Markus 1:21

Jesus’ Authority

1:21 Then ¹  they went to Capernaum. ²  When the Sabbath came, ³  Jesus ⁴  went into the synagogue ⁵  and began to teach.

Markus 2:5

2:5 When Jesus saw their ⁶  faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” ⁷ 

Markus 2:13

The Call of Levi; Eating with Sinners

2:13 Jesus ⁸  went out again by the sea. The whole crowd came to him, and he taught them.

Markus 2:20

2:20 But the days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, ⁹  and at that time ¹⁰  they will fast.

Markus 3:21

3:21 When his family ¹¹  heard this they went out to restrain him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

Markus 3:23

3:23 So ¹²  he called them and spoke to them in parables: ¹³  “How can Satan cast out Satan?

Markus 3:31

Jesus’ True Family

3:31 Then ¹⁴  Jesus’ ¹⁵  mother and his brothers ¹⁶  came. Standing ¹⁷  outside, they sent word to him, to summon him.

Markus 4:2

4:2 He taught them many things in parables, ¹⁸  and in his teaching said to them:

Markus 5:5

5:5 Each night and every day among the tombs and in the mountains, he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

Markus 5:27

5:27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ¹⁹ 

Markus 5:39

5:39 When he entered he said to them, “Why are you distressed and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.”

Markus 6:28-29

6:28 He brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 6:29 When John’s ²⁰  disciples heard this, they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb.

Markus 6:53

Healing the Sick

6:53 After they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret ²¹  and anchored there.

Markus 7:17

7:17 Now ²²  when Jesus ²³  had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable.

Markus 7:26

7:26 The woman was a Greek, of Syrophoenician origin. She ²⁴  asked him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

Markus 8:29

8:29 He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, ²⁵  “You are the Christ.” ²⁶ 

Markus 9:21

9:21 Jesus ²⁷  asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.

Markus 13:6

13:6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ ²⁸  and they will mislead many.

Markus 14:10

The Plan to Betray Jesus

14:10 Then ²⁹  Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus into their hands. ³⁰ 

Markus 14:38

14:38 Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Markus 14:48

14:48 Jesus said to them, “Have you come with swords and clubs to arrest me like you would an outlaw? ³¹ 

Markus 14:66

Peter’s Denials

14:66 Now ³²  while Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the high priest’s slave girls ³³  came by.

Markus 15:2

15:2 So ³⁴  Pilate asked him, “Are you the king ³⁵  of the Jews?” He replied, ³⁶  “You say so.” ³⁷ 

Markus 15:11

15:11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release ³⁸  Barabbas instead.

[1:21]  ¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[1:21]  ² sn Capernaum was a town located on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region, and it became the hub of operations for Jesus’ Galilean ministry.

[1:21]  map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[1:21]  ³ tn The Greek word εὐθύς (euqus, often translated “immediately” or “right away”) has not been translated here. It sometimes occurs with a weakened, inferential use (BDAG 406 s.v. 2), not contributing significantly to the flow of the narrative. For further discussion, see R. J. Decker, Temporal Deixis of the Greek Verb in the Gospel of Mark with Reference to Verbal Aspect (SBG 10), 73-77.

[1:21]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:21]  ⁵ sn The synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though its origin is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present. (See the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2.) First came the law, then the prophets, then someone was asked to speak on the texts. Jesus undoubtedly took the opportunity on this occasion to speak about his person and mission, and its relationship to Old Testament fulfillment.

[2:5]  ⁶ sn The plural pronoun their makes it clear that Jesus was responding to the faith of the entire group, not just the paralyzed man.

[2:5]  ⁷ sn The passive voice here is a divine passive (ExSyn 437). It is clear that God does the forgiving.

[2:13]  ⁸ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:20]  ⁹ sn The statement the bridegroom will be taken from them is a veiled allusion by Jesus to his death, which he did not make explicit until the incident at Caesarea Philippi in 8:27ff. (cf. 8:31; 9:31; 10:33).

[2:20]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “then on that day.”

[3:21]  ¹¹ tc Western witnesses D W it, instead of reading οἱ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ (Joi par’ aujtou, here translated “family”), have περὶ αὐτοῦ οἱ γραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ λοιποί (peri autou Joi grammatei" kai Joi loipoi, “[when] the scribes and others [heard] about him”). But this reading is obviously motivated, for it removes the embarrassing statement about Jesus’ family’s opinion of him as “out of his mind” and transfers this view to the Lord’s opponents. The fact that virtually all other witnesses have οἱ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ here, coupled with the strong internal evidence for the shorter reading, shows this Western reading to be secondary.

[3:21]  tn On the meaning “family” for οἱ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ (Joi par’ autou), see BDAG 756-57 s.v. παρά A.3.b.β.ב.

[3:21]  sn The incident involving the religious leaders accusing Jesus of being in league with the devil (3:22-30) is sandwiched between Mark’s mention of Jesus’ family coming to restrain him (the Greek word for restrain here is also used to mean arrest; see Mark 6:17; 12:12; 14:1, 44, 46, 49, 51) because they thought he was out of his mind (3:21). It is probably Mark’s intention in this structure to show that Jesus’ family is to be regarded as not altogether unlike the experts in the law [scribes] in their perception of the true identity of Jesus; they are incorrect in their understanding of him as well. The tone is obviously one of sadness and the emphasis on Jesus’ true family in vv. 31-35 serves to underscore the comparison between his relatives and the scribes on the one hand, and those who truly obey God on the other.

[3:23]  ¹² tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[3:23]  ¹³ sn Jesus spoke two parables to demonstrate the absurdity of the thinking of the religious leaders who maintained that he was in league with Satan and that he actually derived his power from the devil. The first parable (vv. 23-26) teaches that if Jesus cast out demons by the ruler of the demons, then in reality Satan is fighting against himself, with the result that his kingdom has come to an end. The second parable (v. 28) about tying up a strong man proves that Jesus does not need to align himself with the devil because Jesus is more powerful. Jesus defeated Satan at his temptation (1:12-13) and by his exorcisms he clearly demonstrated himself to be stronger than the devil. The passage reveals the desperate condition of the religious leaders, who in their hatred for Jesus end up attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan (a position for which they will be held accountable, 3:29-30). For an explanation of what a parable is, see the note on parables in 4:2.

[3:31]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[3:31]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:31]  ¹⁶ sn The issue of whether Jesus had brothers (siblings) has had a long history in the church. Epiphanius, in the 4th century, argued that Mary was a perpetual virgin and had no offspring other than Jesus. Others argued that these brothers were really cousins. Nothing in the text suggests any of this. See also John 7:3.

[3:31]  ¹⁷ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:2]  ¹⁸ sn Though parables can contain a variety of figures of speech (cf. 2:19-22; 3:23-25; 4:3-9, 26-32; 7:15-17; 13:28), many times they are simply stories that attempt to teach spiritual truth (which is unknown to the hearers) by using a comparison with something known to the hearers. In general, parables usually advance a single idea, though there may be many parts and characters in a single parable and subordinate ideas may expand the main idea further. The beauty of using the parable as a teaching device is that it draws the listener into the story, elicits an evaluation, and demands a response.

[5:27]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “garment,” but here ἱμάτιον (Jimation) denotes the outer garment in particular.

[6:29]  ²⁰ tn Grk “his”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:53]  ²¹ sn Gennesaret was a fertile plain south of Capernaum (see also Matt 14:34). This name was also sometimes used for the Sea of Galilee (Luke 5:1).

[7:17]  ²² tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[7:17]  ²³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:26]  ²⁴ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[8:29]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Answering, Peter said to him.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “Peter answered him.”

[8:29]  ²⁶ tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[8:29]  sn The term χριστός (cristos) was originally an adjective (“anointed”), developing in LXX into a substantive (“an anointed one”), then developing still further into a technical generic term (“the anointed one”). In the intertestamental period it developed further into a technical term referring to the hoped-for anointed one, that is, a specific individual. In the NT the development starts there (technical-specific), is so used in the gospels, and then develops in Paul to mean virtually Jesus’ last name.

[9:21]  ²⁷ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:6]  ²⁸ tn That is, “I am the Messiah.”

[14:10]  ²⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[14:10]  ³⁰ tn Grk “betray him to them”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:48]  ³¹ tn Or “a revolutionary.” This term can refer to one who stirs up rebellion: BDAG 594 s.v. λῃστής 2 has “revolutionary, insurrectionist,” citing evidence from Josephus (J. W. 2.13.2-3 [2.253-254]). However, this usage generally postdates Jesus’ time. It does refer to a figure of violence. Luke uses the same term for the highwaymen who attack the traveler in the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:30).

[14:66]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[14:66]  ³³ tn The Greek term here is παιδίσκη (paidiskh), referring to a slave girl or slave woman.

[15:2]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action in the narrative.

[15:2]  ³⁵ sn “Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate was interested in this charge because of its political implications of sedition against Rome.

[15:2]  ³⁶ tn Grk “answering, he said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been modified for clarity.

[15:2]  ³⁷ sn The reply “You say so” is somewhat enigmatic, like Jesus’ earlier reply to the Jewish leadership (mentioned in Matt 26:64 and Luke 22:70).

[15:11]  ³⁸ tn Grk “to have him release for them.”