Mark 1:7-8 7And he preached, saying, “The one who is stronger than I comes after me, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy in bending down to untie. 8I have baptized you with water, but he himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Mark next recounts John’s message. Preached (ekēryssen) is an important word in the New Testament for how the message of the good news of Jesus was shared with people. It obviously does not mean a 30-minute three-point speech on Sunday morning. The word kerygma or “message” comes from this word. People began to notice the itinerant preacher in the desert around the Jordan river and went out to see him.
Verses 7-8 give the announcement of good news that John proclaimed. He begins by describing the subject of his proclamation: the one who is stronger than I. People thought John was special, a prophet like Elijah. They were awed by his appearance and humbled by his message. But the one who was coming was great than John. John indicates three ways the coming one would be greater. First, he would follow after the ministry of John, who was only the one to announce the coming. After me is a temporal indicator that reinforces the idea that John was preparing the way for the Messiah. He was like the herald who announced the coming of the king. Second, John indicates his lowly position relative to Jesus. John could not even be in the lowest position of a servant to untie Jesus’ sandals. The comparison is significant as John takes the focus off of what he was doing and puts it on the coming Messiah.
The third comparison in verse 8 has significant theology behind it as two baptisms are compared. The structure of this verse uses parallelism where water is compared to Holy Spirit, showing two sources of the baptism. John’s baptism indicated people’s faith, repentance, and humility before God and marked a new way of life. Jesus’ baptism would go deeper and change the human heart. The coming of the Holy Spirit would be a fulfillment of prophecies found in Isaiah 32:15; 44:3; Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26-27; 37:14; and Joel 3:1-2. Jesus’ baptism would bring a change to human nature from slavery to sin to commitment to righteousness through sanctification (Romans 6). This baptism came in power to the first disciples on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 and is the potential for all who come to Jesus in full commitment and consecration now. The baptism of Jesus is what people need. Those who seek will find. The Holy Spirit comes in the power and name of Jesus.
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