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Mark's narrative does not take rise so early as those of Matthew and Luke do, from the birth of our Saviour, but from John's baptism, from which he soon passes to Christ's public ministry. Accordingly, in this chapter, we have, I. The office of John Baptist illustrated by the prophecy of him (Mar 1:1-3), and by the history of him (Mar 1:4-8). II. Christ's baptism, and his being owned from heaven (Mar 1:9-11). III. His temptation (Mar 1:12, Mar 1:13). IV. His preaching (Mar 1:14, Mar 1:15, Mar 1:21, Mar 1:22, Mar 1:38, Mar 1:39). V. His calling disciples (Mar 1:16-20). VI. His praying (Mar 1:35). VII. His working miracles. 1. His rebuking an unclean spirit (Mar 1:23-28). 2. His curing Peter's mother-in-law, who was ill of a fever (Mar 1:29-31). 3. His healing all that came to him (Mar 1:32, Mar 1:34). 4. His cleansing a leper (Mar 1:40-45).

Mark 1:1 mar 1:1 mar 1:1 mar 1:1The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,.... Not that the Gospel first began to be preached at this time, for it was preached by Isaiah, and other prophets before; and long before that, was preached unto Abraham; yea, it was preached as early as the times of our first parents, in Eden's garden; and is indeed that mystery, which was hid in God before the creation of the world; and was ordained before that was, to the glory of the saints: but the sense is, that this narrative Mark was about to write, began with the ministry of John the Baptist, and of Christ; which was a Gospel one, and was the beginning of the Gospel dispensation, in distinction from the legal one: the law and the prophets were until John, and they ceased and ended in him; when the , "the world to come", the kingdom of God, or Gospel state, took place. The design of this evangelist, is not to give an account of the genealogy of Christ, of his conception and birth, of what befell him in his infancy, or of any actions and sayings of his from thence, to his appearance in Israel; but to give an account of his ministry and miracles, sufferings and death: which is introduced with the preaching and baptism of John his forerunner, and which he chiefly intends by "the beginning of the Gospel": he first points out Christ, who is the author and substance, as well as the great preacher of the Gospel; the sum of which is, that he is Jesus, the Saviour and Redeemer of lost sinners; the Christ, the Messiah, that was to come; the Mediator between God and man, the prophet that has declared the whole mind and will of God; the great high priest, who has offered himself a sacrifice for his people, made peace, procured pardon, brought in everlasting righteousness, and obtained eternal redemption, and now lives to make intercession for them; and King of saints, who reigns over them, protects and defends them, and is no other than the Son of God; equal with his Father; of the same nature with him, possessed of the same perfections, and enjoying the same glory; and which is a grand article of the Gospel, and without which he could not be an able Saviour, nor the true Messiah. Mark begins his account of the Gospel, and which he calls the beginning of it, with the same article of the divine sonship of Christ, as the Apostle Paul began his ministry with, Act 9:20. Matthew began his Gospel with the humanity, Mark with the divinity of Christ: the one calls him the son of David, the other the Son of God, both true: Christ is the son of David according to his human nature, the Son of God according to his divine nature; so a testimony is bore to the truth of both his natures, which are united in one person.

And John was clothed with camel's hair,.... This is a description of John by his clothes; See Gill on Mat 3:4, to which may be added, that it was usual for penitents, and men of austere lives, and of the first class for holiness and religion, to live in deserts, to fare hard, and wear coarse apparel. Mention is made of one man, who is called, (f), because he had on a garment of goat's hair, which cut his flesh, that so it might atone for him, for he was a penitent: and with a girdle or skin about his loins; a leathern one, as in Mat 3:4, not a golden one, such as the high priest wore, though the (g) Jews call John an high priest: he was indeed of the priestly race: his father was a priest, but he did not wear a priestly girdle, nor any of the priest's garments; and he ate locusts and wild honey. The Ethiopic version renders it, "honey of earth bees": in Ethiopia was a sort of bees, little bigger than flies, and without a sting, which had their hives in the earth, where they produced honey of a white colour, very pleasant and wholesome; and this is thought, by the Ethiopians, to be the honey which John ate (h); but then there must have been the same in Judea, which does not appear. Moreover, in the land of Judea, there was , "the honey of palm trees"; and it is said (i), that it is the best honey; and therefore the Scripture calls, honey of the palm trees, honey; and the palm trees which grow in the plains and valleys, abound most with it; wherefore there was much of this about Jericho, the city of palm trees: there was also , "honey of figs"; which in some places was in great plenty: "R. Jacob ben Dosthai says (k), it is three miles from Lud to Ono (see Ezr 2:33) one time I walked before break of day, and I went up to my ankles in honey of figs.'' Dr. Lightfoot thinks, this was the honey the evangelist speaks of, and John ate of. I have observed on Mat 3:4 that with the Jews, the honey of bees was lawful to eat (l) though the bees themselves were not. So Jonathan ben Uzziel paraphrases, Lev 11:20, "Let the species of bees be an abomination to you, but the honey of bees may be eaten;'' they being reckoned among reptiles that fly: and it may be further observed, that according to them, the honey of wasps and hornets was lawful to be eaten, as well as the honey of bees (m) and this may be truly called, as here, wild honey; for which they give these reasons (n), because it is not of the substance of their bodies, but they gather it from herbs; and because in the same manner as bees, they take it into their bodies, but do not produce it from them; though some of the doctors dissent, and think it not lawful (o). (f) T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 56. 2. Vid. Buxtorf. not. in Sepher Cosri, p. 156, 157. (g) Gauz. Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 25. 2. (h) Ludolph. Lex. Ethiop. p. 447. (i) Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Biccurim, c. 1. sect. 10. (k) T. Bab. Cetubot, fol. 111. 2. (l) Vid. Piske Tosephot Becorot, art. 13. (m) Misn. Macshirin, c. 6. sect. 4. T. Bab. Becorot, fol. 7. 2. (n) Maimon. Hilch. Maacalot Asurot, c. 3. sect. 3. Ib. & Bartenora in Misn. Macshirin, ibid. (o) In Piske Tosephot Becorot, art. 13. Maggid Misna in Maimon. Hilch. Maacolot ib.

The blessed John, despising the locks of sheep as savouring of luxury, chose "camel's hair," and was clad in it, making himself an example of frugality and simplicity of life. For he also "ate locusts and wild honey," sweet and spiritual fare; preparing, as he was, the lowly and chaste ways of the Lord. For how possibly could he have worn a purple robe, who turned away from the pomp of cities, and retired to the solitude of the desert, to live in calmness with God, far from all frivolous pursuits-from all false show of good-from all meanness?

You may ask, why did he wear a leather girdle?… Elijah also was so clothed, and likewise many others among holy men, either because they were engaged in heavy labor, or were upon a journey, or in any other necessity that involved labor, and because they despised ornament, and followed an austere way of life.… Let us, putting away all excess, and drinking the healthy cup of moderation, live in a manner that is becoming and temperate. Let us give ourselves in earnest to prayer. And if we do not receive that for which we pray, let us persevere that we may receive it. And if we do receive it, then let us persevere all the more for what we have received. For it is not his will to withhold the gift we ask for, but in his wisdom, to encourage our perseverance by delaying it.

It was necessary that the precursor of the One who was to undo the age-long burdens of men, such as toil, malediction, pain and sweat, should in his own person give some token of the gifts to come, so as to stand above these tribulations. And so it was that he neither tilled the earth, nor plowed the furrow, nor did he eat bread of his own sweat, for his table was easily prepared, and his clothing more easily than his table, and his dwelling more easily than his clothing. For he had need neither of roof, nor bed, nor table, nor any such thing. But even while still within this flesh of ours he lived an almost angelic life. His clothing was put together from the hair of camels, so that even from his garments he might teach us that we free ourselves of human needs, and need not be bound to this earth, but that we may return to the pristine dignity in which Adam first lived, before he had need of garments or of clothing.

John the Baptist had a religious mother and his father was a priest. Yet neither his mother’s affection nor his father’s affluence could induce him to live in his parents’ house at the risk of the world’s temptations. So he lived in the desert. Seeking Christ with his eyes, he refused to look at anything else. His rough garb, his girdle made of skins, his diet of locusts and wild honey were all alike designed to encourage virtue and continence. Later the spiritual descendants of the prophets, who were the monks of the Old Testament, would build for themselves huts by the waters of Jordan and forsaking the crowded cities live in these on pottage and wild herbs. As long as you are at home, make your cell your paradise, gather there the varied fruits of Scripture, let them be your favorite companions, and take its precepts to your heart.

John, too, wears a leather girdle about his loins; and there was nothing soft or effeminate in Elijah, but every bit of him was hard and virile. He, too, certainly was a shaggy man.

He fed on locusts to make his soul grow wings. Sated with honey, the words he spoke were sweeter than honey and of more profit. Clothed in a garment of camel’s hair, he exemplified in his own person the holy life.… For every snake puts off its signs of age by pushing through some narrow place, and gets rid of its old apparel by squeezing it off. From then on it is young again in body. So “enter in at the straight and narrow gate,” squeeze yourself through by fasting, break yourself away from perishing, “put off the old nature with its deeds.”

(Moral. xxxi. 25) Or, by the kind itself of his food he pointed out the Lord, of whom he was the forerunner; for in that our Lord took to Himself the sweetness of the barren Gentiles, he ate wild honey. In that He in His own person partly converted the Jews, He received locusts for His food, which suddenly leaping up, at once fall to the ground. For the Jews leaped up when they promised to fulfil the precepts of the Lord; but they fell to the ground, when by their evil works they affirmed that they had not heard them. They made therefore a leap upwards in words, and fell down by their actions.

He esteemed the high priestly garment woven of gold cloth of less value than a garment made of camel’s hair, girded with a leather belt. Why? Was it not that he who, by reason of a more perfect justice, had received for himself authority to preach, that he might show, even by the neglect of his ancestral right to the high priesthood, how certainly he was the herald and precursor of a more excellent high priesthood?

And John was clothed with camel's hair, etc. He says, with hair, not wool. One is a sign of austere clothing; the other of softer luxury. But the leather belt with which Elijah was girded is a sign of mortification. Furthermore, the following: And he ate locusts and wild honey, is fitting for an inhabitant of solitude, so that he might fulfill the necessity of human flesh, not the pleasures of food. His clothing and his diet can also suitably express the quality of his internal conduct through their significance. For he used harsher garments, just as the Lord bore witness in his praises, saying to the Jews: What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses (Matthew XI), because he did not foster the life of sinners with flattery, but rebuked them with the vigor of harsh exhortation, saying: O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come (Matthew XXIII)? He had a leather belt around his loins, because he crucified his flesh with its vices and desires, which we have learned to be characteristic of those who are of Jesus Christ, as the Apostle attests. He ate locusts and wild honey, for his preaching seemed indeed sweet to the crowds, with the people imagining and all thinking in their hearts about him, whether he might be the Christ. But that opinion quickly vanished, when his listeners learned that he was not the Christ, but the precursor and prophet of Christ. For in honey there is sweetness, in locusts there is an energetic flight, but one that is quickly fleeting.

It says, clothed in a garment of hair, not in woollen clothes; the former is the mark of an austere garb, the latter of effeminate luxury. But the girdle of skins, with which he was girt, like Elias, is a mark of mortification. And this meat, locusts and wild honey, is suited to a dweller in the wilderness, so that his object in eating was not the deliciousness of meats, but the satisfying of the necessity of human flesh.

(ubi sup.) The dress and food of John may also express of what kind was his inward walk. For he used a dress more austere than was usual, because he did not encourage the life of sinners by flattery, but chid them by the vigour of his rough rebuke; he had a girdle of skin round his loins, for he was one, who crucified his flesh with the affections and lusts. (Gal. 5:24) He used to cat locusts and wild honey, because his preaching had some sweetness for the multitude, whilst the people debated whether he was the Christ himself or not; but this soon came to an end, when his hearers understood that he was not the Christ, but the forerunner and prophet of Christ. For in honey there is sweetness, in locusts swiftness of flight; whence there follows, And he preached, saying, there cometh one mightier than I after me.

We have already spoken about this in the Gospel of Matthew; now we shall say only what was omitted there, namely: that John's clothing was a sign of mourning, and the prophet was showing in this way that one who repents ought to weep, since sackcloth customarily serves as a sign of lamentation; and the leather belt signified the deadness of the Jewish people. And that this clothing signified lamentation, the Lord Himself speaks of this: "We sang dirges for you, and you did not weep," calling the life of the Forerunner a lamentation, because further He says: "John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say: He has a demon" (Matt. 11:17–18). Likewise John's food, pointing here of course to abstinence, was at the same time a figure of the spiritual food of the Jews of that time, who did not eat the clean birds of heaven, that is, they did not contemplate anything lofty, but fed only on words that were elevated and directed upward, yet fell back down again. For the locust is an insect that leaps upward and then falls back to the ground again. In like manner the people also ate honey produced by bees, that is, by the prophets; but it remained with them uncultivated and was not increased by deeper study and right understanding, although the Jews thought that they understood and grasped the Scripture. They had the Scriptures as a kind of honey, but they did not labor over them and did not search them out.

Or else; The garment of camel's hair was significative of grief, for John pointed out, that he who repented should mourn. For sackcloth signifies grief; but the girdle of skins shows the dead state of the Jewish people. The food also of John not only denotes abstinence, but also shows forth the intellectual food, which the people then were eating, without understanding any thing lofty, but continually raising themselves on high, and again sinking to the earth. For such is the nature of locusts, leaping on high and again falling. In the same way the people ate honey, which had come from bees, that is, from the prophets; it was not however domestic, but wild, for the Jews had the Scriptures, which are as honey, but did not rightly understand them.

The dress of John, his food, and employment, signifies the austere life of preachers, and that future nations are to be joined to the grace of God, which is John, both in their minds and in externals. For by camel's hair, is meant the rich among the nations; and by the girdle of skin, the poor, dead to the world; and by the wandering locusts, the wise men of this world; who, leaving the dry stalks to the Jews, draw off with their legs the mystic grain, and in the warmth of their faith leap up towards heaven; and the faithful, being inspired by the wild honey, are full-fed from the untilled wood.

The mission, preaching, and success of John Baptist, Mar 1:1-5. His manner of life, Mar 1:6. Proclaims Christ, and baptizes him in Jordan, Mar 1:7-11. The temptation of Christ, Mar 1:12, Mar 1:13. John being put in prison, Christ begins to preach, Mar 1:14, Mar 1:15. He calls Andrew and Simon, Mar 1:16-18. James and John, Mar 1:19, Mar 1:20. Teaches in Capernaum, Mar 1:21, Mar 1:22. Casts out a demon, Mar 1:23-28. Goes into the house of Simon, and heals his mother-in-law, Mar 1:29-31. Heals many diseased persons, Mar 1:32-34. Goes to the desert, and is followed by his disciples, Mar 1:35-37. Preaches in different towns and synagogues of Galilee, and casts out devils, Mar 1:38, Mar 1:39. Cleanses a leper, who publishes abroad his miraculous cure, Mar 1:40-45.

John was clothed, etc. - See the note on Mat 3:4.

PREACHING AND BAPTISM OF JOHN. ( = Mat 3:1-12; Luke 3:1-18). (Mar 1:1-8) The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God--By the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ here is evidently meant the blessed Story which our Evangelist is about to tell of His Life, Ministry, Death, Resurrection, and Glorification, and of the begun Gathering of Believers in His Name. The abruptness with which he announces his subject, and the energetic brevity with which, passing by all preceding events, he hastens over the ministry of John and records the Baptism and Temptation of Jesus--as if impatient to come to the Public Life of the Lord of glory--have often been noticed as characteristic of this Gospel--a Gospel whose direct, practical, and singularly vivid setting imparts to it a preciousness peculiar to itself. What strikes every one is, that though the briefest of all the Gospels, this is in some of the principal scenes of our Lord's history the fullest. But what is not so obvious is, that wherever the finer and subtler feelings of humanity, or the deeper and more peculiar hues of our Lord's character were brought out, these, though they should be lightly passed over by all the other Evangelists, are sure to be found here, and in touches of such quiet delicacy and power, that though scarce observed by the cursory reader, they leave indelible impressions upon all the thoughtful and furnish a key to much that is in the other Gospels. These few opening words of the Second Gospel are enough to show, that though it was the purpose of this Evangelist to record chiefly the outward and palpable facts of our Lord's public life, he recognized in Him, in common with the Fourth Evangelist, the glory of the Only-begotten of the Father.