Mark 1:1-8

The Prophesied One

Devotional 1 of 50 · Mark chapter 1

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After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards trembled in fear of him and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ See, I have told you.” So they hurried away from the tomb in fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came to Him, grasped His feet, and worshiped Him. “Do not be afraid,” said Jesus. “Go and tell My brothers to go to

Mark 1:1-8 · BSB

¹This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ²As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.” ³“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’” ⁴John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵People went out to him from all of Jerusalem and the countryside of Judea. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁶John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁷And he proclaimed: “After me will come One more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ⁸I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus

Two extraordinary figures step onto the scene in these verses: John the Baptist and Jesus. Throughout the Bible, prophets point to God and declare His message. But here, the prophet, John the Baptist, fulfills Isaiah's prophecy and makes a straight path for The LORD. In those days people would go out and make straight roads for a King to travel so that the royal entrance was smooth. But we don't see John with a shovel or a skid steer changing actual roads; we see Him calling for repentance, a call to change our hearts and lives. In this, we see that the road in which King Jesus will travel isn't made of dirt, but it is within the very heart of people.

The first verse in this Gospel declares Jesus to be Son of God, and in verse three we see that He is not only The Son of God, but God Himself. In the original Hebrew text, the prophecy states that John is "preparing a way for YAHWEH." Jesus is declared to be not only the Son of God, Jesus is God Himself, Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

We see Jesus' deity affirmed in the chasm between Him and John the Prophet/Baptist. Specifically in the Old Testament, prophets are usually the ones closest to God. They consecrate themselves and live holy lives unto God. They hear the voice of God and share God's message with the people. In like manner, John is separate from the muck of society and consecrated by living out in the wilderness, eating clean and undefiled food. He is separate and holy from the world. But, before Jesus, this holy man finds himself to be unworthy to do the job of the lowest slave, to untie Jesus' sandals. This shows that there is a great distance between this holy prophet and Jesus.

Jesus is declared in these verses to be The Son of God (v1), Yahweh Himself (v3), and so holy that the holiest of men on earth (God's true prophets) are not even worthy to untie His sandals and serve Him.

His Desires

Jesus, as God Himself, and God's Son desires to bring Good News, The Gospel. He has come to save the world and do a work far superior to that of the prophets and to give a greater/additional baptism than one of repentance, a baptism of The Holy Spirit (v8). We also see His desire for a straight path so that He may come into our hearts as King.

Follow Through

Prepare the way for Jesus in your own heart through repentance by confessing your sins to God.
Join in with John the Baptist and acknowledge Jesus' worthiness and our vast unworthiness.
Ask for the gift of God's Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). Pray with others for this gift.

Testimonies

This is where people will share how they actually obeyed this passage — and read what happened to everyone else who obeyed the same words.