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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0;"/><title>Mark 1 Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/expositors/mark/1.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/mark/1.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/bmcom/mark/1-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="/commentaries/">Commentary</a> > <a href="../">Ellicott</a> > <a href="../mark/">Mark</a></div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../matthew/28.htm" title="Matthew 28">◄</a> Mark 1 <a href="../mark/2.htm" title="Mark 2">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</div><div class="chap">THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK.<p>Mark.</span><p>BY<p>THE VERY REV. E. H. PLUMPTRE, D.D.,<p><span class= "ital">Late Dean of Wells.</span><p><span class= "bld">INTRODUCTION<p>TO<p>THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK.<p>I. The Writer.</span>—There is but one person of the name of Mark, or Marcus, mentioned in the New Testament, and, in the absence of any evidence, it may reasonably be assumed that the Gospel which bears his name is ascribed to him as being, directly or indirectly, its author. The facts of his life as they are gathered from the New Testament may be briefly put together. He bore also the Hebrew name of John, <span class= "ital">i.e.,</span> Joannes, or Jochanan (<a href="/acts/12-12.htm" title="And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.">Acts 12:12</a>; <a href="/acts/12-25.htm" title="And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.">Acts 12:25</a>; <a href="/acts/15-37.htm" title="And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.">Acts 15:37</a>). The fact that he took a Latin and not a Greek surname suggests the probability of some point of contact with Jews or others connected with Rome. As was natural, when he entered on his work among the Gentiles the new name practically superseded the old, and in the Epistles (<a href="/colossians/4-10.htm" title=" Aristarchus my fellow prisoner salutes you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom you received commandments: if he come to you, receive him;)">Colossians 4:10</a>; <a href="/2_timothy/4-11.htm" title="Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with you: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.">2Timothy 4:11</a>; <a href="/philemon/1-24.htm" title="Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellow laborers.">Philemon 1:24</a>; <a href="/1_peter/5-13.htm" title="The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, salutes you; and so does Marcus my son.">1Peter 5:13</a>) he is spoken of as “Mark” only. He was cousin to Barnabas, and was therefore, on his mother’s side probably, of the tribe of Levi (<a href="/colossians/4-10.htm" title=" Aristarchus my fellow prisoner salutes you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom you received commandments: if he come to you, receive him;)">Colossians 4:10</a>; <a href="/acts/4-36.htm" title="And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,">Acts 4:36</a>). His mother bore the name of Mary, or Miriam, and it may be inferred from the fact that her house served as a meeting-place for the disciples at Jerusalem (<a href="/acts/12-12.htm" title="And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.">Acts 12:12</a>), that she, like her brother, was one of the prominent and wealthy members of the Apostolic Church. St. Peter speaks of him as his “son” (<a href="/1_peter/5-13.htm" title="The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, salutes you; and so does Marcus my son.">1Peter 5:13</a>), and it is a natural inference from this that he was converted by that Apostle to the new faith, but whether this was during our Lord’s ministry on earth or after the day of Pentecost must remain matter for conjecture. When Paul and Barnabas return from Jerusalem to Antioch (<a href="/acts/12-25.htm" title="And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.">Acts 12:25</a>) he accompanies them, and this may be taken as evidence that his sympathies were at that time with the wider work which they were carrying on among the Gentiles. So, when they were sent forth on their first missionary journey, they chose him as their “minister,” or attendant (<a href="/acts/13-5.htm" title="And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.">Acts 13:5</a>). His function, as such, was probably to provide for their personal wants in travelling, and to assist in the baptism of new converts. For some unrecorded reason, possibly want of courage, or home-sickness, or over-anxious care about the mother whom he had left at Jerusalem, he drew back at Perga in Pamphylia from the work to which they were sent, and returned home (<a href="/acts/13-13.htm" title="Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.">Acts 13:13</a>). We find him, however, again at Antioch, after the council at Jerusalem, and he had so far regained his uncle’s confidence that he was willing to take him once more as a companion in his missionary labours (<a href="/context/acts/15-37.htm" title="And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.">Acts 15:37-39</a>). To that course, however, St. Paul would not agree, and the result was that the two friends who had so long been fellow-workers in the cause of Christ were divided after a sharp contention.<p>From this point onwards we get but few glimpses of the writer of the Gospel. He accompanied Barnabas (A.D. 52) in his work among the Jews and Gentiles of Cyprus (<a href="/acts/15-39.htm" title="And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed to Cyprus;">Acts 15:39</a>). About eight years later he was with St. Peter in the city on the banks of the Euphrates which still bore the old name of Babylon, and there must have met Silvanus, or Silas, who had taken his place as the companion and minister of St. Paul (see Note on <a href="/context/1_peter/5-12.htm" title="By Silvanus, a faithful brother to you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein you stand.">1Peter 5:12-13</a>). It is possible that this may have led to a renewal of the old intimacy between him and the Apostle of the Gentiles, and about four years later (A.D. 64) we find him with St. Paul at Rome, during the Apostle’s first imprisonment (<a href="/colossians/4-10.htm" title=" Aristarchus my fellow prisoner salutes you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom you received commandments: if he come to you, receive him;)">Colossians 4:10</a>; <a href="/philemon/1-24.htm" title="Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellow laborers.">Philemon 1:24</a>), and there, it may be noted, he must have met his brother Evangelist, St. Luke (<a href="/colossians/4-14.htm" title=" Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.">Colossians 4:14</a>). He was then, however, on the point of returning to the Asiatic provinces, and contemplated a visit to Colossæ (<a href="/colossians/4-10.htm" title=" Aristarchus my fellow prisoner salutes you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom you received commandments: if he come to you, receive him;)">Colossians 4:10</a>). Two years later (A.D. 66)<span class= "ital">,</span> accordingly, we find him at Ephesus with Timotheus, and the last mention of his name shows that St. Paul had forgotten his former want of steadfastness in the recollection of his recent services, and wished for his presence once again as being “profitable for ministering”<span class= "note">[9]</span> (<a href="/2_timothy/4-11.htm" title="Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with you: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.">2Timothy 4:11</a>).<p><span class= "note">[9] This rather than “for the ministry” is the sense of the Greek.</span><p>To these facts, or legitimate inferences, we may now add the less certain traditions that have gathered round his name. Epiphanius (<span class= "ital">Contr. Hœr.</span>) makes him one of the Seventy whose mission St. Luke narrates (<a href="/luke/10-1.htm" title="After these things the LORD appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, where he himself would come.">Luke 10:1</a>), and says that he was of those who turned back when they heard the hard saying of <a href="/john/6-60.htm" title="Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?">John 6:60</a>; <a href="/john/6-66.htm" title="From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.">John 6:66</a>. Eusebius (<span class= "ital">Hist.</span> ii. 15; vi. 14) states, on the “authority of the ancient elders” and of Clement of Alexandria, that he was with St. Peter at Rome, acting as his “interpreter,” or secretary, and that he was sent on a mission from Rome to Egypt (<span class= "ital">Hist.</span> ii. 16). There, according to Jerome (<span class= "ital">de Vir. illust.</span> 8), he founded the Church of Alexandria, became bishop of that church, and suffered martyrdom at the hands of the people on the Feast of Serapis, in the fourteenth year of Nero, A.D. 68, about three years after the death of St. Peter and St. Paul. In A.D. 815 his body was said to have been taken to Venice, and the stately cathedral in the Piazza of St. Mark in that city was dedicated to his memory. Some recent commentators identify him conjecturally with “the young man with the linen cloth round his naked body” of <a href="/mark/14-51.htm" title="And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him:">Mark 14:51</a>. (See Note on that passage.)<p><span class= "bld">II.</span> <span class= "bld">The Authorship of the Gospel.</span>—St. Mark is named by Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis (<span class= "ital">circ.</span> A.D. 169), on the authority of a certain “John the Presbyter,” as writing down exactly, in his character as Peter’s interpreter, “whatever things he remembered, but not in the order in which Christ spoke or did them, for he was neither a follower nor hearer of the Lord’s, but was afterwards a follower of Peter.” The statement is probable enough in itself (Euseb. <span class= "ital">Hist. </span>iii. 39), and receives some additional weight from the fact that the city of which Papias was Bishop was in the same district as Colossæ, which Mark, as we have seen, meant to visit (<a href="/colossians/4-10.htm" title=" Aristarchus my fellow prisoner salutes you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom you received commandments: if he come to you, receive him;)">Colossians 4:10</a>). In another passage, above referred to, Eusebius (<span class= "ital">Hist.</span> ii. 15; 5:8) speaks of him as having been asked to write by the hearers of St. Peter at Rome, and that the Apostle at first acquiesced in, and afterwards sanctioned his doing so. The same tradition appears (A.D. 160-225) in Tertullian (<span class= "ital">Cont. Marc.</span> iv. 5). It receives some confirmation from the language of the second Epistle ascribed to St. Peter. The Apostle there promises that he will “endeavour” that those to whom he writes may have these things (<span class= "ital">i.e.,</span> the facts and truths of the gospel) in remembrance, that they might know that they had not “followed cunningly-devised fables,” but were trusting those who had been eye-witnesses, at the Transfiguration and elsewhere, of the majesty of Christ (<a href="/context/2_peter/1-15.htm" title="Moreover I will endeavor that you may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.">2Peter 1:15-16</a>). Such a promise seems almost to pledge the Apostle to the composition of some kind of record. Mark, we have seen, was with him when he wrote his first Epistle, perhaps also when he wrote the second, and it would be natural that he should take down from his master’s lips, or write down afterwards from memory, what he had heard from him. It may be added that the comparatively subordinate position occupied by St. Mark in the New Testament records makes it improbable that his name should have been chosen as the author of a book which he did not really write. A pseudonymous writer would have been tempted to choose (let us say) Peter himself, not Peter’s attendant and interpreter.<p>The Gospel itself, we may add, supplies some internal evidence in favour of this hypothesis:—(1.) It differs from St. Matthew, with which to a great extent it runs parallel in the facts narrated, in giving at every turn graphic descriptive touches which suggest the thought that they must have come in the first instance from an eye-witness. These are noticed in detail in the Notes on the Gospel, and here it will be enough to mention a few of the more striking instances. Thus, <span class= "ital">e.g.,</span> we have (a) the “very early in the morning, while it was yet night,” of <a href="/mark/1-35.htm" title="And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.">Mark 1:35</a>, as compared with “when it was day” in <a href="/luke/4-42.htm" title="And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came to him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them.">Luke 4:42</a>; (<span class= "ital">b</span>) there being no room, “not so much as about the door,” in <a href="/mark/2-2.htm" title="And straightway many were gathered together, so that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word to them.">Mark 2:2</a>; (<span class= "ital">c</span>) the “taking off the roof and digging a hole in it” in <a href="/mark/2-4.htm" title="And when they could not come near to him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.">Mark 2:4</a>; (<span class= "ital">d</span>) the “making a path by plucking the ears of corn” in <a href="/mark/2-23.htm" title="And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.">Mark 2:23</a>; (e) the “looking round with anger” in <a href="/mark/3-5.htm" title="And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, Stretch forth your hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.">Mark 3:5</a>; (<span class= "ital">f</span>) the “taking Him, even as He was, into the ship,” and the “lying in the stern on the pillow” (<a href="/mark/4-36.htm" title="And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.">Mark 4:36</a>; <a href="/mark/4-38.htm" title="And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say to him, Master, care you not that we perish?">Mark 4:38</a>); (<span class= "ital">g</span>) the account of the manner in which the Gadarene demoniac had “burst asunder” his chains and “worn away” his fetters (<a href="/mark/5-4.htm" title="Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.">Mark 5:4</a>), and how he was “in the mountains crying and cutting himself with stones” (<a href="/mark/5-5.htm" title="And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.">Mark 5:5</a>); (<span class= "ital">h</span>) the “green grass,” and the “sitting in ranks and companies by hundreds and by fifties” (<a href="/context/mark/6-39.htm" title="And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies on the green grass.">Mark 6:39-40</a>); (<span class= "ital">i</span>) the “exceeding white as snow so as no fuller on earth can whiten them” (<a href="/mark/9-3.htm" title="And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.">Mark 9:3</a>); (<span class= "ital">j</span>) the “Jesus beholding him, loved him” of the young ruler (<a href="/mark/10-21.htm" title="Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said to him, One thing you lack: go your way, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.">Mark 10:21</a>); (<span class= "ital">k</span>) the “young man with the linen cloth round his naked body” (<a href="/mark/14-51.htm" title="And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him:">Mark 14:51</a>); and many others of a like character. (2) As pointing to the same direction, we may note the instances in which St. Mark, and he alone, reproduces the very syllables which our Lord uttered in Aramaic. Whether they were an exception to His usual mode of speech or not may be an open question, but as connected with His works of healing they had the character of words of power for those who heard them, and so fixed themselves in their memories. So we have the TALITHA CUMI of <a href="/mark/5-41.htm" title="And he took the damsel by the hand, and said to her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say to you, arise.">Mark 5:41</a>, the EPHPHATHA of <a href="/mark/7-34.htm" title="And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.">Mark 7:34</a>, the RABBONI in the Greek of <a href="/mark/10-51.htm" title="And Jesus answered and said to him, What will you that I should do to you? The blind man said to him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.">Mark 10:51</a>, the BOANERGES of <a href="/mark/3-17.htm" title="And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:">Mark 3:17</a>, the ABBA of <a href="/mark/14-36.htm" title="And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible to you; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what you will.">Mark 14:36</a>, the COBBAN of <a href="/mark/7-11.htm" title="But you say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatever you might be profited by me; he shall be free.">Mark 7:11</a>, and, though here in common with St. Matthew, the ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI of <a href="/mark/15-34.htm" title="And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?">Mark 15:34</a>. (3.) So, too, in a few cases, St. Mark gives names where the other Gospels do not give them: Levi is the son of Alphæus (<a href="/mark/2-14.htm" title="And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said to him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.">Mark 2:14</a>); the ruler of the Synagogue, not named by St. Matthew, is Jairus (<a href="/mark/5-22.htm" title="And, behold, there comes one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet,">Mark 5:22</a>); the blind beggar at Jericho is Bartimæus, the son of Timæus (<a href="/mark/10-46.htm" title="And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.">Mark 10:46</a>); the mother of James and John is Salome (<a href="/mark/15-40.htm" title="There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;">Mark 15:40</a>); Simon the Cyrenian is the father of Alexander and Rufus (<a href="/mark/15-21.htm" title="And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.">Mark 15:21</a>). (4.) Some have seen grounds for the inference thus suggested in St. Mark’s omission of the promise made to Peter in <a href="/context/matthew/16-17.htm" title="And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father which is in heaven.">Matthew 16:17-19</a>, and of his “weeping <span class= "ital">bitterly</span>” after he had denied his Master, but the proof in this case I seems somewhat precarious.<p><span class= "bld">III. The first readers of the Gospel.</span>—The position which St. Mark occupied in relation both to St. Paul and St. Peter—his connection with the former being resumed, as we have seen, after a long interval—would make it probable that he would write with a special eye to Gentile rather than Jewish readers; and of this the Gospel itself supplies sufficient evidence in the full explanation of the customs of the Jews as to ablutions and the like in <a href="/context/mark/7-3.htm" title="For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.">Mark 7:3-4</a>, in the explanation of the word Corban in <a href="/mark/7-11.htm" title="But you say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatever you might be profited by me; he shall be free.">Mark 7:11</a>, perhaps, also, in his description of “the <span class= "ital">river</span> of Jordan” in <a href="/mark/1-5.htm" title="And there went out to him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.">Mark 1:5</a>. A closer study suggests the thought, in full agreement with the tradition mentioned above, that he wrote with a special view to Christians of the Roman Church. He alone describes Simon the Cyrenian as the father of Alexander and Rufus (<a href="/mark/15-21.htm" title="And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.">Mark 15:21</a>), as though that fact had a special interest for his readers. There is but one Rufus mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament, and he meets us in <a href="/romans/16-13.htm" title="Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.">Romans 16:13</a> as one who was prominent enough in the church of that city for St. Paul to send a special message of remembrance to him; and it may be inferred, with some likelihood, that the wife or widow of Simon of Cyrene (having previously met St. Paul at Corinth, for some personal knowledge is implied in the words “his mother and mine”) had settled with her two sons in the imperial city, and had naturally gained a position of some importance. The very name of Marcus indicates, as has been said, some Latin affinities; and it is noticeable, in this connection, that a larger number of words Latin in their origin appear in his Gospel than in any one of the others. Thus we have him giving the Latin <span class= "ital">centurio</span> instead of the Greek <span class= "greekheb">έκατοντάρχης</span> (<span class= "ital">hekatontarches</span>) in <a href="/mark/15-39.htm" title="And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.">Mark 15:39</a>; <a href="/context/mark/15-44.htm" title="And Pilate marveled if he were already dead: and calling to him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.">Mark 15:44-45</a>; the Latin <span class= "ital">speculator</span> for “executioner” in <a href="/mark/6-27.htm" title="And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,">Mark 6:27</a>; <span class= "ital">grabatus</span> for bed (this in common with <a href="/context/john/5-8.htm" title="Jesus said to him, Rise, take up your bed, and walk.">John 5:8-10</a>) in <a href="/mark/2-4.htm" title="And when they could not come near to him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.">Mark 2:4</a>; <a href="/mark/2-9.htm" title="Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Your sins be forgiven you; or to say, Arise, and take up your bed, and walk?">Mark 2:9</a>; <a href="/context/mark/2-11.htm" title="I say to you, Arise, and take up your bed, and go your way into your house.">Mark 2:11-12</a>; <span class= "ital">quadvans</span> for “farthing” in <a href="/mark/12-42.htm" title="And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.">Mark 12:42</a>; a verb formed from the Latin <span class= "ital">flagellum</span> for “scourging” (this in common with <a href="/matthew/27-26.htm" title="Then released he Barabbas to them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.">Matthew 27:26</a>) in <a href="/mark/15-15.htm" title="And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas to them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.">Mark 15:15</a>; a noun formed from <span class= "ital">sextarius</span> for “vessels” in <a href="/mark/7-4.htm" title="And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables.">Mark 7:4</a>; <span class= "ital">Prætorium</span> (this in common with <a href="/matthew/27-27.htm" title="Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered to him the whole band of soldiers.">Matthew 27:27</a> and <a href="/john/18-28.htm" title="Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas to the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.">John 18:28</a>) in <a href="/mark/15-16.htm" title="And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.">Mark 15:16</a>; the <span class= "ital">denarius</span> in <a href="/mark/6-37.htm" title="He answered and said to them, Give you them to eat. And they say to him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?">Mark 6:37</a>, <a href="/mark/12-15.htm" title="Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, Why tempt you me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.">Mark 12:15</a>, <a href="/mark/14-5.htm" title="For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.">Mark 14:5</a> (this, however, is common to all four Gospels); the <span class= "ital">legio</span> (found also in <a href="/matthew/26-53.htm" title="Think you that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?">Matthew 26:53</a>, <a href="/luke/8-30.htm" title="And Jesus asked him, saying, What is your name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.">Luke 8:30</a>) in <a href="/mark/5-9.htm" title="And he asked him, What is your name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.">Mark 5:9</a>; <span class= "ital">census</span> (found also in <a href="/matthew/17-25.htm" title="He said, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What think you, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?">Matthew 17:25</a>; <a href="/matthew/22-17.htm" title="Tell us therefore, What think you? Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?">Matthew 22:17</a>; <a href="/matthew/22-19.htm" title="Show me the tribute money. And they brought to him a penny.">Matthew 22:19</a>) in <a href="/mark/12-14.htm" title="And when they were come, they say to him, Master, we know that you are true, and care for no man: for you regard not the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?">Mark 12:14</a>.<p><span class= "bld">IV. The characteristics of the Gospel.</span>—The distinguishing features of St. Mark’s Gospel are, it will be seen, (1) vividness and fulness of detail in narrating the events of the history; (2) compression or omission in dealing with our Lord’s discourses. This may have been owing partly to the object which he had in view, writing, it may be, for the instruction of catechumens, for whom he judged this method the most fitting, and partly to the idiosyncrasies of his own character. What we have seen of his life and work would prepare us to accept the latter as, to a great extent, an adequate explanation. One who had been chiefly a “minister” or “attendant” (the latter word is the more accurate rendering of the Greek of <a href="/acts/13-5.htm" title="And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.">Acts 13:5</a>) on the two Apostles may well be supposed to have been chiefly distinguished for his activity in service, for the turn of mind which observes and notes particulars, rather than for that which belongs to the student, and delights to dwell on full and developed statements of the Truth. We may see in what he has left us accordingly, pre-eminently the Gospel of Service, that which presents our Lord to us as in the form of a servant, obedient even unto death (<a href="/context/philippians/2-7.htm" title="But made himself of no reputation, and took on him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:">Philippians 2:7-8</a>); and so far it forms the complement to that in which St. Matthew presents Him to us pre-eminently in His character as a King. Even the characteristic iteration of the ever-recurring “immediately,” “anon,” “presently,” “forthwith,” “by-and-by,” “straightway”—all representing the self-same Greek word, occurring not less than 41 times—may not unreasonably be connected with his personal experience. That had been, we may believe, a word constantly on his lips in daily life, the law and standard of his own service, and he could not think of his Lord’s work otherwise than as exhibiting the perfect fulfilment of that law, a work at once without haste and without pause. So, too, in another point in which he stands in singular contrast to St. Matthew, the almost entire absence of any reference, except in reporting what had been said by our Lord or others, to any prophecies of the Old Testament—there are but two such references in the whole Gospel (<a href="/context/mark/1-2.htm" title="As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, which shall prepare your way before you.">Mark 1:2-3</a>; <a href="/mark/15-28.htm" title="And the scripture was fulfilled, which said, And he was numbered with the transgressors.">Mark 15:28</a>), as rising out of his own reflection—may be explained in part, perhaps, by the fact that he was writing not for Jews, but for Gentiles, to whom those prophecies were not familiar, and also by the fact that his own life in its ceaseless round of humbler service led him to be less than others a student of those prophecies. Assuming the genuineness of the latter of the two passages just referred to (it is absent from nearly all the best MSS.), we may, perhaps, trace the connection of thought. Words from that 53rd chapter of Isaiah had been quoted by the Apostle to whom he ministered (<a href="/context/1_peter/2-22.htm" title="Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:">1Peter 2:22-23</a>), at a time when he was with him, in special connection with the work of servants and the duty of obedience, and so his mind had been called to those words, but there does not appear to have been in him, as there was in St. Matthew, a deliberate purpose to trace the fulfilment of prophetic words in the circumstances of our Lord’s life and work. He was content to paint the scenes that passed before his mind clearly and vividly, and to leave the teaching which the facts embodied to do its work on the minds of his readers.<p><span class= "bld">V. Relation to St. Matthew and St. Luke.</span>—The Gospels of St. Mark and St. Matthew have so much in common, sometimes with each other only, sometimes with St. Luke also, that it is clear that they must have drawn more or less from a common source. Nothing, however, can be more against the whole tenor of internal evidence than the hypothesis that St. Mark epitomised from St. Matthew, or that St. Matthew expanded from St. Mark. The narrative of the second Gospel is in almost every instance fuller than that of the first, and its brevity is obtained only by the absence of the discourses and parables which occupy so large a portion of the other. On either of these assumptions the perplexing variations in the order of events (see Note on <a href="/matthew/8-1.htm" title="When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.">Matthew 8:1</a>) are altogether inexplicable. What is, with our scanty <span class= "ital">data,</span> the most probable explanation is, that the matter common to both represents the substance of the instruction given orally to disciples in the Church of Jerusalem and other Jewish-Christian communities coming, directly or indirectly, under the influence of St. Peter and St. James, as the Apostles of the Circumcision (<a href="/galatians/2-9.htm" title="And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go to the heathen, and they to the circumcision.">Galatians 2:9</a>). The miracles that had most impressed themselves on the minds of the disciples, the simplest or most striking parables, the narratives of the Passion and Resurrection, would naturally make up the main bulk of that instruction. St. Matthew, the publican Apostle, and therefore conversant, as has been said before, with clerkly culture, writing for his own people, closely connected with James the Bishop of Jerusalem (see <span class= "ital">Introduction to St. Matthew</span>)<span class= "ital">,</span> would naturally be one exponent of that teaching. St. Mark, the disciple and “interpreter,” or secretary, of St. Peter, would as naturally be another. That they wrote independently of each other is seen, not only in the details above noted, the addition of new facts, the graphic touches of description, but from variations which would be inexplicable on any other assumption; such, <span class= "ital">e.g.,</span> as Mark’s “Dalmanutha” (<a href="/mark/8-10.htm" title="And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.">Mark 8:10</a>) for Matthew’s Magdala (<a href="/matthew/15-39.htm" title="And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.">Matthew 15:39</a>), “Syro-Phœnician woman” (<a href="/mark/7-26.htm" title="The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she sought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.">Mark 7:26</a>) for Canaanite (<a href="/matthew/15-22.htm" title="And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried to him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, you son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.">Matthew 15:22</a>), “Levi the son of Alphæus” (<a href="/mark/2-14.htm" title="And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said to him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.">Mark 2:14</a>) for Matthew (<a href="/matthew/9-9.htm" title="And as Jesus passed forth from there, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said to him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.">Matthew 9:9</a>). Short as the Gospel is, too, there is one parable in it (<a href="/context/mark/4-26.htm" title="And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;">Mark 4:26-29</a>), and one miracle (<a href="/context/mark/7-31.htm" title="And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came to the sea of Galilee, through the middle of the coasts of Decapolis.">Mark 7:31-37</a>), which arc not found in St. Matthew. It is remarkable, moreover, that there are some incidents which St. Mark and St. Luke have in common, and which are not found in St. Matthew: that of the demoniac in <a href="/context/mark/1-23.htm" title="And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,">Mark 1:23-27</a>, <a href="/context/luke/4-33.htm" title="And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,">Luke 4:33-37</a>; the journey through Galilee (<a href="/context/mark/1-35.htm" title="And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.">Mark 1:35-39</a>, <a href="/context/luke/4-42.htm" title="And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came to him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them.">Luke 4:42-44</a>); the pursuit of the disciples (<a href="/context/mark/1-36.htm" title="And Simon and they that were with him followed after him.">Mark 1:36-37</a>, <a href="/luke/4-42.htm" title="And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came to him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them.">Luke 4:42</a>); the prayer of the demoniac (<a href="/mark/5-18.htm" title="And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.">Mark 5:18</a>, <a href="/luke/8-38.htm" title="Now the man out of whom the devils were departed sought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying,">Luke 8:38</a>); the complaint of John against one that cast out devils (<a href="/mark/9-38.htm" title="And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in your name, and he follows not us: and we forbade him, because he follows not us.">Mark 9:38</a>, <a href="/luke/9-49.htm" title="And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in your name; and we forbade him, because he follows not with us.">Luke 9:49</a>); the women bringing spices to the sepulchre (<a href="/mark/16-1.htm" title="And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.">Mark 16:1</a>, <a href="/luke/24-1.htm" title="Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.">Luke 24:1</a>). Of these phenomena we find a natural and adequate explanation in the fact that the two Evangelists were, at least at one period of their lives, brought into contact with each other (<a href="/colossians/4-10.htm" title=" Aristarchus my fellow prisoner salutes you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom you received commandments: if he come to you, receive him;)">Colossians 4:10</a>; <a href="/colossians/4-14.htm" title=" Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.">Colossians 4:14</a>, <a href="/philemon/1-24.htm" title="Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellow laborers.">Philemon 1:24</a>). It is probable, as has been said above, that neither wrote his Gospel in its present form until the two great Apostles whom they served had entered on their rest; but when they met each must have had the plan formed and the chief materials collected, and we may well think of them as comparing notes, and of the one, whose life had led to less culture, and whose temperament disposed him to record facts rather than parables or discourses, as profiting by his contact with the other, and while content to adhere to the scope and method which he had before marked out for himself, adding here and there what he learnt from his fellow-worker whose “praise was in the Gospel” (<a href="/2_corinthians/8-18.htm" title="And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches;">2Corinthians 8:18</a>). (See <span class= "ital">Introduction to St. Luke.</span>)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-1.htm">Mark 1:1</a></div><div class="verse">The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;</div>(1) <span class= "bld">The beginning of the gospel.</span>—The opening words are interesting as presenting a transition stage in the history of the word Gospel, between its earlier sense, as meaning generally the “good news” of the kingdom of God (<a href="/mark/1-14.htm" title="Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,">Mark 1:14</a>; <a href="/matthew/4-23.htm" title="And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.">Matthew 4:23</a>; <a href="/matthew/9-35.htm" title="And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.">Matthew 9:35</a>), and the later sense, as a book recording the main facts in our Lord’s life and work. In <a href="/1_corinthians/15-1.htm" title="Moreover, brothers, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand;">1Corinthians 15:1</a>, <a href="/2_timothy/2-8.htm" title="Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:">2Timothy 2:8</a>, where it clearly includes a narrative of some kind, we have an instance of a like transition.<p><span class= "bld">The Son of God.</span>—This also is significant as to the Church’s faith at the time when St. Mark wrote. He, of whom he speaks, was not a prophet or righteous man only, but was, in the highest sense which could be attached to the words, the Son of God. If we think of St. Mark as reproducing St. Peter’s teaching, we cannot fail to connect the words, thus placed, as they are, in the very title of his Gospel, with the Apostle’s confession in <a href="/matthew/16-16.htm" title="And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.">Matthew 16:16</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-2.htm">Mark 1:2</a></div><div class="verse">As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.</div>(2) <span class= "bld">In the prophets.</span>—The better MSS. give the more accurate reference, “in Esaias the prophet.” On general grounds, however, it seems more probable that the general reference should have been specialised by a transcriber than the reverse. With one exception, and that very doubtful as to its genuineness (see Note on <a href="/mark/15-28.htm" title="And the scripture was fulfilled, which said, And he was numbered with the transgressors.">Mark 15:28</a>), this is the only quotation from a prophet made by the Evangelist himself in this Gospel. The fact that St. Mark wrote for Gentiles furnishes a partial explanation of his silence in this respect, as compared with the other Gospels. (See <span class= "ital">Introduction.</span>)<p><span class= "bld">Behold, I send my messenger.</span>—See Notes on <a href="/context/matthew/11-10.htm" title="For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, which shall prepare your way before you.">Matthew 11:10-11</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-3.htm">Mark 1:3</a></div><div class="verse">The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.</div>(3) <span class= "bld">The voice of one crying in the wilderness.</span>—See Note on <a href="/matthew/3-3.htm" title="For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.">Matthew 3:3</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-4.htm">Mark 1:4</a></div><div class="verse">John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.</div>(4) <span class= "bld">John did baptize.</span>—No other Gospel passes so abruptly, so <span class= "ital">in medias res,</span> into the actual work of the Forerunner. There is no account of the birth or infancy of our Lord, as in St. Matthew and St. Luke; none of the pre-existence of the Son of Man, as in St. John. St. Mark is here, as elsewhere, emphatically the Evangelist of action. (On the rest of the verse, see Notes on <a href="/matthew/3-1.htm" title="In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,">Matthew 3:1</a>.) The special phrase “baptism of repentance”—<span class= "ital">i.e.,</span> the sign of repentance, that which was connected with it, and pre-supposed it—meets us in <a href="/luke/3-3.htm" title="And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;">Luke 3:3</a> and <a href="/acts/19-4.htm" title="Then said Paul, John truly baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.">Acts 19:4</a>. In the former passage we find also “forgiveness of sins” as the result of the baptism; and we cannot doubt, therefore, that then, as evermore, repentance was followed by forgiveness, even though the blood which availed for that forgiveness (<a href="/matthew/26-28.htm" title="For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.">Matthew 26:28</a>) had not as yet been shed.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-5.htm">Mark 1:5</a></div><div class="verse">And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.</div>(5) <span class= "bld">There went out unto him</span>. . . .—See Note on <a href="/matthew/3-5.htm" title="Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,">Matthew 3:5</a>. Note St. Mark’s use of the term “in the river of Jordan,” as writing for those who were not familiar with the topography of Palestine.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-6.htm">Mark 1:6</a></div><div class="verse">And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;</div>(6) <span class= "bld">And John was clothed</span>. . . .—See Note on <a href="/matthew/3-4.htm" title="And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leather girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.">Matthew 3:4</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-7.htm">Mark 1:7</a></div><div class="verse">And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.</div>(7) <span class= "bld">There cometh one mightier than I.</span>—See Note on <a href="/matthew/3-11.htm" title="I indeed baptize you with water to repentance. but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.">Matthew 3:11</a>; but note the slight difference—not, as there, “whose shoes I am not worthy to bear,” but “the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to <span class= "ital">stoop down and unloose.</span>” Latchet,” a word now obsolete, was the “thong” or “lace” with which shoes or sandals were fastened. To stoop down and loosen the sandals was commonly the act of the servant who afterwards carried them, but it expressed more vividly what we should call the menial character of the office, and therefore, we may believe, was chosen by St. Mark. (See <span class= "ital">Introduction.</span>)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-8.htm">Mark 1:8</a></div><div class="verse">I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.</div>(8) <span class= "bld">I indeed have baptized you with water.</span>—See Note on <a href="/matthew/3-11.htm" title="I indeed baptize you with water to repentance. but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.">Matthew 3:11</a>. St. Mark omits the “fire” which St. Matthew joins with the Holy Ghost, possibly as less intelligible to his Gentile readers.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-9.htm">Mark 1:9</a></div><div class="verse">And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.</div>(9) <span class= "bld">And it came to pass.</span>—See Note on <a href="/matthew/3-13.htm" title="Then comes Jesus from Galilee to Jordan to John, to be baptized of him.">Matthew 3:13</a>. St. Mark adds “from Nazareth” to St. Matthew’s more general statement, “from Galilee.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-10.htm">Mark 1:10</a></div><div class="verse">And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:</div>(10) <span class= "bld">He saw the heavens opened.</span>—Better, <span class= "bld">as</span> in the margin, <span class= "ital">rent open,</span> St. Mark’s language here, as elsewhere, being more boldly vivid than that of the other Gospels. (See Notes on <a href="/context/matthew/3-16.htm" title="And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, see, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting on him:">Matthew 3:16-17</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-12.htm">Mark 1:12</a></div><div class="verse">And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.</div>(12) <span class= "bld">Immediately the spirit driveth him.</span>—See Notes on <a href="/matthew/4-1.htm" title="Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.">Matthew 4:1</a>; but note also St. Mark’s characteristic “immediately,” and the stronger word “driveth him.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-13.htm">Mark 1:13</a></div><div class="verse">And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.</div>(13) <span class= "bld">And he was there in the wilderness.</span>—See Notes on <a href="/context/matthew/4-2.htm" title="And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered.">Matthew 4:2-11</a>. St. Mark compresses the history by omitting the several forms of the Temptation. Peculiar to him are (1) the use of “Satan” instead of “the devil;” (2) the statement that Jesus was “with the wild beasts.” In our Lord’s time these might include the panther, the bear, the wolf, the hyena, possibly the lion. The implied thought is partly that their presence added to the terrors of the Temptation, partly that in His being protected from them there was the fulfilment of the promise in the very Psalm which furnished the Tempter with his chief weapon, that the true child of God should trample under foot “the lion and the adder,” the “young lion and the dragon” (<a href="/psalms/91-13.htm" title="You shall tread on the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shall you trample under feet.">Psalm 91:13</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-14.htm">Mark 1:14</a></div><div class="verse">Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,</div>(14) <span class= "bld">Now after that John was put in prison.</span>—St. Mark agrees with St. Matthew in omitting all our Lord’s early ministry in Galilee and Jerusalem, and takes the imprisonment of the Baptist as his starting-point. That imprisonment is assumed here to be known; but the facts connected with it are not related till <a href="/context/mark/6-17.htm" title="For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold on John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her.">Mark 6:17-20</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-15.htm">Mark 1:15</a></div><div class="verse">And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.</div>(15) <span class= "bld">The time is fulfilled.</span>—The words are not found in the parallel passages of the other Gospels, and are interesting as embodying the same thought as St. Paul’s “in the fulness of time” (<a href="/galatians/4-4.htm" title="But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,">Galatians 4:4</a>; <a href="/ephesians/1-10.htm" title="That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:">Ephesians 1:10</a>). So, too, St. Mark adds “believe the gospel” to the simple “repent” of St. Matthew, and gives “the kingdom of God” instead of “the kingdom of heaven.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-16.htm">Mark 1:16</a></div><div class="verse">Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.</div>(16) <span class= "bld">As he walked by the sea of Galilee.</span>—See Notes on <a href="/context/matthew/4-18.htm" title="And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.">Matthew 4:18-22</a>. St. Mark names Simon without the addition of Peter.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-20.htm">Mark 1:20</a></div><div class="verse">And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.</div>(20) <span class= "bld">With the hired servants.</span>—Peculiar to this Gospel, and of some interest as throwing light on the relative social position of the sons of Zebedee.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-21.htm">Mark 1:21</a></div><div class="verse">And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.</div>(21) <span class= "bld">And they went into Capernaum.</span>—Here St. Mark’s narrative ceases to run parallel with that of St. Matthew, and agrees almost verbally with <a href="/context/luke/4-31.htm" title="And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.">Luke 4:31-37</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Straightway.</span>—The frequent recurrence of this adverb, often disguised in the English version as “immediately,” “anon,” “by-and-by,” should be noticed as we proceed. It occurs forty-one times in the Gospel; nine times in this first chapter.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-22.htm">Mark 1:22</a></div><div class="verse">And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.</div>(22) <span class= "bld">And they were astonished.</span>—The verbal agreement with <a href="/matthew/7-28.htm" title="And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:">Matthew 7:28</a> (where see Note) suggests the thought that St. Mark had heard or read that passage. For “doctrine” read <span class= "ital">teaching.</span> Stress is laid, as in <a href="/matthew/7-28.htm" title="And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:">Matthew 7:28</a>, on the manner rather than the thing taught.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-23.htm">Mark 1:23</a></div><div class="verse">And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,</div>(23) <span class= "bld">An unclean spirit.</span>—The phrase occurs in all the first three Gospels (not in St. John’s), but with special frequency in this. As in most Eastern cities, in both ancient and modern times, madness had an immunity from restraint, and the demoniacs seem to have mingled, if they chose, with the crowd of worshippers in the synagogue.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-24.htm">Mark 1:24</a></div><div class="verse">Saying, Let <i>us</i> alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.</div>(24) <span class= "bld">What have we to do with</span> thee?—The cry is identical with that of the Gadarene demoniacs (<a href="/matthew/8-29.htm" title="And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with you, Jesus, you Son of God? are you come here to torment us before the time?">Matthew 8:29</a>). Here, as there, the possessed man has a preternatural intuition of our Lord’s greatness.<p><span class= "bld">The Holy One of God.</span>—The name occurs, as applied to Christ, only here, in the parallel passage of <a href="/luke/4-34.htm" title="Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with you, you Jesus of Nazareth? are you come to destroy us? I know you who you are; the Holy One of God.">Luke 4:34</a>, and in the better MSS. of <a href="/john/6-69.htm" title="And we believe and are sure that you are that Christ, the Son of the living God.">John 6:69</a>. It probably had its origin in the Messianic application of “Thy Holy One” in <a href="/psalms/16-10.htm" title="For you will not leave my soul in hell; neither will you suffer your Holy One to see corruption.">Psalm 16:10</a>. Its strict meaning is “the Holy One whom God owns as such,” who has attained, <span class= "ital">i.e.,</span> the highest form of holiness.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-25.htm">Mark 1:25</a></div><div class="verse">And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.</div>(25) <span class= "bld">Hold thy</span> <span class= "bld">peace.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">be still, be gagged.</span> The same verb is used in the calming of the winds and waves in <a href="/mark/4-39.htm" title="And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.">Mark 4:39</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-26.htm">Mark 1:26</a></div><div class="verse">And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.</div>(26) <span class= "bld">He</span> <span class= "bld">came out of</span> <span class= "bld">him.</span>—St. Luke adds the fact “and hurt him not.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-27.htm">Mark 1:27</a></div><div class="verse">And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine <i>is</i> this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.</div>(27) <span class= "bld">What new doctrine is this?</span>—A various-reading gives a different structure, “What thing is this? A new doctrine with power. He commandeth even the unclean spirits . . .” “Doctrine” is, as elsewhere, the teaching taken as a whole, including manner as well as substance.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-29.htm">Mark 1:29</a></div><div class="verse">And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.</div>(29) <span class= "bld">And forthwith.</span>—Again we have St. Mark’s characteristic word, as in the “immediately” of <a href="/mark/1-28.htm" title="And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.">Mark 1:28</a>, and in the “anon” of <a href="/mark/1-30.htm" title="But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and immediately they tell him of her.">Mark 1:30</a>. (See Notes on <a href="/context/matthew/8-14.htm" title="And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever.">Matthew 8:14-15</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-32.htm">Mark 1:32</a></div><div class="verse">And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.</div>(32) <span class= "bld">And at even.</span>—See Notes on <a href="/context/matthew/8-16.htm" title="When the even was come, they brought to him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:">Matthew 8:16-17</a>. The special features in St. Mark are (1) the fuller description, in <a href="/mark/1-33.htm" title="And all the city was gathered together at the door.">Mark 1:33</a>, that “all the city was gathered together at the door;” and (2) the omission of St. Matthew’s reference to the prophecy of <a href="/isaiah/53-4.htm" title="Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.">Isaiah 53:4</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-34.htm">Mark 1:34</a></div><div class="verse">And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.</div>(34) <span class= "bld">And suffered not the devils to speak.</span>—St. Luke (<a href="/luke/4-41.htm" title="And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, You are Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.">Luke 4:41</a>) gives the reason of the prohibition more distinctly. The demoniacs had cried out, “Thou art the Son of God.” They knew that He was the Christ.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-35.htm">Mark 1:35</a></div><div class="verse">And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.</div>(35) <span class= "bld">A great while before day.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">very early, while it was yet night.</span> The note of time is peculiar to St. Mark. Prayer seems to have been sought now, as at other times, after a day of extraordinary and exhausting labour.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-36.htm">Mark 1:36</a></div><div class="verse">And Simon and they that were with him followed after him.</div>(36) <span class= "bld">Simon and they that were with him.</span>—This part of the narrative is given by St. Luke also, but not by St. Matthew. The definite statement who they were that followed after Him is, however, peculiar to St. Mark; while St. Luke alone gives their motive: “they stayed Him that He should not depart from them.” They would fain have kept Him at Capernaum, that He might teach them and heal their sick. This is to some extent, perhaps, implied in the words “All men seek for Thee.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-38.htm">Mark 1:38</a></div><div class="verse">And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.</div>(38) <span class= "bld">Let us go into the next towns.</span>—The word translated “towns” occurs here only. It is a compound word, “village cities,” and seems to have been coined to express the character of such places as Bethsaida, Chorazin, and others on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, which were more than “villages,” yet could hardly be classed as “cities.”<p><span class= "bld">That I may preach there also.</span>—St. Luke gives more fully “to publish the good news of the kingdom of God.” The word “preach” has here its full significance of “proclaiming,” doing a herald’s office.<p><span class= "bld">For therefore came I forth.</span>—In this form the words might refer simply to His leaving Capernaum; but the report in St. Luke, “for therefore <span class= "ital">was I sent”</span> connects them with His mission as a whole. In any case, however, the disciples in this stage of their progress, would hardly enter, as we enter, into the full meaning of that mission. To them His “coming forth,” even as being “sent,” would be as from His home at Nazareth, not as from the bosom of the Father.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-39.htm">Mark 1:39</a></div><div class="verse">And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.</div>(39) <span class= "bld">And he preached.</span>—See Note on <a href="/matthew/4-23.htm" title="And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.">Matthew 4:23</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-40.htm">Mark 1:40</a></div><div class="verse">And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.</div>(40-43) And there came a leper.—See Notes on <a href="/context/matthew/8-1.htm" title="When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.">Matthew 8:1-4</a>. The miracle appears in St. Matthew as following closely on the Sermon on the Mount.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-43.htm">Mark 1:43</a></div><div class="verse">And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;</div>(43) <span class= "bld">He straitly charged him.</span>—The word is the same as that in <a href="/matthew/9-30.htm" title="And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straightly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.">Matthew 9:30</a> (where see Note).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/mark/1-45.htm">Mark 1:45</a></div><div class="verse">But he went out, and began to publish <i>it</i> much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.</div>(45) <span class= "bld">But he went out.</span>—St. Mark alone describes the man himself as the agent in spreading the report of the miracle, and gives in more vivid terms than St. Luke the consequent pressure of the multitude, and the necessity for retirement into “desert places.”<p><span class= "bld"><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers<br /><br />Text Courtesy of <a href="//biblesupport.com" target="_top">BibleSupport.com</a>. 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