Mark 1:1–11

John the Baptist Begins His Ministry

1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.^{a 2}Just as it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

“Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way,

³the voice of one shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make straight his paths!’ ”^b

⁴John was there baptizing in the wilderness, proclaiming^c a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵And all the Judean region and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem went out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. ⁶And John was dressed in camel’s hair and a belt made of leather around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷And he was preaching, saying, “One who is more powerful than I is coming after me, of whom I am not worthy to bend down and^* untie the strap of his sandals. ⁸I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

⁹And it happened that in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. ¹⁰And immediately as he^* was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens being split apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. ¹¹And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”