The Gospel According to Mark:
A Look at the Son of God
Lesson 1 Jesus Christ: The Son of God
the Gospel According to Mark 1:1–45
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)*
New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)*
Catechism of the Catholic Church
ex libris (in our library)
glossary for the Gospel According to Mark
cross references in the Gospel According to Mark
next lesson: The Son of Man Has Divine Authority
This material coordinates with Lesson 1, “Jesus Christ: The Son of God,” on pages 8–12 in The Gospel According to Mark: A Look at the Son of God.
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying,
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.”
—the Gospel According to Mark 1:14–15
welcome to our in-depth study of the Gospel According to Mark
We invite interested groups and individuals to check out the sample introduction and first lesson from this 17-
lesson Turning to 
God’s Word Catholic Bible study based on Scripture that is the source of most of the Sunday Gospel readings for Liturgical Year B. These online study pages link to an online glossary and cross references in the biblical text. Other study aids include maps, additional commentary, and prayers based on the primary Scripture in each lesson. The Gospel According to Mark: A Look at the Son of God and the other two synoptic studies are being submitted for imprimaturs. This study will be available from our website shop about three months before the start of liturgical Year B in 2026. If you have a Bible-related question or comment, click on one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons on any online study page.
open with prayer
It’s always wise to begin any Bible study with prayer, whether reading the Scriptures alone or meeting with others in a discussion study group. You can pray using your own words or use one of the opening prayers on our website. We especially like the following:
Lord Jesus, you promised to send your Holy Spirit to teach us all things.
As we read and study your word today,
allow it to touch our hearts and change our lives. Amen.
map notes—where did Jesus hang out?
All four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life describe most of his ministry taking place in Galilee around
Caperna-um and the Sea of Galilee. This region is located in the northern part of the land of Canaan, originally part of the territory that God promised to Abraham’s descendants. It later became part of the northern kingdom of Israel. That kingdom fell to the Assyrians in 722–721 B.C. By the time of Jesus, the area had come under Roman control. (The Romans began calling the “Sea of Galilee” the “Sea of Tiberias,” which is why the author of the Gospel According to John refers to it both ways.) Galilee was populated both by Jews and Gentiles, people who didn’t share the same religious beliefs. The ninth chapter in the Book of Isaiah, included in the Church’s Christmas liturgies, specifically mentions territory settled by the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali—”the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations” as a region where “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” Some translations render “Galilee of the nations” as “Galilee of the Gentiles.” Click to enlarge the map, which also is printed on page 7 in The Gospel According to Mark: A Look at the Son of God.
urgency is a big deal in the Gospel According to Mark
The word “immediately” adds a breathless quality to the Gospel According to Mark, and the Evangelist sprinkles it liberally throughout his writing. “Immediately” appears 35 times in the 16 chapters that make up the work. Nine of those times occur in the first chapter. In addition, the Evangelist also uses “at once”—which suggests the same quickness—in the Gospel According to Mark 1:28 and 1:43. A vocabulary box defining the word “immediately” appears on page 6 in Introduction to The Gospel According to Mark: A Look at the Son of God.
Christian Connection: act now—pray
The idea of the need for men and women to respond quickly to spiritual motivation should be nothing new to Christians. Throughout his ministry, Jesus stresses the importance of urgency and the limited time available for his followers to demonstrate their faith. One of the best ways to strengthen faith is through frequent prayer.
? What do you think praying meant to those with whom Jesus was talking?
? What do you think that it means to Jesus?
? What effect does praying have on your own spiritual life?
? What is the best advice you have received about how to pray?
read the Catechism—Part Four is devoted to prayer
Paragraph 2558 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church opens the final section of the Catechism, which focuses on the importance of prayer. It also is the shortest of the four sections, and it concludes with a section—beginning with paragraph 2759 and continuing through paragraph 2865—about the Lord’s Prayer, which Catholics call the “Our Father.” (The defining quotation at the end of paragraph 2558 is from Saint Therese of Lisieux, a doctor of the Church.)
2558 “Great is the mystery of the faith!” The Church professes this mystery in the Apostles’ Creed (Part One) and celebrates it in the sacramental liturgy (Part Two), so that the life of the faithful may be conformed to Christ in the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father (Part Three). This mystery, then, requires that the faithful believe in it, that they celebrate it, and that they live from it in a vital and personal relationship with the living and true God. This relationship is prayer.
What Is Prayer?
[“]For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.[“]
Satan—you could look it up in our archives
The Gospel According to Mark 1:13 mentions Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness for 40 days, but it 
doesn’t go into detail. To learn more about Jesus’ temptations by Satan, read the Gospel According to Matthew 4:1–11. To learn about the root meaning of the word Satan and about the related word “Be-elzebul,” read Lost in Translation, a weekly online column in which Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps helps readers connect with ideas expressed in the original language of the Scriptures. New Lost in Translation entries are posted on Mondays, and past entries are archived on our website. Contact us if you’d like to receive Lost in Translation by email every week.
? Consider why the ancients had several different words for the devil.
? What might explain why Christians view all of these words as referring to the same thing?
? What characteristics do the words “Satan” and “Be-elzebul” suggest are most dangerous features of the devil?
? Think about whether Satan poses a more serious threat to God or to humanity.
who is John the Baptist?
All four Gospel writers emphasize the importance of John the Baptist. The Gospel According to Matthew 3:1–17 ignores that John the Baptist is Jesus’ relative, something apparent in the infancy narrative in the Gospel According to Luke 1:36. While the synoptic Gospels refer to John as “the Baptist” (some translations identify him as “the baptizer”), most translations of the Fourth Gospel do not, instead focusing on John’s role as a witness to Jesus as God’s Word. (The translation used by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops [USCCB], however, recently added “the Baptist” to its description of John in the Gospel According to John 1:29, although it’s likely that was done for clarity and not because any new ancient manuscript has been found identifying John as “the Baptist” in that passage.) What distinguishes John the Baptist in the Gospel According to Mark is John’s dynamic preaching, the purpose of which is to lead people to repentance.
check this out
It appears that Jesus picks up John’s ministry (seen in the Gospel According to Mark 1:4), urging his own followers not to delay in repenting. This can be seen in the Gospel According to Mark 1:14–15 (as well as in the Gospel According to Luke 13:1–5 and the Gospel According to Matthew 4:17). Consider how Jesus’ message of repentance differs from that preached by John?
read the Catechism—the difference between John’s baptisms & Jesus’ baptisms
Baptism, one of the three sacraments of Initiation into the Catholic Church, is prefigured in the Old Testament and in the baptisms performed by John in the wilderness. In the Old Testament, baptism is regarded as a cleansing ritual; John’s baptisms are done to bring about forgiveness of sin once a person has repented—but none of John’s baptisms lead to eternal life. Paragraph 1225 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains the importance of the sacrament of Baptism to Christians. (The quotation at the end of the paragraph is from Saint Ambrose.)
1225 In his Passover Christ opened to all men [and women] the fountain of Baptism. He had already spoken of his Passion, which he was about to suffer in Jerusalem, as a “Baptism” with which he had to be baptized. The blood and water that flowed from the pierced side of the crucified Jesus are types of Baptism and Eucharist, the sacraments of new life. From then on, it is possible “to be born of water and the Spirit” in order to enter the Kingdom of God.
[“]See where you are baptized, see where Baptism comes from, if not from the cross of Christ, from his death. There is the whole mystery: he died for you. In him you are redeemed, in him you are saved.[“]
biblical vocabulary—leprosy
The word “leprosy” in the Bible refers to a wide variety of skin afflictions, including but not limited to present-day Hansen’s disease. It required diagnosis by a priest and was viewed as a symptom of sin. In Scripture, any leper is regarded as unclean and is required to live apart from others. When Jesus cures leprosy, it clearly indicates that he possesses great spiritual power.
how leprosy may apply in the present day
Few people living in modern countries experience direct contact with leprosy. The good news is that any of us, like the leper in Jesus’ time, can take his or her deepest wounds to Jesus for healing. Jesus has no fear of touching our sores and scars.
? Where in our hearts do we find places of disfigurement?
? Are there unresolved resentments in our lives?
? Do we carry the leprosy of ongoing anger?
? Having experienced the forgiveness of Christ in our own lives, can we reach out to bring healing to all of our relationships?
? Can we reach out to the “unclean” in our communities and bring hope to those who are lonely or ignored?
Jesus calls his first four disciples
In the Gospel According to Mark 1:16–20, Jesus begins calling his disciples from their work beside the Sea of Galilee. Simon, Andrew, James, and John are fishermen who immediately follow Jesus. Jesus in turn promises to make them “become fishers of men.” Simon and Andrew are brothers—as are James and John, who both are sons of Zebedee.
does part of the Gospel According to Mark sound familiar?
More than 90 percent of the Gospel According to Mark is included in the Gospel According to Matthew, and about 50 percent is included in the Gospel According to Luke; there are only a few passages unique to the Gospel According to Mark. These include the Gospel According to Mark 1:1, which introduces the beginning of the good news, and the Gospel According to Mark 1:13, which describes Jesus being with the wild beasts during his three temptations by Satan.
the best Catholic commentary about Scripture
To find out more about how Church teaching is supported by passages in The Gospel According to Mark: A Look at the Son of God, check out the Index of Citations in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Links to each lesson’s primary Scripture passages (from the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition [RSVCE*]) that are cited in relevant paragraphs in the Catechism are provided here. Not every passage in the Gospel According to Mark is referenced in a Catechism paragraph.
the Gospel According to Mark 1:1—paragraphs 422 and 515
the Gospel According to Mark 1:11—paragraphs 151 and 422
the Gospel According to Mark 1:12—paragraph 333
the Gospel According to Mark 1:12–13—paragraph 538
the Gospel According to Mark 1:15—paragraphs 541, 1423, 1427
the Gospel According to Mark 1:16–20—paragraph 787
the Gospel According to Mark 1:21—paragraph 2173
the Gospel According to Mark 1:24—paragraph 438
the Gospel According to Mark 1:25—paragraph 1673
the Gospel According to Mark 1:26—paragraph 1673
the Gospel According to Mark 1:35—paragraph 2602
the Gospel According to Mark 1:40–41—paragraph 2616
the Gospel According to Mark 1:41—paragraph 1504
ways our glossary might prove helpful
In addition to providing extra information about geographical locations, our glossary also points out 
persons or places mentioned in the biblical text under more than one name or more than one spelling. If you can remember a name but aren’t sure in which lesson it shows up, you can find it in the glossary, which lists every proper noun that appears in the biblical text for every lesson in The Gospel According to Mark: A Look at the Son of God. A few general terms also are included that may be unfamiliar or whose meaning may be unclear to readers.
to learn more, read more Scripture
If you’re having difficulty with a particular passage of Scripture, it can be helpful to read the relevant 
cross references—but looking these up can take time. To make that easier, we’ve compiled the cross references from the Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE)—the translation that we reprint in our study books. A link to that list can be found at the top of every online study page; the list features links to cross references in the primary biblical text in the study book The Gospel According to Mark: A Look at the Son of God.
don’t forget about our indexes & extra online material
If you’re trying to locate information about a specific Scripture passage, you can look it up in the index at the back of the study book. If you want to find a particular commentary, you can look up its title in the topics index. To learn more about another book of the Bible for which there’s a Turning to God’s Word study, visit the online study directories to read the commentaries and watch any accompanying videos. Finally, if you have a question or would like to make a comment about any of our studies, you can use one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons to email our authors.
ex libris—Church documents & books about religious topics
Link to magisterial documents referred to in our Bible studies at ex libris—magisterial documents. 
This listing includes significant recent encyclicals as well as a number of historical Church documents. Recommended books related to Scripture study can be found at ex libris—main bookshelf.
wondering how to pronounce some of these words?
The following link is to a reading from the New International Version (NIV) Bible. To listen, open the link and click on the audio icon above the printed text. Although not taken from the translations used in our study materials, the NIV reading provides an audio guide to pronunciation of words in this lesson’s primary biblical text. A close online version of the translation of the Bible used in Catholic liturgy in the United States as well as an audio guide for daily Mass readings for the current month can be found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
the Gospel According to Mark 1:1—45 (NIV)
close with Bible-based prayer related to this lesson
Many of our Catholic study groups like to conclude their discussions with a prayer based on the scriptural focus of their lesson, and some participants include Scripture-specific prayer in their individual study. If you’re uncomfortable composing your own Bible-based prayers, you can follow our four easy steps. If you prefer, you can use the following prayer based on this lesson’s text from the Gospel According to Mark.
O God, you sent Jesus’ relative John to show men and women
what we must do to prepare the way for your Son Jesus.
Jesus continues to model for humanity what is required
if we wish to enter the fullness of eternal life.
Grant that we may take seriously
his words and teachings. Amen.
Lesson 2 The Son of Man Has Divine Authority—the Gospel According to Mark 2:1–28
Introduction What to Expect
you also may like our study of the book of Genesis
The first seven lessons of In the Beginning: The Book of Genesis, a 28-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, provide an in-depth look at the very earliest biblical history—including the two accounts of Creation, events surrounding the Fall of Adam and Eve, the relationship between Cain and Abel, and the baptismal foreshadowing present in the account of Noah and the Flood. Remaining lessons look at lives of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Click here to view a sample of the first lesson.
start a Turning to God’s Word Bible study
Thank you for your interest in our three-part study of the synoptic Gospels. 
More information about beginning a Turning to God’s Word Bible study can be found at start a Bible study, and Tami, Matthew, and I are available to answer questions or discuss concerns. Contact us to start this or one of our other studies or to have your schedule listed with other TtGW study groups on our website. —Jennifer
*There are seven deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament—Baruch, Judith, Sirach, Tobit, Wisdom, and First and Second Maccabees—and there are some deuterocanonical passages in the Books of Daniel and Esther. Protestants usually refer to these works as “apocryphal,” a word that means “outside the (Protestant) canon” because they’re excluded from most Protestant Bibles. Deuterocanonical means “second canon”; Catholics use that word to refer to any section of the Catholic Old Testament for which there are no extant, or existing, Hebrew manuscripts. All of the deuterocanonical books appear in the Septuagint, the earliest remaining versions of which date to the 1st century B.C. This Greek translation of the Old Testament was in common use by Jews at the time of Jesus. Learn more by reading How Do Catholic & Protestant Bibles Differ?
Turning to God’s Word printed Bible studies use the 2006 Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE) translation for all Scripture references except those to the psalms, which are taken from The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, prepared by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey and published in 2020 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). All Scripture links for the online study pages for The Gospel According to Mark: A Look at the Son of God are to the 1966 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) translation. The New International Version (NIV) audio recordings follow the same chapter and verse numbering as the RSV Catholic translations.
The 1966 RSVCE uses archaic pronouns and verb forms such as “thee,” “thou,” and “didst” in the psalms and in direct quotations attributed to God. The 2006 RSV2CE replaces these with more accessible English. The few significant translation changes in the RSV2CE include rendering almah as “virgin” in the Book of Isaiah 7:14 and restoring the term “begotten” in the Gospel According to John 3:16.
Numbering varies for some passages in this Bible study. Turning to God’s Word studies (print and digital) follow the numbering in the Revised Standard Version Catholic translations (RSV2CE and RSVCE). Discrepancies in the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) are noted in the Index of Scripture Citations in the study book.
You can learn more about the psalms by viewing a sample lesson from the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church. The first volume covers psalms prayed at Lauds and Vespers; the second volume covers psalms prayed at Vigils, Day Prayer, and Compline. Numbering of psalms and verses may vary in different translations.