Mark 1:12
in Mark 1At once the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And straightway the Spirit driveth him forth into the wilderness.
KJV
And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
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This verse in Mark 1
Commentary
4 notes on this verseIt is often doubted by some by what spirit Jesus was led into the desert. This question is properly understood if we believe he was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit, so that his own Spirit would lead him there, where the evil spirit would then find him to tempt him. Therefore it is not unworthy of our Redeemer that he willed to be tempted, he who had come to be killed. For it was just that he should overcome our temptations by his temptations, just as he had come to conquer our death by his death.
This site's exposition
the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness
on Mark 1:12-13
The same Spirit that just descended at the Jordan now drives Jesus into the wilderness, a stronger verb than Matthew or Luke's led, and Mark alone notes he was with the wild beasts, an eyewitness detail of a danger remembered as real. Satan's temptation is stated in one line where Matthew gives three exchanges, but the angels who minister to him answer Psalm 91's promise and cast the scene as the second Adam succeeding in the wilderness where the first failed in a garden. The bench reads the compression as Mark's method throughout, the fact stated and the weight left for the reader to feel.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The Spirit driveth him - Εκβαλλει, putteth him forth. St. Matthew says, Mat 4:1, ανηχθη, was brought up. See this important subject of our Lord’s temptation explained at large, Mat 4:1-11 (note).
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
on Mark 1:9-20
This passage is singularly full of matter. It is a striking instance of that brevity of style, which is the peculiar characteristic of Mark's Gospel. The baptism of our Lord, His temptation in the wilderness, the commencement of his preaching, and the calling of His first disciples are related here in eleven verses. Let us notice, in the first place, the voice from heaven which was heard at our Lord's baptism. We read, "There came a voice from heaven, saying, You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." That voice was the voice of God the Father.
The words behind it
9 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| εὐθὺς | euthus | immediately | G2112 → | 87 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πνεῦμα | pneuma | Spirit | G4151 → | 378 times |
| αὐτὸν | auton | Him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἐκβάλλει | ekballei | drives out | G1544 → | 79 times |
| εἰς | eis | into | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἔρημον. | eremon | wilderness. | G2048 → | 48 times |
ΚαὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
εὐθὺςimmediately
euthusG2112 →87 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
πνεῦμαSpirit
pneumaG4151 →378 times
αὐτὸνHim
autonG846 →5565 times
ἐκβάλλειdrives out
ekballeiG1544 →79 times
εἰςinto
eisG1519 →1755 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
ἔρημον.wilderness.
eremonG2048 →48 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Mark
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 16; J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Mark; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.