I did not see at first how to answer this. But on looking into the matter it seemed to me that Scaurus had not noticed Mark’s first words, “The beginning of the _gospel of Jesus Christ as it is written in Isaiah the prophet_.” Moreover Christ’s first words were not “Repent,” but “_The time is fulfilled_, and the kingdom of God hath drawn near. Repent and believe in the gospel.” Now the first mention of “preaching the gospel” in Isaiah is in a passage that begins thus: “Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith God … because _her humiliation is fulfilled, her sin is loosed.… The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord_ … and the glory of the Lord shall appear and all flesh shall see _the salvation of God_ …”; and soon afterwards come the words, “Unto a high mountain get thee up, O thou _that preachest the gospel_ to Sion.” A marginal note in my Isaiah said that—instead of “_her humiliation is fulfilled_”—the right translation was “_her time of service is fulfilled_,” which resembled Mark, “_The time is fulfilled_”—words omitted by Matthew and Luke. Reviewing Mark and Isaiah together, I came to the conclusion that Mark took for granted that his readers would refer to the passage in Isaiah, and that he meant, in effect, this: “_The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ was the fulfilment of Isaiah’s gospel_ (namely, ‘Comfort ye my people because _the time is fulfilled and her sin is loosed_’).” John the Baptist, according to Mark, fulfilled _Isaiah’s prophecy_. He was the voice crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way,” namely, for this gospel of the salvation of God. Then came Jesus saying, in the words _of Isaiah_, “‘_The time is fulfilled_,’ that is, _for the gospel of the ‘loosing of sins_’; believe in this gospel.” Looked at in this way, Mark, though brief and obscure, did not seem to me to have “_left out_” what was (as Scaurus said) “essential,” but to have referred his readers to Isaiah for what was essential, if they were not already familiar with the passage, so that they might understand the meaning to be, “Believe in _the gospel of the loosing_, or _forgiveness, of sins, predicted by Isaiah, and fulfilled now_.”