Mark 1 « Walking With Giants

Mark 1

Mr 1:1 The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way, 1:1-8

The message about Jesus Christ is good news! The beginning – we should not miss the link with Ge 1:1. Here is a ‘new start’, as radical and decisive in its own way as creation itself.

The gospel – the word ‘evangel’ was used among the Romans to denote the joyful tidings of festivals events marking the birthday of the emperor and similar events. An inscription dated around 9 BC says of the emperor Octavian (Augustus): “the birthday of the god was for the world the beginning of joyful tidings which have been proclaimed on his account.” Thus, an evangel was ‘an historical event which introduces a new situation for the world’ (Lane). And be assured that Mark is speaking of the evangel as an historical event. The word had additional meaning for the Jews, since, as the quotation from Isaiah reminds us, the evangel was the good news of God’s salvation, as promised in the prophets. The message about Jesus Christ is ‘good news’ and is to be joyfully proclaimed as such.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God – here, at the outset, is a full declaration of the person of Christ. Jesus means ‘The Lord is salvation’, cf Mt 1:21. Christ is more a title than a name, and indicates that he is the long-awaited Messiah. The expression, the Son of God is full of meaning, and expresses the fact that he is divine, the very equal of God, Joh 5:18, he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. It is fitting that a Gospel should begin with such a declaration, for the divinity of Christ explains the unique authority of his teaching, the wonderful power of his deeds, and the abiding efficacy of his death. See Ro 9:5, Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! When we stand on this doctrine, we stand on an impregnable rock. When we move from it, we sink in a quicksand.

Cf. the following references to Jesus as the Son of God: Mr 1:1,11 3:11 5:7 9:7 12:1-11 13:32 14:61-62 15:39.

A number of witnesses to Jesus Christ are apparent in the opening verses of Mark’s Gospel:-

(a) The witness of Mark himself, v1. ‘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. {Ac 12:1-19} Several scholars believe that Mark was the young man described in Mr 14:51-52. Since Peter called Mark “my son,” {1Pe 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.’ (Wiersbe) (b) The witness of the prophets, vv2,3. (c) The witness of John the Baptist, vv4-8. (d) The Father and the Holy Spirit, vv 9-11.

What about the silence of Mark and John regarding the Virgin Birth? This objection ‘would only apply if it was the design of these Gospels to narrate, as the others do, the circumstances of the nativity. But this was evidently not their design. Both Mark and John knew that Jesus had a human birth-an infancy and early life-and that his mother was called Mary, but of deliberate purpose they tell us nothing about it. Mark begins his Gospel with Christ’s entrance on his public ministry, and says nothing of the period before, especially of how Jesus came to be called “the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). John traces the divine descent of Jesus, and tells us that the “Word became flesh” (John 1:14); but how this miracle of becoming flesh was wrought he does not say. It did not lie within his plan. He knew the church tradition on the subject: he had the Gospels narrating the birth of Jesus from the Virgin in his hands: and he takes the knowledge of their teaching for granted. To speak of contradiction in a case like this is out of the question.’ (James Orr)

Mr 1:2 It is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”-

It is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” – The coming of Christ was foretold by the prophets. It is written – the Gospel is the fulfilment of the Scriptures. The present quotation is actually a modified composite from Ex 23:20 Mal 3:1; and Isa 40:3. The coming of Jesus into the world was not accidental or unforeseen. It was foretold from the beginning, Ge 3:15, and continued to be promised with increasing clarity and detail. We should always read the OT in the expectation of learning about Christ there, Joh 5:39.

Mr 1:3 “a voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

“Prepare the way for the Lord” – notice how the original reference to Jehovah is applied to Jesus. Notice too the essential place given to patient preparation. There was a long wait of several centuries, and even then there was a final period of preparation before the full dawning of the Gospel day. We are often impatient for God to do things in our lives, when in his wisdom he sees it best to prepare us in his own way and in his own time.

Mr 1:4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

John the Baptist prepared the way for Christ.

So John came – his appearance in the wilderness being the most important event in Israel’s life for three centuries. The voices of the prophets had long been silent, and yet men clung to the expectation that the Prophet like Moses would appear, who would herald the events of the last days, De 18:15-19.

Preaching – this has strongly religous overtones for us. However, in Greek culture a herald would (a) call attention to the coming of the king, (b) summons the citizens to the city’s ruling assembly, and, (c) describe the rules of participation to athletes at the games.

Mr 1:5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

The Jordan River – the prophetic call to repentance was not entirely new, but the baptism in the river was quite novel, and was so striking that John became known simply as ‘the Baptizer’.

We should not forget how important John was as the forerunner of Jesus. His preaching created a great stir, and aroused a nation from its slumbers, Joh 5:35. Yet how fickle is popularity! How many attended John’s ministry, yet how few followed Christ to the end! We should remember this when we see a crowded church: It is not the number who show interest, but the number who persevere to the end, which counts.

‘Get on fire for God and men will come and see you burn.’ (John Wesley)

Mr 1:6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

The reference to John’s clothing and diet reinforce his association with the wilderness. The ‘leather belt’ harks back to Elijah, 2Ki 1:8, even though the connection between the two prophets is not made explicit until Mr 9:9-13.

Mr 1:7 And this was his message: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.”

John saw himself as a humble messenger and servant. “After me will come one more powerful” – one who ‘comes after’, or ‘follows’ another is usually a disciple, cf Mr 1:17. In this case, however, John affirms that he is not worthy of performing even the most menial task – a task too menial even for a Hebrew slave – such is the dignity of the Coming one.

In beginning his Gospel with an account of John’s message and ministry, the evangelist confronts his readers with a crisis of decision. John awakened a nation from its slumber; he called a wayward people to repentance; he pointed away from himself to Jesus. In all these respects, he speaks to us and to our nation today.

John’s message here is a model for all who would proclaim Jesus: our principal work is to set him forth, in all his fullness and power to save. If people go away with the impression, ‘That was a lovely service; that was a wonderful message,’ we have failed miserably. If people are led to exclaim, ‘What a wonderful Saviour!’ then they have achieved success. Let all of our thoughts and plans and actions be geared to this end.

Mr 1:8 “I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

“I…he…” – Here a reason is given for John’s denigration of himself and exaltation of Jesus. The ministry of Jesus is of a different kind and on a different place to that of John and the prophets. All who would speak and act on behalf of Christ should realise how little they can achieve on their own, and how much can be achieved by the Saviour. How different is his work from ours! Our own work is outward and superficial; Christ’s work is inward and life-changing. We can impress people, teach people, make people think; only Jesus can give them new hearts.

John’s message finds a strong parallel in Eze 36:25-28.

“Baptize with the Holy Spirit” – Matthew and Luke add, “and with fire.” Perhaps this phrase is omitted by Mark because he also passes over the references to judgement found in the other Gospels at this point. {Mr 3:7-10 Lu 3:7-16} The fulfilment of this prediction can be found partly in the events of Pentecost, Acts 2; and partly in the experience of the Spirit which belongs to all who are Christ’s, Rom 8.

John’s ministry was very important, and yet it was only part of a bigger whole, a stage in a larger process. We need to realise too that we play a limited, yet vital, part in God’s purposes. We are not expected to achieve everything; but we are expected to do what we can.

Mr 1:9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

Jesus was himself baptised by John the Baptist. ‘By skilfully placing verses 8 and 9 next to each other Mark portrays the enormous contrast between the baptism which the Lord is to perform and that to which he himself submits’ (Lane).

Nazareth – the town where his legal father had worked as a carpenter Mr 13:55; where Jesus grew up and himself became known as ‘the carpenter’, Mr 6:3; from where Jesus had departed at the age of 30, Lu 3:23, to proceed to Jordan.

Baptized by John – the method is not described. But why was Jesus baptized at all, since baptism was with a view to cleansing from sin? The answer is that Jesus identified himself with our sin, and took them upon himself, Isa 53:6; so that he could take them away, Joh 1:29. By means of his sacrifice, the forgiveness of our sins was secured, a forgiveness signified by our own baptism.

‘There is continuity between John’s baptism of repentance {Mr 1:4} and the trinitarian baptism instituted by Jesus. {Mt 28:19} Both were symbols of cleansing and had remission of sins in view. {Mr 1:4 Ac 2:38} They were not identical, however, and those baptized by John needed Christian baptism too. {Ac 19:5} Christian baptism is an initiatory sign pointing to a relationship with the Christ who has come (it is called baptism in Christ’s name in Ac 2:38 10:48 19:5); John’s baptism was a preparatory rite, signifying readiness for the coming of the Christ and for his judgment. {Mt 3:7-12 Lu 3:7-18 Ac 19:4}

John’s baptism was a radical innovation. Previously, only Gentiles converting to Judaism had been required to undergo a symbolic washing. Now, however, God through John was commanding all Jews to signify their repentance by being publicly washed. Most Jewish leaders thought John’s requirement was heretical and insulting. {Mt 21:25-26}

Jesus insisted that John, his cousin, must baptize him, overriding John’s protests. {Mt 3:13-15} In his role as Messiah, “born under law,” {Ga 4:4} Jesus had to submit to all God’s requirements of Israel and to identify with those whose sins he had come to bear. His baptism proclaimed that he had come to take the sinner’s place under God’s penal judgment. This is the sense in which he was baptized “to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3:15; cf. Isa 53:11).

His baptism was a manifestation of the Trinity: the Father spoke from the sky, and the dove descended, a sign of the Spirit’s anointing. The meaning of the dove descending and abiding was not that Jesus had not previously been Spirit-filled but that he was now being marked out as the Spirit-bearer who would become the Spirit-baptizer {Joh 1:32-33} and so bring in the age of the Spirit that was to fulfill Israel’s hopes.’ {Lu 4:1,14,18-21} (Concise Theology)

Mr 1:10 As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.

The Spirit descending upon him – This anointing for ministry was acknowledged by Jesus, Lu 4:18.

Like a dove – The dove symbolises gentleness and purity, cf Mt 10:16.

‘Many had come to the Jordan to be baptized by John, but only in the instance of Jesus, in whom true submission to God was perfectly embodied, was the “coming up” from the water answered by a “coming down” from above. The cosmic significance of this event is indicated by the vision of the rending of the heavens, the descent of the Spirit and the testimony of the voice from heaven. Mark’s distinctive language echoes Isa 64:1, where the prophet says, “Oh that thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down, that the mountains might quake at this presence…” The pattern had been established already in the first exodus that God could not come down until the people had been consecrated. {Ex 19:10f} For this reason Jesus expressed a vicarious confession of sin on behalf of the many. He walked into the waters of baptism in obedience to the Father’s will. He had consecrated himself in faith, even as every other man must do. But in this instance God came down, and there was striking attestation that sonship has been re-established through the one true Israelite whose repentance was perfect.’ (Lane)

Mr 1:11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

“You are my Son” – See Ps 2:7 Isa 42:1. Lane says that this is not a messianic title, but signifies ‘the unique relationship which Jesus sustains to the Father, which exists apart from any thought of official function in history: Jesus is God’s unique Son.’

The sense of this may be, “Because you are my beloved Son, I have chosen you for the task upon which you are about to enter.” (Lane) The construction is paralleled in 9:7 = “Because this is my beloved Son, listen to him.”

Mr 1:12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert,

‘These words indicate that in the temptation of Christ the initiative was on the side of the divine, not the diabolical. After the approval of heaven came to assault of hell. After the dove, the devil. After the blessing, the battle. This is commonly the order in Christian experience. The fact that Jesus was filled with the Spirit did not exempt him from the rigours of temptation.’ (J.O. Sanders)

Mark 1:13 and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

Mr 1:14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.

This verse marks the beginning of a new section in this gospel, recording Jesus’ early ministry in Galilee. John records Jesus’ still earlier, Judean ministry.

After John was put in prison – Passing over the details of John’s denunciation of Herod for immorality, and leaving mention of his death until 6:14-29, Mark simply notes here the time of the commencement of Jesus’ public ministry.

Galilee was fiercely independent, the first target of attacks from the north. ‘Galilee was the centre of a humming political and commercial life. It stood at the crossroads of the nations of the ancient world, through which the armies and the traders and the diplomats passed. There some of the greatest battles of the world had been fought…Galilee was the home of a thoroughly cosmopolitan population: Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic would all be heard in the markets; Syrian, Jew Roman and Parthian mixed freely. It was a land of passing excitements and dangerous fashions, of a barbarous dialect and offensive manners’ (Blanch, Encounters with Jesus, 31). As in the time of Isaiah, so in the time of Jesus, Galilee represents God’s people in bondage, to whom the light of salvation would come, Isa 9:1-2. Jesus’ ministry did not commence in some cosy backwater, but in a place of activity and conflict.

Mr 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

In this verse as two assertions and two commands: God has acted decisively, and what he has done calls forth a definite response from the hearers.

“The time has come” – ‘The news which Christ thus heralded in Galilee was that God’s hour had struck, the time to which all the Old Testament had looked forward. God’s reign upon earth – a concept familiar to the prophets – was about to begin’ (Cole). This statement by Jesus anchors his own ministry in the history of redemption. He sounds a distinctive note of fulfilment.

Donald English points out that the clock and the watch are not the only way to measure time: it is to be judged not only by its duration, but also by its significance: ‘Jesus says God is now filling the time of the beginning of his ministry with immense importance. All the centuries of preparation and prophecy are reaching their fulfilment. This is a time heavy with eternal significance.’

“The kindgom of God is near” – But not the earthly kingdom which even Jesus’ disciples persisted in expecting, but the peaceful rule of God in the hearts of men, Lu 17:21. Of course, the primary meaning of the Aramaic term used by Jesus was not ‘kingdom’ but ‘rule’ or ‘sovereignty’.

‘The idea of present fulfilment and of a new age comes out particularly in the teaching of Jesus about the Kingdom of God, one of his central themes. He used the term in a wide variety of contexts, so that its essential meaning needs careful definition. It means the sovereignty of God, the situation in which God is in control, his rule or reign. Now while in one sense God is always in control, it is also a fact that man rejects his sovereignty and rebels. The ‘coming of the kingdom’ therefore denotes the practical implementation of God’s rule in human affairs, and it was this coming of the kingdom which Jesus announced as he began his ministry. {Mr 1:15} Other sayings reinforce the message that his coming already brought into operation the rule of God. {e.g. Mt 12:28 Lu 17:20f} Thus he could already speak of people ‘entering’ or ‘receiving’ the kingdom, {Mr 10:15,23-25 Lu 12:31 16:16} and assure his disciples that ‘Yours is the kingdom of God’ (Lu 6:20; cf. Mt 5:3,10).’

“Repent and believe” – People were called to a change of heart and a glad acceptance of the good news for which John had prepared the way.

Donald English reminds us from this verse that faith has content. True, it is more than the simple acceptance of a set of doctrines; but there is something to be taught and understood and believed. The content is signalled in the words ‘time’, ‘kingdom’, ‘repent’, and ‘believe’.

Mr 1:16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.

Mr 1:16-20 = Mt 4:18-22 Lu 5:1,4-11. The passage in Luke shows that Jesus did not call Peter and the others ‘out of the blue’.

Some days are more memorable than others. Do you remember your first day at school, your first day at work, your first day on a course, or the day you first met your husband or wife? Do any days stand out as being especially happy, or sad. Do you remember what you were doing when Princess Diana died or (if you are older) when you heard the news of President Kennedy’s death? Simon and the others would never forget the day that Jesus came along and said, “Come, follow me.”

Do you remember where you were and what you were doing when you first heard Jesus’ call to follow him?

Mr 1:17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”

“Follow me” – These were both the first and the last recorded words spoken by our Lord to Peter, Joh 21:22.

“Follow me…and I will make you fishers of men” – This summons, although issued at a particular moment in time, had both a history and future.

Note:-

1. Who these people were. They were ordinary people. They were not intellectuals or aristocrats, they were not powerful or famous, they were neither particularly wealthy nor especially poor. They were just working men. Lincoln said, “God must love ordinary people – he made so many of them!” It was twelve such folk that Jesus chose, and used them to change the world.

2. How Jesus called them. He did not say, “Here is a book for you to read,” or, “Here is a course you can enrol on,” or “Here are some ideas I would like to discuss with you.” He said, “Come, follow me.”

3. What he gave them. He gave them a task to do, a task that he himself would prepare them for.

Mr 1:18 At once they left their nets and followed him.

This seems like a very rapid response, and indeed it is. But it is not so very unusual. Travelling rabbis were quite common, and would gather a group of disciples around them who would accompany them for perhaps a year (roughly equivalent to our modern ‘gap year’). But for Simon and the others there was no going back. They were entering training for a completely new kind of life and the course would last a lifetime. Later, Peter would remind his readers of their calling and their need to keep growing more like Jesus, 2Pe 1:8. Peter’s training would be practical and on-the-job. He would make mistakes, but he would learn from them.

Mark 1:19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets.

Mr 1:20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

The hired men – This suggests that the fishermen, although not wealthy, were not poor either. They left behind a thriving business when they responded to Jesus call to follow him. Peter and Andrew were probably in business with James and John. {Lu 5:7-10}

Mr 1:21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.

Jesus went into the synagogue – In the early part of his ministry he was invited to speak in synagogues as a visiting teacher (cf. v39; Mt 9:35 Lu 4:16-27), but later synagogue teaching is not mentioned (because his radical teaching was unacceptable?), and Jesus is found teaching the crowds in the open air, and devoting an increasing proportion of time to the instruction of his closest disciples.

Mr 1:22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

His teaching – See JEM “Mt 7:28″

He taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law – Unlike them, his teaching had the ‘ring of truth’, was utterly sincere, was practical and soul-searching. Moreover, as the next incident shows, it was backed up with real spiritual power.

Mr 1:23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out,

How many times had this man attended the synagogue without the demon becoming apparent? It took the presence of the Son of God to expose the demon.

‘There are people today just like this demonized man: in a religious meeting, able to tell who Jesus is, and even trembling with fear of judgment-yet lost!’ {see Jas 2:19} (Wiersbe)

Mr 1:24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-the Holy one of God!”

The demon recognises Jesus human nature (“Jesus of Nazareth”) and also his divine nature (“the Holy one of God”).

Mr 1:25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!”

“Be quiet” – lit. “Be muzzled.” The same expression is used of Jesus’ stilling of the storm, Mr 4:39.

Mr 1:27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching-and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.”

“A new teaching – and with authority!” – The truth of Jesus’ teaching is matched by the power (exousia) of his actions.

Mr 1:28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

News about him spread quickly – ‘Our Lord did not encourage this kind of public excitement lest it create problems with both the Jews and the Romans. The Jews would want to follow him only because of his power to heal them, and the Romans would think he was a Jewish insurrectionist trying to overthrow the government. This explains why Jesus so often told people to keep quiet. {Mr 1:44 3:12 5:43 7:36-37 8:26,30 9:9} The fact that they did not obey created problems for him.’ (Wiersbe)

Mr 1:29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew.

Mr 1:29-31 = Mt 8:14-15 Lu 4:38-39

Here (vv29-31) we have ‘one of the rare glimpses into the home lives of the apostles.’ (Cole) There are several eyewitness touches, and that eyewitness was evidently Peter.

Mr 1:30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her.

Simon’s mother-in-law – Peter’s wife is mentioned in 1Co 9:5. See note there.

‘The reference to Peter’s mother-in-law serves to clarify what it means for Peter to be confronted by Jesus’ summons to follow him. He had a family and a home for which provision had to be made; the call to be a fisher of men demanded total commitment to Jesus. The healing accomplished within Peter’s home indicates that salvation had come to his house in response to the radical obedience he had manifested.’ (Lane)

They told Jesus – lit. ‘they told him’. ‘Support for a Petrine background to Mark comes from the fourteen places in which the narrator begins in the plural referring to the disciples but then shifts to an unidentified “he” and continues in the singular. In context, the “he” almost always means Jesus, but the way of narrating is strange unless Mark picked it up from one of the disciples themselves and, given the places in which the phenomenon occurs, one of the inner core of followers who was used to speaking this way about his master without necessarily mentioning him by name.’ (Blomberg, http://www.denverseminary.edu/dj/articles2007/0200/0204)

Mr 1:31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

This is Marks’ first account of a healing miracle. As is generally the case, the healing is complete and instantaneous. There is no sign of the weakness that would normally be the sequel to a high fever. As soon as the fever left her she began to wait on them.

As Cranfield points out, ‘the miracles are not compelling proof…Their significance is recognizable only by faith. They are, as it were, chinks in the curtain of the Son of God’s hiddenness. The light let through the chinks is real light (the miracles do reveal, they are an effective manifestation of Christ’s glory for those who believe, {cf. Joh 2:11} and failure to discern their meaning and to respond to the summons to repentance which they constitute is without excuse (Mt 11:20-4 = Lu 10:13-15)); but the light is not so direct as to be compelling. There are several reasons why it is not. for one thing, the amazement which the miracles cause is offset by the apparent weakness and unimpressiveness of him who works them. {e.g. Mr 6:1-6} For another, other people were credited with miracles. Jesus himself refers to Jewish exorcisms (Mt 12:27 = Lu 11:19) and reckons with false messiahs and false prophets working miracles in the future. {Mr 13:22} The OT records numerous miracles and even attributes miracles to heathen magicians, {Ex 7:11, etc.} and in the contemporary Gentile world people certainly were credulous about miracles (the healings attributed to Vespasian a little later are well known). Moreover, there are striking external similarities between many of Jesus’ healing miracles and those attributed to others…Thus other explanations lay close to hand besides that of faith: another prophet, another Rabbi, or even just another wonder-worker.’

Mr 1:32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed.

That evening after sunset – The previous two miracles had been performed on the sabbath. Now, with the sabbath past, crowds gathered to seek healing, for the sick could be brought for healnig without risk of breaking the law.

The people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed – There is a note of excitement in the narrative (see also the next verse).

The sick and demon-possessed – Here and in v34, and also in 6:13 a clear distinction is made between the sick and the demon-possessed. Some have attempted to blur the distinction by identifying what in ancient times was described as demon-possession with what in our our time we would call various types of psychosis. But there are critical differences: for example, the demon-possessed react to religious matters; and they characteristically exhibit psychic knowledge, such as awareness of who Christ is (e.g. v24, 34).

Mr 1:33 The whole town gathered at the door,

The whole town gathered – But not so much to hear the message of repentance and the kingdom of God as to find relief from pain and affliction. With compassion, Jesus meets their needs, but this is not primarily why he came, v38.

The door – Presumably that of Peter’s and Andrew’s house.

Mr 1:34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

Healed – therapeuo – originaly meaning ‘to attend’, then ‘to attend medically’, then ‘to heal’, as here.

Many – polus, but probably not to be contrasted with pas (‘all’) in v32, as though all were brought to Jesus but not all were healed. So Cranfield.

He would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was – See vv24f. ‘All such testimony is non-voluntary, an unwilling recognition of an empirical fact, and thus corresponds to no moral or spiritual transforming discovery.’ (Cole) As Jas 2:19 shows, such grudging recognition of who Christ is is widely different from true faith, as exemplified by Peter, Mr 8:29.

Mr 1:35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Mr 1:35-39 = Lu 4:42-44. {cf. Mt 4:23} Again, we seem to have Peter’s recollections here (cf. v36).

Very early in the morning – ‘When others were asleep in their beds, he was praying, as a genuine Son of David, who seeks God early, and directs his prayer in the morning; nay, and at midnight will rise to give thanks. It has been said, The morning is a friend to the Muses-Aurora Musis amica; and it is no less so to the Graces. When our spirits are most fresh and lively, then we should take time for devout exercises. He that is the first and best, ought to have the first and best.’ (MHC)

Jesus…went off to a solitary place, where he prayed – Mark gives three records of Jesus at prayer: here, near the beginning, when his ministry is being defined (v38); in the middle after the feeding of the five thousand, 6:46; and near the end when Jesus is in Gethsemane, 14:32-42. These are all critical moments, and each takes place at night and in solitude.

Mr 1:36 Simon and his companions went to look for him,

Simon and the others (probably Andrew, James and John, cf. Mr 1:29) may well have felt impatient that Jesus, faced with so many opportunities for doing good (and in their own home town), chose instead to pray in solitude.

Mark 1:37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

Mr 1:38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else-to the nearby villages-so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”

‘The disciples apparently wanted Jesus to make the most of the opportunity to become a popular miracle-worker; but Jesus rejected it, regarding preaching more highly than miracles. Miracles were “appendages” to the Word (Calvin): the relation was not to be reversed.’ (Cranfield)

If Peter and the others felt impatient at Jesus retiring from the crowds, they must have felt even more puzzled by his decision to move on altogether.

“That is why I have come” – Either, ‘that is why I have come over from Capernaum’, or ‘that is why I have come from God’. The ambiguity may be intentional. Cf. 2:17. Jesus’ aim was not to heal as many people as possible but to win over their hearts for the kingdom of God.

Mr 1:39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Mr 1:40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”