Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• Praying 6:5-15 (cf. Luke 11:1-13)
  6:5-6 Jesus assumed that His disciples would pray, as He assumed they would give alms (v. 2) and fast (v. 16). Again He warned against ostentatious worship. The synagogues and streets were public places where people could pra...
• The immediate results of Jesus' death 27:51-56 (cf. Mark 15:38-41; Luke 23:45, 47-49)
  27:51a The inner veil of the temple is undoubtedly in view here, the one separating the holy place from the holy of holies (cf. Heb. 4:16; 6:19-20; 9:11-28; 10:19-22). The tearing happened at 3:00 p.m., the time of the evenin...
• Origin and Destination
  Early tradition says Mark wrote in Italy5and in Rome.6This external testimony finds support in the internal evidence of the Gospel itself. Many indications in the text point to Mark's having written for Gentile readers origin...
• Outline
  I. Introduction 1:1-13A. The title of the book 1:1B. Jesus' preparation for ministry 1:2-131. The ministry of John the Baptist 1:2-82. The baptism of Jesus 1:9-113. The temptation of Jesus 1:12-13II. The Servant's early Galil...
• II. The Servant's early Galilean ministry 1:14--3:6
  Mark omitted Jesus' year of early Judean ministry (John 1:15-4:42), as did the other Synoptic evangelists. He began his account of Jesus' ministry of service in Galilee, northern Israel (1:14-6:6a). Because of increasing oppo...
• 1. The message of the Servant 1:14-15 (cf. Matt. 4:12, 17; Luke 4:14-15)
  This topic sentence summarizes Jesus' whole ministry in Galilee. It identifies when it started, where it happened, and the essence of what Jesus' proclaimed that was the basis of His ministry.1:14 Jesus began His Galilean min...
• 2. The first disciples of the Servant 1:16-20 (cf. Matt. 4:18-22; Luke 5:1-11)
  The account of the calling of these first disciples clarifies that to repent and believe the gospel (v. 15) should result in abandoning one's former life to follow Jesus from then on. This is the appropriate response that Mar...
• 1. Jesus' ministry to the multitudes 3:7-12 (cf. Matt. 12:15-21)
  This pericope introduces Jesus' continuing ministry in Galilee following the religious leaders' decision to kill Him (cf. 1:14-15; 2:13). It provides much more detail than the parallel account in Matthew.3:7-8 The sea to whic...
• 2. Jesus' selection of 12 disciples 3:13-19 (cf. Luke 6:12-16)
  Jesus' selection of 12 disciples constituted an important advance in His ministry. These men would be the primary beneficiaries of His training for leadership to carry out His mission. The plot to take His life made the train...
• The death of Jesus' forerunner 6:17-29 (cf. Matt. 14:4-12)
  Verses 17-29 are a flashback in which Mark explained how John had died. This is the only story in Mark's Gospel that does not concern Jesus directly.153Why did Mark include it? Perhaps he did so because John's death prefigure...
• C. Jesus' teaching on Mt. Olivet ch. 13
  The Olivet Discourse is the longest section of Jesus' teaching that Mark recorded (cf. 4:1-34; 7:1-23). Mark used this discourse as a bridge between Jesus' controversies with Israel's leaders (11:27-12:44) and the account of ...
• The death of Jesus 15:33-41 (cf. Matt. 27:45-56; Luke 23:44-49; John 19:28-30)
  Mark's account of Jesus' death included five climactic events: the darkness, two of Jesus' cries, the tearing of the temple veil, and the Roman centurion's confession. All of these events happened during the last three of the...
• The burial of Jesus 15:42-47 (cf. Matt. 27:57-66; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:31-42)
  The burial of Jesus was an important part of the preaching of the early church (cf. 1 Cor. 15:3-4). It forms a connection between Jesus' death and His resurrection. More important it demonstrated the reality of Jesus' death.1...
• A. The announcement of Jesus' resurrection 16:1-8 (cf. Matt. 28:1-8; Luke 24:1-8; John 20:1)
  16:1 The Sabbath ended with sundown Saturday evening. The women did not come to the tomb until Sunday morning (v. 2, cf. Matt. 28:1). Why did Mark refer to the Sabbath at all? Probably he did so to clarify that Jesus had been...
• 2. The entrance of two disciples into the high priests' courtyard and Peter's first denial 18:15-18 (cf. Matt. 26:57-58, 69-70; Mark 14:53-54, 66-68; Luke 22:54-57)
  As the other evangelists, John alternated his account of the events surrounding Jesus' religious trial. He described what was happening in the courtyard (vv. 15-18), then what was happening inside (vv. 19-24), then what happe...
• 5. Jesus' provision for His mother 19:25-27
  John is the only evangelist who recorded this incident.19:25 The four women standing nearby contrast with the four soldiers.593While the soldiers behaved callously and profited immediately from Jesus' death, the women waited ...
• 1. The removal of Jesus' body from the cross 19:31-37
  This pericope is unique to the fourth Gospel.19:31 The "day of preparation"was Friday, the day before the Sabbath (Saturday, cf. v. 14; Mark 15:42). The Jews considered sundown the beginning of a new day. In this case the new...
• 2. The burial of Jesus 19:38-42 (cf.Matt. 27:57-60; Mark 15:42-46; Luke 23:50-54)
  19:38 All four evangelists mentioned Joseph of Arimathea but only with Jesus' burial. The Synoptics tell us that he was a godfearing rich member of the Sanhedrin who was a follower of Jesus and who had not voted to condemn Je...
• Cornelius' vision 10:1-8
  10:1 Caesarea stood on the Mediterranean coast about 30 miles north of Joppa. Formerly its name was Strato's Tower, but Herod the Great renamed it in honor of Augustus Caesar, his patron and the adopted heir of Julius Caesar....
• IV. Women in the Ministry and Teaching of Jesus
  A. A loyal group of women accompanied Jesus and served Him on His ministry tours (Luke 8:1-3; Matt. 27:55; Mark 15:41).B. In contrast to normal custom and rabbinic standards, Jesus spoke with a Samaritan woman and revealed to...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• St. Mark 10-16
  Mark 10-16