Mark 1:2–11 (ESV)
2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’ ”
4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Mark now indicates that John the Baptist is the one to lead the way for the coming Messiah. This was foretold through the prophet Isaiah, who lived 700 years before Jesus. This quotation is actually 2 different quotes from different prophets, but Mark is emphasizing the Isaiah text by indicating this is from Isaiah. The first part is from Malachi 3:1. Verse 3 is a quotation from Isaiah 40:3, which is quoted by Matthew, Luke and John as well. Therefore, it was well established in the early church that John was the prophet to come before the Messiah.
At the end of the book of Malachi (Mal. 4:5) the prophet who was to come before the Messiah was Elijah, the Elijah to come. Jesus himself confirms that this is John’s mission in Matthew 11:14. In pre-Christian Jewish texts Elijah is thought to not only be the forerunner to the Messiah but the forerunner to the appearance of God himself. So “the Lord” in the Isaiah quotation then likely refers to God himself. Hence, Mark is subtly here alluding to the divinity of Jesus as the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. A theme which he will develop throughout.
So where did this thinking about Elijah come from? Elijah was one of Israel’s greatest prophets. In 2 Kings 2 Elijah is taken up into heaven in a whirlwind with a chariot of fire. He never died! So the Jews believed that he would return as precursor to the coming of the Messiah. Mark solidifies the connection with Elijah further in v. 6 by saying that he was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt--both associated with Elijah (see 2 Kings 1:8). The eating of locusts and honey, while unsettling to our stomachs, was in line with the Jewish dietary laws (Lev. 11:22). John was also in the wilderness, which is also associated with Elijah (1 Kings 17:2-3). In Israel's history the wilderness is regularly a place of testing and often failure leading to repentance and therefore a place where the people encountered God’s grace and undeserved provision. Elijah also challenged one of Israel’s most evil kings, Ahab, just as John challenges King Herod. So, it’s not that John was Elijah reborn or anything like that, but he came in the spirit of Elijah, doing similar things.
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