Mark 1 Background Information with Maps and Images (Picture Study Bible - Mark) Free Bible Online

Mark 1

1 - The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

2 - As it is written in the prophets,"Behold, I send my messenger before your face,who will prepare your way before you:Malachi 3:1

3 - the voice of one crying in the wilderness,'Make ready the way of the Lord!Make his paths straight!'"Isaiah 40:3

4 - John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching the baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins.

5 - All the country of Judea and all those of Jerusalem went out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins.

6 - John was clothed with camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey.

7 - He preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and loosen.

8 - I baptized you in water, but he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit."

9 - In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

10 - Immediately coming up from the water, he saw the heavens parting, and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.

11 - A voice came out of the sky, "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

12 - Immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness.

13 - He was there in the wilderness forty days tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals; and the angels were serving him.

14 - Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Good News of God's Kingdom,

15 - and saying,"The time is fulfilled, and God's Kingdom is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News."

16 - Passing along by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

17 - Jesus said to them,"Come after me, and I will make you into fishers for men."

18 - Immediately they left their nets, and followed him.

19 - Going on a little further from there, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets.

Going on a little further from there, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets.

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20 - Immediately he called them, and they left their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him.

21 - They went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught.

22 - They were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes.

23 - Immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out,

24 - saying, "Ha! What do we have to do with you, Jesus, you Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are: the Holy One of God!"

25 - Jesus rebuked him, saying,"Be quiet, and come out of him!"

26 - The unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.

27 - They were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching? For with authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him!"

28 - The report of him went out immediately everywhere into all the region of Galilee and its surrounding area.

29 - Immediately, when they had come out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

30 - Now Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and immediately they told him about her.

31 - He came and took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she served them.

32 - At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick, and those who were possessed by demons.

33 - All the city was gathered together at the door.

34 - He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. He didn't allow the demons to speak, because they knew him.

35 - Early in the morning, while it was still dark, he rose up and went out, and departed into a deserted place, and prayed there.

36 - Simon and those who were with him followed after him;

37 - and they found him, and told him, "Everyone is looking for you."

38 - He said to them,"Let's go elsewhere into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because I came out for this reason."

39 - He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out demons.

40 - A leper came to him, begging him, kneeling down to him, and saying to him, "If you want to, you can make me clean."

41 - Being moved with compassion, he stretched out his hand, and touched him, and said to him,"I want to. Be made clean."

42 - When he had said this, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was made clean.

43 - He strictly warned him, and immediately sent him out,

44 - and said to him,"See you say nothing to anybody, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony to them."

45 - But he went out, and began to proclaim it much, and to spread about the matter, so that Jesus could no more openly enter into a city, but was outside in desert places: and they came to him from everywhere.

The Book of Mark

Mark 1:15 - And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Mark 2:12 - And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

Mark in The New Testament - A Brief Overview

Painting of St. Mark by Titian - 1560

Introduction to The Gospel of Mark

The Word Gospel. The second book of the English Bible that most of us read from is the Gospel of Mark. Mark is the second of the four gospel writings, yet there is only one gospel about Jesus Christ and there are four different writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The word "Gospel" means "good news", and the good news is about Jesus Christ dying on the cross and then 3 days later conquering death and rising from the dead, offering salvation to all mankind, this is the Gospel.

Summary of The Book of Mark

Brief Summary. Jesus of Nazareth is the suffering servant who came to die for the sins of all men. He did His work and "immediately" went to the cross, so be encouraged all who are suffering because Christ suffered for you.

Purpose. The Book of Mark is the shortest of the 4 Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus Christ. and he seems to write his account of the Gospel of Christ with a sense of urgency. He mentions the word "immediately" 27 times. In Mark many times Jesus exercises actions rather than words, which would impress his Roman readers who the Book seems to be addressing. He portrays Jesus as a man of power and miracles, who could set aside the laws of nature at will. Yet this powerful Son of God was the suffering servant who would give up His life as a ransom for all mankind (Mark 10:45). The clear purpose of mark was to encourage those suffering persecution that their master suffered first, and He suffered for them.

Audience. Apparently Mark wrote his Gospel account to encourage gentile Christians in Rome who were facing the persecutions of the Emperor Nero. History is clear about the atrocious behavior of the Romans and especially the insanity of Nero. The other evidence that scholars bring up concerning mark's audience as being gentiles is the fact that Mark does not deal with Jewish Laws and he only quotes one prophecy from the Old Testament. There is also careful thought into explaining Jewish customs and idioms. (See Mark 3:7; 5:41; 7:2; 10:46; 14:36; 15:34; 9:43; 14:12; 15:42).

Authorship. The gospel of Mark does not proclaim who the author is within the document, yet the information that we know about Mark can be seen in the writer of this gospel. It is evident that the writer was Jewish, he was a Christian, and he was familiar with every day Jewish life, as well as the Jewish Scriptures. We know from the Scriptures that Mark was Jewish, and he knew the teachings of Jesus very well. He also knew the teachings of the rest of the apostles. It is also important to notice that after Peter was imprisoned he went to the house of Mary, the mother of Mark (Acts 12:12-17). Also Peter mentions in his epistle "my son Mark" (1 Peter 5:13). During Paul's missionary journeys Mark became a companion of Paul and Barnabas, and he left them at Perga in Pamphylia (Acts 13:13), after Paul had rebuked him. Many years later Mark regained the favor of Paul  (Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11). Early Church tradition unanimously ascribes the second gospel to Mark as a companion of Peter and the writer of the second Gospel. One prologue to the Gospels which was written around 160 AD has this statement: "Mark� Was Peter's interpreter, and after Peter's decease wrote down this gospel in the region of Italy." Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian also attest to Mark as the author.

Location. Nothing in the Gospel of Mark indicates where it was written from. Most of the early writers who boast of Mark as the author also name Rome as the place it was written.

Date. Early Christian writers and traditions place the Gospel of Mark sometime close to the end of Peter's life, around 60-65 AD. Most scholars agree that the Gospel of Mark was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, while the Second Temple in Jerusalem was still standing (Mark 13:1-2). Many scholars do not believe in the miracle of predictive prophecy and argue that the Gospel of Mark was written after the fall of Jerusalem, because of the accurate details of the events that Jesus spoke about.  Mark's Gospel account seems to have been written as encouragement to the Christians who were facing the persecution of the Emperor Nero which took place in 64 AD.

Outline of the Book of Mark

The Servant Comes - Chapter 1:1-13
The Servant's Work - Chapters 1:14-13:37
The Servant's Death - Chapters 14:1-15:47
The Servant's Resurrection - Chapter 16:1-20

The Name Jesus In Ancient Hebrew Text
"Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text. This is how the name "Jesus" would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents. The four letters or consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A). Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means "The LORD or Yahweh is Salvation".

Mark Resources

Outline of the Life of Jesus in Harmony
Simple Map of First Century Israel
Topographical Map of First Century Israel
Map of the Ministry of Jesus
Map of the Roads in Ancient Israel
Map of the Roman Empire