MaRk 1 1139
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1The be gin ning of the good news about Jesus the Mes si ah , a the Son of God , b 2 as it is writ ten in Isa iah the proph et :
“ I will send my messenger ahead of you , who will prepare your way ” c —
3 “ a voice of one calling in the
wilderness , ‘ Prepare the way for the Lord , make straight paths for him .’ ” d
4 And so John the Bap tist ap peared in the
wil der ness , preach ing a bap tism of repen tance for the for give ness of sins . 5 The whole Ju de an coun try side and all the people of Je ru sa lem went out to him . Con fessing their sins , they were bap tized by him in the Jor dan Riv er . 6 John wore cloth ing made of cam el ’ s hair , with a leath er belt around his waist , and he ate lo custs and wild hon ey . 7 And this was his mes sage : “ Af ter me comes the one more pow er ful than I , the straps of whose san dals I am not wor thy to stoop down and un tie . 8 I bap tize you with e wa ter , but he will baptize you with e the Holy Spir it .”
The Baptism and Testing of Jesus
9 At that time Jesus came from Naz a
reth in Gal i lee and was bap tized by John in the Jor dan . 10 Just as Jesus was com ing up out of the wa ter , he saw heav en be ing torn open and the Spir it de scend ing on him like a dove . 11 And a voice came from heav en : “ You are my Son , whom I love ; with you I am well pleased .”
12 At once the Spir it sent him out into
the wil der ness , 13 and he was in the wilder ness for ty days , be ing tempt ed f by Satan . He was with the wild an i mals , and an gels at tend ed him .
Jesus Announces the Good News
14 Af ter John was put in pris on , Jesus
went into Gal i lee , pro claim ing the good news of God . 15 “ The time has come ,” he said . “ The king dom of God has come near . Re pent and be lieve the good news !”
OH , I GET IT !
Was that really God talking when Jesus got baptized ?
It wasn ’ t John the Baptist saying , “ This is God ’ s son and he ’ s pleased with him .”
It wasn ’ t Jesus himself saying , “ I ’ m God ’ s son and he loves me and is proud of me .”
It was God himself saying , “ You are my Son , whom I love ; with you I am well pleased .”
That made it pretty clear , right from the start . Now Jesus could start his ministry without a doubt in anyone ’ s mind .
MARK 1:9 – 13
Jesus Calls His First Disciples
16 As Jesus walked be side the Sea of Gali lee , he saw Si mon and his broth er Andrew cast ing a net into the lake , for they were fish er men . 17 “ Come , fol low me ,” Jesus said , “ and I will send you out to fish for peo ple .” 18 At once they left their nets and fol lowed him .
19 When he had gone a lit tle far ther , he
saw James son of Zeb e dee and his brother John in a boat , pre par ing their nets .
20 With out de lay he called them , and they
left their fa ther Zeb e dee in the boat with the hired men and fol lowed him .
Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit
21 They went to Ca per na um , and when the Sab bath came , Jesus went into the
a 1 Or Jesus Christ . Messiah ( Hebrew ) and Christ ( Greek )
both mean Anointed One . b 1 Some manuscripts do not have the Son of God . c 2 Mal . 3:1 d 3 Isaiah 40:3 e 8 Or in f 13 The Greek for tempted can also mean tested .