1:1 beginning of the gospel. Most evidence indicates that Mark was the first to write a life of Christ. His mother owned the house in Jerusalem where the early disciples gathered to pray (Acts 12:12), quite likely the one where Christ instituted the Lord’s supper (Luke 22:12; Acts 1:13). Jesus was probably a close friend of Mark’s family. This verse also indicates that the gospel witness began with the witness of John the Baptist.

1:2 written in the prophets. Mark here quotes Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3, both of which prophesied (many centuries in advance) of the coming of John the Baptist as the forerunner of the Messiah. No other book ever written contains specifically fulfilled prophecies such as this, yet the Bible contains hundreds. Divine inspiration is the only reasonable explanation.