Mark 2:15-16

2:15 As Jesus ¹  was having a meal ²  in Levi’s ³  home, many tax collectors ⁴  and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 2:16 When the experts in the law ⁵  and the Pharisees ⁶  saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ⁷ 

Mark 6:41

6:41 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He ⁸  gave them to his ⁹  disciples to serve the people, and he divided the two fish among them all.

Mark 7:5

7:5 The Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat ¹⁰  with unwashed hands?”

Mark 8:6

8:6 Then ¹¹  he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. After he took the seven loaves and gave thanks, he broke them and began giving them to the disciples to serve. So ¹²  they served the crowd.

Mark 8:33-34

8:33 But after turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.” ¹³ 

Following Jesus

8:34 Then ¹⁴  Jesus ¹⁵  called the crowd, along with his disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to become my follower, ¹⁶  he must deny ¹⁷  himself, take up his cross, ¹⁸  and follow me.

Mark 9:18

9:18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to cast it out, but ¹⁹  they were not able to do so.” ²⁰ 

Mark 9:31

9:31 for he was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men. ²¹  They ²²  will kill him, ²³  and after three days he will rise.” ²⁴ 

Mark 10:24

10:24 The disciples were astonished at these words. But again Jesus said to them, ²⁵  “Children, how hard it is ²⁶  to enter the kingdom of God!

Mark 10:46

Healing Blind Bartimaeus

10:46 They came to Jericho. ²⁷  As Jesus ²⁸  and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road.

Mark 12:43

12:43 He called his disciples and said to them, “I tell you the truth, ²⁹  this poor widow has put more into the offering box ³⁰  than all the others. ³¹ 

Mark 14:12-14

The Passover

14:12 Now ³²  on the first day of the feast of ³³  Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, ³⁴  Jesus’ ³⁵  disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ³⁶  14:13 He sent two of his disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar ³⁷  of water will meet you. Follow him. 14:14 Wherever he enters, tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’

[2:15]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:15]  ² tn Grk “As he reclined at table.”

[2:15]  ³ tn Grk “his.”

[2:15]  ⁴ sn The tax collectors would bid to collect taxes for the Roman government and then add a surcharge, which they kept. Since tax collectors worked for Rome, they were viewed as traitors to their own people and were not well liked.

[2:16]  ⁵ tn Or “the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[2:16]  ⁶ sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

[2:16]  ⁷ sn The issue here is inappropriate associations. Jews were very careful about personal associations and contact as a matter of ritual cleanliness. Their question borders on an accusation that Jesus is ritually unclean.

[6:41]  ⁹ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[6:41]  ¹⁰ tc ‡ Most mss (Ì⁴⁵ A D W Θ Ë^1,13 Ï lat sy) have αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) after τοῖς μαθηταῖς (toi" maqhtai", “the disciples”), but several excellent witnesses (א B L Δ 33 579 892 1241 1424 2427 pc) lack the pronoun. This kind of variant is often a predictable expansion of the text; further, that many important mss lack the pronoun gives support for the shorter reading. For these reasons, the pronoun is considered to be secondary. NA²⁷ puts αὐτοῦ in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[7:5]  ¹³ tn Grk “eat bread.”

[8:6]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:6]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[8:33]  ²¹ tn Grk “people’s.”

[8:34]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:34]  ²⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:34]  ²⁷ tn Grk “to follow after me.”

[8:34]  ²⁸ tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.

[8:34]  ²⁹ sn To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.

[9:18]  ²⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[9:18]  ³⁰ tn The words “to do so” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity and stylistic reasons.

[9:31]  ³³ tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is considered by some to be used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NRSV, “into human hands”; CEV, “to people”). However, because this can be taken as a specific reference to the group responsible for Jesus’ arrest, where it is unlikely women were present (cf. Matt 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:2-12), the word “men” has been retained in the translation. There may also be a slight wordplay with “the Son of Man” earlier in the verse.

[9:31]  ³⁴ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[9:31]  ³⁵ tn Grk “They will kill him, and being killed, after…” The redundancy in the statement has been removed in the translation.

[9:31]  ³⁶ sn They will kill him and after three days he will rise. See the note at the end of Mark 8:30 regarding the passion predictions.

[10:24]  ³⁷ tn Grk “But answering, Jesus again said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

[10:24]  ³⁸ tc Most mss (A C D Θ Ë^1,13 28 565 2427 Ï lat sy) have here “for those who trust in riches” (τοὺς πεποιθότας ἐπὶ [τοῖς] χρήμασιν, tou" pepoiqota" epi [toi"] crhmasin); W has πλούσιον (plousion) later in the verse, producing the same general modification on the dominical saying (“how hard it is for the rich to enter…”). But such qualifications on the Lord’s otherwise harsh and absolute statements are natural scribal expansions, intended to soften the dictum. Further, the earliest and best witnesses, along with a few others (א B Δ Ψ sa), lack any such qualifications. That W lacks the longer expansion and only has πλούσιον suggests that its archetype agreed with א B here; its voice should be heard with theirs. Thus, both on external and internal grounds, the shorter reading is preferred.

[10:46]  ⁴¹ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[10:46]  ⁴² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:43]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[12:43]  ⁴⁶ tn See the note on the term “offering box” in v. 41.

[12:43]  ⁴⁷ 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.

[14:12]  ⁴⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[14:12]  ⁵⁰ tn The words “the feast of” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity.

[14:12]  ⁵¹ sn Generally the feast of Unleavened Bread would refer to Nisan 15 (Friday), but the following reference to the sacrifice of the Passover lamb indicates that Nisan 14 (Thursday) was what Mark had in mind (Nisan = March 27 to April 25). The celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread lasted eight days, beginning with the Passover meal. The celebrations were so close together that at times the names of both were used interchangeably.

[14:12]  ⁵² tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:12]  ⁵³ sn This required getting a suitable lamb and finding lodging in Jerusalem where the meal could be eaten. The population of the city swelled during the feast, so lodging could be difficult to find. The Passover was celebrated each year in commemoration of the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt; thus it was a feast celebrating redemption (see Exod 12). The Passover lamb was roasted and eaten after sunset in a family group of at least ten people (m. Pesahim 7.13). People ate the meal while reclining (see the note on table in 14:18). It included, besides the lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs as a reminder of Israel’s bitter affliction at the hands of the Egyptians. Four cups of wine mixed with water were also used for the meal. For a further description of the meal and the significance of the wine cups, see E. Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 523-24.

[14:13]  ⁵³ sn Since women usually carried these jars, it would have been no problem for the two disciples (Luke 22:8 states that they were Peter and John) to recognize the man Jesus was referring to.