Mar 1:1
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.: This is not like how some books begin, once upon a time, blah blah blah. Mark is stating that this portion of his record of the gospel account is Jesus's beginning. It's like a header.
Mar 1:2
As it is written in the Prophets: "BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER BEFORE YOUR FACE, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.": Some translations read that this quote is from Isaiah. EG, the NET: "As it is written in the prophet Isaiah." To me, their argument doesn't make sense because verses 2 and 3 are quoting from three different books, Exo 23:20, Mal 3:1, and Isa 40:3. Even if they're only quoting from Mal 3:1 and Isa 40:3, it would make more sense to say Prophets than Isaiah. The majority of MSS say prophets too.
Mar 1:3
"THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS: 'PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD; MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.'": Mark quoting these verses is to show that prophecy was fulfilled. He's showing which prophecies here. Next, he'll show how they were fulfilled.
Mar 1:4
John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.: John's ministry was different from Jesus's ministry. John came to prepare the way for Jesus, and to fulfill prophecy so the people would know that Jesus was the one prophecied about. John's message was to be baptized and repent in preparation of Jesus (Act 19:4). Both are baptisms of repentance, but only one saves. John's baptism was to point to Jesus for those who believed. Baptism for Jesus is a sign of our rebirth and an outward acknowledgement that we believe that Jesus was God in the flesh, died on the cross for our sins, and that he was resurrected on the third day. We are reborn into this belief as a new spiritual creation, and put our trust in Jesus for salvation. The baptism of Jesus shows we accept His gift of salvation, and demonstrates our willingness to live a new life under His guidance with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Mar 1:5
Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.: This doesn't mean that every single person in the land went to him. It means that people from those lands came to him. Interesting that the confessed their sins. I don't know if I can do that in public.
Mar 1:6
Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.: This dress and what he ate was to show that he was lowly. John lived a solemn life, preaching repentance. His life signified a detachment from the world. He was clearly a messenger, and I'm sure his lifestyle contributed to people recognizing this.
Mar 1:7
And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.: Mark records that John's message was pointing the way to Jesus. His message of baptism of repentance was to point to Jesus, whose sandals he wasn't worthy to loose, which is what slaves did. In other words, he wasn't even worthy to be a slave of Jesus.
Mar 1:8
I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.": John could only baptize with water, which does nothing, but Jesus's baptism, while it's also in water, will bring the Holy Spirit into you. Both John and Jesus told people to repent and be baptized, but only Jesus's baptism cleanses you so that the Holy Spirit can live in you and guide you in life. With Jesus's baptism, we can have that peace that surpasses all understanding.
Mar 1:9
It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.: In the days that John was preaching, Jesus came and was baptized by John in the Jordan river.
Mar 1:10
And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.: This is worded strangely, but we know that it means John the Baptist saw this, not Jesus (Joh_1:32). The Spirit descended from Heaven and came upon Jesus. Here we have two parts of the Trinity: Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Mar 1:11
Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.": The voice from Heaven is the Father, so in these two verses, we have the Trinity: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. When a Muslim asks about the Trinity, these are good verses to show them. Not only do we see the three parts of the Trinity, we see The Father confirming The Son.
Mar 1:12
Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.: Again, we see the Holy Spirit, and Jesus together. Jesus's first recorded act in His ministry is to resist Satan's temptations. Notice also that this is the pattern of Satan. When someone receives the Word, Satan immediately attacks.
Mar 1:13
And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.: Mark doesn't go into much detail about Satan temping Jesus. For more detail, read Mat 4:1-11.
Mar 1:14
Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,: John's ministry was finished. John had been put in prison because Herod married his brother Philip's wife Herodias, and John told him it was wrong (Mar 6:14-20). Since John's ministry which was to point to Jesus was finished, Jesus began his ministry in Galilee.
Mar 1:15
and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.": Jesus preached that He was fulfilling the time predicted in the Old Testament where the kingdom of God would be established. (Jer 31:31-34, Dan 2:44, Dan 7:13-14, Hab 2:14, Mic 4:2, Zec 14:9). The gospel is the good news. Jesus was saying, repent and believe the good news. The good news was that Jesus was here to establish His kingdom.
Mar 1:16
And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.: These are the first of the apostles that Jesus called. Simon is who we know as Peter. Simon's name means hearing, and Andrew's name means manly. These were some manly guys.
Mar 1:17
Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.": Fishers of men means that Jesus wants them to become His disciples and preach the good news. Them preaching the good news would get others to believe. This is different than any other religion in that the good news is an offer, and people only have to accept it. Believe that Jesus was the prophecied Messiah, that He died for your sins, was resurrected, and will come back for us. That's it. There is the whole baptism thing, but that is an outward demonstration of your belief, and not a requirement for salvation. Don't get me wrong, you should get baptized, but if you accept Jesus and believe in Him, but somehow die before you get baptized, you're not going to lose your salvation.
Mar 1:18
They immediately left their nets and followed Him.: Immediately. No hesitation. This was because Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist before following Jesus (Joh 1:35-42). Andrew knew that Jesus was the Messiah and introduced Peter to Jesus. The story in John was still while John the Baptist's ministry was active, so Jesus's ministry hadn't begun yet. There was a gap between the when the two brothers met Jesus and when Jesus came to them here.
Mar 1:19
When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.: James and John were sons of Zebedee, a fisherman with considerable wealth.
Mar 1:20
And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.: The two brothers left everything and followed Jesus. They never went back. There's no mention of them knowing who Jesus was before this either. I found this article that you should read. It provides a good understanding as to why these two would drop everything and follow Jesus.
Mar 1:21
Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.: They all went to Capernaum, but the scripture only says that Jesus (He) went into the synagogue and taught. This seems to be a pattern established by Jesus that Paul followed.
Mar 1:22
And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.: Just as we do today, scribes back then would use footnotes. EG: As J.D. Farag says, we are in the last days. But Jesus didn't teach like that. He didn't need to appeal to authority because He was and is the ultimate authority.
Mar 1:23
Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,: These demons can't stand Jesus. This demon had complete control over this man, and when the demon heard Jesus, it couldn't take it.
Mar 1:24
saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!": This unclean spirit, speaking through the man, uses the plural here. He is part of a group. And apparently, this group knows about the Holy One of God, Jesus. We do know that the Devil and his angels will be cast into the lake of fire, and it appears that this demon thought it was that time.
Mar 1:25
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!": Jesus has authority over all things. Jesus usually accompanied His preaching with acts of power, to show that He was God in human form. There could be no denying the miracles that Jesus did, but they could deny His teachings. Now that His teachings are accomanied by miracles, there's no denying the teaching.
Mar 1:26
And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.: Jesus told this spirit to come out of the man, and the response is for the unclean spirit to convulse the man, and yell. It really reminds me of a temper tantrum. This spirit was consumed with rage and exhibited it while still doing as he was told by Jesus. I'm reminded of a child told to put something down who yells and throws it. The child is defiantly doing as told, making it clear of their displeasure.
Mar 1:27
Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.": Who could command spirits? Had anyone before Jesus done that? There are apparently stories in "The Testament of Solomon" that talk about Solomon controlling them, but they're obviously false. Other than that story, there's records of people using magic to control demons, but that's different. These people sacrifice, request assistance, etc, but there's nobody that I could find that could simply command spirits and they obey. Nobody in history. Jesus was certainly special!
Mar 1:28
And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.: Jesus's preaching, coupled with demonstrations of His authority caused people to take notice. People all over were intrigued. This also came right on the heels of John the Baptist's ministry, so people were likely looking for the Messiah.
Mar 1:29
Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.: They left the synagogue and went to Peter and Andrew's house. Peter is Simon. James and John were the sons of Zebedee.
Mar 1:30
But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.: Here is one of the few mentions of Peter's wife. We don't even know her name. Peter's mother-in-law was sick with a fever. I'm guessing "they" here is the people in the house. I couldn't find an answer, and it isn't really clear.
Mar 1:31
So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.: Jesus went to Peter's mother-in-law and removed the fever. She got up and served them. This is definitely a miracle. We're not told why she had a fever, or of the severity, but it was enough for her to be laying down.
Mar 1:32
At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.: As we see here, when Jesus did a miracle, it attracted multitudes of people. The people were brought once the Sabbath was over. The days were from sunset to sunset back then.
Mar 1:33
And the whole city was gathered together at the door.: There were the posessed and the sick, and onlookers as well.
Mar 1:34
Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.: Think how many demon posessed people there were. There were too many to number. Why would we think it different today? We see crazy behavior today and think people are crazy because that's what the scientists tell us, but Jesus didn't see it that way. They were posessed by demons, and He cast them out. With the rise of lawlessness throughout the world today, we can also see a concurrent rise in possession. People are going crazy out there, and they're not losing their minds. They're possessed. I've seen too many instances of people acting as demon possessed people were described in the bible. Weird movements, shouting, angry behavior that's seemingly random, talking to themselves, and lots of other craziness. As L.A. Marzulli says, "Rebuke first and ask questions later."
Mar 1:35
Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.: Jesus sets the example here. He gets up in the morning, goes away from everyone and prays. His important work of preaching the gospel was put on hold for the more important task of communing with God. We should strive to be like this. The first part of the morning should be given to the Heavenly Father. It's the only way to sustain ourselves in this crazy world.
Mar 1:36
And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.: He must have left so early that His disciples didn't even know.
Mar 1:37
When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You.": This is meant to convey that all the people are looking for Jesus, but I think it has a hidden meaning. All do seek Him. Even if they don't know it. We spend our lives searching for what the world calls "meaning." Strange that when we believers find Jesus, we no longer search for meaning. We've found the meaning of life when we find Jesus.
Mar 1:38
But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.": Initially, I thought this verse was saying that Jesus's purpose for coming was to preach the gospel, but it's more likely that this means that He came out early to this location so they could go out to the next towns. Look at the way the NET says it, 'He replied, “Let us go elsewhere, into the surrounding villages, so that I can preach there too. For that is what I came out here to do.”'
Mar 1:39
And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.: The gospel accompanied by works as proof of his authority to preach the gospel. Galilee was pretty large, so this journey could have lasted a long time. We're not told how long though.
Mar 1:40
Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean.": We see here a display of faith on the part of the leper. The act of falling on his knees isn't the important thing. This man's faith is. He doesn't say to Jesus, "Please cure me!" or something like that, but that Jesus could heal him if He wanted.
Mar 1:41
Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed.": And we see Jesus in turn, moved by the leper's faith, say that He is willing, and heals him.
Mar 1:42
As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.: He was healed immediately.
Mar 1:43
And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once,: He was sending the man to a priest, as Moses had commanded (Lev 14:1-57). Jesus came to fulfill the law, and He couldn't cleanse him of leprosy without having him fulfill that part of the law. The Jews were still under the law. The new covenant hadn't been made yet.
Mar 1:44
and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.": Jesus was fulfilling the law, and presenting the case to them that the lepers are healed, just as prophecied that the Messiah would do (Isa 35:5-6). The law in Leviticus 14 had never been done. No Jew had been cured of leprosy. Here's a great article on why this was a Messianic miracle. In short, because leprosy had no cure, the person who cured the leprosy would be the Messiah. Since Jesus cured him, and sent him to the priests, He was claiming to be the Messiah.
Mar 1:45
However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.: Instead of following the law, the leper went out and told everyone. This completely skipped the part of the priests verifying that he was healed of leprosy, and validating that Jesus was Messiah. Not good. The law pointed to Jesus, and this part especially was to point to be used a proof of Jesus as the Messiah.
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