B. John Prepares the Way (1:4-9a)

In three ways, John’s ministry announces and brings closer the coming of God in Jesus. First, John is intentionally portrayed as Elijah, the one who would come before the Messiah (Mal 4:5; see 2Ki 1:8). Second, drawing on the popular notion that the final intervention of God was tied to the repentance of Israel, Mark emphasizes the universality of the Jewish response to John’s message of repentance in 1:5 (see all and whole). Finally, the allusion to the coming of the Spirit reflects John’s anticipation of the age of salvation (see Eze 36:24-38; Joel 2:28-32). Moreover, the structural parallelism of vv.7 and 9a (one will come . . . Jesus came) clearly communicates the significance of Jesus as the bringer of the kingdom—before he opens his mouth or acts!