Mark 2:23

Lord of the Sabbath

2:23 Jesus ¹  was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath, and his disciples began to pick some heads of wheat ²  as they made their way.

Mark 3:9

3:9 Because of the crowd, he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him so the crowd ³  would not press toward him.

Mark 7:6

7:6 He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart ⁴  is far from me.

Mark 7:27

7:27 He said to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and to throw it to the dogs.” ⁵ 

Mark 10:49

10:49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So ⁶  they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up! He is calling you.”

Mark 13:12-13

13:12 Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against ⁷  parents and have them put to death. 13:13 You will be hated by everyone because of my name. ⁸  But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ⁹ 

Mark 14:27

The Prediction of Peter’s Denial

14:27 Then ¹⁰  Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written,

‘I will strike the shepherd,

and the sheep will be scattered.’ ¹¹ 

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¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).

³ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn The term “heart” is a collective singular in the Greek text.

⁵ tn Or “lap dogs, house dogs,” as opposed to dogs on the street. The diminutive form originally referred to puppies or little dogs, then to house pets. In some Hellenistic uses κυνάριον (kunarion) simply means “dog.”

sn The term dogs does not refer to wild dogs (scavenging animals roaming around the countryside) in this context, but to small dogs taken in as house pets. It is thus not a derogatory term per se, but is instead intended by Jesus to indicate the privileged position of the Jews (especially his disciples) as the initial recipients of Jesus’ ministry. The woman’s response of faith and her willingness to accept whatever Jesus would offer pleased him to such an extent that he granted her request. This is the only miracle mentioned in Mark that Jesus performed at a distance without ever having seen the afflicted person, or issuing some sort of audible command.

⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

⁷ tn Or “will rebel against.”

⁸ sn See 1 Cor 1:25-31.

⁹ sn But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Jesus was not claiming here that salvation is by works, because he had already taught that it is by grace (cf. 10:15). He was simply arguing that genuine faith evidences itself in persistence through even the worst of trials.

¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹¹ sn A quotation from Zech 13:7.