Mark 7:33

7:33 After Jesus ¹  took him aside privately, away from the crowd, he put his fingers in the man’s ²  ears, and after spitting, he touched his tongue. ³ 

Mark 9:22

9:22 It has often thrown him into fire or water to destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

Mark 12:44

12:44 For they all gave out of their wealth. ⁴  But she, out of her poverty, put in what she had to live on, everything she had.” ⁵ 

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

² tn Grk “his”; the referent (the deaf man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ sn After spitting, he touched his tongue. It was not uncommon in Judaism of the day to associate curative powers with a person’s saliva. The scene as a whole reflects Jesus’ willingness to get close to people and have physical contact with them where appropriate. See W. L. Lane, Mark (NICNT), 267 n. 78.

⁴ tn Grk “out of what abounded to them.”

⁵ sn The contrast between this passage, 12:41-44, and what has come before in 11:27-12:40 is remarkable. The woman is set in stark contrast to the religious leaders. She was a poor widow, they were rich. She was uneducated in the law, they were well educated in the law. She was a woman, they were men. But whereas they evidenced no faith and actually stole money from God and men (cf. 11:17), she evidenced great faith and gave out of her extreme poverty everything she had.