Marcos 1

Marcos 1

Morris writes that "From the very beginning of John's ministry, he was preaching Christ. Thus, he was surely the first Christian preacher and the first Christian prophet." Mightier (2478)(ischuros from ischuo = to be able) is an adjective which means strong, powerful, mighty (usually referring to inherent physical strength), able, forcible.Ischuros denotes places “stress on the actual power that one possesses rather than on the mere principle of power." It is notable that ischuros is used in the Septuagint to refer to God in Jer 32:18 which says "O great and mighty (Lxx = ischuros) God. The LORD of hosts is His name." And in Jeremiah 33:3 He invites Israel to "Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty (Lxx = ischuros) things, which you do not know.’ Mark uses ischuros to describe the "strong man" in Mk 3:27+, who in context is Satan (or Beelzebul - Mk 3:22), and the One Who binds him is Jesus Himself, which shows Jesus to be mightier than John the Baptist. The apostle John records John's memorable words that parallel this passage “He must (dei = not "might" or "should" but in present tense must continually) increase (present tense), but I must (mandatory) decrease (present tense)." (John 3:30+) THOUGHT - Note the ORDER is CRITICAL - I have heard so many say I must decrease so He can increase. That is not correct! It is not John first decreasing (or "humbling himself") but Jesus first increasing! When Jesus is magnified in our naturally prideful heart, we see our proper place as creatures in the immense shadow of our mighty Creator. The more we see Jesus lifted higher in our heart and mind as we read of Him in the Scriptures, the more humble we will become. The experience of Mary should be ours, when she said: "My soul doth magnify (make great, exalt) the Lord" (Luke 1:46+).