COMMENTARY ON MARK
LESSON NUMBER 2
I SEND MY MESSENGER
“ Mark 1:2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee. 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.” (Mark 1:2-3)
INTRODUCTION
In Mark’s “beginning,” the emphasis on Divinity is apparent: “My Messenger . . . Thy face . . . Thy way . . . Before Thee . . . the Lord . . . His paths.” The message of Christ – or “the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” verse 1 – is a precious gem placed within the setting of God’s Person and purpose. As significant as the need of man is, it is not a suitable environment for “the Gospel of Christ.” The Savior is “the Christ of God” (Luke 9:20), and “the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26). He is therefore presented within the context of God Himself and what He has purposed. That purpose will define human need. If we begin with human need and proceed to Christ, we will not make a mental room or a place in our hearts that is large enough for Jesus. As great as it may appear, the perimeter of human need is too small. The “eternal purpose” of God Himself has a greater scope. It is more lofty, more filled with goodness, and larger in its implications. Therefore, at the very beginning of his Gospel, Mark will focus our thoughts upon what God is intending to do. He not only sent the Savior into the world, He sent a special messenger before Him to prepare the way for Him.
We must never lose sight of the purpose of the Gospel: to make people aware of Divine intent and provision. The Savior was not requested by men, but purposed and sent by the Creator of men. He was not tailored to meet what men wanted, but to supply their primary need as defined by God Himself. I do not believe we will ever arrive at a point in this world, or the world to come, when the luster of that truth will dim.
IT IS WRITTEN IN THE PROPHETS
“ Mark 1:2a As it is written in the prophets . . .” Later versions read, “It is written in Isaiah the prophet.” This reading is based upon Western and Neutral classes of manuscripts. It is not, however, an altogether proper translation, for the quotation is found in both Isaiah and Malachi. I will therefore take the words “prophets” to be a proper one, and in harmony with the remainder of Scripture. Mark is not emphasizing WHO did the writing – although that may be of interest to the academical reader. He is rather pointing to the general source of the preparatory statements concerning the Savior – “the prophets.”
IT IS WRITTEN. God has placed a special emphasis on things that are “written” – things He has moved men to write through His Holy Spirit. Thus Peter wrote, “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet 1:21). The words of the prophets were also written. God commanded Moses to “write” the words given to him (Ex 17:14). Isaiah was told to write the words given to him, putting them in a book (Isa 30:8). Jeremiah was told the same thing (Jer 30:2; 36:2). For that matter, God Himself “wrote” the words of the first covenant, the Ten Commandments, on tables of stone (Ex 34:28).
The phrase “It is written” occurs over eighty times in Scripture: seventeen in Genesis through Malachi, twenty-six in the Gospels, four in Acts, and thirty-three in the Epistles. It is the writing of God’s Word that sets it apart from other words. Scripture is never updated, revised, or abrogated. The various books that were added after Moses’s writings blended perfectly with what He said. They developed a purpose that was introduced by Moses, confirming that from creation until the time when the present heavens and earth are removed, a single purpose has driven all of God’s dealings with men.
In view of these things, the people of God are to be “people of the book.” They have advanced no more than their understanding of the Scriptures. Their grasp of what is written forms a moral and spiritual border beyond which they cannot proceed. This accounts for some of the seeming moral deficiencies of the patriarchs of old. The limitation of the God’s revelation in Scripture formed a restriction in the manner in which life was lived.
However, when the “writings” given to men have been thorough, and when they reveal and expound the workings of the Lord, there is no longer any viable reason for moral and spiritual deficiency. Thus we read, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim 3:16-17). It is enough to say at this point, that the greatest advantage is found in writings that concern the greatest Person, the greatest purpose, and the greatest work.
IN THE PROPHETS. The prophets are pivotal in God’s dealings with men. They are necessary to a proper understanding of the Messiah, His accomplishments, and His present ministry. Mark will deal with their word concerning the world’s preparation for the coming Savior.
Peter, whom some say dictated the book of Mark, said of the Prophets, “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you” (1 Pet 1:10). Their words were introductory, yet were foundational. Paul says the “righteousness of God” was “witnessed” by the prophets (Rom 3:21). He also affirms that the “mystery” of redemption is manifested “by the Scriptures of the prophets” (Rom 16:26). Prior to Christ, “the prophets” were the ones through whom God “spoke” (Heb 1:1). The salvation that is affirmed in the Gospel and expounded in the “Apostles doctrine,” was “promised afore by His prophets in the Holy Scripture” (Rom 1:2). They are included in the foundation upon which the church is being built (Eph 2:20-21).
Thus, when Mark begins his Gospel by a reference to “the prophets,” he is speaking in perfect harmony with the thrust of Divine revelation. This is, of course, foreign to much that is being said of Jesus in our time. The “Jesus” that is being declared to many is really “another Jesus,” which was not preached by the Apostles (2 Cor 11:4). It is a Jesus that was not made known by the holy prophets, who wrote of “the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow” (1 Pet 1:11).
If it is true that Jesus is the fulfillment of what Moses and the prophets said would come (Acts 26:22), then an ignorance of the prophets circumscribes what can be known of Jesus – and knowing Christ is everything (Phil 3:10). The text before us will confirm this to be the truth. Behold with what forethought the Spirit moved people to speak of the Lord Jesus. He was carefully placed within the framework of the words of the holy prophets.
A MESSENGER IS SENT TO PREPARE THE WAY
“ 2b . . . Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee.”
These words are taken from Malachi 3:1: “Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the LORD of hosts” (Mal 3:1). This was a messenger who would pave the way for the coming of “the Messenger of the covenant” – the One through whom the New Covenant would be ratified, declared, and mediated (Matt 26:28; Luke 4:18-19; Heb 13:20,24).
This prophecy paralleled the manner in which God led Israel into Canaan: “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared” (Ex 23:20). In Malachi’s prophecy, the one preparing the way would be a man – a holy man, who himself was from the “wilderness.”
I SEND. The “messenger” of reference, as Mark will confirm, was John the Baptist, who was, in the flesh, a cousin to Jesus, and was six months older than the Savior (Lk 1:36). John says of him, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John” (John 1:6).
John was a miraculous child, being an answer to prayer. His parents were Zacharias and Elizabeth, of whom it is said, “And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless” (Luke 1:6). Zacharias was a priest, of the ancient course of Abijah (Lk 1:5; 1 Chron 24:10). Elizabeth was “of the daughters of Aaron.” From the standpoint of nature, “they had no child because that Elizabeth was barren.” One further complication – “they both were now well stricken in years” (Lk 1:7).
We learn from Luke that Zacharias and Elizabeth had been praying for a child. Now, being very aged, it appeared as though their prayers would not be answered. However, one day, while Zacharias was “executing the priest’s office before the Lord,” the angel Gabriel appeared to him, declaring that their prayer had been heard. Elizabeth would bear a son, and his name would be called “John” – ‘Jehovah is a gracious Giver.”
John would be no ordinary son. He would be “great in the eyes of the Lord,” would “drink neither wine nor strong drink,” and would be “filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” (Lk 1:15). He would turn “many of the children of Israel” to the Lord, and would go before the Lord “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Lk 1:17). The Divine explanation of this marvelous set of circumstances is simply this: “I will send.”
The way for Jesus would not be prepared by a former profligate. It would not be readied by someone who was not holy, or was not filled with the Spirit. It would not be prepared by someone who was powerless and unacquainted with the ways of the Lord.
MY MESSENGER. John the Baptist was a man with a message: God’s “messenger.” He was not a miracle worker like Elijah, for it is written, “John did no miracle” (John 10:11). His power was in his word – the message that He declared. He was, as Scripture affirms, “the prophet of the Highest” (Lk 1:76).
THY FACE. Malachi’s prophecy does not contain the words “before Thy face.” Malachi reads “before Me.” Mark is giving the sense of the text, just as Jesus did during His ministry, when He said of John the Baptist, “For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee” (Matt 11:10).
The meaning is this: before the fulness of God Himself (“before Me”) could be seen in the bodily presence of Jesus (“Thy face”), God would send a man with a clear and necessary word. The following phrase declares why this would be done.
HE SHALL PREPARE THY WAY. This is the Father speaking with the pre-incarnate Word: “I send My messenger before Your face, who will make ready Your way.” AMPLIFIED Matthew reads, “who will prepare Your way before You” NKJV (Matt 11:10). The messenger, John the Baptist, would prepare an environment into which Jesus could profitably enter. He would do what Isaiah said must be done: “Build up, build up, prepare the way, Remove every obstacle out of the way of My people” NASB (Isa 57:14). He would make people aware of the darkness in which they were sitting (Matt 4:16). He would “make straight the way of the Lord” (John 1:23) so He could proceed directly to His work, and begin announcing His mission.
John the Baptist prepared the conscience of the people to receive Jesus. He provided a context in which a Savior could work, and a surrounding in which the word of salvation could be welcomed.
This “messenger” was a line of demarcation, standing between the Law and the prophets (which were “until John” – Matt 11:13) and the ministry of the Lord Jesus.
THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS
“ 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” This prophecy was given by Isaiah: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isa 40:3).
THE VOICE. The word “voice” means “the sound of uttered words.” It also implies the lifting up the voice, so as to be the better heard. This is the kind of “voice” of which Isaiah prophesied: “O lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid” (Isa 40:9).
Here a man who was noted for what he said. Matthew says of John the Baptist, “For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one . . . ” (Mat 3:3). Luke says the same (Lk 3:4). When John himself was asked concerning his identity, he answered “I am not the Christ.” When asked if he was Elijah (Mal 4:5), he answered, “I am not.” When asked, “Art thou that prophet?” (Deut 18:15-18), he answered “No” (John 1:20-22). He then confessed, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias” (John 1:23).
CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS. John began preaching “in the wilderness” – a barren and desolate place: “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea” (Matt 3:1). Jesus spoke of those who went out to see John the Baptist: “Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?” (Matt 11:7). The people had to inconvenience themselves to hear John speak, but if they were serious about the Lord, they were not disappointed. An area that was physically a place of disadvantage was suddenly turned into a place of eternal advantage. There was a sense in which the preaching of John fulfilled the word of Isaiah: “for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert” (Isa 35:6).
PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD. John was a man who, with words, made “straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isa 40:3). He was used to prepare an environment in which God could work – a spiritual environment in which the redemptive purpose of God would be carried out.
The “way of the Lord,” or “highway for our God,” is the subject of reference in Isaiah 35:8: “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein” (Isa 35:8). It was a Divinely appointed means that enabled men to approach unto God after a long and dreary season. The details of this “beginning” will be covered in verse four and following.
MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT. Other versions read, “make straight paths for Him,” NIV “make a straight road for Him,” NLT and “everyone must straighten out his life to be ready for the Lord's arrival.” LIVING John’s purpose was to clear the obstacles before the Lord, removing hindrances that had long dominated the people. Isaiah prophesied of this activity: “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain” (Isa 40:4). John the Baptist had a ministry similar to that of the prophet Jeremiah: “See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant” (Jer 1:10). He removed the traditional stubble that had accumulated, so that men’s hearts could once again be touched – made ready for the coming Savior.
John did not come in the flowing robes of the Pharisees, or in the scholarly manner of the Scribes. He did not preach in the Temple, or attend the local synagogues. His ministry called for a separation from lifeless tradition and monotonous routine.
A TIME FOR A NEW BEGINNING. The time for a new beginning had arrived – called “the fulness of the time” (Gal 4:4). It was the time to separate from the old order, and begin to prepare for the new one. The time for “a new thing” had arrived (Isa 43:19), and John was the harbinger, or herald, of that time.
Here was a classic example of a principle enunciated by Amos, former “herdman” of Tekoa, and “gatherer of sycamore fruit” (Amos 1:1; 7:14). “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). The Savior of the world was about to be revealed, and God prepared the people for it by sending John the Baptist. He was a holy man, born of holy parents, and raised in a holy manner. He was not tainted with the ways of the world, did not come in the garb of stilted religion, and required that the people come to him. That is how “the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” got started: “the beginning of the Gospel . . . ”