Mark 1:2

1:2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,¹

“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way,²

Mark 1:10

1:10 And just as Jesus³ was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens⁴ splitting apart and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.⁵

Mark 3:29

3:29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin”⁶

Mark 5:34

5:34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well.⁷ Go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

Mark 7:10

7:10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’⁸ and, ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’⁹

Mark 7:22

7:22 adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly.

Mark 8:7

8:7 They also had a few small fish. After giving thanks for these, he told them to serve these as well.

Mark 8:11

The Demand for a Sign

8:11 Then the Pharisees¹⁰ came and began to argue with Jesus, asking for¹¹ a sign from heaven¹² to test him.

Mark 8:35

8:35 For whoever wants to save his life¹³ will lose it,¹⁴ but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it.

Mark 9:19

9:19 He answered them,¹⁵ “You¹⁶ unbelieving¹⁷ generation! How much longer¹⁸ must I be with you? How much longer must I endure¹⁹ you?²⁰ Bring him to me.”

Mark 9:37

9:37 “Whoever welcomes²¹ one of these little children²² in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

Mark 9:41

9:41 For I tell you the truth,²³ whoever gives you a cup of water because²⁴ you bear Christ’s²⁵ name will never lose his reward.

Mark 10:40

10:40 but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give. It is for those for whom it has been prepared.”²⁶

Mark 13:20

13:20 And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved. But because of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut them²⁷ short.

Mark 14:27

The Prediction of Peter’s Denial

14:27 Then²⁸ Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written,

‘I will strike the shepherd,

and the sheep will be scattered.’²⁹

Mark 14:38

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

Mark 14:61

14:61 But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest questioned him,³⁰ “Are you the Christ,³¹ the Son of the Blessed One?”

Mark 14:71

14:71 Then he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, “I do not know this man you are talking about!”

¹tc Instead of “in Isaiah the prophet” the majority of mss read “in the prophets” (A W Ë¹³ Ï Ir^lat). Except for Irenaeus (2nd century), the earliest evidence for this is thus from the 5th (or possibly late 4th) century (W A). The difficulty of Irenaeus is that he wrote in Greek but has been preserved largely in Latin. His Greek remains have “in Isaiah the prophet.” Only the later Latin translation has “in the prophets.” The KJV reading is thus in harmony with the majority of late mss. On the other hand, the witnesses for “in Isaiah the prophet” (either with the article before Isaiah or not) are early and geographically widespread: א B D L Δ Θ Ë¹ 33 565 700 892 1241 2427 al sy^p co Ir. This evidence runs deep into the 2nd century, is widespread, and is found in the most important Alexandrian, Western, and Caesarean witnesses. The “Isaiah” reading has a better external pedigree in every way. It has the support of the earliest and best witnesses from all the texttypes that matter. Moreover it is the harder reading, since the quotation in the first part of the verse appears to be from Exod 23:20 and Mal 3:1, with the quotation from Isa 40:3 coming in the next verse. The reading of the later mss seems motivated by a desire to resolve this difficulty.

²sn The opening lines of the quotation are from Exod 23:20; Mal 3:1. Here is the forerunner who points the way to the arrival of God’s salvation. His job is to prepare and guide the people, as the cloud did for Israel in the desert.

³tn Grk “and immediately coming up out of the water, he saw.” The present participle has been translated temporally, with the subject (Jesus) specified for clarity.

⁴tn Or “sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The same word is used in v. 11.

⁵sn The phrase like a dove is a descriptive comparison. The Spirit is not a dove, but descended like one in some sort of bodily representation.

⁶sn 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.

⁷tn Or “has delivered you”; Grk “has saved you.” This should not be understood as an expression for full salvation in the immediate context; it refers only to the woman’s healing.

⁸sn A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.

⁹sn A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.

¹⁰sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.

¹¹tn Grk “seeking from him.” The participle ζητοῦντες (zhtountes) shows the means by which the Pharisees argued with Jesus.

¹²sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.

¹³tn Or “soul” (throughout vv. 35-37).

¹⁴sn The point of the saying whoever wants to save his life will lose it is that if one comes to Jesus then rejection by many will certainly follow. If self-protection is a key motivation, then one will not respond to Jesus and will not be saved. One who is willing to risk rejection will respond and find true life.

¹⁵tn 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.

¹⁶tn Grk “O.” The marker of direct address, ὦ (w), is functionally equivalent to a vocative and is represented in the translation by “you.”

¹⁷tn Or “faithless.”

sn The rebuke for lack of faith has OT roots: Num 14:27; Deut 32:5, 30; Isa 59:8.

¹⁸tn Grk “how long.”

¹⁹tn Or “put up with.” See Num 11:12; Isa 46:4.

²⁰sn The pronouns you…you are plural, indicating that Jesus is speaking to a group rather than an individual.

²¹tn This verb, δέχομαι (decomai), is a term of hospitality (L&N 34.53).

²²sn Children were very insignificant in ancient culture, so this child would be the perfect object lesson to counter the disciples’ selfish ambitions.

²³tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

²⁴tn Grk “in [the] name that of Christ you are.”

²⁵tn Or “bear the Messiah’s”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

sn See the note on Christ in 8:29.

²⁶sn After the first passion prediction in 8:31 Jesus rebuked Peter as having been used by Satan. After the second passion prediction in 9:31 the disciples were concerned about who would be the greatest in the kingdom. After the third passion prediction in 10:33 James and John asked for positions of honor and rulership in the kingdom, revealing their complete misunderstanding of the nature of the kingdom and exposing their inadequacy as true disciples of Jesus. Jesus replied that such positions were for those for whom it has been prepared.

²⁷tn Grk “the days.”

²⁸tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

²⁹sn A quotation from Zech 13:7.

³⁰tn Grk “questioned him and said to him.”

³¹tn 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.