Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 2 Study # 5
October 2, 2018
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis:   John's arrival upon the historical scene was a direct fulfillment of biblical prophecy.

Introduction:   In our last study we considered the question of why a "forerunner" has been set into the "type of meaning" that is involved in "the coming of the Lord". An interesting question that automatically arises when we realize that both the First Coming of Jesus and the Second Coming of Jesus have "forerunner" prophecies involved: why is there no "forerunner" before the "Rapture"? and, also, why the cautionary exhortations of Jesus regarding the "return" of the master of the house without warning? This question is outside of our considerations for the current text in Mark, but is a question to be held until a later study. I only raise it to remark on the fact that before Jesus descended to take on flesh, there was a forerunner, and there is a forerunner prophecy in respect to Jesus' return "in power and great glory" to "execute the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord". This "type of meaning" may well be a way to remove the "Rapture" from "The Second Coming" so that there is a lessening of the confusion in the meanings of those "comings".

But, the study for this evening is about how Mark presses his argument that "The Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ" is doctrine rooted in divine omniscience as a testament to its legitimacy.

• I. The Disservice Done to the Readers of the Authorized Version and the NASB.
  • A. Note the difference between the rendering of the text in the Authorized Version and that of the NASB.
    • 1. The Authorized Version reads, "John did baptize in the wilderness...".
    • 2. The NASB reads, "John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness...".
  • B. The "problems".
    • 1. The Authorized Version turns "baptize" into the "main" verb, when it is, actually, an attendant participle.
    • 2. The NASB turns "John appeared baptizing" into "John the Baptist appeared", accepting an unlikely textual emendation (inserting a definite article into the text before the participle).
  • C. At issue: meaning.
    • 1. When the Authorized Version erroneously turns "baptize" into the "main" verb, it dampens Mark's point rather than making it.
      • a. Mark's point is that John's "arrival on the scene" is what the prophecies announced.
      • b. The Authorized Version is significantly flawed in that it both violates the translational sense of the word translated "did" and it argues that John's "baptizing" is what the prophecies announced.
        • 1) The word that the translators abused is found in 636 verses in the New Testament and it is translated "did" only this one time.
        • 2) By focusing upon John's "baptizing", the translators shift the meaning from "a forerunner is coming" to "the forerunner will baptize" (an action unmentioned by the prophecies).
    • 2. When the NASB erroneously follows an unlikely emendation of the text, it destroys a rather obvious parallelism that was designed by Mark to draw out his argument regarding the coming forerunner.
      • a. Mark could not simply "claim" that John's appearance was a fulfillment of the forerunner prophecies (dogmatism without evidence is unbiblical; once evidence is established for the integrity of a divine spokesman, dogmatism can legitimately follow).
      • b. Mark's linguistic parallelism was a skillful revelation of the forerunner's "preparatory message" as a primary argument that John's appearance was "fulfillment".
  • D. The Point.
    • 1. Mark is going to record a picture of Jesus that is a revelation of how Jesus "fills the bill" as the solution to Mark's primal fears so that any who share his weakness can find His strength.
    • 2. In order to encourage the weak as to the Source of Strength, Mark had to make his record "believable".
    • 3. Once the record is rooted in the prophecy/fulfillment motif, many things can be declared and accepted as truth and "faith" can develop.
• II. The Claims of Mark.
  • A. John entered onto history's stage as a fulfillment of omniscience-based prophecies.
  • B. John's entrance was attended by "baptizing" and "preaching" as supporting evidences that John is the forerunner.
    • 1. The prophecies announced the task of the forerunner: he must prepare the highway of the Lord.
    • 2. The required "preparation", as Mark draws it out, involves both a message with a specific content and a summons to embrace the message.
    • 3. In Mark's presentation of John, he turned those two issues around, making the "summons" the most crucial issue (because "preparation" necessarily involves a willing submission to the coming Lord -- regardless of what He says), and the "message" a secondary element, but not, by any means, unimportant because it is the speech of the coming Lord that will give the fearful a basis for a growing fearlessness (that "speech" is a message of both specific content and powerful encouragement).
    • 4. Taken together these "attendant actions" constitute a strong argument that John's appearance on the historical stage was a fulfillment of the prophecies.
      • a. The "baptizing" was the "summoning".
      • b. The "preaching" was the motivation to yield.
  • C. John's entrance was "in the wilderness", another of Mark's efforts to tie the appearance to the specifics of the prophecies.

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This is article #016.
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