Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 1. The vanity of work 1:3
  Rather than saying, "All work is vanity,"Solomon made the same point by asking this rhetorical question that expects a negative response. He used this literary device often throughout the book (cf. 2:2; 3:9; 6:8, 11-12; et al...
• The sign of the departing deportee 12:1-7
  12:1-2 The Lord came to Ezekiel with another message.190He told His servant that the people among whom he lived, the house of Israel, were rebellious against Him (cf. 2:3-8). Their blindness to the things that they saw and th...
• 3. The Son of Man's kingdom 7:13-14
  7:13 Daniel again saw something happening in heaven. One like a son of man was brought before the Ancient of Days. The angelic attendants in heaven's court probably ushered Him forward. This description glorifies the Ancient ...
• Revelation about the church 16:18-20
  16:18 "I say to you"(cf. 5:18, 20, 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44; 8:10) may imply that Jesus would continue the revelation the Father had begun. However the phrase occurs elsewhere where that contrast is not in view. Undoubtedly it ...
• 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...
• Purpose
  These characteristics help us understand Mark's purpose for writing, which he did not state directly. Mark's purpose was not just to give his readers a biographical or historical account of Jesus' life. He had a more practica...
• Mark's position among the Gospels
  It is common today for scholars to hold Markan priority. This is the view that Mark wrote his Gospel first and the other Gospel evangelists wrote after he did. This view has become popular since the nineteenth century. Before...
• 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...
• A. The title of the book 1:1 (cf. Luke 3:1-2)
  Mark may have intended this sentence to introduce the ministry of John the Baptist since that is what follows immediately. It could also refer to the inception of Jesus' public ministry and therefore be a title of the Gospel'...
• 1. The ministry of John the Baptist 1:2-8 (cf. Matt. 3:1-6, 11-12; Luke 3:3-6; 15-18)
  The writer pointed out that the ministry of Jesus' forerunner fulfilled prophecy. It made a significant impact on those whom John contacted. Then Mark recorded the essence of John's message.1:2-3 Mark began with a quotation f...
• 2. The baptism of Jesus 1:9-11 (cf. Matt. 3:13-17; Luke 3:21-23)
  Mark next recorded two events that immediately preceded the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, His baptism and His temptation. The first of these events signaled His appearing as Messiah and His induction into that office. ...
• 3. The temptation of Jesus 1:12-13 (cf. Matt. 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13)
  Jesus' temptation by Satan was another event that prepared the divine Servant for His ministry. Mark's account is brief, and it stresses the great spiritual conflict that this temptation posed for Jesus. The writer omitted an...
• 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 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...
• 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 ...
• The stilling of a storm 4:35-41 (cf. Matt. 8:18, 23-27; Luke 8:22-25)
  Many unique features of Mark's narrative indicate that it came from an eyewitness account, probably Peter. These include mention of "that day"(v. 35), "as He [Jesus] was"and the other boats (v. 36), the stern and the cushion ...
• The raising of Jairus' daughter and the healing of a woman with a hemorrhage 5:21-43 (cf. Matt. 9:18-26; Luke 8:40-56)
  This is one of the sections of Mark's Gospel that has a chiastic structure (cf. 3:22-30; 6:14-29; 11:15-19).A The appeal of Jairus for his daughter 5:21-24B The healing of the woman with the hemorrhage 5:25-34A' The raising o...
• 2. Jesus' rejection by the Nazarenes 6:1-6a (cf. Matt. 13:54-58)
  Even though Jesus gave ample evidence that He was more than a mere man (4:35-5:43) those who knew Him best on the physical plane still refused to believe in Him (6:1-6a). This refusal led Jesus to turn increasingly from the m...
• IV. The Servant's self-revelation to the disciples 6:6b--8:30
  The increasing hostility of Israel's religious leaders and the rejection of the multitudes (3:7-6:6a) led Jesus to concentrate on training His disciples increasingly. This section of Mark's Gospel shows how Jesus did that. Wh...
• A. The mission of the Twelve 6:6b-30
  This is another of Mark's "sandwich"or chiastic sections. The main event is Jesus' sending the Twelve on a preaching and healing mission that extended His own ministry. Within this story, between their departing and their ret...
• 1. The feeding of the 5,000 6:31-44 (cf. Matt. 14:13-21; Luke 9:11-17; John 6:1-13)
  Mark's account of this miracle plays an important role in his Gospel. The unusually long introduction provides the setting for this miracle. It stresses Jesus' humanity, and the miracle itself demonstrates His deity. Mark lat...
• Jesus' teaching about the nature of defilement 7:14-23
  Jesus continued His response to the critics by focusing on the particular practice that they had objected to (v. 5). The question of what constituted defilement was very important. The Jews had wandered far from God's will in...
• 5. The healing of a deaf man with a speech impediment 7:31-36
  Mark was the only evangelist to record this miracle. He apparently included it in his Gospel because it is another instance of Jesus healing a Gentile. This particular miracle is also significant because it prefigured Jesus o...
• C. The second cycle of self-revelation to the disciples 8:1-30
  The disciples had not yet understood the lessons that Jesus sought to teach them. Mark constructed his Gospel to show that in His discipleship training Jesus repeated lessons to train them. One writer noticed the following re...
• 1. The feeding of the 4,000 8:1-9 (cf. Matt. 15:32-38)
  This miracle repeated the lesson of the feeding of the 5,000 for the disciples who had not learned what they should have from the former miracle (vv. 17-21).1878:1-3 Jesus and His disciples were still in the Decapolis region ...
• 3. Conflict with the Pharisees over signs 8:11-13 (cf. Matt. 16:1-4)
  Matthew's account of this incident is fuller than Mark's. Probably Mark just summarized it here to parallel 7:1-23 and so advance his theme of discipleship training.8:11 Matthew noted that the Sadducees accompanied the Pharis...
• 4. Jesus' teaching about the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod 8:14-21 (cf. Matt. 16:5-12)
  This pericope parallels and recalls Jesus' teaching about bread when He cast the demon out of the Phoenician girl (7:24-30). In both cases leavened bread metaphorically represented teaching. The Gentile woman wanted Jesus' te...
• 5. The healing of a blind man near Bethsaida 8:22-26
  Mark is the only evangelist who recorded this miracle. It corresponds to the healing of the deaf man with the speech impediment (7:31-36), the only other miracle that Mark alone recorded. This is the only miracle in Mark that...
• 6. Peter's confession of faith 8:27-30 (cf. Matt. 16:13-20; Luke 9:18-21)
  The healing of the deaf man with the speech impediment resulted in a confession of Jesus' greatness that fell short of identifying Him as God (7:37). The healing of the blind man was the incident that God used to open the dis...
• V. The Servant's journey to Jerusalem 8:31--10:52
  Having comprehended Jesus' true identity the disciples next turned south with Jesus and headed from Caesarea Philippi toward Jerusalem. This section of the Gospel traces that journey and stresses Jesus' preparation of His dis...
• A. The first passion prediction and its lessons 8:31-9:29
  In this section, Mark recorded Jesus' first clear prediction of His passion (8:31), the disciples' reaction to it (8:32-33), and several lessons on discipleship (8:34-9:29)....
• 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...
• 3. The Transfiguration 9:2-8 (cf. Matt. 17:1-8; Luke 9:28-36)
  This event not only fulfilled Jesus' prediction in verse 1, but it also confirmed what Peter had confessed in 8:29. Despite Jesus' coming death (8:31-32) it assured His disciples of eventual glory (8:38). Jesus had just finis...
• 4. The coming of Elijah 9:9-13 (cf. Matt. 17:9-13)
  The appearance of Elijah on the mountain led to a discussion of his role as Messiah's forerunner. This conversation developed as the disciples followed Jesus down the mountain.9:9 Jesus again commanded secrecy (cf. 1:34, 43-4...
• B. The second passion prediction and its lessons 9:30-10:31
  For a second time, Jesus told His disciples of His coming death and resurrection (cf. 8:31). Again they failed to understand what He meant (cf. 8:32-33). Jesus responded by teaching them additional lessons on discipleship (cf...
• Jesus' instruction about childlikeness 10:13-16 (cf. Matt. 19:13-15; Luke 18:15-17)
  The simple trust in Jesus that the children in this pericope demonstrated contrasts with the hostility of the Pharisees in the previous paragraph.10:13-14 Mark's account of this incident is very similar to Matthew's. However,...
• Jesus' teaching concerning riches 10:23-31 (cf. Matt. 19:23-30; Luke 18:24-30)
  Jesus used the incident just past to teach His disciples about riches. Matthew's account is the fullest.10:23 The case of this unbeliever had important significance for Jesus' believing disciples. Rather than being a preview ...
• C. The third passion prediction and its lessons 10:32-52
  This is the last time Jesus told His disciples that He was going to die and rise again as He approached Jerusalem. Each time Jesus gave them more information than He had given before. The first time the disciples reacted viol...
• 1. The third major prophecy of Jesus' passion 10:32-34 (cf. Matt. 20:17-19; Luke 18:31-34)
  10:32 Jesus and His disciples were travelling to Jerusalem from somewhere in Perea or Judea. They had not yet passed through Jericho (vv. 46-52). Jesus' position in front of them, in typical rabbinic fashion, suggests His det...
• 3. The healing of a blind man near Jericho 10:46-52 (cf. Matt. 20:29-34; Luke 18:35-43)
  Mark probably included this incident in his Gospel because it illustrates how Jesus would open the spiritual eyes of His disciples that were still shut (cf. 8:22-26). This is the last healing miracle that Mark recorded."This ...
• A. The Servant's anticipation of suffering 14:1-52
  Several themes peak in this section. Here we have the clearest evidence that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God (cf. 1:1; 8:29). Here, too, Jesus' conflict with the religious leaders, His foes, came to a head (cf. 3:1, ...
• The institution of the Lord' Supper 14:22-26 (cf. Matt. 26:26-30; Luke 22:17-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26)
  Matthew and Mark's accounts of this event are similar, but Paul's is more like Luke's.14:22 The bread Jesus ate would have been the unleavened bread that the Jews used in the Passover meal. The blessing Jesus pronounced was a...
• 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...
• Peter's denial of Jesus 14:66-72 (cf. Matt. 26:69-75; Luke 22:55-62; John 18:16-18, 25-27)
  This event happened below in the courtyard while the hearing just described continued on the floor above. These verses resume what Mark introduced in verse 54. The events were contemporaneous with Jesus' examination by the Sa...
• The crucifixion of Jesus 15:21-32 (cf. Matt. 27:32-44; Luke 23:26-43; John 19:17b-27)
  15:21 Probably only Mark mentioned Simon's sons because the Christians in Rome knew them or knew of them (cf. Rom. 16:13). Evidently Simon became a believer in Jesus. Mark mentioned very few people by name other than the Twel...
• 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...
• 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...
• Jesus' question and Peter's reply 9:18-20 (cf. Matt. 16:13-16; Mark 8:27-29)
  Luke omitted several incidents here that the other evangelists included (Matt. 14:22-16:12; Mark 6:45-8:26; John 6:16-66). By doing so, he tied the questions of Herod and the multitude about Jesus' identity with Peter's answe...
• Jesus' prediction of His passion 9:21-22 (cf. Matt. 16:17-23; Mark 8:30-33)
  Luke omitted Jesus' prediction of the church (Matt. 16:17-19), Peter's rebuke of Jesus (Matt. 16:22; Mark 8:32), and Jesus' counter-rebuke of Peter (Matt. 16:23; Mark 8:33). These omissions enabled him to stress Jesus' predic...
• 8. The pride of the disciples 9:46-48
  In contrast to the humble attitude of Jesus demonstrated in His willingness to submit to betrayal and death in God's will, the disciples manifested pride. They had their own ideas about the coming kingdom, and they wanted to ...
• 1. The importance of fearless confession 12:1-12 (cf. Matt. 10:19-20, 26-33)
  Jesus used His condemnation of the Pharisees' hypocrisy as an occasion to warn His disciples against being hypocritical. The context of this teaching in Matthew's Gospel is Jesus' instruction of the Twelve before He sent them...
• 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...
• 1. The first cleansing of the temple 2:13-22
  The Synoptics record Jesus' cleansing of the temple after His triumphal entry (Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-16; Luke 19:45-46). Only John noted this cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus' ministry. The differences b...
• The response of the Twelve 6:66-71
  6:66 Jesus lost many of His followers because of the Bread of Life discourse (cf. v. 60). His explanation to them following the discourse did not change their minds. He had made no concessions. They had understood Him correct...
• 6. The sixth sign: healing a man born blind ch. 9
  This chapter continues the theme of Jesus as the Light of the World (8:12; 9:5). When the Light shone, some received spiritual sight, as this blind man received physical and spiritual sight. However the Light blinded others (...
• The healing of the man 9:1-12
  The exact time of this miracle and Jesus' resultant discourse is unclear. Evidently these events transpired sometime between the feast of Tabernacles (7:2, 10; September 10-17, 32 A.D.) and the feast of Dedication (10:22-39; ...
• Lazarus' death 11:1-16
  In this pericope John stressed Jesus' deliberate purpose in allowing Lazarus to die and the reality of his death.11:1-2 "Lazarus"probably is a variant of "Eleazar"meaning "God helps."379The Synoptic writers did not mention hi...
• The kernel of wheat teaching 12:20-26
  12:20 The New Testament writers frequently referred to any Gentiles who came from the Greek-speaking world as Greeks (cf. 7:35; et al.). We do not know where the Gentiles in this incident came from. They could have lived in o...
• The question about the way 14:5-7
  14:5 Thomas voiced the disciples' continuing confusion about Jesus' destination. Apparently the "Father's house"did not clearly identify heaven to them. Without a clear understanding of the final destination they could not be...
• The folly of a crucified Messiah 1:18-25
  "This paragraph is crucial not only to the present argument (1:10-4:21) but to the entire letter as well. Indeed, it is one of the truly great moments in the apostle Paul. Here he argues, with OT support, that what God had al...
• The analogy of the Passover 5:6-8
  Paul argued for the man's removal from the church with this analogy. It was primarily for the sake of the church that they should remove him, not for the man's sake.5:6 It was not good for the Corinthians to feel proud of the...
• E. The problem of apostasy in the church 4:1-5
  In this pericope Paul reminded Timothy of the apostasy that Jesus Christ had foretold to equip him to identify and to deal with it.143"The change that occurs at 4:1 following the hymn of victory, then, is not unexpected. Oppo...
• 2. The discipline and selection of elders 5:17-25
  Another group in the church deserved Timothy's special attention. Therefore Paul gave instructions concerning the care of elders to his young legate to enable him to deal with present and potential elders properly.The structu...
• 3. A popular saying 2:11-13
  To encourage Timothy further to endure hardship Paul cited a commonly accepted and used quotation that encouraged believers to remain faithful to their Christian profession (cf. 1 Tim. 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; Titus 3:8). It may have ...
• B. The Danger of Disbelief (The Second Warning) 3:7-19
  "The comparison between Christ and Moses leads to one between their followers. The writer uses the conduct of the Israelites as a means of challenging his readers to a closer walk with God."109The writer next reminded his rea...
• D. The Compassion of the Son 4:15-5:10
  Having explored the concept of Jesus as a faithfulhigh priest (3:1-4:14), the writer proceeded next to develop the idea that Jesus is a mercifulhigh priest in the service of God (cf. 2:17). A high priest must be faithful to G...
• 3. The dreadful alternative 6:4-8
  The writer pointed out the consequences of not pressing on to maturity to motivate his readers to pursue spiritual growth diligently.Christians have interpreted this passage in many different ways. Some believe that those who...
• 1. James' assertion 2:14
  The Arminian interpretation of this verse (view one above) is as follows. If a person claims to be a Christian but gives no evidence of true faith by the way he lives, he may never have been saved or he may no longer be saved...
• 2. The joy of our salvation 1:6-9
  "The main thread of Peter's rhetoric [in this pericope] can . . . be expressed in one sentence: Then you will rejoice with inexpressible and glorious delight, when you each receive the outcome of your faith, your final salvat...
• Signs of the believer 2:20-23
  2:20-21 In contrast to the heterodox secessionists (v. 19), the faithful believers within the community were "keeping the faith."The "anointing"referred to is evidently the Holy Spirit whom Jesus gives to each believer at con...
• Summary exhortation and introductory transition 2:28-29
  2:28 John introduced the new idea of the believer's meeting Jesus Christ at death or the Rapture to motivate his readers to continue to cultivate intimate fellowship with God. The prospect of this meeting remained the basis f...
• 4. Promise 3:4-6
  Jesus Christ held out blessings for the faithful few in the congregation to stimulate the rest to repent. White garments symbolic of one's works (19:8) are pure and free of defilement (cf. 7:9, 13; 19:14; Matt. 22:11-12). Sar...
• 2. The return of Christ to earth 19:11-16
  On the one hand, the return of Jesus Christ to the earth is the climax of all that has preceded. On the other, it is the first of seven final things that John saw and recorded. These things were Christ's return, Satan's captu...
• 1. The binding of Satan 20:1-3
  20:1 The first word, "And,"supports the idea of chronological sequence. It implies a continuation from what John just revealed (cf. 19:11, 17, 19; 20:4, 11, 12; 21:1, 2, 22). Amillennial interpreters disagree."John says nothi...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• St. Mark 1-9
  Mark 1-9
• Christ's Touch
  Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him.'--Mark 1:41.BEHOLD the servant of the Lord' might be the motto of this Gospel, and He went about doing good and healing' the summing up of its facts. We have in it comparatively few ...
• The Looks Of Jesus
  And He looked round about to see her that had done this thing.'--Mark 5:32.THIS Gospel of Mark is full of little touches that speak an eye-witness who had the gift of noting and reproducing vividly small details which make a ...
• II. The Lord's Looks Of Love And Warning To Those Who Have Found Him.
  There are three instances of this class. The first is when He looked round on His disciples and said,' Behold My mother and My brethren!' (Mark 3:34). Perhaps no moment in all Christ's life had more of humiliation in it than ...
• The Patient Teacher, And The Slow Scholars
  And when Jesus knew it, He saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? 18. Having eyes, see ye not? having ears, hear ye not? and do ye n...
• The Religious Uses Of Memory
  Do ye not remember?'--Mark 8:18.THE disciples had misunderstood our Lord's warning against the leaven of the Pharisees,' which they supposed to have been occasioned by their neglect to bring with them bread. Their blunder was...
• The Gradual Healing Of The Blind Man
  And Jesus cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch him. 23. And He took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when He had spit on his eyes. and put His hands up...
• Christ's Cross. And Ours
  Asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? 28 And they answered, John the Baptist: but some [say], Elias; and others, One of the prophets. 29 And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter...
• III. We Have Here The Announcement Of The Cross As The Law For The Disciples Too (Mark 8:34-38).
  Christ's followers must follow, but men can choose whether they will be His followers or not. So the must' is changed into let him,' and the if any man will' is put in the forefront. The conditions are fixed, but the choice a...