In our last class we began our study of Mark with a short introduction and the first eight verses of chapter one, tonight we will pick up at 1:9. John the Baptist is an exceedingly important character in God’s plan of salvation. While his life is not given a larger number of verses in the New Testament, his role as the forerunner for the Messiah is of great worth. As we talked about last time, it is the kindness of God that He would send someone before the Messiah to announce that the Messiah was about to come. He had been promised since the very day sin entered the world, but God, knowing man’s propensity to forget, used the prophets to prepare our hearts and sent a forerunner to prepare the very generation that the Messiah would visit. Jesus said in Matthew 11, “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater then John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” John’s purpose was to prepare the people for coming of the Messiah and then to point Him out when He came. His constant message was two-fold, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand and “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”