THE PREFACE
THE PREFACE
MARK 1:1-3
In his opening words, Mark introduces us to the theme of all that is to follow.
Mark begins his book by telling us what he is going to do in it. 1:1 gives the title and theme: it is the good news of Jesus, the good news which he proclaimed and whose essential content is himself. Since, however, the theme of the good news is a particular person, the book looks like a biography, although the interest is concentrated on those parts of the life of Jesus which constitute the good news. Moreover, the good news is a piece of history, although Mark does not stop to prove its historicity.
The theme, then, is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Each part of the name is significant. Jesus was a name common among the Jews; for its meaning see Matthew 1:21. Christ is the Greek equivalent of “Messiah,” ie “anointed”; the deliverer of his people. “Son of God” gives us the deepest secret of the person of Jesus. The rest of the Gospel should be read as a justification by Mark for these titles being given to Jesus.
“The beginning” probably refers to the whole story of Jesus as the origin of the Christian good news, and the ensuing quotation is used to put the beginning of the ministry in its proper scriptural context. The words quoted are a compound from three places in the Old Testament—Exodus 23:20, Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3 (hence the correction of the text in later manuscripts recorded in RSV margin). The first part is taken from a passage in which God promises to send his angel to guide his people to the Promised Land. In the Old Testament itself the exodus from Egypt was seen as the pattern for God’s future acts of redemption. The second part of the quotation (Malachi 3:1) itself echoes the language of Exodus as it speaks of the coming of the Lord in judgment preceded by his messenger. The combination of this verse with Malachi 4:5 suggested that this messenger would be a second Elijah (cf. 9:13). Finally, Isaiah 40:3 summons captive Israel to prepare a way for the Lord in the desert along which he would lead them to redemption.
Thus the coming of Jesus is placed in a setting of redemption and judgment.