The Gospel of Mark
Chapter 1: Overview
There are two clear halves to this first chapter. The first part, which is commonly known as the Prologue, takes place at the Jordan and in Judaea (1,1-15). In the second part, Jesus is in Galilee (1,14 onwards) and specifically in the lakeside town of Capernaum. In this part Jesus begins his public ministry.
The first half of the chapter is marked by the repetition of "good news" (gospel) in verses 1 and 15. This repetition makes a bracket around the section. However, verses 14 and 15 also point the story forward because in verse 14 Jesus arrives in Galilee. It is perhaps best to see these two verses acting as a hinge as the story turns from the opening prologue to the ministry in Galilee.
The Prologue: Mk 1,1-15
Coming now to the Prologue, the first 13 verses of this Gospel are distinct because they take place at the Jordan and in the Judean desert. Only in verse 14 are we told that Jesus returns to Galilee. My reading as I have said takes verses 14 and 15 to be a transition, a hinge. These two verses complete the prologue while at the same time they open up Jesus' ministry in Galilee.
From this, we can see that the Prologue is made up of the following scenes:
- Verses 1-3 are the evangelist's opening announcement.
- Verses 4-8 describe the ministry of John the Baptist
- Verses 9-11 tell us of the baptism of Jesus and its consequences
- Verses 12-13 follow up the baptism with the tempting of Jesus by Satan.
- Verses 14-15 form the transition to the ministry in Galilee.
Importance of the Prologue
These first fifteen verses are important because here the evangelist give us the readers special and privileged information. We are given the answers even as we begin to read the story. We are therefore in a position to watch the characters in the story struggle with the issues. For them there will be above all the important question of just who is Jesus to which we have the answer given in 1,1. At the end of the Prologue, the evangelist brings Jesus back to Galilee and begins to introduce these characters, starting with the call of the first disciples (1,16-20).
The Beginning of the Ministry of Jesus: Mk 1,14-45
The Prologue is followed by the evangelist setting the scene for the ministry of Jesus:
- Verses 14-15 announce Jesus coming into Galilee proclaiming the good news of God.
- Verses 16-20 describe how Jesus called his first disciples.
The ministry of Jesus then begina wirth the first two incidents taking place on the sabbath (1,21). Evening in Judaism marks the beginning of a new day so the evening and morning mentioned in verses 32 and 35 are linked because they belong to the following day.
The final incident, 1,40-45, is somewhat on its own; we will see how it brings this opening chapter to a conclusion. Putting this together, we have following outline for the opening of Jesus' ministry:
- Verses 21-28: Jesus moves to Capernaum and heals in the synagogue on the sabbath.
- Verses 29-31: the healing of Peter's mother in law, also on the sabbath.
- Verses 32-34: healings in the evening, the new day following the sabbath.
- Verses 35-39 begin with another indication of time:
"Rising very early before dawn", but it is still the same day. - Verses 40-45: the chapter concludes with the healing of a leper.
The first chapter is a complete unit for our reading. Chapter 2 will begin with a change of both place and time. We will be seeing how this opens up a sequence of closely linked incidents.
We can now return to the main page and see how we will read this chapter.