Mark 1:1

υἱοῦ θεοῦ ([39]a[40][41][42] υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ ([43][44][45][46][47][48] etc.), Latt. Syrr. Memph. Arm. Goth. Aeth., Iren-lat. ⅔ Amb. Aug. Omit [49][50] 28 (omits Χριστοῦ also) 255, Iren-lat. ⅓, Orig. Bas. “The evidence for omission is weighty but meagre” (Swete). “Neither reading can be safely rejected” (W.H.). Mk uses the expressions υἱὸς θεοῦ and ὁ υἱὸς τ. θ. (Mark 3:11; Mark 5:7; Mark 15:39; cf. Mark 1:11; Mark 9:7; Mark 14:61). But it is difficult to believe that any scribe or editor would omit the words; and Mark 8:29, compared with Matthew 16:16 and Luke 9:20, supports the shorter reading. On the other hand Mark 15:39 may look back to this.

[39] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[40] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[41] Codex Bezae. 6th cent. Has a Latin translation (d) side by side with the Greek text, and the two do not quite always agree. Presented by Beza to the University Library of Cambridge in 1581. Remarkable for its frequent divergences from other texts. Contains Mark, except Mark 16:15-20, which has been added by a later hand. Photographic facsimile, 1899.

[42] odex Regius. 8th cent. An important witness. At Paris. Contains Mark 1:1 to Mark 10:15; Mark 10:30 to Mark 15:1; Mark 15:20 to Mark 16:20, but the shorter ending is inserted between Mark 16:8 and Mark 16:9, showing that the scribe preferred it to the longer one.

[43] Codex Alexandrinus. 5th cent. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to King Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. The whole Gospel. Photographic facsimile, 1879.
[44] Codex Basiliensis. 8th cent. At Basle.

[45] Codex Boreelianus. Once in the possession of John Boreel. 9th cent. At Utrecht. Contains Mk 1–41; Mark 2:8-23; Mark 3:5 to Mark 11:6; Mark 11:27 to Mark 14:54; Mark 15:6-39; Mark 16:19-20.

[46] Codex Seidelianus II. 9th or 10th cent. Contains Mark 1:1-31; Mark 2:4 to Mark 15:43; Mark 16:14-20.

[47] Codex Cyprius. 9th cent. One of the seven uncials which have the Gospels complete, the others being אBMSUΩ. At Paris.

[48] Codex Campianus. 9th cent. At Paris. Gospels complete.

[49] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[50] An asterisk denotes that the word is not found elsewhere in N.T., and such words are included in the index, even if there is no note on them in the commentary.

1. Ἀρχὴ τ. εὐαγγελίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. This superscription is probably original; The beginning of the good tidings about Jesus Christ (Acts 5:42; Galatians 1:16; cf. Matthew 4:23); or possibly, brought by Jesus Christ. Indeed, both may be meant; see on Mark 1:14. But the dominant meaning is that He is the subject of the glad tidings; all that is known about Christ is the good news for every human being. See how St Paul sums up the Gospel which he preached, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. Χριστοῦ is here a proper name and has no art. Cf. Enoch xlviii. 10, lii. 4.

If ἀρχή = ἄρχεται, Here begins the Gospel, we must suppose that the superscription has been added by a later editor; for (1) this formula is not found in the oldest MSS.; (2) it implies that some other document precedes the one which now begins, e.g. another Gospel; (3) it implies that εὐαγγέλιον means the record of the good news. Zahn, Intr. to N.T. II. pp. 456 f.

Εὐαγγέλιον (8 times in Mark, 4 in Mt., not in Lk. or Jn, but very freq. in Paul) is neither “a reward for good tidings” (in which sense the plur. is usual both in class. Grk and in LXX.), nor “a written narrative” (a meaning nowhere found in N.T.), but the “message of salvation” (Acts 20:24; Galatians 2:2; Galatians 2:5; Ephesians 6:15; etc.).

A full stop at the end of the verse is right. Attempts to connect it in construction with any of the three verses which follow may be safely rejected. The Greek of Mark is not literary and he rarely deals in periodic sentences. It is not likely that he would begin with a complicated construction.

υἱοῦ θεοῦ. The words may be accepted as possibly genuine (see critical note); but they are just such as an early scribe would be likely to add to the superscription of a Gospel. They proclaim the Messiahship of Jesus Christ, not His metaphysical relationship to the Father. Mk is anxious to make clear the Messiahship. The confession of the centurion is recorded as Gentile testimony to the truth of the theme of this Gospel, “Truly this man was the Son of God.” There, as here, neither word has the article (Mark 15:39). Mt., writing for Jews, is concerned with showing that Jesus is the Son of David and the Son of Abraham (Mark 1:1). The close of the Fourth Gospel (John 20:31) is similar in import to what we have here.

This verse forms a heading for the whole book, not for Mark 1:2-13 only. No other headings follow. The life of the Messiah from the Preaching of the Baptist to the Resurrection was the beginning of the glad tidings, which spread rapidly and widely during the years between the Resurrection and the time of writing. While Mt. begins his record with the pedigree and nativity of the Messiah, Lk. with the parentage and nativity of the Forerunner, and Jn with the pre-existence of the Messiah, Mk begins with the public work of the Forerunner. This at once is evidence that he gives us a very early tradition, to which these prefaces had not yet been added.

Spitta, however, contends that Mk is defective, not only at the end but at the beginning. He regards Mark 1:1 as a heading supplied by a later hand after the original beginning of the Gospel had been lost; and he thinks that before Mark 1:2 there once stood a page or two containing the Nativity and childhood (Lücken im Markusevangelium, pp. 115–122).