Mark 1:4

Mark 1:4. John appeared . The connection is with what precedes, as is indicated by the emphatic position of the word we translate ‘appeared,' usually rendered: came to pass. ‘As it was written,' so it was, so there appeared, or came, the one spoken of, John. The common version obscures the emphatic word.

He who baptised and preached . The correct reading makes this not so much a declaration of what John did, as an explanation of how he performed the duty of forerunner, according to the prophecy. On the Baptist's preaching and baptism, see on Matthew 3:1; Matthew 3:6. Contrast the abrupt introduction of John by Matthew and Mark with the full account of Luke (Luke 1:5-80).

The baptism of repentance. ‘The baptism' is too definite; John did not institute some new rite, but his baptism was a ceremonial washing, such as was well-known, to signify repentance and forgiveness: unto remission of sins. ‘Repentance' was the prominent idea of John's baptism, while ‘remission of sins' was to come from the Messiah, whose forerunner he was.