Mark 1:12

1:12 The Spirit immediately drove him into the wilderness.

Mark 6:32

6:32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to some remote place.

Mark 1:3-4

1:3 the voice of one shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make ¹  his paths straight.’” ² 

1:4 In the wilderness ³  John the baptizer ⁴  began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ 

Mark 1:35

Praying and Preaching

1:35 Then ⁶  Jesus ⁷  got up early in the morning when it was still very dark, departed, and went out to a deserted place, and there he spent time in prayer. ⁸ 

Mark 1:13

1:13 He was in the wilderness forty days, ⁹  enduring temptations from Satan. He ¹⁰  was with wild animals, and angels were ministering to his needs. ¹¹ 

Mark 6:35

6:35 When it was already late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is an isolated place ¹²  and it is already very late.

Mark 1:45

1:45 But as the man ¹³  went out he began to announce it publicly and spread the story widely, so that Jesus ¹⁴  was no longer able to enter any town openly but stayed outside in remote places. Still ¹⁵  they kept coming ¹⁶  to him from everywhere.

Mark 6:31

6:31 He said to them, “Come with me privately to an isolated place and rest a while” (for many were coming and going, and there was no time to eat).

¹ sn This call to “make his paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

² sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.

¹ tn Or “desert.”

² tn While Matthew and Luke consistently use the noun βαπτίστης (baptisths, “[the] Baptist”) to refer to John, as a kind of a title, Mark prefers the substantival participle ὁ βαπτίζων (Jo baptizwn, “the one who baptizes, the baptizer”) to describe him (only twice does he use the noun [Mark 6:25; 8:28]).

³ sn A baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins was a call for preparation for the arrival of the Lord’s salvation. To participate in this baptism was a recognition of the need for God’s forgiveness with a sense that one needed to live differently as a response to it.

¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn The imperfect προσηύχετο (proshuceto) implies some duration to the prayer.

¹ sn The forty days may allude to the experience of Moses (Exod 34:28), Elijah (1 Kgs 19:8, 15), or David and Goliath (1 Sam 17:16).

² tn Grk “And he.”

³ tn Grk “were serving him,” “were ministering to him.”

¹ tn Or “a desert” (meaning a deserted or desolate area with sparse vegetation).

¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man who was healed) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Grk “and”; καί (kai) often has a mildly contrastive force, as here.

⁴ tn The imperfect verb has been translated iteratively.