Church Fathers Commentary Mark 1

St. Jerome: Mark the Evangelist, who served the priesthood in Israel and was a Levite according to the flesh, wrote his Gospel in Italy after being converted to the Lord. In it, he shows how even his own family benefited Christ. For by commencing his Gospel with the voice of a prophetic cry, he shows the order of Levi’s election, declaring that John the son of Zechariah was sent forth by the voice of an angel, saying, The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ¹

Pseudo-Jerome: The Greek word “Evangelium” means good tidings; in Latin it is explained as “bona annunciatio,” or the good news. These terms properly belong to the kingdom of God and to the remission of sins, for the Gospel is that by which the redemption of the faithful and the blessedness of the saints comes.

The four Gospels, however, are one, and it is one Gospel in four parts. In Hebrew, His name is Jesus; in Greek, Soter; in Latin, Salvator. He is called Christus in Greek, Messias in Hebrew, and Unctus in Latin—that is, King and Priest.

The Venerable Bede: The beginning of this Gospel should be compared with that of Matthew, in which it is said, The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. But here He is called the Son of God. ²

From both, we must understand one Lord Jesus Christ, who is both Son of God and Son of Man. Fittingly, the first Evangelist names Him Son of man, and the second, Son of God, so that our understanding may gradually ascend from lesser things to greater. In this way, through faith and the sacraments of His assumed human nature, we may rise to acknowledge His divine eternity.

It was also fitting that the evangelist who was about to describe Christ’s human generation began with a son of man, namely, David or Abraham. Likewise, it was fitting that the one who began his book with the first preaching of the Gospel chose to call Jesus Christ the Son of God. For it belonged to His human nature to take on the reality of our flesh from the line of the patriarchs, while it was the work of divine power to preach the Gospel to the world.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: He has testified that Christ is the Son of God, not in name only, but by His own true nature. We are sons of God, but He is not a son in the same way we are. For He is the true and proper Son—by origin, not by adoption; in truth, not in name; by birth, not by creation. ³

The Venerable Bede: In preparing to write his Gospel, Mark rightly begins with the testimonies of the Prophets. He did this to show everyone that what he was about to write should be received without any doubt, by demonstrating that these things were foretold beforehand by the Prophets.

By this same opening, he simultaneously prepared the Jews, who had received the Law and the Prophets, to receive the grace of the Gospel and the mysteries their own prophecies had foretold. He also called upon the Gentiles, who came to the Lord through the proclamation of the Gospel, to receive and venerate the authority of the Law and the Prophets. This is why he says, As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, Behold...

St. Jerome: (From a letter to Pammachius, Epistle 57): But this is not written in Isaiah, but in Malachi, the last of the twelve prophets.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: It could be said that this is a writer's mistake. Alternatively, it could be said that he has combined two prophecies, delivered in different places by two prophets, into one. For in the prophet Isaiah, it is written after the story of Hezekiah, The voice of one crying in the wilderness; but in Malachi, Behold, I send my angel. ¹

The Evangelist, therefore, taking parts of two prophecies, has attributed them to Isaiah and refers to them here as one passage, without mentioning, however, who said, Behold, I send my angel.

Pseudo-Augustine: For knowing that all things should be referred to their originator, he traced these sayings back to Isaiah, who was the first to express the idea. ²

Finally, after the words of Malachi, he immediately adds, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, in order to connect the words of each prophet—since they belong to one meaning—under the name of the more ancient prophet.

The Venerable Bede: Alternatively, we must understand that although these specific words are not found in Isaiah, their meaning is found in many other places, and most clearly in the passage he added: The voice of one crying in the wilderness. For what Malachi called the angel to be sent before the face of the Lord to prepare His way is the same thing that Isaiah said was to be heard: the voice of one crying in the wilderness, saying, Prepare the way of the Lord.

In both sentences, the preparation of the Lord's way is proclaimed. It may also be that Isaiah came to Mark's mind instead of Malachi while writing his Gospel, as often happens. He would, however, have undoubtedly corrected this if reminded by others who read his work while he was still alive, unless he thought that, since his memory was guided by the Holy Spirit, the name of one prophet came to him instead of another for a specific reason. For in this way, whatever the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets is understood to belong to all of them, and all of it to each one.

St. Jerome: Through Malachi, therefore, the voice of the Holy Spirit speaks to the Father concerning the Son, who is the face of the Father by which He is known.

The Venerable Bede: But John is called an angel not because he shares their nature—according to the heresy of Origenⁱ—but because of the dignity of his office. For "angel" in Greek is nuntius in Latin (meaning, messenger), and by this name that man is rightly called who was sent by God to bear witness to the light and to announce to the world the Lord's coming in the flesh.

Indeed, it is evident that all priests, by their office of preaching the Gospel, may be called angels, as the prophet Malachi says, The lips of the priest keep knowledge, and they seek the law at his mouth, because he is the Angel of the Lord of hosts (Malachi 2:7).

Theophylact of Ohrid: The Forerunner of Christ, therefore, is called an angel on account of his angelic life and profound reverence. Again, when he says, Before your face, it is as if he said, "Your messenger is near you." From this, the intimate connection of the Forerunner with Christ is shown, for those who walk next to kings are their greatest friends.

Then follows, Who will prepare your way before you.

For by baptism he prepared the minds of the Jews to receive Christ.

Pseudo-Jerome: Or, "the way of the Lord" is repentance, by which He comes into people, and by which God comes down to us and we ascend to Him. For this reason, the beginning of John's preaching was, Repent.

The Venerable Bede: But just as John could be called an angel because he went before the face of the Lord with his preaching, so too he could rightly be called a voice, because his sound preceded the Word of the Lord.

Therefore, what follows is, The voice of one crying...

For it is an acknowledged fact that the Only-Begotten Son is called the Word of the Father. Even we, from our own experience of speaking, know that the voice sounds first so that the word may then be heard.

Pseudo-Jerome: It is called "the voice of one crying" because we are accustomed to shout at people who are deaf or far away, or when we are indignant—all of which we know applied to the Jews. For salvation is far from the wicked, and they stopped their ears like deaf adders, and deserved to hear of indignation, and wrath, and tribulation from Christ.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: But the prophecy, by saying, In the wilderness, plainly shows that the divine teaching was not in Jerusalem but in the wilderness. This was fulfilled literally by John the Baptist in the wilderness of the Jordan, preaching the healing appearance of the Word of God. ³

The word of prophecy also shows that besides the wilderness indicated by Moses, where he made paths, there was another wilderness in which the salvation of Christ was proclaimed to be present.

Pseudo-Jerome: Alternatively, the voice and the cry are in the desert because the people were deserted by the Spirit of God—like a house, empty and swept clean—and also deserted by prophet, priest, and king.

The Venerable Bede: What he cried is revealed in what follows: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. For whoever preaches right faith and good works, what else is he doing but preparing the way for the Lord to come into the hearts of his hearers, so that the power of grace might penetrate their hearts and the light of truth shine in them? And he makes the paths straight when he forms pure thoughts in the soul through the word of preaching.

Pseudo-Jerome: Alternatively, Prepare the way of the Lord means to practice repentance and preach it. Make his paths straight means that, walking on the royal road, we should love our neighbors as ourselves, and ourselves as our neighbors. For he who loves himself but not his neighbor turns aside to the right; for many act well but do not correct their neighbor well, like Eli.

He, on the other hand, who hates himself but loves his neighbor, turns aside to the left. For many, for instance, rebuke well but do not act well themselves, as the Scribes and Pharisees did.

"Paths" are mentioned after the "way" because moral commands are revealed after repentance.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Or, the "way" is the New Testament, and the "paths" are the Old, because it is a well-trodden path. For it was necessary to be prepared for the way—that is, for the New Testament—but it was right that the paths of the Old Testament should be made straight.

Pseudo-Jerome: According to the aforementioned prophecy of Isaiah, the way of the Lord is prepared by John through faith, baptism, and repentance. The paths are made straight by the rough marks of the hair-cloth garment, the leather belt, the diet of locusts and wild honey, and the most humble voice, which is why it is said, “John was in the wilderness.”

For John and Jesus seek what is lost in the wilderness; where the devil conquered, there he is conquered; where man fell, there he rises up.

The name, John, means “the grace of God,” and the narrative begins with grace, for it goes on to say, “baptizing.” For by baptism grace is given, since by baptism sins are freely forgiven.

But what is brought to perfection by the bridegroom is introduced by the friend of the bridegroom. Thus catechumens (which means “persons instructed”) begin by the ministry of the priest and receive the chrism from the bishopⁱ.

And to show this, it is added, “And preaching the baptism of repentance, etc.”

The Venerable Bede: It is evident that John not only preached but also gave to some the baptism of repentance; however, he could not give baptism for the remission of sinsⁱ. For the remission of sins is given to us only by the baptism of Christ. It is therefore said, “Preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins,” because he preached a baptism that could lead to the remission of sins, even though he himself could not bestow it.

Therefore, just as he was the forerunner of the incarnate Word of the Father by the word of his preaching, so too, by his baptism (which could not remit sins), he preceded the baptism of repentance by which sins are remitted.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The baptism of John did not grant remission of sins, but only brought people to repentance. He therefore preached the baptism of repentance; that is, he preached that to which the baptism of repentance led—namely, remission of sins—so that those who received Christ in repentance might receive Him for the remission of their sins.

Pseudo-Jerome: Now by John, as by the bridegroom's friend, the bride is brought to Christ, just as by a servant Rebecca was brought to Isaac (Genesis 24:61). This is why it follows, “And there went out to him all, etc.” For “confession and beauty are in his presence” (Psalm 96:6)—that is, the presence of the bridegroom. The bride leaping down from her camel signifies the Church, who humbles herself on seeing her husband Isaac, that is, Christ. The interpretation of the Jordan, where sins are washed away, is “a foreign descent.” For we, who were previously aliens to God because of our pride, are made humble by the sign of Baptism and thus exalted on highⁱ.

The Venerable Bede: An example of confessing sins and promising to lead a new life is presented to those who desire to be baptized by the words that follow: “confessing their sins.”

St. John Chrysostom: Because John preached repentance, he wore the marks of repentance in his clothing and in his food.

Therefore, it follows, “And John was clothed in camel's hair.”

The Venerable Bede: It says he was clothed in a garment of hair, not in wool clothing; the former is a mark of an austere life, the latter of indulgent luxury. The leather belt with which he was girded, like Elijah, is a mark of mortification. And his food, “locusts and wild honey,” is suited to a dweller in the wilderness, so that his purpose in eating was not the pleasure of food, but satisfying the needs of the human body.

Pseudo-Jerome: The dress, food, and work of John signify the austere life of preachers, and that future nations are to be joined to the grace of God (which is John) in both their minds and their external lives. For by camel's hair is meant the rich among the nations; by the leather belt, the poor who are dead to the world; and by the wandering locusts, the wise men of this world, who, leaving the dry stalks to the Jews, draw off the mystic grain with their legs and in the warmth of their faith leap up toward heaven. And the faithful, being inspired by the wild honey, are fully fed from the uncultivated forest.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Alternatively, the garment of “camel's hair” was symbolic of grief, for John indicated that he who repents should mourn. Sackcloth signifies grief, while the leather belt shows the dead state of the Jewish people. The food of John not only denotes abstinence but also illustrates the intellectual food that the people were then eating, without understanding anything lofty, but continually raising themselves up only to sink to the earth again.

For such is the nature of locusts, leaping on high and then falling. In the same way, the people ate honey that had come from bees—that is, from the prophets. It was not, however, domestic but wild, for the Jews had the Scriptures, which are like honey, but did not rightly understand them.

St. Gregory the Great: Or, by the very nature of his food he pointed to the Lord, of whom he was the forerunner. In that our Lord took to Himself the sweetness of the barren Gentiles, He ate wild honey. In that He in His own person partly converted the Jews, He received locusts for His food, which suddenly leap up only to fall at once to the ground. For the Jews leaped up when they promised to fulfill the precepts of the Lord, but they fell to the ground when, by their evil works, they confirmed that they had not heard them. They therefore made a leap upwards in words but fell down by their actions.¹

The Venerable Bede: The dress and food of John may also express the nature of his inner life. He wore a more austere garment than was usual because he did not encourage the life of sinners by flattery, but rebuked them with the force of his harsh correction. He had a leather belt around his loins, for he was one “who crucified his flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:24).

He ate locusts and wild honey because his preaching had some sweetness for the multitude, as the people debated whether he was the Christ himself or not. But this soon came to an end when his hearers understood that he was not the Christ, but the forerunner and prophet of Christ. For in honey there is sweetness, but in locusts, a swift flight.

This is why it follows, “And he preached, saying, ‘There comes one mightier than I after me.’”

Glossa Ordinaria: He said this to correct the opinion of the crowd, who thought that he was the Christ. He announces that Christ is “mightier than he” because Christ was to remit sins, which he himself could not do.

Pseudo-Jerome: Who again is mightier than grace, by which sins are washed away, which John signifies? He who remits sins seventy-seven times (Matthew 18:22). Grace indeed comes first and remits sins once only by baptism, but mercy reaches the wretched from Adam to Christ through seventy-seven generations, and up to one hundred and forty-four thousand.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: But lest he should be thought to say this by way of comparing himself to Christ, he adds, “Of whom I am not worthy, etc.”² It is not, however, the same thing to loose the shoe-latchet, which Mark here mentions, and to carry his shoes, which Matthew mentions. The Evangelists, following the order of the narrative and being unable to err in anything, indicate that John spoke each of these sayings with a different meaning. Commentators on this passage have explained each in a different way.

By the latchet, he means the tie of the shoe. He says this, therefore, to extol the excellence of Christ's power and the greatness of His divinity, as if he said, “I am not worthy to be counted even in the position of his servant.” For it is a great thing to contemplate, as if stooping down, those things which belong to the body of Christ, to see from below the image of things above, and to untie each of those mysteries about the Incarnation of Christ, which cannot be unraveled.

Pseudo-Jerome: The shoe is at the extremity of the body; for in the end, the Incarnate Savior is coming for justice, which is why it is said by the prophet, “Over Edom will I cast out my shoe” (Psalm 60:9).

St. Gregory the Great: Shoes are also made from the skins of dead animals. The Lord, therefore, when He came in the flesh, appeared as if with shoes on His feet, for He assumed in His divinity the dead skins of our corruption.

Alternatively, it was a custom among the ancients that if a man refused to take the woman he ought to marry, the one who offered himself as her husband by right of kinship would take off that man's shoe. Rightly then does John proclaim himself unworthy to loose his shoe-latchet, as if he said openly, “I cannot uncover the Redeemer's feet, for I do not usurp the name of the Bridegroom, a thing which is above my station.”

Theophylact of Ohrid: Some also understand it this way: all who came to John and were baptized were, through repentance, freed from the bonds of their sins by believing in Christ. John, then, in this way loosed the shoe-latchet of all the others—that is, the bonds of sin. But Christ's shoe-latchet he was not able to unloose, because he found no sin in Him.

The Venerable Bede: Thus John proclaims the Lord not yet as God or the Son of God, but only as a man mightier than himself. His ignorant hearers were not yet capable of receiving the hidden truths of so great a sacrament—namely, that the eternal Son of God, having taken upon Himself the nature of man, had recently been born into the world of a virgin. Instead, they were to be led to believe in His divine eternity gradually, through the acknowledgment of His glorified humility.

To these words, however, he adds, as if subtly declaring that He was the true God, “I baptize you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.” For who can doubt that none other but God can give the grace of the Holy Spirit?

St. Jerome: For what is the difference between water and the Holy Spirit, who moved over the face of the waters? Water is the ministry of man, but the Spirit is ministered by God.

The Venerable Bede: We are baptized by the Lord in the Holy Spirit not only when, on the day of our baptism, we are washed in the fountain of life for the remission of our sins, but also daily by the grace of the same Spirit we are stirred up to do what is pleasing to God.

Pseudo-Jerome: Mark the Evangelist, like a hart longing for the fountains of water, leaps forward over places both smooth and steep; and, like a bee laden with honey, he sips the tops of the flowers.

Therefore, he has shown us in his narrative Jesus coming from Nazareth, saying, And it came to pass in those days, etc.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Since He was ordaining a new baptism, He came to the baptism of John. In relation to His own baptism, John’s was incomplete, yet it was also different from the Jewish baptisms, standing between the two. He did this so that He might show, by the nature of His baptism, that He was not baptized for the forgiveness of sins, nor because He needed to receive the Holy Spirit, for the baptism of John lacked both of these.¹

But He was baptized so that He might be made known to all, that they might believe in Him and fulfill all righteousness, which is the keeping of the commandments. For it had been commanded to men that they should submit to the Prophet's baptism.

The Venerable Bede: He was baptized so that by being baptized Himself, He might show His approval of John's baptism. He was also baptized so that, by sanctifying the waters of the Jordan through the descent of the dove, He might show the coming of the Holy Spirit in the laver of believers.ⁱ²

From this it follows: And immediately coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit like a dove descending, and resting upon him.

The heavens are opened, not by a physical parting of the elements, but to the eyes of the spirit, just as Ezekiel, in the beginning of his book, relates that they were opened to him. Alternatively, His seeing the heavens opened after baptism was done for our sake, as the door of the kingdom of heaven is opened to us by the laver of regeneration.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Or, it was so that sanctification might be given to humanity from heaven, and earthly things might be joined to heavenly things. The Holy Spirit is said to have descended upon Him, not as if He first came to Him then—for He had never left Him—but so that He might reveal the Christ who was preached by John, and point Him out to all, as it were, with the finger of faith.³

The Venerable Bede: This event, in which the Holy Spirit was seen to come down upon the baptism, was also a sign of the spiritual grace to be given to us in our baptism.

Pseudo-Jerome: But this is the anointing of Christ according to the flesh—namely, the Holy Spirit. Of this anointing it is said, God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows (Psalm 45:7).

The Venerable Bede: The Holy Spirit rightly came down in the shape of a dove, for it is an animal of great simplicity and far removed from the malice of gall. In this way, He showed us figuratively that He seeks simple hearts and does not deign to dwell in the minds of the wicked.

Pseudo-Jerome: Again, the Holy Spirit came down in the shape of a dove because in the Canticles it is sung of the Church: My bride, my love, my beloved, my dove.

The Church is the 'bride' in the Patriarchs, 'love' in the Prophets, 'close relative' in Joseph and Mary, 'beloved' in John the Baptist, and 'dove' in Christ and His Apostles, to whom it is said, Be ye wise as serpents, and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16).

The Venerable Bede: Now, the Dove sat on the head of Jesus so that no one would think the Father's voice was addressed to John and not to Christ. The evangelist rightly added, abiding on Him, for this is unique to Christ: that the Holy Spirit, having once filled Him, would never leave Him.

For to His faithful disciples, the grace of the Spirit is sometimes conferred for signs of power and for the working of miracles, and at other times it is taken away. However, for the work of piety and righteousness and for the preservation of love for God and for one's neighbor, the grace of the Spirit is never absent.

But the Father's voice showed that He Himself, who came to John to be baptized with the others, was the very Son of God, who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. From this follows the voice from heaven: And there came a voice from heaven, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased. This was not to inform the Son of something He did not know, but to show us what we ought to believe.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Therefore, Matthew relates that the voice said, This is my beloved Son, for he wished to show that the words, This is My Son, were in fact said so that the people who heard it would know that He, and not another, was the Son of God.⁴

But if you ask which of these two phrases was spoken in that voice, choose whichever you prefer. Just remember that the Evangelists, although not recording the exact same words, convey the same meaning. And that God delighted in His Son, we are reminded in these words: In thee I am well pleased.

The Venerable Bede: This same voice has taught us that we also, through the water of cleansing and the Spirit of sanctification, may be made sons of God. The mystery of the Trinity is also revealed in the baptism: the Son is baptized, the Spirit comes down in the shape of a dove, and the voice of the Father is heard, bearing witness to the Son.

Pseudo-Jerome: This may also be interpreted morally. We too, drawn away from the fleeting world by the scent and purity of flowers, run with the young maidens after the bridegroom. We are washed in the sacrament of baptism from the two fountains of love for God and for our neighbor, by the grace of forgiveness. Then, rising up in hope, we gaze upon heavenly mysteries with the eyes of a clean heart.

Then, in a contrite and humble spirit, with simplicity of heart, we receive the Holy Spirit, who comes down to the meek and abides in us through never-failing love. The voice of the Lord from heaven is directed to us, the beloved of God: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God (Matthew 5:9). And then the Father, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, is well-pleased with us when we are made one spirit with God.

St. John Chrysostom: Because everything Christ did and suffered was for our instruction, after His baptism He began to dwell in the wilderness and fight against the devil.¹

He did this so that every baptized person might patiently endure greater temptations after their own baptism. They should not be troubled, as if these trials were unexpected, but should instead bear up against all things and emerge victorious.

Although God allows us to be tempted for many reasons, He also allows it for this purpose: so that we may know that a person, when tempted, is placed in a position of greater honor. The devil, after all, does not approach except where he has seen someone set in a place of greater honor. This is why it is said, And immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.

The reason the text does not simply say He went into the wilderness, but was driven, is so that you may understand that this was done according to the will of Divine Providence. By this, He also shows that no one should thrust themselves into temptation, but that those who are, as it were, driven into it from some other state will remain conquerors.

The Venerable Bede: So that no one might doubt by what spirit Christ was driven into the wilderness, Luke intentionally states first that Jesus, being full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and then adds, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. This was to prevent any thought that the evil spirit had power over Him, who, being full of the Holy Spirit, went where He willed to go and did what He willed to do.²

St. John Chrysostom: The Spirit drove Him into the wilderness because He intended to provoke the devil to tempt Him, thus giving the devil an opportunity not only through hunger but also by the desolate location. For the devil is most likely to attack when he sees people remaining alone.³

The Venerable Bede: He retires into the desert to teach us that, by leaving the allurements of the world and the company of the wicked, we should obey the divine commands in all things.

He is left alone and tempted by the devil to teach us that all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). From this it follows, And He was in the wilderness forty days and forty nights, and was tempted by Satan.

He was tempted for forty days and forty nights to show us that as long as we live here and serve God—whether prosperity smiles on us (which is signified by the day) or adversity strikes us (which corresponds to the night)—our adversary is always at hand, never ceasing to trouble our path with temptations.

For the "forty days and forty nights" signify the entire duration of this world, because the globe on which we serve God is divided into four quarters. Furthermore, there are Ten Commandments, by which we fight against our enemy, and four times ten makes forty.

Then the text says, and He was with the wild beasts.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He says this to show the nature of the wilderness, for it was impassable for humans and full of wild beasts.⁴

It continues, and the angels ministered to Him. After the temptation and His victory over the devil, He accomplished the salvation of humanity. And so the Apostle says, Angels are sent to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14).

We must also observe that angels stand near and minister to those who conquer in temptation.

The Venerable Bede: Consider also that Christ dwells among the wild beasts as a man, but as God, He uses the ministry of angels. Thus, when in the solitude of a holy life we bear the bestial manners of other people with a pure mind, we merit the ministry of angels, by whom, when freed from the body, we will be transferred to everlasting happiness.

Pseudo-Jerome: Or, the beasts dwell with us in peace—as the clean animals did with the unclean in the ark—when the flesh does not lust against the spirit. After this, ministering angels are sent to us to give answers and comfort to watchful hearts.