Matius 3:1

The Ministry of John the Baptist

3:1 In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness ¹  of Judea proclaiming,

Markus 1:4

1:4 In the wilderness ²  John the baptizer ³  began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁴ 

[3:1]  ¹ tn Or “desert.”

[1:4]  ² tn Or “desert.”

[1:4]  ³ tn While Matthew and Luke consistently use the noun βαπτίστης (baptisths, “[the] Baptist”) to refer to John, as a kind of a title, Mark prefers the substantival participle ὁ βαπτίζων (Jo baptizwn, “the one who baptizes, the baptizer”) to describe him (only twice does he use the noun [Mark 6:25; 8:28]).

[1:4]  ⁴ sn A baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins was a call for preparation for the arrival of the Lord’s salvation. To participate in this baptism was a recognition of the need for God’s forgiveness with a sense that one needed to live differently as a response to it.