8:1 In those days there was another large crowd with nothing to eat. So 6 Jesus 7 called his disciples and said to them, 8:2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days, and they have nothing to eat.
13:32 “But as for that day or hour no one knows it – neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son 16 – except the Father.
1 tn Some translations (e.g., NIV, NLT) take the preposition πρός (pro"), which indicates proximity, to mean “outside the door.” Others render it as “in front of the door” (TEV, CEV), and still others, “around the door” (NAB). There is some ambiguity inherent in the description here.
2 sn Is guilty of an eternal sin. This passage has troubled many people, who have wondered whether or not they have committed this eternal sin. Three things must be kept in mind: (1) the nature of the sin is to ascribe what is the obvious work of the Holy Spirit (e.g., releasing people from Satan’s power) to Satan himself; (2) it is not simply a momentary doubt or sinful attitude, but is indeed a settled condition which opposes the Spirit’s work, as typified by the religious leaders who opposed Jesus; and (3) a person who is concerned about it has probably never committed this sin, for those who commit it here (i.e., the religious leaders) are not in the least concerned about Jesus’ warning. On this last point see W. W. Wessel, “Mark,” EBC 8:645-46.
3 sn The rocky ground in Palestine would be a limestone base lying right under the soil.
4 tn Grk “it did not have enough depth of earth.”
5 tn Grk “and being deeply grieved, the king did not want.”
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
7 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Grk “And answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the phrasing of the sentence was modified slightly to make it clearer in English.
9 tn Grk “O.” The marker of direct address, ὦ (w), is functionally equivalent to a vocative and is represented in the translation by “you.”
10 tn Or “faithless.”
sn The rebuke for lack of faith has OT roots: Num 14:27; Deut 32:5, 30; Isa 59:8.
11 tn Grk “how long.”
12 tn Or “put up with.” See Num 11:12; Isa 46:4.
13 sn The pronouns you…you are plural, indicating that Jesus is speaking to a group rather than an individual.
14 sn With the statement not one stone will be left on another Jesus predicted the total destruction of the temple, something that did occur in
15 tn Grk “not one stone will be left here on another which will not be thrown down.”
16 sn The phrase nor the Son has caused a great deal of theological debate because on the surface it appears to conflict with the concept of Jesus’ deity. The straightforward meaning of the text is that the Son does not know the time of his return. If Jesus were divine, though, wouldn’t he know this information? There are other passages which similarly indicate that Jesus did not know certain things. For example, Luke 2:52 indicates that Jesus grew in wisdom; this has to mean that Jesus did not know everything all the time but learned as he grew. So Mark 13:32 is not alone in implying that Jesus did not know certain things. The best option for understanding Mark 13:32 and similar passages is to hold the two concepts in tension: The Son in his earthly life and ministry had limited knowledge of certain things, yet he was still deity.
17 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
18 tn Grk “questioned him and said to him.”
19 tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
sn See the note on Christ in 8:29.
20 tn Or “with the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22. Only “chief priests” is in the nominative case; this sentence structure attempts to capture this emphasis.
21 tn Grk “Mocking him, the chief priests…said among themselves.”