Markus 3:21

3:21 When his family ¹  heard this they went out to restrain him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

Markus 6:29

6:29 When John’s ²  disciples heard this, they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb.

Markus 7:30

7:30 She went home and found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Markus 10:26

10:26 They were even more astonished and said ³  to one another, “Then ⁴  who can be saved?” ⁵ 

Markus 14:34

14:34 He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and stay alert.”

[3:21]  ¹ 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.

[6:29]  ² tn Grk “his”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:26]  ³ tn Grk “But they were even more astonished, saying.” The participle λέγονες (legontes) has been translated here as a finite verb to emphasize the sequence of events: The disciples were astonished, then they spoke.

[10:26]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of thought.

[10:26]  ⁵ sn The assumption is that the rich are blessed, so if they risk exclusion, who is left to be saved?