Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• The fourth commandment 5:12-15
  This is the most positively stated of the Ten Commandments. Only one other commandment appears in the affirmative, namely, the fifth. The fourth commandment is a charge to refresh oneself physically and spiritually. The Hebre...
• The mission of the Anointed One 61:1-3
  These two chapters begin with an introduction of the Servant (Messiah) and His mission. That the Servant of the Servant Songs is the same person as the Anointed One (Messiah) of chapter 11 is clear from what Isaiah wrote abou...
• The question of company 9:9-13 (cf. Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32)
  The main point of this pericope is Jesus' response to the Pharisees' criticism that Jesus and His disciples kept company with tax collectors and sinners.9:9 This incident probably took place in or near Capernaum. The tax offi...
• Characteristics
  Notice first some linguistic characteristics. Mark used a relatively limited vocabulary when he wrote this Gospel. For example, he used only about 80 words that occur nowhere else in the Greek New Testament compared with Luke...
• 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...
• D. Jesus' initial conflict with the religious leaders 2:1-3:6
  Mark next recorded five instances in which Israel's leaders opposed Jesus, evidently not in chronological order. These occurred during the Galilean ministry of Jesus. However, Mark appears to have grouped them so his readers ...
• 1. The healing and forgiveness of a paralytic 2:1-12 (cf. Matt. 9:1-8; Luke 5:17-26)
  2:1-2 These two verses are an introduction to what follows. Mark frequently used summaries such as this one (cf. 1:14-15, 39; 2:13; 3:7-12, 23; 4:1, 33-34; 8:21-26, 31; 9:31; 10:1; 12:1). They are a mark of his literary style...
• 2. The call of Levi and his feast 2:13-17 (cf. Matt. 9:13; Luke 5:27-32)
  The call of Levi as one of Jesus' disciples was the setting for the second instance of opposition from the religious leaders that Mark recorded in this section.2:13 "Again"(Gr. palin) identifies this incident as a different o...
• 3. The religious leaders' question about fasting 2:18-22 (cf. Matt. 9:14-17; Luke 5:33-39)
  The third objection the religious leaders voiced arose from the failure of Jesus' disciples to observe the traditional, not Scriptural, fast days that the Pharisees observed (cf. Lev. 16:29). Jesus' association with tax gathe...
• Healing on the Sabbath 3:1-6 (cf. Matt. 12:9-14; Luke 6:6-11)
  The following incident demonstrated Jesus' sovereign authority over the Sabbath. This is the last in this series of conflict accounts. It provides the climax in this section of Mark's narrative.3:1-2 This event happened on a ...
• III. The Servant's later Galilean ministry 3:7--6:6a
  There are some structural similarities between 1:14-3:6 and 3:7-6:6a. The beginnings and endings of these two sections are similar. The first section describes Jesus' ministry in Galilee before the religious leaders determine...
• 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...
• 1. The increasing rejection of Jesus 3:20-35
  Mark again returned to the opposition theme (cf. 2:1-3:6). He directed his readers back and forth between Jesus' acceptance on a superficial level by the multitudes, His disciples' growing commitment to Him, and the increasin...
• 2. Jesus' teaching in parables 4:1-34
  This is the first of three extended teaching sessions that Mark recorded (cf. 7:1-23; 13:3-37). The three parables in this section describe the character of the messianic kingdom.Parables are illustrations that teach truth by...
• The setting 4:1-2 (cf. Matt. 13:1-3a; Luke 8:4)
  Jesus apparently taught these parables shortly after the incident Mark just finished recording (3:20-35; cf. Matt. 13:1). This was a very busy day in Jesus' ministry that evidently included all the events in 3:19-4:41 (cf. Ma...
• The walking on the water 6:45-52 (cf. Matt. 14:22-33; John 6:14-21)
  This miracle followed the feeding of the 5,000 by just a few hours. Both miracles were important parts of Jesus' discipleship training program for the Twelve.6:45 The feeding of the 5,000 evidently happened on the northeast s...
• 3. The controversy with the Pharisees and scribes over defilement 7:1-23 (cf. Matt. 15:1-20)
  This confrontation played an important part in Jesus' decision to withdraw from Galilee again (v. 24; cf. 2:1-3:6). Along with mounting popularity (6:53-56) came increasing opposition from the Jewish religious leaders. This s...
• 4. Jesus' teaching about bread and the exorcism of a Phoenician girl 7:24-30 (cf. Matt. 15:21-28)
  Jesus increased His ministry to Gentiles as He experienced increasing rejection from the Jews. This third withdrawal from Galilee took Jesus outside Palestine for the first time. Mark also recorded Jesus doing more things out...
• 1. The first major prophecy of Jesus' passion 8:31-33 (cf. Matt. 16:21-23; Luke 9:22)
  8:31 Jesus' clear revelation of His coming suffering, death, and resurrection resulted from Peter's confession of faith. The disciples were now ready to receive what would have been completely incomprehensible if they still v...
• 2. The requirements of discipleship 8:34-9:1 (cf. Matt. 16:24-28; Luke 9:23-27)
  Jesus now proceeded to explain to His disciples that suffering would not only be His destiny but theirs too.8:34 Jesus addressed the crowds as well as the disciples because the requirements are the same for anyone who contemp...
• The parable of the wicked tenant farmers 12:1-12 (cf. Matt. 21:33-46; Luke 20:9-19)
  "The other major example of the concentric [chiastic] pattern in Mark's story [beside 2:1-3:6] is the series of Jesus' conflicts with the authorities in Jerusalem [ch. 12], comprised of seven episodes: Episodes A and A1 invol...
• The hearing before Caiaphas 14:53-65 (cf. Matt. 26:57-68; Luke 22:54, 63-65; John 18:24)
  14:53 The high priest in view here was Caiaphas. Interestingly Mark never mentioned him by name. He was the high priest that the Romans had appointed in 18 A.D., and he served in this capacity until 36 A.D.This was an unoffic...
• Bibliography
  Adams, J. McKee. Biblical Backgrounds. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1965.Alexander, Joseph Addison. The Gospel According to Mark. 1881. Reprint ed. London: Banner of Truth, 1960.Alexander, William M. Demonic Possession in the N...
• 2. Jesus' authority to forgive sins 5:17-26 (cf. Matt. 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12)
  Luke documented Jesus' authority in yet another area of life by showing His power to forgive sins. In this incident the miracle is secondary and the issue of Jesus' authority is primary. Jesus claimed to be God by forgiving t...
• 4. Jesus' attitude toward fasting 5:33-39 (cf. Matt. 9:14-17; Mark 2:18-22)
  The setting of this controversy is the same as the previous one, Levi's banquet.5:33 The religious leaders (v. 30; Mark 2:18) and John's disciples (Matt. 9:14; Mark 2:18) raised the question of fasting. They did so because it...
• 3. The response to John the Baptist's witness 1:35-42
  The writer now turned his attention from John the Baptist's witness to Jesus to record the reactions of some men to Jesus' witness. Two of John the Baptist's disciples left him to follow Jesus when they heard John's testimony...
• 2. Jesus' initial stay in Capernaum 2:12
  Sometime after the miracle just narrated, Jesus went down topographically from Cana to Capernaum. Cana was on a higher elevation than Capernaum, though Capernaum was about 13 miles northeast of Cana. Some family members (cf. ...
• 1. The third sign: healing the paralytic 5:1-9
  This third sign in John's Gospel signaled Jesus' identity and created controversy that followed. Particularly it testified to Jesus' authority over time.2095:1 Some time later Jesus returned to Jerusalem to celebrate one of t...
• The challenge to professing believers 8:31-47
  Jesus next addressed those in His audience who had expressed some faith Him (v. 30).8:31 The mark of a true disciple is continuation in the instructions of his or her teacher. A disciple is by definition a learner, not necess...
• 3. The appearance to the Eleven minus Thomas on Easter evening 20:19-23 (cf. Mark 16:14-18; Luke 24:36-43)
  This pericope contains another post-resurrection appearance of Jesus that bolstered the disciples' faith. It also contains John's account of the Great Commission.20:19 John moved his readers directly from the events of Easter...
• The healing of Aeneas at Lydda 9:32-35
  Peter continued his itinerant ministry around Palestine (cf. 8:25).9:32 Lydda (modern Lod, the site of Israel's international airport) lay on the Mediterranean coastal plain about 10 miles from the sea. It was about 25 miles ...
• 1. A positive encouragement 1:12-17
  Paul thanked God for changing him to enable Timothy to appreciate the fact that God can transform even the worst of sinners and enable His saints to accomplish supernatural feats. What precipitated Paul's testimony here was t...
• 2. Slaves' respect for their masters 2:18-25
  Peter proceeded to address the situation of Christians working under the authority of others."The unusual fact, unnoticed by most Bible readers, is that he [Peter], along with Paul (1 Cor. 7:21; Eph. 6:5-8; Col. 3:22-25; 1 Ti...
• 1. Renouncing sin reaffirmed 3:4-9
  "The present vv, 3:4-9, form six strophes, each of which divides . . . roughly into half. The two halves of the strophes balance one another; for the second part of the v provides a development of the first part (vv 4, 5, 7),...
• 1. The praise of God in heaven 19:1-10
  This pericope has strong ties to what precedes (16:17-18:24). It is the concluding revelation concerning the fall of Babylon, the latter-day Egypt and Tyre, and Antichrist, the ultimate Pharaoh of the Exodus and King of Tyre....

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• St. Mark 1-9
  Mark 1-9
• Christs Authority To Forgive
  And again He entered into Capernaum after some days: and it was noised that He was in the house. 2. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the do...
• IV. Note Our Lord's Answer To The Cavils.
  Mark would have us see something supernatural in the swiftness of Christ's knowledge of the muttered criticisms. He perceived it straightway' and in His spirit,' which is tantamount to saying by divine discernment, and not by...
• The Publicans' Friend
  And He went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto Him, and He taught them. 14 And as He passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And...
• The Secret Of Gladness
  And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? '--Mark 2:19.THIS is part of our Lord's answer to the question put by John's disciples as to the reason for the omission ...
• I. The Pharisees' Objection.
  Whether we adopt the view that the disciples were clearing a path through standing corn, or the simpler one, that they gathered the ears of corn on the edge of a made path as they went, the point of the Pharisees' objection w...