Mark 1:3-4

1:3 the voice of one shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make¹ his paths straight.’”²

1:4 In the wilderness³ John the baptizer⁴ began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.⁵

Mark 8:36

8:36 For what benefit is it for a person⁶ to gain the whole world, yet⁷ forfeit his life?

Mark 10:5

10:5 But Jesus said to them, “He wrote this commandment for you because of your hard hearts.⁸

Mark 11:10

11:10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

Mark 12:25

12:25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels⁹ in heaven.

Mark 14:64

14:64 You have heard the blasphemy! What is your verdict?”¹⁰ They all condemned him as deserving death.

Mark 16:15

16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

¹sn This call to “make his paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

²sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.

³tn Or “desert.”

⁴tn 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]).

⁵sn 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.

⁶tn Grk “a man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here to refer to both men and women.

⁷tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

⁸tn Grk “heart” (a collective singular).

⁹sn Angels do not die, nor do they eat according to Jewish tradition (1 En. 15:6; 51:4; Wis 5:5; 2 Bar. 51:10; 1QH 3.21-23).

¹⁰tn Grk “What do you think?”