Markus 1:4

1:4 In the wilderness ¹  John the baptizer ²  began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ³ 

Markus 3:27

3:27 But no one is able to enter a strong man’s ⁴  house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house. ⁵ 

Markus 4:15

4:15 These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: Whenever they hear, immediately Satan ⁶  comes and snatches the word ⁷  that was sown in them.

Markus 4:17

4:17 But ⁸  they have no root in themselves and do not endure. ⁹  Then, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away.

Markus 5:31

5:31 His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing against you and you say, ‘Who touched me?’”

Markus 7:3

7:3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they perform a ritual washing, ¹⁰  holding fast to the tradition of the elders.

Markus 7:5

7:5 The Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat ¹¹  with unwashed hands?”

Markus 8:12

8:12 Sighing deeply in his spirit he said, “Why does this generation look for a sign? I tell you the truth, ¹²  no sign will be given to this generation.”

Markus 9:50

9:50 Salt ¹³  is good, but if it loses its saltiness, ¹⁴  how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

Markus 10:38-39

10:38 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I experience?” ¹⁵  10:39 They said to him, “We are able.” ¹⁶  Then Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I experience,

Markus 10:45

10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom ¹⁷  for many.”

Markus 12:7

12:7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and the inheritance will be ours!’

[1:4]  ¹ tn Or “desert.”

[1:4]  ² tn While Matthew and Luke consistently use the noun βαπτίστης (baptisths, “[the] Baptist”) to refer to John, as a kind of a title, Mark prefers the substantival participle ὁ βαπτίζων (Jo baptizwn, “the one who baptizes, the baptizer”) to describe him (only twice does he use the noun [Mark 6:25; 8:28]).

[1:4]  ³ sn A baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins was a call for preparation for the arrival of the Lord’s salvation. To participate in this baptism was a recognition of the need for God’s forgiveness with a sense that one needed to live differently as a response to it.

[3:27]  ⁴ sn The strong man here pictures Satan.

[3:27]  ⁵ sn Some see the imagery here as similar to Eph 4:7-10, although no opponents are explicitly named in that passage. Jesus has the victory over Satan. Jesus’ acts of healing mean that the war is being won and the kingdom is coming.

[4:15]  ⁶ sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for Satan here: Matt 13:19 has “the evil one,” while Luke 8:12 has “the devil.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.

[4:15]  ⁷ sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.

[4:17]  ⁸ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[4:17]  ⁹ tn Grk “are temporary.”

[7:3]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “except they wash the hands with a fist,” a ceremonial washing (though the actual method is uncertain).

[7:5]  ¹¹ tn Grk “eat bread.”

[8:12]  ¹² tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[9:50]  ¹³ sn Salt was used as seasoning or fertilizer (BDAG 41 s.v. ἅλας a), or as a preservative. If salt ceased to be useful, it was thrown away. With this illustration Jesus warned about a disciple who ceased to follow him.

[9:50]  ¹⁴ sn The difficulty of this saying is understanding how salt could lose its saltiness since its chemical properties cannot change. It is thus often assumed that Jesus was referring to chemically impure salt, perhaps a natural salt which, when exposed to the elements, had all the genuine salt leached out, leaving only the sediment or impurities behind. Others have suggested the background of the saying is the use of salt blocks by Arab bakers to line the floor of their ovens: Under the intense heat these blocks would eventually crystallize and undergo a change in chemical composition, finally being thrown out as unserviceable. A saying in the Talmud (b. Bekhorot 8b) attributed to R. Joshua ben Chananja (ca. a.d. 90), when asked the question “When salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again?” is said to have replied, “By salting it with the afterbirth of a mule.” He was then asked, “Then does the mule (being sterile) bear young?” to which he replied: “Can salt lose its flavor?” The point appears to be both are impossible. The saying, while admittedly late, suggests that culturally the loss of flavor by salt was regarded as an impossibility. Genuine salt can never lose its flavor. In this case the saying by Jesus here may be similar to Matt 19:24, where it is likewise impossible for the camel to go through the eye of a sewing needle.

[10:38]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “baptism I am baptized with.” This same change has been made in v. 39.

[10:39]  ¹⁶ sn No more naïve words have ever been spoken as those found here coming from James and John, “We are able.” They said it with such confidence and ease, yet they had little clue as to what they were affirming. In the next sentence Jesus confirms that they will indeed suffer for his name.

[10:45]  ¹⁷ sn The Greek word for ransom (λύτρον, lutron) is found here and in Matt 20:28 and refers to the payment of a price in order to purchase the freedom of a slave. The idea of Jesus as the “ransom” is that he paid the price with his own life by standing in humanity’s place as a substitute, enduring the judgment that was deserved for sin.