Mark 1:6

1:6 John wore a garment made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ¹ 

Mark 4:7

4:7 Other seed fell among the thorns, ²  and they grew up and choked it, ³  and it did not produce grain.

Mark 4:12

4:12 so that although they look they may look but not see,

and although they hear they may hear but not understand,

so they may not repent and be forgiven.” ⁴ 

Mark 4:19

4:19 but ⁵  worldly cares, the seductiveness of wealth, ⁶  and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, ⁷  and it produces nothing.

Mark 4:39

4:39 So ⁸  he got up and rebuked ⁹  the wind, and said to the sea, ¹⁰  “Be quiet! Calm down!” Then ¹¹  the wind stopped, and it was dead calm.

Mark 4:41

4:41 They were overwhelmed by fear and said to one another, “Who then is this? ¹²  Even the wind and sea obey him!” ¹³ 

Mark 5:4-5

5:4 For his hands and feet had often been bound with chains and shackles, ¹⁴  but ¹⁵  he had torn the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5:5 Each night and every day among the tombs and in the mountains, he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

Mark 5:14-15

5:14 Now ¹⁶  the herdsmen ran off and spread the news in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 5:15 They came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man sitting there, clothed and in his right mind – the one who had the “Legion” – and they were afraid.

Mark 6:33

6:33 But many saw them leaving and recognized them, and they hurried on foot ¹⁷  from all the towns ¹⁸  and arrived there ahead of them. ¹⁹ 

Mark 7:4

7:4 And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. They hold fast to many other traditions: the washing of cups, pots, kettles, and dining couches. ²⁰ ) ²¹ 

Mark 8:21

8:21 Then ²²  he said to them, “Do you still not understand?” ²³ 

Mark 11:27

The Authority of Jesus

11:27 They came again to Jerusalem. ²⁴  While Jesus ²⁵  was walking in the temple courts, ²⁶  the chief priests, the experts in the law, ²⁷  and the elders came up to him

Mark 13:3

Signs of the End of the Age

13:3 So ²⁸  while he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, ²⁹  and Andrew asked him privately,

Mark 14:16

14:16 So ³⁰  the disciples left, went ³¹  into the city, and found things just as he had told them, ³²  and they prepared the Passover.

Mark 14:53

Condemned by the Sanhedrin

14:53 Then ³³  they led Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests and elders and experts in the law ³⁴  came together.

Mark 15:1

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

15:1 Early in the morning, after forming a plan, the chief priests with the elders and the experts in the law ³⁵  and the whole Sanhedrin tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. ³⁶ 

¹ sn John’s lifestyle was in stark contrast to many of the religious leaders of Jerusalem who lived in relative ease and luxury. While his clothing and diet were indicative of someone who lived in the desert, they also depicted him in his role as God’s prophet (cf. Zech 13:4); his appearance is similar to the Prophet Elijah (2 Kgs 1:8). Locusts and wild honey were a common diet in desert regions and locusts (dried insects) are listed in Lev 11:22 among the “clean” foods.

² sn Palestinian weeds like these thorns could grow up to six feet in height and have a major root system.

³ sn That is, crowded out the good plants.

³ sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.

⁴ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

⁵ tn Grk “the deceitfulness of riches.” Cf. BDAG 99 s.v. ἀπάτη 1, “the seduction which comes from wealth.”

⁶ sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.

⁵ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

⁶ tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

⁷ sn Who has authority over the seas and winds is discussed in the OT: Ps 104:3; 135:7; 107:23-30. When Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea he was making a statement about who he was.

⁸ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁶ sn Jesus’ authority over creation raised a question for the disciples about who he was exactly (Who then is this?). This verse shows that the disciples followed Jesus even though they did not know all about him yet.

⁷ sn This section in Mark (4:35-5:43) contains four miracles: (1) the calming of the storm; (2) the exorcism of the demon-possessed man; (3) the giving of life to Jairus’ daughter; (4) the healing of the woman hemorrhaging for twelve years. All these miracles demonstrate Jesus’ right to proclaim the kingdom message and his sovereign authority over forces, directly or indirectly, hostile to the kingdom. The last three may have been brought together to show that Jesus had power over all defilement, since contact with graves, blood, or a corpse was regarded under Jewish law as causing a state of ritual uncleanness.

⁷ tn Grk “he had often been bound with chains and shackles.” “Shackles” could also be translated “fetters”; they were chains for the feet.

⁸ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

⁸ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate a transition to the response to the miraculous healing.

⁹ tn Grk “ran together on foot.” The idea of συντρέχω (suntrecw) is “to come together quickly to form a crowd” (L&N 15.133).

¹⁰ tn Or “cities.”

¹¹ tc The translation here follows the reading προῆλθον (prohlqon, “they preceded”), found in א B [phone] pc lat co. Some mss (D 28 33 700 pc) read συνῆλθον (sunhlqon, “arrived there with them”), while the majority of mss, most of them late (Ì^84vid [A ˹³] Ï sy^h), conflate the two readings (προῆλθον αὐτοὺς καὶ συνῆλθον πρὸς αὐτόν, “they preceded them and came together to him”). The reading adopted here thus has better external credentials than the variants. As well, it is the harder reading internally, being changed “by copyists who thought it unlikely that the crowd on the land could have outstripped the boat” (TCGNT 78).

¹⁰ tc Several important witnesses (Ì^45vid א B L Δ 28* pc) lack “and dining couches” (καὶ κλινῶν, kai klinwn), while the majority of mss (A D W Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt) have the reading. Although normally the shorter reading is to be preferred, especially when it is backed by excellent witnesses as in this case, there are some good reasons to consider καὶ κλινῶν as authentic: (1) Although the addition of κλινῶν could be seen as motivated by a general assimilation to the purity regulations in Lev 15 (as some have argued), there are three problems with such a supposition: (a) the word κλίνη (klinh) does not occur in the LXX of Lev 15; (b) nowhere in Lev 15 is the furniture washed or sprinkled; and (c) the context of Lev 15 is about sexual impurity, while the most recent evidence suggests that κλίνη in Mark 7:4, in keeping with the other terms used here, refers to a dining couch (cf. BDAG 549 s.v. κλίνη 2). Thus, it is difficult to see καὶ κλινῶν as a motivated reading. (2) κλίνη, though a relatively rare term in the NT, is in keeping with Markan usage (cf. Mark 4:21; 7:30). (3) The phrase could have been dropped accidentally, at least in some cases, via homoioteleuton. (4) The phrase may have been deliberately expunged by some scribes who thought the imagery of washing a dining couch quite odd. The longer reading, in this case, can thus be argued as the harder reading. On balance, even though a decision is difficult (especially because of the weighty external evidence for the shorter reading), it is preferable to retain καὶ κλινῶν in the text.

¹¹ sn Verses 3-4 represent parenthetical remarks by the author, giving background information.

¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to indicate the implied sequence in the narrative.

¹² sn Do you still not understand? The disciples in Mark’s Gospel often misunderstood the miracles of Jesus as well as his teaching. Between Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Mark paints the most revealing portrait of the shortcomings of the Twelve (cf. 6:51-52; 7:17-19; 8:1-10, 14-21, 27-30, 33; 9:5, 10, 33; 10:28, 35-45; 14:19, 29-31, 32-37, 50, 66-72).

¹² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ tn Grk “the temple.”

¹⁵ tn Or “the chief priests, the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

¹⁴ tn Grk “and James and John,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the flow within the narrative.

¹⁵ tn Grk “and came.”

¹⁶ sn The author’s note that the disciples found things just as he had told them shows that Jesus’ word could be trusted.

¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹⁶ tn Or “and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

¹⁶ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

¹⁷ sn The Jews most assuredly wanted to put Jesus to death, but they lacked the authority to do so. For this reason they handed him over to Pilate in hopes of securing a death sentence. The Romans kept close control of the death penalty in conquered territories to prevent it being used to execute Roman sympathizers.