Mark 1:1-8
“Notice what you notice.” Another first verse item – …Jesus Christ, the Son of God… We’ve often heard that Mark moves fast and gets right at the heart of the matter. And now in his introduction he leaves no doubt as to where he is headed. This Jesus (of Nazareth) is our Christ (Messiah) and He IS the Son of God!! Mark shows us where he is headed. He opens proclaiming immediately that Jesus is the Son of God and he will close with the same proclamation in 15:39, this time from the centurion at the foot of the cross, Truly this man was the Son of God! What a bold statement, The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mark leaves no doubt!
A second item today was truly a learning moment for me. I had always assumed that the OT quotation in verses 2 and 3 was from Isaiah. Mark even attributes it to Isaiah. However the verse two portion is from Malachi (Mal. 3:1); only verse three is from Isaiah (Is. 40:3). Matthew 27:9 is the only other place in the Gospels where multiple OT prophets are quoted with attribution only to the “major” prophet. Thank you, Study Bible!
This getting up early and reading and posting is blessing me! Hopefully those of you reading these verses and posts are also being blessed!
Slava Bohu!