Commentary Comparison Using Mark 1:1
by Greg Williamson (c) 2017
(All material quoted verbatim. Greek font type is Galatia Sil.)
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Multi-Volume:
Single Volume
BELIEVER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY
[ref Mark 1:1]
Mark's theme is the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Because his purpose is to emphasize the servant role of the Lord Jesus, he begins not with a genealogy, but with the public ministry of the Savior. This was announced by John the Baptist, the herald of the good news.
THE BIG BOOK OF BIBLE DIFFICULTIES
[ref Mark 1:1]
MARK 1:1—Why does Mark omit giving any genealogy of Jesus like Matthew and Luke do?
PROBLEM: Both Matthew (chap. 1) and Luke (chap. 3) give an ancestry of Jesus (see Matt. 1:1). However, Mark provides no genealogy whatsoever. Why the omission?
SOLUTION: Mark presents Christ as a servant, and servants need no genealogy. The Roman audience to whom Mark directed his Gospel was not interested in where a servant came from, but in what he could do. Unlike Mark's Roman audience, Matthew's Jewish audience looked for the Messiah, the King. Thus, Matthew traces Jesus back to His Jewish roots as the Son of David the king (Matt. 1:1). Likewise, Luke presents Christ as the perfect man. Hence, Christ's ancestry is traced back to the first man, Adam (Luke 3:38). John, on the other hand, presents Christ as the Son of God. Therefore, he traces Christ back to His eternal source with the Father.
Consider the following comparison of the four Gospels which explains why Mark needed no ancestry for Jesus.
Matthew |
Mark |
Luke |
John |
|
Christ Presented |
King |
Servant |
Man |
God |
Symbol |
Lion |
Ox |
Man |
Eagle |
Key |
Sovereignty |
Ministry |
Humanity |
Deity |
Audience |
Jews |
Romans |
Greeks |
World |
Ancestry |
To royalty |
In anonymity |
To humanity |
To deity |
EVANGELICAL COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLE
[ref Mark 1:1]
A. The beginning of the gospel (1:1). Mark's opening thematic statement should be translated "the gospel of Jesus Christ," that is, the good news which Jesus himself personifies and proclaims as the incarnate Son of God; only derivatively is it "the gospel about Jesus Christ" (NIV), which is the church's, and Mark's, proclamation of the gospel that originates with Jesus. Mark's entire Gospel focuses on the person of Jesus, the "Son of God," and the way he expresses through his intention, words, and deeds the good news of salvation. Mark's is not an abstract Gospel; his emphasis on the speaking and acting Jesus keeps his story vital, active, and Christ-centered. The three points of Jesus' proclamation (kerygma) in verse 15 are all (as the reader of the Gospel soon discovers) related to Jesus himself: (1) the "time" that has come is the messianic time announced by the Old Testament prophets and now inaugurated first by John the Baptist (1:2–9) and then by Jesus (1:10–15); (2) the nearness of the "kingdom of God" is actually the saving reign of God that is present in the unfolding ministry of Jesus himself; (3) the call to "repent and believe the good news" is Jesus' invitation to make a decisive commitment to himself as the one standing in the very place of God. Each of these three points is faithfully repeated in the kerygma of the early church (e.g., Acts 2:14–41).
KJV BIBLE COMMENTARY
[ref Mark 1:1]
1:1. The theme of Mark's book is the "Good News" (Gr euangelion) about Jesus Christ. The name, Christ, (Gr Christos) refers to His office (the Anointed One). His early life was only the beginning of this gospel, for the resurrection denies the story an ending.
NELSON'S NEW ILLUSTRATED BIBLE COMMENTARY (1st ed)
[ref Mark 1:1]
1:1 Writing three decades after the Resurrection of Christ, Mark starts his narrative with a simple declaration of the Good News about God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. As Luke notes in Acts 1:1, the Gospel stories describe what "Jesus began both to do and teach." The gospel refers to the basic story of the Good News to be found in Christ's life, ministry, death, and Resurrection. Jesus, meaning "Yahweh saves," is the earthly name Jesus received at birth, whereas Christ is an Old Testament title that designates Him as God's chosen servant. Son of God makes clear Jesus' deity and demonstrates His unique relationship to God.
NEW BIBLE COMMENTARY
[ref Mark 1:1]
1:1–8 Proclaiming the king (see Mt. 3:1–12; Lk. 3:1–18). We have seen that Mark was an evangelist and like most evangelists, blunt and 'to the point'. For example, he does not begin his gospel with an elaborate preface but by telling us that his subject is the 'good news' about Jesus the Christ (or Messiah), God's chosen agent who is also the Son of God. Both of these points emerge gradually in the book. Jesus did not claim them for himself. Indeed, it is only as God opens our eyes that we can see the truth in what Jesus taught and from what he did. Mark's gospel is the confident proclamation of the Messiah by one whose spiritual eyes had been opened; that is why healing the blind is a picture in Mark of what Jesus must do for all of us.
The 'good news' had been planned by God long before. Mark quotes the prophets Malachi and Isaiah ...
Multi-Volume
BAKER'S NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY
THE BIBLE EXPOSITION COMMENTARY
[ref Mark 1:1]
The Servant's Identity (Mark 1:1–11)
How does Mark identify this Servant? He records the testimonies of several dependable witnesses to assure us that Jesus is all that He claims to be.
John Mark, the author of the book, is the first witness (v. 1). He states boldly that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. It is likely that Mark was an eyewitness of some of the events that he wrote about. He lived in Jerusalem with his mother, Mary; and their home was a meeting place for believers in the city (Acts 12:1–19). Several scholars believe that Mark was the young man described in Mark 14:51–52. Since Peter called Mark "my son" (1 Peter 5:13), it is probable that it was Peter who led Mark to faith in Jesus Christ. Church tradition states that Mark was "Peter's interpreter," so that the Gospel of Mark reflects the personal experiences and witness of Simon Peter.
The word gospel simply means "the good news." To the Romans, Mark's special target audience, gospel meant "joyful news about the emperor." The "Gospel of Jesus Christ" is the Good News that God's Son has come into the world and died for our sins. It is the Good News that our sins can be forgiven, that we can belong to the family of God and one day go to live with God in heaven. It is the announcement of victory over sin, death, and hell (1 Cor. 15:1–8, 51–52; Gal. 1:1–9).
THE IVP NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY SERIES
LIFE APPLICATION BIBLE COMMENTARY: NEW TESTAMENT
THE NEW INTERNATIONAL COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT
THE NEW INTERNATIONAL GREEK TESTAMENT COMMENTARY
THE NIV APPLICATION COMMENTARY
PILLAR NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY