8:1 In those days there was another large crowd with nothing to eat. So 35 Jesus 36 called his disciples and said to them,
12:12 Now 45 they wanted to arrest him (but they feared the crowd), because they realized that he told this parable against them. So 46 they left him and went away. 47
13:3 So 51 while he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, 52 and Andrew asked him privately,
15:16 So 66 the soldiers led him into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence) 67 and called together the whole cohort. 68
16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic spices 69 so that they might go and anoint him.
1 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
2 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
4 sn Note how the author distinguishes healing from exorcism here, implying that the two are not identical.
5 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
6 sn Why Jesus would not permit the demons to speak is much discussed. Two possibilities are (1) the mere source of the testimony (demonic) and (2) that the title, with its political implications, may have had elements that Jesus wished to avoid until the full nature of his mission was clarified.
7 tc The
8 tn Grk “And he said to them.”
9 tn Grk “Because for this purpose I have come forth.”
10 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.
11 sn Now Jesus put the two actions together. The walking of the man would be proof (so that you may know) that his sins were forgiven and that God had worked through Jesus (i.e., the Son of Man).
12 sn The term Son of Man, which is a title in Greek, comes from a pictorial description in Dan 7:13 of one “like a son of man” (i.e., a human being). It is Jesus’ favorite way to refer to himself. Jesus did not reveal the background of the term here, which mixes human and divine imagery as the man in Daniel rides a cloud, something only God does. He just used it. It also could be an idiom in Aramaic meaning either “some person” or “me.” So there is a little ambiguity in its use here, since its origin is not clear at this point. However, the action makes it clear that Jesus used it to refer to himself here.
13 sn Jesus did not finish his sentence with words but with action, that is, healing the paralytic with an accompanying pronouncement to him directly.
14 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 tn Grk “And he.”
16 sn The term apostles is rare in the gospels, found only here and Mark 6:30, Matt 10:2, and six more times in Luke (6:13; 9:10; 11:49; 17:5; 22:14; 24:10).
17 tc The phrase “whom he named apostles” is lacking in the majority of
18 tn Mark 4:31-32 is fairly awkward in Greek. Literally the sentence reads as follows: “As a mustard seed, which when sown in the earth, being the smallest of all the seeds in the earth, and when it is sown, it grows up…” The structure has been rendered in more idiomatic English, although some of the awkward structure has been retained for rhetorical effect.
19 tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).
20 sn The point of the parable seems to be that while the kingdom of God may appear to have insignificant and unnoticeable beginnings (i.e., in the ministry of Jesus), it will someday (i.e., at the second advent) be great and quite expansive. The kingdom, however, is not to be equated with the church, but rather the church is an expression of the kingdom. Also, there is important OT background in the image of the mustard seed that grew and became a tree: Ezek 17:22-24 pictures the reemergence of the Davidic house where people can find calm and shelter. Like the mustard seed, it would start out small but grow to significant size.
21 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the response to Jesus’ request.
22 tn It is possible that this prepositional phrase modifies “as he was,” not “they took him along.” The meaning would then be “they took him along in the boat in which he was already sitting” (see 4:1).
sn A boat that held all the disciples would be of significant size.
23 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
24 tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).
25 sn Who has authority over the seas and winds is discussed in the OT: Ps 104:3; 135:7; 107:23-30. When Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea he was making a statement about who he was.
26 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
27 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate the conclusion of the episode in the narrative.
28 sn The Decapolis refers to a league of towns (originally consisting of ten; the Greek name literally means “ten towns”) whose region (except for Scythopolis) lay across the Jordan River.
29 sn Note that the man could not separate what God had done from the one through whom God had done it (what Jesus had done for him). This man was called to witness to God’s goodness at home.
30 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
31 tn Grk “She said”; the referent (the girl’s mother) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
32 tn While Matthew and Luke consistently use the noun βαπτίστης (baptisths, “the Baptist”) to refer to John, as a kind of a title, Mark employs the substantival participle ὁ βαπτίζων (Jo baptizwn, “the one who baptizes, the baptizer”) to describe him (though twice he does use the noun [Mark 6:25; 8:28]).
33 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
34 tn Grk “his”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
35 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
36 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
37 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the boy) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
38 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
39 tn Although the Greek subjunctive mood, formally required in a subordinate clause introduced by ἵνα ({ina), is traditionally translated by an English subjunctive (e.g., “may,” so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV), changes in the use of the subjunctive in English now result in most readers understanding such a statement as indicating permission (“may” = “has permission to”) or as indicating uncertainty (“may” = “might” or “may or may not”). Thus a number of more recent translations render such instances by an English future tense (“will,” so TEV, CEV, NLT, NASB 1995 update). That approach has been followed here.
40 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
41 tn Grk “answering, they said to Jesus.” The participle ἀποκριθέντες (apokriqentes) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been modified to conform to English style.
42 sn Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were – hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them (“We do not know”). The point of Mark 11:27-33 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.
43 sn Neither will I tell you. Though Jesus gave no answer, the analogy he used to their own question makes his view clear. His authority came from heaven.
44 tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 28.
45 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to introduce a somewhat parenthetical remark by the author.
46 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
47 sn The point of the parable in Mark 12:1-12 is that the leaders of the nation have been rejected by God and the vineyard (v. 9, referring to the nation and its privileged status) will be taken from them and given to others (an allusion to the Gentiles).
48 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate their response to Jesus’ request for a coin.
49 tn Or “whose likeness.”
sn In this passage Jesus points to the image (Grk εἰκών, eikwn) of Caesar on the coin. This same Greek word is used in Gen 1:26 (LXX) to state that humanity is made in the “image” of God. Jesus is making a subtle yet powerful contrast: Caesar’s image is on the denarius, so he can lay claim to money through taxation, but God’s image is on humanity, so he can lay claim to each individual life.
50 tn Grk “they said to him.”
51 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
52 tn Grk “and James and John,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
53 tn Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.
54 tn Grk “three hundred denarii.” One denarius was the standard day’s wage, so the value exceeded what a laborer could earn in a year (taking in to account Sabbaths and feast days when no work was done).
55 tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (as the proceeds from the sale of the perfumed oil).
56 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
57 sn The leaders were delighted when Judas contacted them about betraying Jesus, because it gave them the opportunity they had been looking for, and they could later claim that Jesus had been betrayed by one of his own disciples.
58 sn Matt 26:15 states the amount of money they gave Judas was thirty pieces of silver (see also Matt 27:3-4; Zech 11:12-13).
59 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
60 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
61 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the flow within the narrative.
62 tn Grk “and came.”
63 sn The author’s note that the disciples found things just as he had told them shows that Jesus’ word could be trusted.
64 tn Grk “answering, Pilate spoke to them again.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.
65 tc Instead of “what do you want me to do” several witnesses, including the most important ones (א B C W Δ Ψ Ë1,13 33 892 2427 pc), lack θέλετε (qelete, “you want”), turning the question into the more abrupt “what should I do?” Although the witnesses for the longer reading are not as significant (A D Θ 0250 Ï latt sy), the reading without θέλετε conforms to Matt 27:22 and thus is suspected of being a scribal emendation. The known scribal tendency to assimilate one synoptic passage to another parallel, coupled with the lack of such assimilation in
66 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “So” to indicate that the soldiers’ action is in response to Pilate’s condemnation of the prisoner in v. 15.
67 tn Grk “(that is, the praetorium).”
sn The governor’s residence (Grk “praetorium”) was the Roman governor’s official residence. The one in Jerusalem may have been Herod’s palace in the western part of the city, or the fortress Antonia northwest of the temple area.
68 sn A Roman cohort was a tenth of a legion, about 500-600 soldiers.
69 tn On this term see BDAG 140 s.v. ἄρωμα. The Jews did not practice embalming, so these materials were used to cover the stench of decay and slow decomposition.
sn Spices were used not to preserve the body, but as an act of love, and to mask the growing stench of a corpse.