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 1:13

1:13 He was in the wilderness forty days, ⁶  enduring temptations from Satan. He ⁷  was with wild animals, and angels were ministering to his needs. ⁸ 

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.

³ tn Or “desert.”

⁴ 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]).

⁵ 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.

⁵ 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).

⁶ tn Grk “And he.”

⁷ tn Grk “were serving him,” “were ministering to him.”