat_3:12, Luk_3:17 show signs of being connected with what precedes in the original source. Mk. omits this, but gives what precedes with the identity of language that shows a common source for all three. For the verbal resemblance, implying the interdependence of the Synoptics, cf. Mar_1:3, Mat_3:3, Luk_3:4, especially the change of τῦΘο ἡῶ, LXX, to ατῦin them all (Mar_1:4, Luk_3:3, Mar_1:5, Mar_1:6, Mat_3:4, Mat_3:5, Mat_3:6, Mar_1:7, Mar_1:8, Mat_3:11, Luk_3:16).
THE BAPTISM OF JESUS
9-11. Jesus is baptized by John. The Holy Spirit descends upon him, and the voice from heaven attests his Divine mission.
Among the rest, Jesus comes to John’s baptism. As he comes up out of the water, the Spirit descends on him in the form of a dove, preparing him for the work into which baptism has inaugurated him and signifying the gentleness of his reign; and a voice out of heaven proclaims him to be the Messianic Son of God who has won the special Divine favor.
With this paragraph begins the story of Jesus’ life, but as it treats of events preceding his public ministry, the story of the baptism and of the temptation conforms to Mk.’s plan outside of that ministry, and is given briefly. E.g. Mk. does not consider it necessary to explain the evident difficulty attending the baptism of Jesus, as Mt. does, but gives only the fact. The visible form taken by the Spirit in its descent upon Jesus is evidently intended to be, like the voice, a theophany, attesting his mission. But the Spirit itself is intended to prepare him for his work, and so descends upon him now at the beginning of that work; cf. v. 12.
9. κὶἐέεοἦθν—ἐ ἐενι τῖ ἡέαςin those days. This is a general designation of time, and denotes here the period of John’s ministry. ΝζρττςΓλλίςNazareth of Galilee. The explanatory τςΓλλίςis for the information of the uninformed, and is a sign therefore, that this Gospel was written for Gentile readers. This is the only place in Mk. where Nazareth is mentioned, though Jesus is called a Nazarene in several places (1:24, 10:47, 16:6, 14:67). It was the home of Jesus during his private life.
According to Luk_1:26, Luk_1:2:4, Luk_1:39, Luk_1:51, Luk_1:4:16, this was owing to the previous residence of his parents in Nazareth. Mt., however, tells us that they took up their abode there after their return from Egypt, because they were turned aside from Bethlehem by the succession of Archelaus to his father’s throne, which made Judæ no longer a safe place for them (2:23).
Nazareth was in the interior about midway between the Lake of Galilee and the Mediterranean. It is at present a town of about 5000 inhabitants, going by the name of En Nazira.2
εςτνἸράη—into the Jordan. The prep. here coincides with the proper meaning of the verb, indicating that the form of the rite was immersion into the stream. The prep. ἐ in the next verse,—going up out of the water,—implies the same.
10. κὶεθςAnd immediately.3 ἀααννἐ—going up out of.
ἐ (instead of ἀὸ Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBDL 13, 28, 33, 69, 124.
σιοέοςτὺ ορνύ—the heavens opening, not opened. The pres. part. denotes action in its progress, not completed action.4
ὡ πρσεὰ—as a dove. Luk_3:22 says that this resemblance was in bodily shape. And the language itself implies that. The dove was the emblem of guilelessness (Mat_10:16). It was not a bird of prey. The appearance accords with the gentleness of Christ’s reign. The descent of the Spirit was moreover a real event, while the appearance was only a vision. It was not merely a sign that here was a person endued with the Spirit, but a special influence beginning at the time, and preparing him for his new work. It was like the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost, preparing the disciples for their new work. Neither event implied in any way that the Spirit was not present in their lives before.5 And we find in all the Synoptics mention that Jesus began his ministry under the impulsions of the Spirit. See Mat_12:28, Mar_1:12, Luk_4:1, Luk_4:14, Luk_4:18. This descent of the Spirit is moreover indicative of the meaning of our Lord’s baptism. It has already been indicated that the real baptism, of which that in the water is only the sign, is a baptism in the Holy Spirit, and it is this which is signified by the baptism of Jesus, but without the accompanying repentance which belongs to the baptism of the rest of the people.
11. κὶφν (ἐέεο—And a voice (came).
Omit ἐέεοTisch. (WH.) אD ff.2.
Σ ε ὁυό μυὁἀαηό—Thou art my beloved Son. This is one of the passages in the Synoptics which indicate that the Synoptical use of υό (τῦΘο) applied to Jesus, conforms to current Jewish usage, omitting the metaphysical Sonship, and including only the theocratic, or figurative meaning of the word. The aor. εδκσ, I came to take pleasure, denotes the historical process by which God came to take pleasure in Jesus during his earthly life, not the eternal delight of the Father in the Son. The title here would denote one, therefore, who has been received into special love and favor by God, as Paul calls Timothy his son (1Ti_1:2). It accords with Lk.’s statement, that Jesus grew in favor with God and man (Luk_2:52).1 ἐ σὶεδκσ—in thee I came to take pleasure.
ἐ σὶ(instead of ἐ ᾧ Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBDLP 1, 13, 22, 33, 69, Lat. Vet. Vulg. Memph. Pesh.
THE TEMPTATION
12, 13. Jesus retires into the wilderness, where he remains forty days, tempted by Satan, and attended by angels.
Immediately after the baptism, Jesus is impelled by the Spirit who has taken possession of him into the wilderness. He remains there forty days, surrounded by the wild beasts, attended by angels, and tempted by Satan.
It is especially the story of the temptation, in the period preceding the public ministry, which is abbreviated by Mk. He gives us simply the fact of the temptation, the place, the wilderness, the time, forty days, and the descriptive touch, that he was with the wild beasts.
12. ΚὶεθςAnd immediately, viz., after the baptism. This event, with its accompaniments, is of the nature of an inaugural act. And it is followed immediately by his retirement into the wilderness. The time, the circumstances, and the nature of the temptations, all point to the probability that this retirement was for the purpose of meditation upon the work into which he had been inaugurated. Moreover, the Πεμ, the Spirit, connects this with the account of the baptism. He begins now immediately to act under the impulsions of the Spirit which he has just received. ἐβλε—thrusts him out. Mt. and Lk. both use the milder ἄεν to lead, to describe this. τνἔηο—the wilderness. This is the same general region in which the baptism took place. But, inasmuch as it was from the wilderness into the wilderness, and Mk. adds that he was with the wild beasts, it must mean that he penetrated still further into its solitudes.
13. Κὶἦ ἐ τ ἐήῳτσεάοτ ἡέα—And he was in the wilderness forty days. This period is given by both Mk. and Lk. as that of the temptation, though Mt. and Lk. both give us the three special temptations following the forty days. Mt. makes these the only temptations. πιαόεο—tempted. Used here of an actual solicitation to evil.
The proper meaning of πιάενis to try, in the sense both of attempt and test. It is through the latter meaning that it comes to be applied to the test of character, whether by trial, or by solicitation to evil.
Στν—Satan.1 The name is Hebrew, but the personage does not figure much in O.T. narrative or discourse (1Ch_21:1, Zec_3:1, Zec_3:2, Job_1:6-9, Job_1:2:1sqq.). In the N.T., he is represented, in accordance with current Jewish ideas, as the ruler of a kingdom of evil, having subjects and emissaries in the shape of demons, corresponding to the angels who act as God’s messengers. His special function is to tempt men to evil. μτ τνθρω—with the wild beasts. The desert of Judæ is in parts wild and untamed, and abounds in beasts of the same description, such as the leopard, the bear, the wild boar, and the jackal. This descriptive touch, in which, just as with a word, the wildness and solitariness of the scene are brought before us, and equally, the omission of details of the temptation, are characteristics of Mk. The omission accords with the plan of his Gospel, but, also, with a certain objective quality belonging to it. See Introduction. δηόονwere ministering.2 This ministry, like the temptations, is represented in Mt. as taking place after the forty days. In our account, it is evidently an offset to the presence of the wild beasts. The visible things figuring in the scene were these beasts, but there were invisible presences as well, and these were ministering to him. Mk. does not tell us what the ministrations were. (Nor Mt.)
The historicity of the account of the temptation is attacked with some plausibility. There are certain things about it on which a just historical criticism throws some doubt. There is a concreteness about the appearance of Satan, and of the angels, an air of visibility even, an impression of actual transportation through the air, and the introduction of a typical number (forty),1 which can, however, easily be eliminated without touching the essential history. The account which has been preserved is evidently the pictorial and concrete story of what really took place within the soul of Jesus. But the temptations themselves, just because they represent the actual temptations of his later life, are a portrait, and not an imaginative picture. Holtzmann, in his Note on the passage, gives an admirable statement of the way in which the story corresponds to the real temptations of Jesus’ life. But his argument that some one made up this story from those falls to the ground. It implies that some one understood that life better than any contemporary did understand it.
BEGINNING OF JESUS’ MINISTRY
14-20. After John’s imprisonment, Jesus goes to Galilee, where he begins his ministry with the proclamation of the kingdom of God.
After the imprisonment of John, Jesus departs into Galilee, where he begins his ministry with the proclamation of the good news of the kingdom of God, announcing the completion of the time for it. He finds Peter, Andrew, James, and John fishing in the lake of Galilee, and calls them to follow him and become fishers of men.
The order of events in the Synoptics is as follows:
MATTHEW. MARK. LUKE.
Delivering up of John (mere mention). Delivering up of John (mere mention). Delivering up of John (account), 3:19, 20.
Departure into Galilee. Departure into Galilee. Departure into Galilee.
Change of residence from Nazareth to Capernaum. Beginning of teaching.
Rejection at Nazareth.
Coming to Capernaum.
First miracles.
Beginning of Jesus’ teaching. Beginning of Jesus’ teaching. General teaching in synagogues in Galilee.
Call of first disciples. Call of first disciples. Call of first disciples.
The general order of events is the same. The evident intention of all is to connect the beginning of Jesus’ ministry with the close of John’s work, though this is more evident in Mt. and Mk. than in Lk. They also mark at the beginning that it is a Galilean ministry. Mt. and Mk. tell us that it was the good news of the kingdom of God which was proclaimed by Jesus. Lk. also brings this in incidentally. He also introduces the rejection at Nazareth, evidently to account for the removal to Capernaum, and inserts the first miracles and a tour of preaching in Galilee before the call of the first disciples.
14. Μτ δ τ πρδθνιτνἸάννAnd after the delivering up of John. Mt. and Mk. assume this as a well known fact. Lk. tells the story of it (3:18-20). The others tell it later (Mar_6:17-29). εςτνΓλλίνinto Galilee. The connection of events is lost here in the brevity of the narrative. We are not told whether Jesus came into Galilee because of the imprisonment of John, and being there, began his ministry; or whether he began his ministry because John’s ministry was ended, and chose Galilee as the scene for it. But, inasmuch as Jesus is represented by the Synoptics as continuing his work in Galilee until the end, it is evidently the latter. It is the demands of his work that take him to Galilee, and John’s imprisonment is the occasion of his beginning his work, and only indirectly of his coming to Galilee. Moreover, they do not tell us why Galilee became the scene of his ministry. But the reason is evident. It was not the headquarters of Judaism; and events showed that Jesus’ work would have been impossible in the stronghold of that unsympathetic faith. The fourth gospel tells of a preliminary work of eight months in Judæ but the Synoptics are not only silent about it, but exclude it by their evident intention to represent this as the beginning of Jesus’ work.
Galilee, Heb. גלי, circle, was originally the name of only a small circuit in one of the tribes inhabiting the northern section of Palestine. But in the time of our Lord, it had come to be applied to the Roman province including the whole territory of the four northern tribes. It was inhabited by a mixed population of Jews and Gentiles. See Jos_20:7, 21:32, Jos_20:1 K. 9:11, 2 K. 15:29.
τ εαγλο τῦΘο—glad tidings of God.
Omit τςβσλίςbefore τῦθο Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. BL. 1, 28, 33, 69, 209, mss. of Lat. Vet. Memph.
The glad tidings of God is here the glad tidings from God, who is the author and sender of the message (subj. gen.). The good news itself, as the next verse shows, is that of the kingdom.
15. The words, κὶλγν and saying, at the beginning of this verse, are to be omitted.
Omit κὶλγνTisch. WH. (κὶλγν אone ms. of Lat. Vet., Orig. The insertion of κὶλγνis caused probably by the interpolation of τςβσλίςin the preceding verse. The two go together.
ππήωα ὁκιό—the time has been filled up, or completed. Fulfilled, EV. is etymologically correct, but misleading, on account of its technical use to denote the accomplishment of expectation, promise, or prophecy. What is denoted here is the filling up of the time appointed for the coming of the Kingdom. This idea of an appointment of times, as well as of events, is thoroughly Jewish, referring all things to God. But to Jesus, who read the signs of the times (Mat_16:3), the language signified not only a theology, but a philosophy of events. The time revealed itself to him as ripe for the event.
ἤγκνἡβσλί τῦΘο—The kingdom of God has come near. This message assumes evidently the existence of the idea of a kingdom of God among the Jews as a familiar thought. The announcement is, that this expected kingdom is at hand. Jesus does not announce a new fact, nor does he enter here upon any exposition of the nature of the kingdom, such as belonged to his later teaching, but simply announces the expected kingdom. He does not enter into the question of the difference between his spiritual kingdom, and the earthly kingdom of Jewish expectation. It is enough for his present purpose to announce it as a kingdom of God, and so to prepare the way for his call to repentance.
This announcement has to be located first, in the life and teaching of Jesus; secondly, in its relation to John’s message; and thirdly, in current Jewish thought. In Jesus’ own thought it is central; the kingdom of God is the subject of his teaching, and his object is to revolutionize the current idea; but that necessary change comes later. And moreover, in its connection with his later activity, it constitutes the announcement that the object of that was the establishment of the kingdom of God, and not merely the instruction of the people as to its nature. He was in his earthly work prophet, but also king. In its relation to John’s message, this announcement of Jesus was the continuation and development of that, repeating his call to repentance, but substituting for his announcement of the coming One, that of the coming Kingdom. This is in accordance with Jesus’ impersonal manner of treating his work. In its relation to current Jewish thought, this announcement fulfilled national expectations. This is evident from the reception given to Jesus by the nation, and from the uncanonical Jewish literature. This literature shows that the idea of Jewish deliverance and greatness, started in the prophetic books of the O.T., had not been allowed to lapse, but had gradually taken shape in the idea of a universal kingdom ruled by God himself, with the Messiah as his earthly vice-gerent, having Palestine as its centre and Jerusalem as its capital, and including in itself the righteous dead, who had been raised to share its glories. And the attitude of the people during the life of Jesus shows that this had become at this time a subject of fervid popular hope and expectation.
μτνετ—repent. This is a continuation of John’s message. Κὶπσεεεἐ τ εαγλῳand believe in the good news, is, however, a distinct addition to that message. The εαγλο, good news, is that the expected kingdom is at hand. Our word gospel, with its acquired meaning, is again singularly out of place here, as it inevitably obscures this obvious reference to the εαγλο τῦΘο just mentioned. πσεεε believe, is another word that has to be evacuated of its theological sense. It is purely and simply belief of the message brought by Jesus, that the kingdom of God is at hand. If a crisis is coming, and men are to be prepared for it, the first requisite is, that they believe in its coming.1
16. Κὶπργνπρ—And going along by.2
Κὶπργν instead of, πρπτνδ, is the reading of Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBDL 13, 33, 69, 124, 346, Latt. Memph. Harcl. marg. etc.
τνθλσα τςΓλλίςsea of Galilee. This lake was the scene of Jesus’ ministry. On its NW. shore were the towns of Capernaum, Magdala, Chorazin, and Bethsaida, referred to by Jesus himself as the district in which his mighty works were done. And its eastern shore, being uninhabited, was the place to which he used to retire to escape the multitudes. It was a lake 12 miles long, and 6 miles wide at the place of greatest width. The Jordan river enters it about 20 miles from its source. The use of θλσαin its name is uncommon in Greek.
In Lk., it is called commonly ἡλμηthe lake; once, Luk_5:1, the lake of Gennesareth, from the district on its W. shore. J. 21:1, calls it the sea of Tiberias, from the principal city on its shore. The Heb. name is יםכנֶֶ or כנְותsea of Chinnereth, or Chinneroth. See Num_34:11, Jos_13:27, Jos_12:8.
Σμν κὶἈδέντνἀεφντῦΣμνς ἀφβλοτςἐ τ θλσῃSimon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea.
(τῦ Σμνςinstead of ατῦ Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBAE2LM 1, 69, Lat. Vet. (a) Memph. A number of other texts read ατῦτῦΣμνς ἀφβλοτςwithout ἀφβητο, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBE*FGHKLSUV.
The repetition of the noun Σμνςin a case like this is characteristic of Mk. ἀφβητο is a thing thrown round another, as a net about fish, clothes about a person. Hence ἀφβλοτς used absolutely here, and suggesting the ἀφβητο, the net, as it certainly does, means to throw the net about the fish.1
17. δῦεὀίωμυCome after me.2 Following is in the N.T. a figurative expression for discipleship, especially for that which involved personal attendance upon Jesus. This use of follow belongs to a general use by which it is applied to any personal attendance, as of a soldier. ἁιῖ ἀθώω—fishers of men; cf. Jer_16:16. This is the first instance of the use of parabolic language, so common in the discourse of Jesus. The parable is not necessarily drawn out into a story, or a stated comparison; it may be expressed in a word as here. In it, Jesus simply brings together things of the outer and inner world, expressing the unfamiliar in the terms of the common and familiar. The effectiveness of it depends on the general likeness of the two worlds.
18. Κὶεθςἀέτςτ δκυ—And immediately having left their nets.
εθς instead of εθω, Tisch. WH. אL 33. Omit ατνafter τ δκυ Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBCL, some mss. of Lat. Vet. Vulg. Memph.
This immediate following is due probably to a previous acquaintance with Jesus and his teaching. They had been attracted to him before, and so were prepared to heed this apparently abrupt call to become his personal followers. Joh_1:35-43 tells us that they became disciples a year before this, during the ministry of John the Baptist.
19. Κὶποὰ ὀίο—And having gone forward a little.
Omit ἐεθνthence, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. BDL 1, 28, 118, 124, 131, 209, Lat. Vet. (some mss.) Memph. Pesh. etc.
ἸκβνJames—the O.T. Jacob. He is named commonly before John, implying that he was the older brother. ΖβδίυZebedee. Known only as the father of his two sons, and mentioned only in connection with the present event (Mat_4:21). The mother was Salome.3 κὶατὺ—who also, EV., gives the sense of these words. They express the identity of the occupation of these two with that of Peter and Andrew. They were also in their fishermen’s boat, though they were mending their nets, instead of casting them. κτρίοτςmending.4
20. Κὶεθςἐάεε ατύ—And immediately he called them. The immediateness here attaches to the call itself, in the former case to the response. He called them immediately, i.e., without any preliminary or preparatory act on his part.
εθςis here again substituted for εθω. In brief it is so substituted in most of the cases where it is used in Mk. It is unnecessary to cite the authorities in each case.
ἀῆθνὀίωμυthey went away after him. This is a very good illustration of the way in which this act of following acquires its figurative meaning, and in which also the original and figurative meanings may be combined. Here the outward act was going away after Jesus, but the meaning of it was following in the sense of discipleship.