The Meaning of Mark 1:9 Explained

Mark 1:9

KJV: And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

YLT: And it came to pass in those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John at the Jordan;

Darby: And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptised by John at the Jordan.

ASV: And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in the Jordan.

What is the context of Mark 1:9?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  it came to pass  in  those  days,  that Jesus  came  from  Nazareth  of Galilee,  and  was baptized  of  John  in  Jordan. 

What does Mark 1:9 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The fact that Mark identified Jesus simply as Jesus may show that he wrote his Gospel to people familiar with Jesus. Jesus did not come to John from Judea or Jerusalem (cf. Mark 1:5) but from Nazareth in Galilee where He had grown up and was living. [1] The obscurity of this little town is clear from the fact that not the Old Testament, Josephus, or the Talmud ever mentioned it.
Jesus underwent John"s baptism to identify with man and man"s sin (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21). He did not do so because He needed to repent. He did not. He also submitted to baptism because by doing so He identified with the particular group of people that John was baptizing, namely, the Israelites. Jesus associated His baptism with His death ( Mark 10:38; Luke 12:50). Consequently it is probably proper to conclude that He viewed His baptism as a public acceptance of His role as Israel"s Suffering Servant, Messiah. Jesus was about30 years old then ( Luke 3:23).

Context Summary

Mark 1:1-20 - The Beginning Of Jesus' Ministry
The ministry of John the Baptist, Mark 1:1-8. Always the message of John precedes that of Jesus Christ; first the changed attitude of the will, then faith. The greatness of the Baptist revealed itself in his humility. He saw what we must see, that a negative religion, symbolized by water, is not enough: we need to be set on fire.
The opening pages of Christ's public life, Mark 1:9-20. Jesus was recognized by the Baptist, who beheld the opened heavens and the descending Spirit. If the Lord was thus anointed ere He commenced His life-work, how much more must we be! Hast thou become united with Him in His death, made one with Him in His resurrection, and anointed by that same Spirit? Then be sure that thou, too, must be tempted. Sons of men must go the way of the Son of man, now under the opened heavens, then tempted of the devil; on one side the wild beasts, on the other the angels; now driven to loneliness, and then to the crowded street of the cities, there to gather disciples by the energy and beauty of a victorious life. [source]

Chapter Summary: Mark 1

1  The office of John the Baptist
9  Jesus is baptized;
12  tempted;
14  he preaches;
16  calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John;
23  heals one that had a demon;
29  Peter's mother in law;
32  many diseased persons;
40  and cleanses the leper

Greek Commentary for Mark 1:9

In the Jordan [εις τον Ιορδανην]
So in Mark 1:10, εκ του υδατος — ek tou hudatos out of the water, after the baptism into the Jordan. Mark is as fond of “straightway” (ευτυς — euthus) as Matthew is of “then” (τοτε — tote). [source]
Rent asunder [σχιζομενους]
Split like a garment, present passive participle. Jesus saw the heavens parting as he came up out of the water, a more vivid picture than the “opened” in Matthew 3:16 and Luke 3:21. Evidently the Baptist saw all this and the Holy Spirit coming down upon Jesus as a dove because he later mentions it (John 1:32). The Cerinthian Gnostics took the dove to mean the heavenly aeon Christ that here descended upon the man Jesus and remained with him till the Cross when it left him, a sort of forecast of the modern distinction between the Jesus of history and the theological Christ. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Mark 1:9

Mark 1:4 John came [εγενετο Ιωανης]
His coming was an epoch His coming was in accordance with the prophetic picture Note the same verb about John in John 1:6. The coming of John the Baptizer was the real beginning of the spoken message about Christ. He is described as the baptizing one The baptizing took place in the River Jordan (Mark 1:5, Mark 1:9) which was included in the general term the wilderness or the deserted region of Judea. [source]
Mark 1:12 Driveth him forth [αυτον εκβαλλει]
Vivid word, bolder than Matthew‘s “was led up” It is the same word employed in the driving out of demons (Mark 1:34, Mark 1:39). Mark has here “straightway” where Matthew has “then” (see note on Mark 1:9). The forty days in the wilderness were under the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit. The entire earthly life of Jesus was bound up with the Holy Spirit from his birth to his death and resurrection. [source]
Luke 3:21 Jesus also having been baptized [και Ιησου βαπτιστεντος]
Genitive absolute construction, first aorist passive participle. In Luke‘s sentence the baptism of Jesus is merely introductory to the descent of the Holy Spirit and the voice of the Father. For the narrative of the baptism see note on Mark 1:9; notes on Matthew 3:13-16.And praying (και προσευχομενου — kai proseuchomenou). Alone in Luke who so often mentions the praying of Jesus. Present participle and so naturally meaning that the heaven was opened while Jesus was praying though not necessarily in answer to his prayer.The heaven was opened First aorist passive infinitive with double augment, whereas the infinitive is not supposed to have any augment. The regular form would be ανοιχτηναι — anoichthēnai as in D (Codex Bezae). So the augment appears in the future indicative κατεαχει — kateaxei (Matthew 12:20) and the second aorist passive subjunctive κατεαγωσιν — kateagōsin (John 19:31). Such unusual forms appear in the Koiné. This infinitive here with the accusative of general reference is the subject of εγενετο — egeneto (it came to pass). Matthew 3:16 uses the same verb, but Mark 1:10 has σχιζομενους — schizomenous rent asunder. [source]

What do the individual words in Mark 1:9 mean?

And it came to pass in those - days [that] came Jesus from Nazareth - of Galilee was baptized in the Jordan by John
Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις ἦλθεν Ἰησοῦς ἀπὸ Ναζαρὲτ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἐβαπτίσθη εἰς τὸν Ἰορδάνην ὑπὸ Ἰωάννου

ἐγένετο  it  came  to  pass 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γίνομαι  
Sense: to become, i.
ἐκείναις  those 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Dative Feminine Plural
Root: ἐκεῖνος  
Sense: he, she it, etc.
ταῖς  - 
Parse: Article, Dative Feminine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἡμέραις  days 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Plural
Root: ἡμέρα  
Sense: the day, used of the natural day, or the interval between sunrise and sunset, as distinguished from and contrasted with the night.
ἦλθεν  [that]  came 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
Ἰησοῦς  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
Ναζαρὲτ  Nazareth 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: Ναζαρά 
Sense: the ordinary residence and home town of Christ.
τῆς  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Γαλιλαίας  of  Galilee 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: Γαλιλαία  
Sense: the name of a region of northern Palestine, bounded on the north by Syria, on the west by Sidon, Tyre, Ptolemais and their territories and the promontory of Carmel, on the south by Samaria and on the east by the Jordan.
ἐβαπτίσθη  was  baptized 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: βαπτίζω  
Sense: to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk).
Ἰορδάνην  Jordan 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰορδάνης  
Sense: the one river of Palestine, has its course of little more than 200 miles (300 km), from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the head of the Dead Sea.
Ἰωάννου  John 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰωάννης 
Sense: John the Baptist was the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth, the forerunner of Christ.

What are the major concepts related to Mark 1:9?

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