Bereshit - Arke --> Creation - Salvation

Ex 20:23/Is. 40:3, Mal 3:1

2 Kings 1:8
Sets the scene for the rest of the book by establishing the major theme ("the beginning
of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God") and by introducing Jesus and John.
Prologue tells his readers who Jesus is, and the rest of Mark's Gospel will show how
Jesus fulfills the expectations laid out in the prologue
Good news of Jesus Christ Objective & Subjective: good news about Jesus or good
news brought by Jesus
wilderness that God saved them again and again, and the wilderness was the crucible
where they became a nation.
John the Baptist is the embodiment of Elijah the prophet, who was associated with the
wilderness
Baptism ritual washing of impurity
For gentiles, being a member of the Church
Johns baptism baptism of repentance [metanoia]
description of John is intended to identify him with Elijah, whom the Old Testament
describes as "a hairy man, with a leather belt around his waist" (2 Kings 1:8).
When John says that he is unworthy to untie the thong of the sandals of the one who is
to follow, he is saying that the social distance between him and the one who is to come
"is greater than that between a master and a slave" (Perkins, 533). The point is not
John's insignificance, but Jesus' overwhelming significance.
Mark: Messiah, Son of God; Kingdom of God~good news;
Mark, unlike the other Synoptic Gospels, does not leave the reader to wonder
about the true identity of Jesus. He tells the reader in the first line that Jesus is both the
Messiah promised by the prophets and the Son of God.

For Jesus it was not a baptism of repentance but was instead an anointing by the Holy
Spirit for the three holy offices He fulfilled as divine prophet, priest, and Davidic king in
preparation for His ministry.

Marks literary style/characteristic:

Parataxis - (lit. placing next to) short loosely connected episodes, like pearls
on a string, thus, Marks Gospel begin with the word And (Gk. kai)!
Immediacy - Marks Gospel emphasizes action, as seen in the frequent use of
the Greek word euthys (immediately, right away)

He is the Christ, the Son of God (v. 1), the Lord (v. 3), the Stronger One (v. 7), one who
will baptize with the Holy Spirit (v. 8).62 Gods voice has assured the reader that he is
the beloved Son of God, and that God is well pleased with him (v. 11). He is filled with
the Spirit (v. 10), and driven into the desert to reverse the tragedy of the Adam and Eve
story, to reestablish Gods original design (vv. 1213)
call to "make his paths straight" in this context is probably an allusion to preparation
through repentance.
Mark uses the Greek conjunction (kai) at numerous places in his Gospel to begin
sentences and paragraphs. This practice is due to Semitic influence and reflects in
many cases the use of the Hebrew (vav) which is used in OT narrative, much as it is
here, to carry the narrative along. Because in contemporary English style it is not
acceptable to begin every sentence with "and," was often left untranslated or
rendered as "now," "so," "then," or "but" depending on the context
The humility of John is evident in the statement I am not worthy. This was considered
one of the least worthy tasks of a slave, and John did not consider himself worthy to do
even that for the one to come, despite the fact he himself was a prophet.