Jesus' prayer in the wilderness in Mark 1:35 seems to allude to Isaiah 53:12 where the intercession of the Servant of the Lord for sinners is mentioned. This possibility is supported by the fact that Mark 1:11 already alludes to Isaiah 42:1 by the phr...
Jesus' prayer in the wilderness in Mark 1:35 seems to allude to Isaiah 53:12 where the intercession of the Servant of the Lord for sinners is mentioned. This possibility is supported by the fact that Mark 1:11 already alludes to Isaiah 42:1 by the phrase 'with you I am well pleased.' Accordingly, the juxtaposition of healing and prayer (of intercession) in Mark 1:34-35 may also allude to Isaiah 33:24 where healing is put side by side with forgiveness of sins.
The wilderness, which is chosen as the place of Jesus' prayer, also has a link to Isaiah 43:20 where the wilderness is a place for New Exodus. Thus, Jesus' prayer seems to be part of his work for New Exodus (from the sins). Since 1QM 1:3-4 expects the wilderness as a place for the eschatological war and 2 Macc 15:26-27 links prayer with a combat, Jesus's prayer in the wilderness can be understood as Jesus' spiritual combat (against Satan).
The exodus motif in Jesus' prayer is fortified by Mark's juxtaposition of the wilderness prayer and healing, since Isaiah 35:5-7, 10 connects the wilderness with healing as a sign of the New Exodus.
Jesus' preaching ministry accompanied by exorcism has also the exodus motif by its link to Isaiah 40:9-10 and 61:1. In Isaiah 40:9-10 the messenger of good news proclaims the rule of God (as in Mark 1:15), and in Isaiah 61:1 the messenger sets the captives free. Such a link between Mark and Isaiah explains why Mark puts Jesus' preaching and exorcism side by side. By such a juxtaposition Mark seems to show that Jesus fulfills the expectation of Isaiah by preaching the kingdom (rule) of God and by setting the captives free from Satan's oppression.