Watts on Mark 1:1f

Watts on Mark 1:1f February 7, 2006

Rikki Watts offers some other dimensions to the quotation from Mark 1:1. He notes that Mark is quoting not only from Isaiah 40, but also from Exodus 23 and Malachi 3, and shows how these three texts overlay each other in Mark’s presentation. Exodus 23 is a warning to Israel about the need to obey the “angel” or “messenger” of Yahweh who will lead them to the promised land, at which point Yahweh Himself will take over as the divine warrior who conquers the land and drives out the Canaanites. In Mark, the reference to Exodus 23 highlights Israel’s hope for a second exodus, and a new conquest, but this hope is given an ironic twist in Malachi 3.


Like Exodus 23, Malachi 3 is set against the background of Israel’s faithlessness, but the two passages diverge from that point: Exodus 23 promises that the Lord will lead Israel to the land in spite of her sin, if she follows His messenger, but Malachi 3 (which alludes to Exodus 23) warns that the Lord’s coming to judge and purge will result in a judgment and purgation of Israel herself. Watts suggests this reading: “Israel accuses [Yahweh] of dereliction of duty since he has not dealt with evildoers. Yahweh’s response is that, after sending a messenger to prepare his way, he will indeed come but his coming may not inaugurate the blessing his people expect since they themselves may well be the ones who are purged in the judgment.”

For Mark, John is the messenger of Yahweh, leading the people on a way that will involve a new conquest and warning that the Lord is about to return, and may well conquer an Israel that has become a Canaan. The fact that the judgment announced in Malachi involves Yahweh’s arrival in His temple gives an additional dimension to Mark’s citation, putting Jesus’ condemnation of the temple front and center.

All of this is overlaid with Isaiah 40’s reference to the new exodus. Watts suggests that Isaiah 40:1-11 is a preview of Isaiah 40-55, focusing first on the Lord’s highway of return and the revelation of His glory (which is common in chs. 40-48) and then moving to a focus on Yahweh’s bride, Zion/Jerusalem. Isaiah is speaking about the preparation of the way for Yahweh’s return to His city and people, a return that will involve healing, liberation, restoration, and finally the establishment of a new creation.

Watts summarizes his discussion under several points: Malachi “intends an ironic allusion to Exodus 23:20 as the basis of his warning to Israel”; one of Malachi’s central concerns is with “the threat associated with the coming of Yahweh’s self-manifestation; hence the preparatory figure,” and thus the Malachi reference shows that John’s ministry is one of announcing judgment; the Isaiah allusion raises hopes that the new exodus is about to occur; Christologically, “the application of these texts to Jesus suggests that he is to be identified in some way, not so much with ‘the Messiah,’ but with none other than [the Adon] and [the messenger of the covenant] of Malachi and, in terms of Isaiah 40:3, the presence of Yahweh himself.”


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