Beginnings And Ends

Ἀρχὴ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, υἱοῦ θεοῦ, καθὼς γέγραπται ἐν τῷ Ἠσαΐᾳ τῷ προφήτῃ: ἰδοὺ ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου, ὃς κατασκευάσει τὴν ὁδόν σου: φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ: ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν κυρίου, εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους αὐτοῦ. Ἰωάννην τὸν τελευταῖον τῶν προφητῶν, ἀρχὴν εἶναι τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου τοῦ Υἱου τοῦ Θεοῦ φησι. Τὸ γὰρ τέλος τῆς Παλαιᾶς, ἀρχὴ τῆς Νέας Διαθήκης· ἡ δὲ μαρτυρία ἡ περὶ τοῦ Προδρόμου ἀπὸ δύο προφητῶν ἐλήφθη. Τοῦ μὲν γὰρ Μαλαχίου ἐστὶ τὸ Ἰδοὺ ἀποτέλλω τὸν ἀγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου, ὃς κατασκευάσει τὴν ὁδόν σου ἔμπροσθέν σου· τοῦ δὲ Ἠσαΐου, τὸ, Φωνὴ βοῶντος, καὶ τὰ ἐξῆς. Ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς πρὸς τὸν Υἱόν ἐστιν ὁ λόγος, λέγοντος ἄγγελον εἶναι τὸν Πρόδρομον, διὰ τὸ ἀγγελικὴν καὶ σχεδὸν ἄῡλον ἔχειν ζωὴν, καὶ τὸ ἀγγέλλειν καὶ μηνύειν τὸν Χριστὸν ἐρχόμενον· κατεσκεύασε δὲ τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ Κυρίου, τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν Ἰουδαίων διὰ τοῦ βαπτίζειν παρασκευάζων δέξασθαι τὸν Χριστόν· τὸ δὲ, πρὸ προσώπου σου, τοῦτο σημαίνει, ὅτι Ἐγγύς σου ἴσται ὁ ἄγγελός σου· ὅθεν δείκνυται ἡ οἰκειότης τοῦ Προσδρόμου πρὸς τὸν Χριστόν· καὶ γὰρ καὶ τῶν βασιλέων ἐγγύς προπορεύονται οἱ μάλιστα οἰκεϊοι. Φωνὴ δὲ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, τάχα μὲν καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, τάχα δε καὶ ἐν τῇ Συναγωγῇ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ἤτις ἔρημος ἦν παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ. Ὁδὸς δὲ, ἡ Νέα Διαθήκη· τρίβοι δὲ ἡ Παλαιὰ, ὡς κατατετριμμένη· πρὸς μὲν οὖν τὴν ὁδὸν ὤφειλον ἐτοιμασθῆναι, τουτέστι, πρὸς τὴν Νέαν Διαθήκην, τῆς δὲ Παλαιᾶς τὰς τρίβους εὐθείας ποιῆσαι, πάλαι μὲν δεξάμενοι ταύτας, εἶτα σκολιοὶ φανέντες καὶ χωλάναντες ἀπὸ τῶν τρίβων αὐτῶν. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατά Μάρκον, Κεφαλ. Α’ Source: Migne PG 123.493c-496a

The Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God, as it is written in the prophet Isaiah, 'Behold I send my angel before your face, who shall prepare your way before you. A voice crying out in the desert, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.' 1 This speaks of John as the last of the prophets, and the beginning of the Gospel of the Son of God, for the end of the Old Testament is the beginning of the New Testament. But this testimony that is given of the forerunner is taken from two prophets. Malachi says, 'Behold, I send my angel before your face, who shall prepare your way before you,' and Isaiah says, 'The voice of one crying out in the wilderness, etc.' 2 The speech is of God the Father to the Son, and it speaks of the forerunner as an angel, because he shall live an angelic life apart from material things, and he shall announce and reveal the coming of Christ. He shall prepare the way of the Lord by baptising the souls of the Jews so that they are ready to receive Christ. In addition to this, 'before your face,' signifies 'your angel shall be near you,' in which is shown the familial relationship of the 'angel' with Christ, for it is those who are most closely related to a king who stand nearest to him. 'A voice crying out in the desert', is perhaps the desert of the Jordan, or perhaps the synagogue of the Jews, which was a desert of every good. But 'the way' is the New Testament, whereas 'the paths' is the Old, which are worn away. Thus they should prepare the way, that is, to the New Testament. And to make the paths of the Old Testament right, which they had received of old, but then made crooked and closed up with their own paths. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Mark, Chapter 1 1 Mk 1.1-3 2 Malachi 3.1, Isaiah 40.3