Gospel of Mark Chapter 1 Vs. 8

 John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Mark 1:8 “I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.”

I and he are emphatic, stressing the contrast. John has a vital function, but Jesus has an even greater one. As John was used by God to administer immersion in water, Jesus will serve to bring men under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

baptized you with... This takes place when a person comes to faith in Christ (see notes on Acts 1:5; 8:16-17; 1 Cor. 12:13).

with. Greek: en, in. John baptized in water, but Jesus baptizes His followers in the Holy Ghost

You can easily see from this that the baptism of repentance, which John the Baptist baptized with, was not the same baptism. John’s baptism is of water, and Jesus’ baptism is of fire of the Holy Ghost.

That Christ did this because He was God and that such demonstrated His divinity is not the true biblical teaching. He did all His works by the full anointing of the Spirit, not by His divine nature (Isa. 11:2; 42:1-7; 61:1-2; Mat. 3:16-17; John 3:34; Acts 10:38). All men are partakers of the divine nature at the new birth (2Pet. 1:4), and that does not give them such power. It is only as they receive the Spirit baptism and the gifts of the Spirit that they can receive such power (1Cor. 12:4-11; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-8).

Luke 3:16 “John answered, saying unto [them] all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:”

We see the explanation of this baptism (in Acts 19:2-6).

“He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.” “And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.” “Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” “When they heard [this], they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” “And when Paul had laid [his] hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.”

Ten Proofs Spirit Baptism Is for All:

1. John predicted that Christ would baptize all people (Mat. 3:11; John 1:33).

2. Jesus promised it to everyone who would believe in Him (John 7:37-39).

3. Jesus promised the Spirit to all children of God who would ask Him (Luke 11:9-13).

4. Jesus commanded all men to tarry until ye be endued with power from on high (Luke24:49; Acts 1:4-8).

5. Jesus promised His power and anointing to every believer (Acts 1:4-8; John 14:12; Mark 16:17-18).

6. Peter promised it to all men (Acts 2:38-39; 5:32).

7. Peter predicted that it would be given to all men in the last days (Acts 2:16-21).

8. Jesus died that all men might have it (Gal. 3:13-14). The promised Spirit in Gal. 3:14 is the same as in John 7:37-39; 14:16-17, 14:26; 15:26; 16:13-15; Acts 1:4-8; 2:38-39).

9. The early church expected all believers to receive it and saw to it that they did get it (Acts 8:14-18; 9:17; 19:1-6).

10.That all the above applies to Gentiles as well as to Jews is clear in Mat. 3:11; John 7:37-39; Acts 2:16-21, 2:38-39; 5:32; 10:44-48; 11:14-18; 15:7-11; Gal. 3:13-14; Rom. 10:12.

Nay, he taught that all his work was but superficial, a baptism with water to reach the surface of men’s life, to check, at the most, exaction and violence and neglect of the wants of others, while the Greater One should baptize with the Holy Ghost, should pierce the depths of human nature, and thoroughly purge His floor.

This verse contrasts I with He. John administered the outward sign, water baptism; but the Coming One would actually bestow the life-giving Spirit.

When used in connection with water, the word baptize normally indicated a literal immersion (cf. Mar. 1:9-10). When used with the words Holy Spirit it metaphorically means coming under the Spirit’s life-giving power.

I baptize is literally I baptized, probably indicating that John was addressing those he had already baptized. His baptism with (or in) water was limited and preparatory. But those who received it pledged to welcome the Coming One who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:5; 11:15-16). The bestowal of the Spirit was an expected feature of the Messiah’s coming (Isa. 44:3; Eze. 36:26-27; Joel 2:28-29).

Book of Hosea Chapter 12 Vs. 3

The Lord's Indictment of Israel and Judah

 

He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God: Hos. 12:3

He took his... Jacob Hebrew: Ya‛aqob, heel-catcher, supplanter, cheater, defrauder, deceiver. For his history see Gen. 25:23-34; 27:1-50:14; also see Jacob.

Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. Abraham waited twenty-five years (Gen. 12:4; 21:5) and Isaac waited twenty years for a son (Gen. 25:20, 25:26). Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born (Gen. 17:17; 21:5); and Isaac was threescore or sixty years old when Jacob and his twin brother were born (Gen. 25:26).

Before further developing the themes of guilt and judgment (cf. 12:9-13:16), Hosea reminded the nation of her need to repent (Hos. 12:5-6). In doing so he drew a lesson from the life of Jacob (Hos. 12:3-4).

Jacob’s birth gave a hint of the kind of person he would be. His grasping Esau’s heel (cf. Gen. 25:26) foreshadowed his deception of his brother in stealing his birthright and blessing (cf. Gen. 27:35-36).

He took his... Whether or not the act of Jacob was beyond the strength, ordinarily given to infants in the womb, the meaning of the act was beyond man's wisdom to declare. Whence the Jews paraphrased, "Was it not predicted of your father Jacob, before he was born; that he should become greater than his brother?" Yet this was not fulfilled until more than 500 years afterward, or completely until the time of David.

by his strength... The strength, by which he did this, was God's strength, as well as that by which God contended with him; yet it is well called his, as being by God given to him. God so ordering it, that the strength which was in Jacob, should put itself forth with greater force, than that in the assumed body, whereby He so dealt with Jacob. God, as it were, bore the office of two persons, showing in Jacob more strength than He put forth in the Angel.

This is speaking of Jacob and Esau when they were born. We remember from previous lessons, the birthright belonged to Esau, but he traded it to his brother Jacob for a bowl of soup. Even in their mother's womb, before they were born, there was war going on between the two. It has never stopped until this very day. Jacob tricked His father into giving him the right hand (preferential), blessing.

Jacob’s birth gave a hint of the kind of person he would be. His grasping Esau’s heel (cf. Gen. 25:26) foreshadowed his deception of his brother in stealing his birthright and blessing (cf. Gen. 27:35-36).

Gospel of Mark Chapter 1 Vs. 7

 John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Mark 1:7 “And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.”

Preached, saying, There... Denotes a continuous activity. This is John’s characteristic message. Better translated: proclaiming. John was Jesus’ herald, sent to announce His coming (Ref. Verse 4).

There cometh one... The 1st New Testament prophecy in Mark (Mar. 1:7-8, fulfilled and being fulfilled). Next, Mar. 2:20.

the latchet of... Refers to the thong of a sandal. John is concerned to make clear both his inferiority so as not to distract from the future-oriented focus of his message, and the Coming One’s superiority so as to cultivate longing and expectancy. Many of the ancient shoes were only soles with strings or thongs to tie around the foot. Unlatching shoes was considered a mark of respect on the part of a disciple to a master.

And unloose

Compare to bear; Mat. 3:11.

I am not... The most menial task a slave could perform. John vividly expressed his humility.

To stoop down

A detail peculiar to Mark.

We see here, a humble man. John the Baptist knew that he was nothing compared to Jesus. Our ministers of today could take a lesson from John. We are nothing but a voice fulfilling the ministry that God has called us to. The person of the preacher is not the important thing. The message is the important thing, for by the foolishness of preaching people are saved.

As John the Baptist elevated Jesus to His rightful position as God manifest in the flesh, so should every follower of Jesus and especially the ministers of His Word. Get our minds and messages off of mortal men and onto the mighty God, Jesus Christ our Lord. At the presence of the Lord, every knee will bow as John did.

Phil. 2:10-11 “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth;” “And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

We must all remember with John that we are not worthy to unloose His shoes.

IT was when all men mused in their hearts whether John was the Christ or no, that he announced the coming of a Stronger One. By thus promptly silencing a whisper, so honorable to himself, he showed how strong he really was, and how unselfish a friend of the Bridegroom. Nor was this the vague humility of phrase which is content to be lowly in general, so long as no specified individual stands higher. His word is definite and accepts much for himself. The Stronger One than I cometh, and it is in presence of the might of Jesus whom, yet this fiery reformer called a Lamb, that he feels himself unworthy to bend to the dust and unbind the latchets or laces of His shoe.

So then, though asceticism be sometimes good, it is consciously not the highest nor the most effective goodness. Perhaps it is the most impressive. Without a miracle, the preaching of John shook the nation as widely as that of Jesus melted it, and prepared men’s hearts for His. A king consulted and feared him. And when the Pharisees were at open feud with Jesus, they feared to be stoned if they should pronounce John’s baptism to be of men.

Yet is there weakness lurking even in the very quality which gives asceticism its power. That stern seclusion from an evil world, that peremptory denial of its charms, why are they so impressive? Because they set an example to those who are hard beset, of the one way of escape, the cutting off of the hand and foot, the plucking out of the eye. And our Lord enjoins such mutilation of the life upon those whom its gifts betray. Yet is it as the halt and maimed that such men enter into life. The ascetic is a man who needs to sternly repress and deny his impulses, who is conscious of traitors within his breast that may revolt if the enemy be suffered to approach too near.

It is harder to be a holy friend of publicans and sinners, a witness for God while eating and drinking with these, than to remain in the desert undefiled. It is greater to convert a sinful woman in familiar converse by the well, than to shake trembling multitudes by threats of the fire for the chaff and the axe for the barren tree. And John confesses this. In the supreme moment of his life, he added his own confession to that of all his nation. This rugged ascetic had need to be baptized of Him who came eating and drinking.

John’s Message As A Prophet

The opening words are literally, And he was proclaiming as a herald, saying… (cf. Mar. 1:4). Mark summarized John’s message in order to focus on its main theme, the announcement of a greater Person still to come who would baptize people with the Holy Spirit (Mar. 1:8).

The words, after me in time will come One echo Mal. 3:1 and Mal. 4:5, but the precise identity of the Coming One remained hidden even to John till after Jesus’ baptism (cf. John 1:29-34). No doubt Mark avoided the term Messiah because of popular misconceptions associated with it. Mar. 1:8 suggests why the Coming One is more powerful than John.

John emphasized the importance of the Coming One and showed his own humility (cf. John 3:27-30) by declaring that he was not worthy to stoop down words recorded only by Mark and untie the thongs leather straps used to fasten His sandals. Even a Hebrew slave was not required to do this menial task for his master!

Book of Hosea Chapter 12 Vs. 2

 The Lord's Indictment of Israel and Judah

The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him. Hos. 12:2

The LORD hath... The 16th prophecy in Hosea (Hos. 12:2), fulfilled. Next, Hos. 12:9.

will punish Jacob... Frequently used interchangeably with Israel (compare 10:11; Gen. 32:28).

When Jacob is mentioned, it is speaking of all 12 tribes of Israel. God is not a respecter of persons. When they sin, they are judged of God, and made to pay whatever punishment God allots to them. He is a forgiving God, but He is also a just God.

Jehovah hath a quarrel with Israel and is about to visit upon Jacob his ways; according to his deeds will He requite them.

The Lord had a charge (rı̂ḇ; cf. Hos. 4:1; also see Hos. 2:2) against Judah and was about to punish His people for their evil ways.

Gospel of Mark Chapter 1 Vs. 6

 John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Mark 1:6 “And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;”

And John was... John’s name in Hebrew means the grace or mercy of Jehovah, a most appropriate name for the forerunner of Jesus who brought the fullness of grace and truth (John 1:16-17).

camel’s hair, and… The traditional clothes of a wilderness dweller which were sturdy, but neither fashionable nor comfortable. John’s clothing would have reminded his audience of Elijah (2Kgs. 1:8), whom they expected to come before Messiah (Mal. 2:5; Mat. 17:10-13).

With camels' hair (τρίχας καμήλου)

Lit., hairs. Not with a camel's skin, but with a vesture woven of camels' hair. Compare 2Kgs. 1, 8.

locusts and wild... A clean food (Lev. 11:22). Only the poor ate locusts with butter or honey after they were salted and dried. The Old Testament dietary regulations permitted the eating of locusts (Lev. 11:2-22). Wild honey could often be found in the wilderness (Deut. 32:13; 1Sam. 14:25-27). John’s austere diet was in keeping with his status as a lifelong Nazirite (Luke 1:15).

Wild honey

The innumerable fissures and clefts of the limestone rocks, which everywhere flank the valleys, afford in their recesses secure shelter for any number of swarms of wild bees; and many of the Bedouin, particularly about the wilderness of Judaea, obtain their subsistence by bee-hunting, bringing into Jerusalem jars of that wild honey on which John the Baptist fed in the wilderness Tristram, Land of Israel. Wyc., honey of the wood.

John’s appearance is reminiscent of Elijah (2Kgs. 1:8; Mark 6:15).

We can see from this that John the Baptist was a simple man with simple needs. The Bible says those that wear fine clothes live in palaces. John did not live in a palace, but rather in the wilderness.

In a land where there are many camels, it would not have been expensive to get a camel’s hide to make a garment from. A girdle, we learned in Exodus, is something similar to a very wide belt. In all of this, I say again, we see a simple man with simple needs, setting out to carry out the job that God had called him to fulfill.

Excerpt: The law did more than convict men; it inspired hope. The promise of a Redeemer shone like a rainbow across the dark story of the past. He was the end of all the types, at once the Victim and the Priest. To Him gave all the prophets witness, and the Baptist brought all past attainment to its full height, and was more than a prophet when he announced the actual presence of the Christ, when he pointed out to the first two Apostles, the Lamb of God.

John’s Lifestyle As A Prophet

John’s attire and diet marked him as a man of the desert and also depicted his role as God’s prophet (cf. Zec. 13:4). In this way he resembled the Prophet Elijah (2Kgs. 1:8), who was equated in Mal. 4:5 with the messenger (Mal. 3:1) cited earlier (cf. Mar. 1:2; 9:13; Luke 1:17). Locusts (dried insects) and wild honey were the common diet in desert regions. Again, Locusts are listed in Lev. 11:22 among the clean foods.

Book of Hosea Chapter 12 Vs. 1

 

Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt. Hos. 12:1

feedeth on wind... The alliances of Ephraim with other nations were as wind that is soon passed and gone. The nation’s sins increased daily, including lies and deceit (Hos. 11:12). The picture is graphic, for Israel has given itself to feeding on what will not nourish it (idolatry), and the result is an increase in lies and desolation.

the east wind... The east wind was symbolic of the eastern alliances—agreements with the Assyrians. The east wind, refers to the sirocco, a hot, dry wind coming from the eastern desert and causing great devastation in the land. Israel’s attempted alliances with heathen neighbors were of no worth. This prophecy was delivered at about the time of Israel’s seeking the aid of the Egyptian king.

oil is carried... Oil was carried into Egypt to seek their favor and help against the Assyrians.

In this chapter, we see again that God is reminding Ephraim of their faults. The worst thing they did, besides worshipping false gods, was the fact they made a treaty with a worldly country.

THE FINAL ARGUMENT

The impassioned call with which the last chapter closed was by no means an assurance of salvation: How am I to give thee, up, Ephraim? how am I to let thee go, Israel? On the contrary, it was the anguish of Love, when it hovers over its own on the brink of the destruction to which their willfulness has led them, and before relinquishing them would seek, if possible, some last way to redeem. Surely that fatal morrow and the people’s mad leap into it are not inevitable! At least, before they take the leap, let the prophet go back once more upon the moral situation of today, go back once more upon the past of the people, and see if he can find anything else to explain that bias to apostasy (Hos. 11:7) which has brought them to this fatal brink-anything else which may move them to repentance even there. So in chapters 12 and 13 Hosea turns upon the now familiar trail of his argument, full of the Divine jealousy, determined to give the people one other chance to turn; but if they will not, he at least will justify God’s relinquishment of them. The chapters throw even a brighter light upon the temper and habits of that generation. They again explore Israel’s ancient history for causes of the present decline; and, in especial, they cite the spiritual experience of the Father of the Nation, as if to show that what of repentance was possible for him is possible for his posterity also. But once more all hope is seen to be in vain; and Hosea’s last travail with his obstinate people closes in a doom even more awful than its predecessors.

The division into chapters is probably correct; but while chapter 13 is well ordered and clear, the arrangement, and, in parts, the meaning of chapter 12 are very obscure.

THE PEOPLE AND THEIR FATHER JACOB

In no part even of the difficult Book of Hosea does the sacred text bristle with more problems. It may well be doubted whether the verses lie in their proper order, or, if they do, whether we have them entire as they came from the prophet, for the connection is not always perceptible.

Israel’s unfaithfulness found expression in social injustice (she multiplies lies and violence; cf. Hos. 4:2; 7:1) and in foreign alliances with Assyria and Egypt (cf. Hos. 5:13; 7:8, 7:11; 8:8-9; 2Kgs. 17:3-4). Olive oil was either used in the covenant-making ceremony or given as a token of allegiance. All this activity was futile and self-destructive, as the references to feeding on and pursuing the wind suggest (cf. Hos. 8:7; 13:15).

Gospel of Mark Chapter 1 Vs. 5

 John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Mark 1:5 “And there went out unto him all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.”

There went out (ἐξεπορεύετο)

The imperfect tense signifies, there kept going out.

all the land ... After centuries without a prophetic voice in Israel Malachi had prophesied more than 400 years earlier, Johns ministry generated an intense amount of interest. Figure of speech (synecdoche) in which the whole is put for a part. See Gen. 41:56 for use of all.

of Judea, and... The southernmost division of Palestine Samaria and Galilee being the others, in Jesus’ day. It extended from about Bethel in the North to Beersheba in the South, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the West to the Dead Sea and Jordan River in the East. Included within Judea was the city of Jerusalem.

river of Jordan... Palestine’s major river, flowing through the Jordan Rift Valley from Lake Hula drained in modern times, North of the Sea of Galilee, South to the Dead Sea. According to tradition, John began his baptizing ministry at the fords near Jericho.

The river

Peculiar to Mark.

confessing their sins... This is required before God can forgive (1Jhn. 1:9; Luke 13:1-5; Rom. 10:9-10). This with faith in the blood of Christ will produce remission of sins (Rom. 3:24-25; Eph. 1:7). Men are to repent and then be baptized. Repentance prepares the soul for remission; baptism is the pledge and figure of it (1Pet. 3:21).To confess one’s sins, as they were being baptized, is to agree with God about them. John baptized no one who did not confess and repent of his sins.

Confessing

Were baptized (ἐβαπτίζοντο)

Confessing their sins (ἐξομολογούμενοι τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν)

The words imply: 1. That confession was connected with baptism. They were baptized while in the act of confessing. 2. An open confession, not a private one to John (ἐξ, compare Acts 19:18; Jas. 5:16). 3. An individual confession; possibly a specific one. (See Luke 3:10-15.)

The whole of Judea and Jerusalem is rocked by John’s presence. The tense of baptized stresses that it took place continually over a length of time. The condition for baptism was a public response, by which and in which one confessed his sins.

There, strangely enough, was no rejection by the people of John the Baptist. We see here that many people went to great trouble to go into the wilderness and be baptized by John in the River Jordan. In (Mat. 21:26), we see that the people believe John to be a true prophet.

Mat. 21:26 “But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.”

Isn’t it strange they believed he was a prophet and did not believe the message he brought that Jesus Christ is Messiah? This river Jordan is still a favorite place for Christians worldwide to be baptized.

In truth, the movement of the Baptist, with its double aspect, gathers up all the teaching of the past. He produced conviction, and he promised help. One lesson of all sacred history is universal failure. The innocence of Eden cannot last. The law with its promise of life to the man who doeth these things, issued practically in the knowledge of sin; it entered that sin might abound; it made a formal confession of universal sin, year by year, continually. And therefore its fitting close was a baptism of repentance universally accepted. Alas, not universally. For while we read of all the nation swayed by one impulse, and rushing to the stern teacher who had no share in its pleasures or its luxuries, whose life was separated from its concerns, and whose food was the simplest that could sustain existence, yet we know that when they heard how deep his censures pierced, and how unsparingly he scourged their best loved sins, the loudest professors of religion rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of Him. Nevertheless, by coming to Him, they also had pleaded guilty. Something they needed; they were sore at heart, and would have welcomed any soothing balm, although they refused the surgeon’s knife.

Using hyperbole (cf. also Mark 1:32-33, 1:37), Mark showed the great impact John made on all areas of Judea and Jerusalem. The people went out and were baptized by John in the Jordan River (cf. Mark 1:9) as they confessed their sins to God. The imperfect tense of the Greek verbs portrays in motion-picture fashion the continual procession of people who kept going out to hear John’s preaching and to be baptized by him.

The verb baptize baptizō intensive form of baptō to dip means to immerse, submerge. Being baptized by John in the Jordan marked the turn of a Jew to God. It identified him with the repentant people who were preparing for the coming Messiah.

Included in the performance of the baptismal rite was the people’s open confession of sins. The verb confessing exomologoumenoi, agree with, acknowledging, admitting; cf. Acts 19:18; Phlp. 2:11), is intensive. They openly agreed with God’s verdict on their sins (hamartias, failure to hit the mark, i.e., God’s standard. Every Jew familiar with the nation’s history knew they had fallen short of God’s demands. Their willingness to be baptized by John in the desert was an admission of their disobedience and an expression of their turning to God.