Mark 1:4-11

Good News Translation (GNT)

*************************

  4  So John appeared in the desert, baptising and
   preaching.(b) "Turn away from your sins and
   be baptised," he told the people, "and God will
   forgive your sins."
  5  Many people from the province of Judea and
   the city of Jerusalem went out to hear John.
   They confessed their sins, and he baptised
   them in the Jordan River.
  6  John wore clothes made of camel's hair, with
   a leather belt around his waist, and his food
   was locusts and wild honey.
  7  He announced to the people, "The man who
   will come after me is much greater than I am.
   I am not good enough even to bend down
   and untie his sandals
  8  I baptise you with water, but he will baptise
   you with the Holy Spirit."

   The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus
  9  Not long afterward Jesus came from Nazareth
   in the province of Galilee, and was baptised by
   John in the Jordan.
10  As soon as Jesus came up out of the water,
   he saw heaven opening and the Spirit coming
   down on him like a dove.
11  And a voice came from heaven,
   "You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with
   you."

   Footnotes
   Mark 1:4 John appeared in the desert,
   baptising and preaching;
   some manuscripts have
   John the Baptist appeared in the desert,
   preaching.

*************************

Commentary taken from
'The Applied New Testament Commentary'
(Kingsway)

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

The most important thing we must understand about Jesus is that He was not only a man but He was also God's own Son. He had no human father, but was born through the Holy Spirit.

Old Testament prophets prophesied about John the Baptist, who came before Jesus to announce His coming.

John came to prepare people's hearts to receive Jesus, and he did this by preaching that they should repent of their sins.

In order for the people to receive the salvation, the valleys - that is, whatever is spiritually lacking (such as faith) - must be filled up. Obstructions in the way like a mountain or hill - that is, pride or self-confidence - must be made low.

Those walking on crooked roads must return to straight paths.

Salvation will be given not only to the Jews but also to non-Jews, and to all men and women who have prepared their hearts by repenting.

In order to receive Jesus as Saviour, a man must first realise he is a sinner and then repent of his sin. The man who does not consider himself a sinner in God's sight will think, "I have no need of a saviour."

But every man is a sinner, and every man needs a saviour. John's message was: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near". Those who were baptised with water, received was a sign that their sins were washed away.

As a prophet, John gave up worldly comfort and pleasure and led a life of poverty. He wore very rough clothing and ate locusts, which only the poorest people ate.

John was the greatest and most powerful of all the Jewish prophets. Yet he was not worthy to untie the thongs of the One coming after him - Jesus.

According to Jewish custom, even the lowliest slave did not have to untie his master's sandals; it was too demeaning a task for even a slave to perform. But here the greatest man born of woman was not worthy to do this lowly task for Jesus, because Jesus was not just a man - He was God Himself.

Water washes only the surface.

But Jesus' baptism with the Holy Spirit is a permanent inward cleansing, a changing of the heart and the creating of new spiritual life within.

The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus

Jesus Himself had no sin. Therefore, He did not need to be baptised for His own sake. Rather, He was baptised for our sake. Jesus, the Son of God, humbled Himself, took our sins upon Himself.

He came and received the death penalty, for sin, in our place.

It was God's righteous will that Jesus come to earth in the form of a man, take man's sins upon Himself, and suffer the punishment for sin in man's place.

Because Jesus came to take man's sins upon Himself, it was necessary for Him to be baptized like other men.

Compared with Jesus, John felt like a sinner, who needed baptism himself.

As Jesus was coming out of the water, after being baptised, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, in bodily form like a dove.
Then God spoke from heaven saying to Jesus: "You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased".

Jesus did not suddenly become God's Son. He had always been God's Son from before the beginning of the world.

The Holy Spirit had always been with Jesus, but at His baptism, Jesus was made manifest as the Son of God publicly before men.

Therefore, in the beginning of his Gospel, Mark has made clear that the Jesus, about whom he is writing. is no ordinary man.

He is the sinless Son of the living God, who has come to baptise men and women with the Holy Spirit and to save them from their sins.

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