Mark 2:18

The Superiority of the New

2:18 Now ¹  John’s ²  disciples and the Pharisees ³  were fasting. ⁴  So ⁵  they came to Jesus ⁶  and said, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?”

Mark 5:40

5:40 And they began making fun of him. ⁷  But he put them all outside ⁸  and he took the child’s father and mother and his own companions ⁹  and went into the room where the child was. ¹⁰ 

Mark 6:48

6:48 He ¹¹  saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. As the night was ending, ¹²  he came to them walking on the sea, ¹³  for ¹⁴  he wanted to pass by them. ¹⁵ 

Mark 13:8

13:8 For nation will rise up in arms ¹⁶  against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines. ¹⁷  These are but the beginning of birth pains.

Mark 13:14

The Abomination of Desolation

13:14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation ¹⁸  standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee ¹⁹  to the mountains.

Mark 13:34

13:34 It is like a man going on a journey. He left his house and put his slaves ²⁰  in charge, assigning ²¹  to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to stay alert.

Mark 14:41

14:41 He came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? ²²  Enough of that! ²³  The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Mark 15:43

15:43 Joseph of Arimathea, a highly regarded member of the council, ²⁴  who was himself looking forward to ²⁵  the kingdom of God, ²⁶  went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ²⁷ 

[2:18]  ¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[2:18]  ² sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[2:18]  ³ sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.

[2:18]  ⁴ sn John’s disciples and the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29-34; 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.

[2:18]  ⁵ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate that in the narrative this question happened as a result of the fasting of John’s disciples and the Pharisees.

[2:18]  ⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:40]  ⁷ tn Grk “They were laughing at him.” The imperfect verb has been taken ingressively.

[5:40]  ⁸ tn Or “threw them all outside.” The verb used, ἐκβάλλω (ekballw), almost always has the connotation of force in Mark.

[5:40]  ⁹ tn Grk “those with him.”

[5:40]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “into where the child was.”

[6:48]  ¹³ tn This verse is one complete sentence in the Greek text, but it has been broken into two sentences in English for clarity.

[6:48]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “about the fourth watch of the night,” between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.

[6:48]  ¹⁵ tn Or “on the lake.”

[6:48]  ¹⁶ tn The καί (kai) was translated so as to introduce a subordinate clause, i.e., with the use of “for.” See BDF §442.9.

[6:48]  ¹⁷ sn The statement he wanted to pass by them is somewhat difficult to understand. There are at least two common interpretations: (1) it refers to the perspective of the disciples, that is, from their point of view it seemed that Jesus wanted to pass by them; or (2) it refers to a theophany and uses the language of the Greek Old Testament (LXX) when God “passed by” Moses at Sinai (cf. Exod 33:19, 22). According to the latter alternative, Jesus is “passing by” the disciples during their struggle, in order to assure them of his presence with them. See W L. Lane, Mark (NICNT), 236.

[13:8]  ¹⁹ tn For the translation “rise up in arms” see L&N 55.2.

[13:8]  ²⁰ sn See Isa 5:13-14; 13:6-16; Hag 2:6-7; Zech 14:4.

[13:14]  ²⁵ sn The reference to the abomination of desolation is an allusion to Dan 9:27. Though some have seen the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in the actions of Antiochus IV (or a representative of his) in 167 b.c., the words of Jesus seem to indicate that Antiochus was not the final fulfillment, but that there was (from Jesus’ perspective) still another fulfillment yet to come. Some argue that this was realized in a.d. 70, while others claim that it refers specifically to Antichrist and will not be fully realized until the period of the great tribulation at the end of the age (cf. Mark 13:19, 24; Matt 24:21; Rev 3:10).

[13:14]  ²⁶ sn Fleeing to the mountains is a key OT image: Gen 19:17; Judg 6:2; Isa 15:5; Jer 16:16; Zech 14:5.

[13:34]  ³¹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.

[13:34]  ³² tn Grk “giving.”

[14:41]  ³⁷ tn Or “Sleep on, and get your rest.” This sentence can be taken either as a question or a sarcastic command.

[14:41]  ³⁸ tc Codex D (with some support with minor variation from W Θ Ë¹³ 565 2542 pc it) reads, “Enough of that! It is the end and the hour has come.” Evidently, this addition highlights Jesus’ assertion that what he had predicted about his own death was now coming true (cf. Luke 22:37). Even though the addition highlights the accuracy of Jesus’ prediction, it should not be regarded as part of the text of Mark, since it receives little support from the rest of the witnesses and because D especially is prone to expand the wording of a text.

[15:43]  ⁴³ tn Grk “a councillor” (as a member of the Sanhedrin, see L&N 11.85). This indicates that some individuals among the leaders did respond to Jesus.

[15:43]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “waiting for.”

[15:43]  ⁴⁵ sn Though some dispute that Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Jesus, this remark that he was looking forward to the kingdom of God and his actions regarding Jesus’ burial suggest otherwise.

[15:43]  ⁴⁶ sn Asking for the body of Jesus was indeed a bold move on the part of Joseph of Arimathea, for it clearly and openly identified him with a man who had just been condemned and executed, namely, Jesus. His faith is exemplary, especially for someone who was a member of the council that handed Jesus over for crucifixion (cf. Luke 23:51). He did this because he sought to give Jesus an honorable burial.