Prepare Yourself for the Lord’s Presence – Mark 1:1-8
1 This is the beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (2) As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger ahead of you, the one who shall prepare your way. (3) He will be the voice crying out in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight paths for him. (4) So John came, baptizing in the wilderness and preaching the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (5) The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. (6) John was clothed with a garment made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. (7) Now this is what he preached, After me there is coming someone who is mightier than I. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thongs of his sandals. (8) I baptized you with water; but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
A note on the Scripture text that accompanies each individual message: The American Standard Version and the New International Version, along with the original Greek and Hebrew, have been used in an effort to achieve the greatest degree of accuracy and clarity. Where words or phrases have been added to the original text in an effort to better express its meaning, those words or phrases have usually been indicated by means of italics.
Now proceed to the next section of this study, entitled, Exploring the Passage.
