Mark 1:20

1:20 Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Mark 7:11

7:11 But you say that if anyone tells his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you would have received from me is corban’ ¹  (that is, a gift for God),

Mark 9:21

9:21 Jesus ²  asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.

Mark 13:32

Be Ready!

13:32 “But as for that day or hour no one knows it – neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son ³  – except the Father.

Mark 14:36

14:36 He said, “Abba, ⁴  Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup ⁵  away from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Mark 15:21

The Crucifixion

15:21 The soldiers ⁶  forced ⁷  a passerby to carry his cross, ⁸  Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country ⁹  (he was the father of Alexander and Rufus).

[7:11]  ¹ sn Corban is a Hebrew loanword (transliterated in the Greek text and in most modern English translations) referring to something that has been set aside as a gift to be given to God at some later date, but which is still in the possession of the owner (L&N 53.22). According to contemporary Jewish tradition the person who made this claim was absolved from responsibility to support or assist his parents, a clear violation of the Mosaic law to honor one’s parents (v. 10).

[9:21]  ¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:32]  ¹ sn The phrase nor the Son has caused a great deal of theological debate because on the surface it appears to conflict with the concept of Jesus’ deity. The straightforward meaning of the text is that the Son does not know the time of his return. If Jesus were divine, though, wouldn’t he know this information? There are other passages which similarly indicate that Jesus did not know certain things. For example, Luke 2:52 indicates that Jesus grew in wisdom; this has to mean that Jesus did not know everything all the time but learned as he grew. So Mark 13:32 is not alone in implying that Jesus did not know certain things. The best option for understanding Mark 13:32 and similar passages is to hold the two concepts in tension: The Son in his earthly life and ministry had limited knowledge of certain things, yet he was still deity.

[14:36]  ¹ tn The word means “Father” in Aramaic.

[14:36]  ² sn This cup alludes to the wrath of God that Jesus would experience (in the form of suffering and death) for us. See Ps 11:6; 75:8-9; Isa 51:17, 19, 22 for this figure.

[15:21]  ¹ tn Grk “They”; the referent (the soldiers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:21]  ² tn Or “conscripted”; or “pressed into service.”

[15:21]  ³ sn Jesus was beaten severely with a whip before this (the prelude to crucifixion, known to the Romans as verberatio, mentioned in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1), so he would have been weak from trauma and loss of blood. Apparently he was unable to bear the cross himself, so Simon was conscripted to help (in all probability this was only the crossbeam, called in Latin the patibulum, since the upright beam usually remained in the ground at the place of execution). Cyrene was located in North Africa where Tripoli is today. Nothing more is known about this Simon.

[15:21]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps, “was coming in from his field” outside the city (BDAG 15-16 s.v. ἀγρός 1).