Study Preparation and Discussion Questions - Mark 1.1-8
The Preaching of John the Baptist
Recommended Preparation
1) Mark 1.1-8
2) Isaiah 40
3) Tim Keller sermon: Man in the Wilderness
4) Mark for Everyone, Mark 1.1-8 (pages 1-4)
5) Jesus the King, Chapter One, pages 3-4
Discussion Questions
1) What overall impressions do you get from the way Mark opens his Gospel? Compare and contrast with the openings of the other 3 Gospels.
2) What claims is Mark making about Jesus in the very first verse?
3) In verse 2, Mark quotes Isaiah, but most commentaries point out that this quote is actually a conflation of three passages: Exodus 23:20, Malachai 3:1, and Isaiah 40:3 (apparently in the Greek these quotes are verbatim). What is the background or each of these three passages?
4) What point is Mark making in connecting these OT quotations with the ministry of John the Baptizer?
5) The first verse is referred to as a superscription (sort of a title). In what sense is this "the beginning of the good news". What three transitions are happening in the first 15 verses?
6) In the Tim Keller sermon on this passage, one of the main messages was that it is in the wilderness where you find God. What do you think of this? Have you found it to be true for you?
1) Mark 1.1-8
2) Isaiah 40
3) Tim Keller sermon: Man in the Wilderness
4) Mark for Everyone, Mark 1.1-8 (pages 1-4)
5) Jesus the King, Chapter One, pages 3-4
Discussion Questions
1) What overall impressions do you get from the way Mark opens his Gospel? Compare and contrast with the openings of the other 3 Gospels.
2) What claims is Mark making about Jesus in the very first verse?
3) In verse 2, Mark quotes Isaiah, but most commentaries point out that this quote is actually a conflation of three passages: Exodus 23:20, Malachai 3:1, and Isaiah 40:3 (apparently in the Greek these quotes are verbatim). What is the background or each of these three passages?
4) What point is Mark making in connecting these OT quotations with the ministry of John the Baptizer?
5) The first verse is referred to as a superscription (sort of a title). In what sense is this "the beginning of the good news". What three transitions are happening in the first 15 verses?
6) In the Tim Keller sermon on this passage, one of the main messages was that it is in the wilderness where you find God. What do you think of this? Have you found it to be true for you?