馬可福音 1:1-8

施洗約翰傳道

（太3‧1－12；路3‧1－18；約1‧19－28）

1神的兒子，耶穌基督福音的起頭。 2正如先知以賽亞書上記着說：

看哪，我要差遣我的使者在你前面，

預備道路。

3在曠野有人聲喊着說：

預備主的道，

修直他的路。

4 照這話，約翰來了，在曠野施洗，傳悔改的洗禮，使罪得赦。 5猶太全地和耶路撒冷的人都出去到約翰那裏，承認他們的罪，在約旦河裏受他的洗。 6約翰穿駱駝毛的衣服，腰束皮帶，吃的是蝗蟲、野蜜。 7他傳道說：「有一位在我以後來的，能力比我更大，我就是彎腰給他解鞋帶也是不配的。 8我是用水給你們施洗，他卻要用聖靈給你們施洗。」

各位平安，我們今天開始聊馬可福音1:1-8。

馬可在一開始，就給了我們一個非常偉大的宣告：「耶穌基督，神的兒子，福音的起頭。」

他一開場就直接指出一件事情——耶穌是神的兒子，而這正是一切福音的開端。這件事情並不是臨時起意，也不是上帝在創造人類、看見人類犯罪之後，才臨時決定要如何拯救人類；而是在亙古之先，就已經存在於上帝的計畫之中。上帝早就想好了這一切。每一步是上帝計劃，每一步也是上帝安排，而現在上帝要彰顯祂早就預備好的救恩給人看。

接著，馬可引用了兩段舊約經文來支持他的宣告。一段是「我要差遣我的使者在你前面」，另一段是「在曠野有人聲喊著說：預備主的道，修直祂的路。」這兩句話分別出自《瑪拉基書》三章一節，以及《以賽亞書》四十章三節。

我們知道，馬可當時寫作的主要對象是羅馬的基督徒，因此他並沒有像馬太那樣大量引用舊約經文。馬太福音主要是寫給猶太人看的，所以會大量引用舊約，來證明耶穌就是彌賽亞；而馬可則只選擇必要的經文，來說明他所宣告的福音是有根據、有脈絡的。

接下來，馬可寫到了施洗約翰。這一位先知為什麼這麼重要呢？因為在舊約最後一本《瑪拉基書》之後，有將近四百年的時間，上帝沒有再給出新的啟示，也沒有興起新的先知。在這段時間裡，巴勒斯坦地區發生了許多的變化：以色列國滅亡，被擄到巴比倫，接著巴比倫又被波斯帝國消滅，最後進入羅馬帝國的統治。政權不斷更迭，文化也受到極大的衝擊和融合。等到耶穌的時代，已經是羅馬帝國興起的時候了。

然而，在這段看似沉默的時間裡，上帝其實正在用非常奇妙的方式預備一切，為救主彌賽亞的來臨鋪路。無論是耶穌的誕生，還是當時的歷史與環境，都在上帝的計畫之中。這一部分，我們在後面的分享中還會繼續提到。

這裡我們也順帶一提，在路加福音中有記載，施洗約翰其實是耶穌的表哥，馬利亞與約翰的母親是表親關係。施洗約翰從出生開始就非常清楚自己的人生使命。他來到世上，不是為了做別的事情，而是單單為耶穌預備道路。他所過的生活是一種極致的極簡 – 住在渺無人煙的曠野裡，穿的是駱駝毛 – 注意這一點，他穿的跟先知以利亞一樣（王下1:8）。吃的是蝗蟲 – 這在舊約聖經中是屬於潔淨可以吃的昆蟲，也可能是敘述他吃一種窮人吃的豆子，是蛋白質的來源，野蜜可能是野蜂蜜 – 是醣類的來源。這些東西只能夠維持他生命的基本運作，施洗約翰將一個正常人一切的事情都放下，單單是為了要預備給耶穌作見證。

關於洗禮這一點，其實猶太人是非常熟悉、也非常清楚的。對一般猶太人來說，他們一生中有幾個非常重要、固定的宗教禮儀。

第一個是割禮。猶太男孩在出生第八天之後，就會行割禮，這是他們進入神子民身分的一個記號。

第二個是贖罪祭。每一年，猶太人都需要透過獻上動物或鳥類、透過流血，來為自己的罪贖罪。

第三個則是潔淨禮。對猶太的拉比來說，這是一件非常重要、而且幾乎是日常性的事情。這種象徵性的潔淨，常常透過用水洗身體來完成，代表自己在神面前的潔淨狀態。

所以，「洗禮」這件事情，對猶太人來說並不陌生。但在這裡，施洗約翰所做的事情，卻是非常特別的。

他所傳的是「悔改的洗禮」。他讓猶太全地，甚至耶路撒冷的人，都出來到約旦河這裡，承認自己的罪，並且在河裡接受他的洗。這件事情，和舊約原本的宗教制度很不一樣：沒有獻祭、沒有流血，也不是在聖殿裡，而是在約旦河邊。

然而，約翰的講道卻大有能力。這樣一位怪人，竟然吸引了猶太全地和耶路撒冷的人，走出城外，來到他那裡，承認自己的罪，並且在約旦河裡受洗。這是因為，有從上帝而來的權柄，在他的講道中彰顯出來。當上帝的話語被誠實地傳講出來時，人自然會產生認罪的感動。

而認罪，是新生命的開始。如果沒有認罪，人就無法真正離開舊的生命，因為這代表這個人並沒有真正在心裡承認自己的問題，也沒有真實地意識到自己需要被拯救。如果沒有打從心底的認罪與悔改，生命是沒有辦法改變的。人可能有基督徒的名分，卻沒有活出一個被更新的生命。

施洗約翰說，他是用水施洗，而耶穌要用聖靈施洗。水，是清洗外在的潔淨，就像我們每天洗澡，把皮膚表面的污垢洗掉；但耶穌要用聖靈——那位能洗淨人心靈與靈魂的——來潔淨我們裡面的污穢。而這樣的潔淨，必須是人願意讓聖靈在他內心動工，才會真正發生。

認罪是一個人不愛聽的詞。要人認罪，就是要被指正，就是要人承認自己有問題。而沒有人喜歡聽到自己有問題。但這就是生命改變的第一步 – 我們若不承認自己需要上帝，就無法真正經歷上帝的救恩。就像是，你覺得自己 “其實沒這麼糟糕”，“我承認一次就夠了，為什麼要一直講？講愛就好了”這種思想。

我們活在地上，洗澡是每天要洗的。身體的污垢會堆積，心靈的污垢也需要清洗。洗禮是一次，但每天保持心靈的潔淨，是需要經常在上帝的腳前每天每天地去認罪，一直不斷地接受上帝的恩典的。而這樣的心態不是要你成為一個被害者心態，好像每天活在罪中，正好相反，就如我們每天洗澡可以享受清爽的感覺，每天認罪後也可以經歷上帝赦罪的輕鬆，天天享受上帝的愛。

8我們若說自己無罪，便是自欺，真理不在我們心裏了。 9我們若認自己的罪，神是信實的，是公義的，必要赦免我們的罪，洗淨我們一切的不義。 約翰一書 1:8-9

因此，洗禮必須同時包含神的話語、受洗者的認罪悔改，以及水的洗，才具有真正的屬靈意義。洗禮與聖餐，是基督信仰中兩個最重要的禮儀，也是每一位信徒都當認真面對、並且接受的。

今日反思：

什麼是悔改？牽涉到哪些層面？

當我們思考洗禮的悔改含義。悔改和屬靈生命(信仰生活)的關聯是什麼？

感謝你的聆聽，下一講我們分享馬可福音1:9-13的經文。

Peace be with you all. Today we begin our reflection on Mark 1:1–8.

Right from the very beginning, Mark gives us a profoundly powerful declaration:“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”With this opening line, Mark immediately points us to the core truth—Jesus is the Son of God, and this truth is the very foundation of the gospel.

This was not a last-minute decision, nor was it something God came up with only after humanity fell into sin. Rather, it was part of God’s plan from eternity past. God had already prepared everything. Every step was planned, every moment was appointed, and now God was revealing the salvation He had long prepared for the world to see.

Mark then supports this declaration by quoting two passages from the Old Testament. One says, “I will send my messenger ahead of you,” and the other says, “A voice of one calling in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” These verses come from Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3 respectively.

We know that Mark was writing primarily to Roman Christians. That is why, unlike Matthew—who wrote mainly for a Jewish audience and therefore quoted the Old Testament extensively—Mark only selects key passages. His goal is not to overwhelm his readers, but to show that the gospel he proclaims is grounded, coherent, and rooted in God’s redemptive history.

Mark then introduces John the Baptist. Why is this prophet so important? Because after the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, there were nearly four hundred years in which God gave no new revelation and raised up no new prophets. During this time, the land of Palestine went through dramatic changes. Israel fell, the people were exiled to Babylon, Babylon was conquered by Persia, and eventually the region came under Roman rule. Political powers shifted, cultures collided and blended, and by the time of Jesus, the Roman Empire was firmly established.

Yet during this apparent silence, God was at work in remarkable ways—quietly preparing everything for the coming of the Messiah. Jesus’ birth, as well as the historical and cultural environment of His time, were all part of God’s sovereign plan. We will return to this theme in later reflections.

Luke’s Gospel also tells us that John the Baptist was actually Jesus’ cousin—Mary and John’s mother were relatives. From birth, John was deeply aware of his calling. He did not come into the world to pursue a normal life, but solely to prepare the way for Jesus.

His lifestyle was radically simple. He lived in the wilderness, wore camel’s hair—just like the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 1:8)—and ate locusts and wild honey. In the Old Testament, locusts were considered clean and permissible to eat, and they may also refer to a type of protein-rich food commonly eaten by the poor. Wild honey would have provided carbohydrates. These were just enough to sustain life. John laid aside everything that defined a “normal” existence in order to bear witness to Christ.

When it comes to baptism, the Jewish people were very familiar with ritual practices. In Jewish life, there were several important and established religious rites.

The first was circumcision. Jewish boys were circumcised on the eighth day after birth as a sign of belonging to God’s covenant people.

The second was the atonement sacrifice. Every year, sacrifices involving animals or birds were offered, involving the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins.

The third was ritual purification. For rabbis especially, this was an essential and almost daily practice. Symbolic cleansing—often involving washing with water—represented one’s state of purity before God.

So baptism itself was not foreign to Jewish understanding. However, what John the Baptist did was something entirely different.

He proclaimed a baptism of repentance. He called people from all over Judea and Jerusalem to come out to the Jordan River, confess their sins, and be baptized by him. This stood in sharp contrast to the established religious system—there were no sacrifices, no bloodshed, and no temple. Everything took place at the river.

Yet John’s preaching carried extraordinary authority. This seemingly strange man drew crowds from all Judea and Jerusalem. People left the city, came to him, confessed their sins, and were baptized in the Jordan. This happened because God’s authority was present in his message. When God’s word is proclaimed faithfully, conviction naturally follows.

Confession is the beginning of new life. Without confession, a person cannot truly leave behind the old life, because they have not genuinely acknowledged their brokenness or recognized their need for salvation. Without heartfelt confession and repentance, true transformation cannot occur. A person may carry the title of “Christian” without living a renewed life.

John said that he baptized with water, but Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Water cleanses the outward body—much like daily bathing removes dirt from our skin. But Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit, who cleanses the heart and soul from within. This inner cleansing only takes place when a person is willing to allow the Spirit to work in their life.

Confession is not a word people like to hear. To call someone to confess is to confront them, to ask them to admit that something is wrong. No one enjoys hearing that they have a problem. Yet this is the first step toward real change. If we do not admit our need for God, we cannot truly experience His salvation. Thoughts like “I’m not that bad,” or “I already confessed once—why keep talking about it? Let’s just talk about love,” often prevent genuine transformation.

We live on earth, and we bathe every day. Dirt accumulates on the body, and impurity also accumulates in the heart. Baptism happens once, but maintaining spiritual cleanliness requires daily confession at God’s feet—continually receiving His grace. This does not mean living in a victim mindset or dwelling in guilt. On the contrary, just as daily showers refresh the body, daily confession allows us to experience the lightness and freedom of God’s forgiveness, enjoying His love anew each day.

As 1 John 1:8–9 reminds us:“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Therefore, true baptism must include God’s Word, the repentance and confession of the one being baptized, and the washing with water. Only then does it carry genuine spiritual meaning. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two most important sacraments of the Christian faith—each one deserving serious reflection and faithful participation by every believer.

Reflection Questions:

What is repentance, and what dimensions does it involve?

As we reflect on repentance in baptism, how is repentance connected to spiritual life and daily faith practice?

Thank you for listening. In our next session, we will continue with Mark 1:9–13.