Verse 14
Jesus began His Galilean ministry, the first major phase of His public ministry, after His forerunner had ended his ministry. Jesus’ forerunner suffered a fate that prefigured what Jesus would experience (cf. Mark 9:31; Mark 14:18). Mark used the same root word in Greek to describe both men. The passive voice of the verb paradidomi ("taken into custody" or "put in prison," lit. delivered up) suggests God’s sovereign control over both men’s situations.
Probably Jesus chose Galilee as His site of ministry because the influence of hostile Pharisees and chief priests was less there than it was in Judea. Fewer Jews lived in Samaria, which lay between Judea and Galilee.
". . . Jesus changes setting more than forty times in his travels throughout Galilee and into gentile territory." [Note: Rhoads and Michie, p. 68.]
Jesus heralded the good news of God. The Greek construction permits two different translations: "the good news about God" and "the good news from God." Mark probably intended the second meaning because the next verse explains what the good news that God revealed through Jesus was. Preaching this good news was Jesus’ characteristic activity, and it was foundational for all the other forms of His ministry.
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