Mark omits any discussion of the birth of Christ and its Jewish and Gentile ramifications. He writes only:

         

        The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Mk 1:1).

        

Mark provides no genealogy, no historical context whatever. Instead, he immediately affirms Jesus’ divine nature. However, the appellation “the Son of God” is not in all the manuscripts. In any case, it is a very bald way of starting the account. We do not meet Jesus as the Hope of Israel. Nor are there any wise men representing the Gentile world. Jesus just "plops" into the story from nowhere.

        

The one quotation that Mark cites is from Isaiah, but that refers to John the Baptist, not Jesus:

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         "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way" (Mk 1:2).