8:34 Then 13 Jesus 14 called the crowd, along with his disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to become my follower, 15 he must deny 16 himself, take up his cross, 17 and follow me.
10:46 They came to Jericho. 24 As Jesus 25 and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road.
14:12 Now 26 on the first day of the feast of 27 Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, 28 Jesus’ 29 disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 30
1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Grk “As he reclined at table.”
sn As Jesus was having a meal. 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.
3 tn Grk “his.”
4 sn The tax collectors would bid to collect taxes for the Roman government and then add a surcharge, which they kept. Since tax collectors worked for Rome, they were viewed as traitors to their own people and were not well liked.
5 tn Or “the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
6 sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.
7 sn The issue here is inappropriate associations. Jews were very careful about personal associations and contact as a matter of ritual cleanliness. Their question borders on an accusation that Jesus is ritually unclean.
8 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
9 tc ‡ Most
tn Grk “the disciples”; the Greek article has been translated here as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
11 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
12 tn Grk “people’s.”
13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
14 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 tn Grk “to follow after me.”
16 tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.
17 sn To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.
18 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
19 tn The words “to do so” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity and stylistic reasons.
20 tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is considered by some to be used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NRSV, “into human hands”; CEV, “to people”). However, because this can be taken as a specific reference to the group responsible for Jesus’ arrest, where it is unlikely women were present (cf. Matt 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:2-12), the word “men” has been retained in the translation. There may also be a slight wordplay with “the Son of Man” earlier in the verse.
21 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
22 tn Grk “They will kill him, and being killed, after…” The redundancy in the statement has been removed in the translation.
23 sn They will kill him and after three days he will rise. See the note at the end of Mark 8:30 regarding the passion predictions.
24 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
25 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
27 tn The words “the feast of” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity.
28 sn Generally the feast of Unleavened Bread would refer to Nisan 15 (Friday), but the following reference to the sacrifice of the Passover lamb indicates that Nisan 14 (Thursday) was what Mark had in mind (Nisan = March 27 to April 25). The celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread lasted eight days, beginning with the Passover meal. The celebrations were so close together that at times the names of both were used interchangeably.
29 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
30 sn This required getting a suitable lamb and finding lodging in Jerusalem where the meal could be eaten. The population of the city swelled during the feast, so lodging could be difficult to find. The Passover was celebrated each year in commemoration of the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt; thus it was a feast celebrating redemption (see Exod 12). The Passover lamb was roasted and eaten after sunset in a family group of at least ten people (m. Pesahim 7.13). People ate the meal while reclining (see the note on table in 14:18). It included, besides the lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs as a reminder of Israel’s bitter affliction at the hands of the Egyptians. Four cups of wine mixed with water were also used for the meal. For a further description of the meal and the significance of the wine cups, see E. Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 523-24.