Mark 9:1

9:1 And he said to them, “I tell you the truth, ¹  there are some standing here who will not ²  experience ³  death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.” ⁴ 

Mark 10:29

10:29 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, ⁵  there is no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel

Mark 12:43

12:43 He called his disciples and said to them, “I tell you the truth, ⁶  this poor widow has put more into the offering box ⁷  than all the others. ⁸ 

Mark 14:25

14:25 I tell you the truth, ⁹  I will no longer drink of the fruit ¹⁰  of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

² tn The Greek negative here (οὐ μή, ou mh) is the strongest possible.

³ tn Grk “will not taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).

⁴ sn Several suggestions have been made as to the referent for the phrase the kingdom of God come with power: (1) the transfiguration itself, which immediately follows in the narrative; (2) Jesus’ resurrection and ascension; (3) the coming of the Spirit; (4) Jesus’ second coming and the establishment of the kingdom. The reference to after six days in 9:2 seems to indicate that Mark had the transfiguration in mind insofar as it was a substantial prefiguring of the consummation of the kingdom (although this interpretation is not without its problems). As such, the transfiguration was a tremendous confirmation to the disciples that even though Jesus had just finished speaking of his death (8:31; 9:31; 10:33), he was nonetheless the promised Messiah and things were proceeding according to God’s plan.

⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

⁹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

¹⁰ tn See the note on the term “offering box” in v. 41.

¹¹ sn Has put more into the offering box than all the others. With God, giving is weighed evaluatively, not counted. The widow was praised because she gave sincerely and at some considerable cost to herself.

¹³ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “the produce” (“the produce of the vine” is a figurative expression for wine).