Mark 1:1

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
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Augustine of Hippo

AD 430
Note that Mark mentions nothing of the nativity or infancy or youth of the Lord. He has made his Gospel begin directly with the preaching of John. .
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Bede

AD 735
In Marc., i, 1: The beginning of this Gospel should be compared with that of Matthew, in which it is said, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. "But here He is called “the Son of God. "Fitly also did He, who was about to describe His human generation, begin with a son of man, namely, David or Abraham. Fitly again, he who was beginning his book with the first preaching of the Gospel, chose rather to call Jesus Christ, “the Son of God;” for it belonged to the human nature to take upon Him the reality of our flesh, of the race of the patriarchs, and it was the work of Divine power to preach the Gospel to the world.

Cornelius a Lapide

AD 1637
s2 , 3. As it is written in Isaias the prophet, Behold, I send arty angel before Thy face, who shall prepare the way before Thee. A voice of one crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight His paths. The former citation in the2nd verse is from Malachi 3:1. The latter is from Isaiah 40:3. Wherefore the Greek has, it is written in the prophets. But the Vulgate and some Greek copies, also the Syriac and Arabic, have as above. And S. Jerome says that this was formerly the reading of the Greek (lib. de Opt. Gen. Interpret. Scrip.). You will ask, "Why does Mark only cite Isaias and not Malachi?" I answer, because the prophecy of Isaias is of greatest importance in this place, for the voice of John crying in the desert, Do penance, &c, was one beginning of the Gospel. But inasmuch as Malachi shows that John was not sent by Prayer of Manasseh , but by God, to utter these words, therefore Mark prefixes the words of Malachi to arouse the attention of the reader to rece...

Cornelius a Lapide

AD 1637
The office of John the Baptist9 Jesus is baptized, 12tempted: 14he preacheth: 16 calleth Peter, Andrew, James , and John: 23healeth one that had a devil, 29 Peter"s mother-in-law, 32many diseased persons, 41and cleanseth the leper. The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaias, &c. Many place a full stop before as, thinking that the beginning of the Gospel, &c, is the title of the book. But that these words are not the title, but the introduction of the book, is plain from the word beginning, and because they are really dependent upon the clause as it is written, &c. Therefore a comma, not a period, must be placed before as. The word Gospel, then, in this place does not denote the book of the Gospel which Mark wrote, as when we say, the Gospel of Mark , but the Gospel preaching of Jesus Christ as it follows. The meaning, therefore, Isaiah , "The Gospel preaching of Christ had such a beginning as Isaiah and Malachi foretold, that is to say, the...

Cyril of Jerusalem

AD 386
With baptism the old covenant ends and the new begins. This is seen in the fact that the inaugurator of the New Testament is John the Baptist. “Among those born of women there is none greater than John.” He is the crown of all the prophetic tradition: “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” Of the gospel dispensation he was the firstfruits, for we read “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ” and after some words “John did baptize in the wilderness.”
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George Leo Haydock

AD 1849
Euaggelion, Evangelium, bonum nuncium.
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George Leo Haydock

AD 1849
And the following words, a voice of one crying in the desert: prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths, are in Isaias, chap. xl, ver. 3. (Witham) In the beginning of his gospel, St. Mark alleges the authority of the prophets, that he might induce every one, both Jew and Gentile, to receive with willingness what he here relates, as the authority of the prophets so highly respected was very great. St. John is here styled an angel, on account of his angelic life, and extraordinary sanctity; but what is meant by, who shall prepare thy way, is, that St. John is to prepare the minds of the Jews, by his baptism and preaching, to receive their Messias. (Theophylactus) See in Matthew xi. 10.

George Leo Haydock

AD 1849
The beginning of the Gospel. The Greek word and Latin derived from it, signifies the good news, or happy tidings about Christ's coming and doctrine. The word gospel is from the Saxon, God's spell, or good spell, i.e. God's word, or good speech. (Witham) Some are of opinion that the termination of the first verse should be pointed with a simple comma, thus connecting it with the sequel; and the Greek text seems to favour this sentiment. According to the punctuation of the Vulgate, the first verse is merely the inscription or title.
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Hilary of Poitiers

AD 368
De Trin., iii, 11: He has testified, that Christ was the Son of God, not in name only, but by His own proper nature. We are the sons of God, but He is not a son as we are; for He is the very and proper Son, by origin, not by adoption; in truth, not in name; by birth, not by creation.
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Irenaeus of Lyons

AD 202
Wherefore Mark also says: "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; as it is written in the prophets."
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Jerome

AD 420
In Prolog: Mark the Evangelist, who served the priesthood in Israel, according to the flesh a Levite, having been converted to the Lord, wrote his Gospel in Italy, shewing in it how even his family benefited Christ. For commencing his Gospel with the voice of the prophetic cry, he shows the order of the election of Levi, declaring that John the son of Zachariah was sent forth by the voice of an angel, and saying, “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”. The Greek word ‘Evangelium’means good tidings, in Latin it is explained, ‘bona annunciatio,’ or, the goodnews; these terms properly belong to the kingdom of God and to the remission of sins; for the Gospel is that by which comes the redemption of the faithful and the beatitude of the saints. But the four Gospels are one, and one Gospel in four. In Hebrew, His name is Jesus, in Greek, Soter, in Latin,Salvator; but men say Christus in Greek, Messias in Hebrew, Unctus in Latin, that is, King and Priest.

Sophronius of Jerusalem

AD 638
The Life of the Evangelist Mark Mark was the disciple and interpreter of Peter, and, at the urging of the brethren in Rome, Mark wrote his short Gospel, following exactly what he had heard Peter tell. When Peter saw it, he gave it his approval, and directed that it be read in the Church, as Clement says in Book VI of his Outline. Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, makes mention of this same Mark. Peter, in his first Epistle, refers to Rome metaphorically by the name “Babylon”: The church that is at Babylon, chosen together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Mark my son (I Pet. 5:13). Taking with him the Gospel which he himself had written, Mark went to Egypt, and was the first to preach Jesus Christ in Alexandria, where he established the Church. So highly did he excel both in teaching and in a life of steadfast endurance, that all those who came to believe in Christ, followed his example. And Philo [an Alexandrian Jewish philosopher of the first century AD], the most eloquent of the Jew...

Theophylact of Ochrid

AD 1107
The Gospel According to St. Mark was written ten years after the Ascension of Christ. This Mark was a disciple of Peter, whom Peter calls his son, that is, his spiritual son. He was also called John (Acts 12:12), and the nephew of Barnabas (Col. 4:10), and the companion of Paul (Philemon 24). But eventually he accompanied Peter the most, and was with him in Rome. The believers in Rome begged Mark not only to preach orally, but also to give them a written account of Christ’s life. He agreed, and composed it immediately. God revealed to Peter that Mark had written this Gospel, and when he saw it, Peter confirmed its truth, and sent Mark as bishop to Egypt. There Mark preached and established the Church in Alexandria, enlightening all those in that sunny land to the south. The character of this Gospel, therefore, is unclouded and clear, containing nothing that is hidden. Mark’s Gospel agrees with Matthew’s in every respect, except that Matthew goes into greater detail. And while Matthe...
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Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation - 2 Peter 1:20

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