1:3 the voice of one shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make 1 his paths straight.’” 2
8:14 Now 10 they had forgotten to take bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.
14:10 Then 18 Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus into their hands. 19
14:66 Now 21 while Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the high priest’s slave girls 22 came by.
1 sn This call to “make his paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.
2 sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.
3 tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agaphtos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).
4 tn Or “with you I am well pleased.”
sn The allusions in the remarks of the text recall Ps 2:7a; Isa 42:1 and either Isa 41:8 or, less likely, Gen 22:12,16. God is marking out Jesus as his chosen one (the meaning of “[in you I take] great delight”), but it may well be that this was a private experience that only Jesus and John saw and heard (cf. John 1:32-33).
5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
6 tn That is, “an official in charge of the synagogue”; ἀρχισυνάγωγος (arcisunagwgo") refers to the “president of a synagogue” (so BDAG 139 s.v. and L&N 53.93; cf. Luke 8:41).
sn The synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership. See also the note on synagogue in 1:21.
7 tc Codex Bezae (D) and some Itala
8 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 sn That no one should know about this. See the note on the phrase who he was in 3:12.
10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
11 tc Most
12 sn Jesus’ response, Why do you call me good?, was designed to cause the young man to stop and think for a moment about who Jesus really was. The following statement No one is good except God alone seems to point the man in the direction of Jesus’ essential nature and the demands which logically follow on the man for having said it.
13 tn Grk “And answering, he said to it.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.
14 sn Mark 11:12-14. The incident of the cursing of the fig tree occurs before he enters the temple for a third time (11:27ff) and is questioned at length by the religious leaders (11:27-12:40). It appears that Mark records the incident as a portent of what is going to happen to the leadership in Jerusalem who were supposed to have borne spiritual fruit but have been found by Messiah at his coming to be barren. The fact that the nation as a whole is indicted is made explicit in chapter 13:1-37 where Jesus speaks of Jerusalem’s destruction and his second coming.
15 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first slave.
16 sn Most of the roofs in the NT were flat roofs made of pounded dirt, sometimes mixed with lime or stones, supported by heavy wooden beams. They generally had an easy means of access, either a sturdy wooden ladder or stone stairway, sometimes on the outside of the house.
17 sn The nature of the judgment coming upon them will be so quick and devastating that one will not have time to come down or go inside to take anything out of his house. It is best just to escape as quickly as possible.
18 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
19 tn Grk “betray him to them”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.
21 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
22 tn The Greek term here is παιδίσκη (paidiskh), referring to a slave girl or slave woman.