Mark 1:11

Mar_1:11

Thou art My beloved Son.

Humiliation and exaltation

It will be well for us to remember that our great Example was most highly exalted just when His humiliation was deepest; that it was when He had made Himself one with the sons of men that He was declared to be the Son-the beloved Son-of God. It is a pledge that the lowly, submissive spirit will be greatly sanctified, and that there is no surer way to win the approval of God than by yielding our wills to the authority of those set over us by the Lord, and striving to carry out the rules of the Church in the spirit of Him who accepted at once what His Father had appointed. God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. (H. M. Luckock, D. D.)

My beloved Son

I. An expression of affection and approval. The Father bore witness to the Son. Not for Christs sake only, but for ours, came that voice, approving the character and authenticating the mission of the Son of God.

II. An implicit and authoritative appeal for human faith, attachment, and obedience. He of whom the Father thus speaks, is worthy of all our honour, gratitude, and devotion. (Family Churchman)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1:11 You are my dearly loved Son: By age twelve, Jesus was aware of his unique relationship with God the Father (Luke 2:49).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

See also Matt. 3:17.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 11. See Clarke on Mr 1:9.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. a voice from heaven] The first of the three heavenly Voices to be heard during our Lord’s Ministry, viz., at (i) His Baptism; (ii) His Transfiguration (Mar_9:7); (iii) in the courts of the Temple during Holy Week (Joh_12:28). This Voice attested in the presence of His Forerunner the Divine Nature of our Lord, and inaugurated His public Ministry. The Baptism was a very important event in our Lord’s life:—

(1) Needing no purification Himself, He submitted to it as the Head of His Body, the Church (Eph_1:22) for all His members;

(2) He was thus by baptism, and the unction of the Holy Ghost which followed (Mat_3:16; comp. Exo_29:4-37; Lev_8:1-30), solemnly consecrated to His office as Redeemer;

(3) He “sanctified water to the mystical washing away of sin.” See the Baptismal Office;

(4) He gave to His Church for all time a striking revelation of the Divine Nature, the Son submitting in all lowliness to every requirement of the Law, the Father approving by a voice from heaven, the Spirit descending and abiding upon the Son. “I ad Jordanem, et videbis Trinitatem.”

12, 13. The Temptation

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And there came a voice from heaven,.... What the Jews call "Bath Kol", saying,

thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: it is in Matthew, "this is my beloved Son", Mat 3:17; as if the words were spoken to others, to John, the administrator of baptism to him, and to those that were spectators; directing them to Christ, on whom the Spirit now descended, and testifying to them how great a person he was, how nearly related to God; how much he was the object of his love, and what a pleasure and delight he took in him; but here they are delivered as an immediate address to Christ himself, "thou art my beloved Son". Christ, as he was the only begotten Son of God from eternity, so his filiation was owned and declared to him as early, Psa 2:7. This therefore was not the first time, nor was it only for his sake that this was said unto him, but also for the sake of those that stood by: but it may be observed, that he is not only called his Son, but his "beloved Son"; which might be necessary to be said to him in his state of humiliation, whilst he was yielding obedience to the will of God, and fulfilling all righteousness; and when he was about to be, as he quickly after this was, tempted by Satan in the wilderness, by whom his sonship was called in question. Now these words being directed to Christ, show that the former are spoken of him, and are applicable to him, as well as to John; See Gill on Mat 3:17.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Ver. 11. In whom I am well pleased] And in him with us, whom he hath made gracious or favourites in him, the beloved One, Eph 1:6. εχαριτωσεν, gratificavit.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Greek printed copies, and some manuscripts read with St. Matthew (iii. 17.) in whom, Greek: en o, thus St. John Chrysostom, Euthymius, and Theophylactus. Some few, however, have Greek: en soi, in thee, with the Syriac and Latin text. (Pastorini) --- All the Fathers cite these verses for a proof of the Trinity: the testimony of the Father speaking, of the Son receiving the testimony, of the Holy Ghost descending in the shape of a dove. (Pastorini in Matt. iii. 17)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

11. ἐν σοί ([96][97][98][99][100] 33) rather than ἐν ᾧ ([101][102][103] of. Mat 3:17.

[96] 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 Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[97] 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 Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[98] 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 Mar 16:15-20, which has been added by a later hand. Photographic facsimile, 1899.

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

[100] Codex Guelpherbytanus. 6th cent. Contains Mar 1:2-11; Mar 3:5-17; Mar 14:13-24; Mar 14:48-61; Mar 15:12-37.

[101] 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.

[102] Codex Oxoniensis. 9th cent. Contains Mark, except Mar 3:35 to Mar 6:20.

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

11. φωνὴ ἐγένετο. The first of the three Voices from Heaven; the second being at the Transfiguration (Mar 9:7), and the third being before the Passion (Joh 12:28). Then and at the conversion of St Paul sight and sound depended upon the condition of those present, whether they had eyes to see and ears to hear. The same was true at the Baptism.

ὁ ἀγαπητός. In LXX. the same Heb. word is translated sometimes ἀγαπητός and sometimes μονογενής. In N.T., ἀγαπητός is freq. and “it is exclusively a title of Christ, or applied to Christians as such. As a Messianic title (cf. Mar 9:7; Mar 12:6), it indicates a unique relation to God” (Swete). Here Vulg. has dilectus, but Mar 9:7 and Mar 12:6 carissimus. Here it is possibly a separate title, Thou art my Son, the Beloved, but the usual translation (A.V., R.V.) cannot safely be set aside. J. A. Robinson, Ephesians, p. 229; Hastings’ D.C.G. art. “Voice”; Dalman, Words of Jesus, pp. 204, 276; Tisserant, Ascension d’Isaie, p. 8.

ἐν σοὶ εὐδόκησα. The timeless aorist; In Thee I am well pleased gives the force of verb and tense sufficiently well. It is rash to give any definite limit to the past tense; e.g. pre-existence, or life on earth up to this point, or the reception of Baptism. Burton, § 55; J. H. Moulton, Gr. p. 134. Theophylact renders ἐν ᾧ ἀναπαύομαι, and Jerome (on Isa 11:2) quotes from the Nazarene Gospel, descendit fons omnis Spiritus Sancti et requievit super eum et dixit illi, Fili mi, in omnibus prophetis expectabam te, ut venires et requiescerem in te. Tu es enim requies mea. Tu es filius meus primogenitus qui regnas in aeternum.

By accepting baptism from John our Lord not only “fulfilled all righteousness,” i.e. complied with the Levitical Law, in the eyes of which He was unclean through connexion with an unclean people, but He also thereby consecrated Himself for His work of inaugurating the Kingdom of God. John’s baptism was a preparation for the Kingdom. For everyone else it was repentance-baptism. Jesus needed no repentance, but He could make use of preparation.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11.] σὺ εἶ, Mark, Luke; οὗτός ἐς., Matt.—ἐν ᾧ εὐδ., Matt.; ἐν σοὶ εὐδ., Mark and Luke. I mention these things to shew how extremely improbable it is that Mark had either Matt. or Luke before him. Such arbitrary alteration of documents could never have been the practice of any one seriously intent on an important work.

12,

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. καὶ φωνὴ (ἐγένετο)—And a voice (came).

Omit ἐγένετο Tisch. (WH.) א D ff.2.

Σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός—Thou art my beloved Son. This is one of the passages in the Synoptics which indicate that the Synoptical use of υἱός (τοῦ Θεοῦ) applied to Jesus, conforms to current Jewish usage, omitting the metaphysical Sonship, and including only the theocratic, or figurative meaning of the word. The aor. εὐδόκησα, I came to take pleasure, denotes the historical process by which God came to take pleasure in Jesus during his earthly life, not the eternal delight of the Father in the Son. The title here would denote one, therefore, who has been received into special love and favor by God, as Paul calls Timothy his son (1Ti 1:2). It accords with Lk.’s statement, that Jesus grew in favor with God and man (Luk 2:52).1 ἐν σοὶ εὐδόκησα—in thee I came to take pleasure.

ἐν σοὶ (instead of ἐν ᾧ) Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א BDLP 1, 13, 22, 33, 69, Lat. Vet. Vulg. Memph. Pesh.

THE TEMPTATION

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou art my beloved son

The three synoptists give the saying in the same form: Thou art my son, the beloved.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.