Mark 4:21

The Parable of the Lamp

4:21 He also said to them, “A lamp ¹  isn’t brought to be put under a basket ²  or under a bed, is it? Isn’t it to be placed on a lampstand?

Mark 2:3

2:3 Some people ³  came bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. ⁴ 

Mark 13:13

13:13 You will be hated by everyone because of my name. ⁵  But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ⁶ 

Mark 1:9

The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus

1:9 Now ⁷  in those days Jesus came from Nazareth ⁸  in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. ⁹ 

Mark 1:13

1:13 He was in the wilderness forty days, ¹⁰  enduring temptations from Satan. He ¹¹  was with wild animals, and angels were ministering to his needs. ¹² 

Mark 5:26

5:26 She had endured a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet instead of getting better, she grew worse.

Mark 4:32

4:32 when it is sown, it grows up, ¹³  becomes the greatest of all garden plants, and grows large branches so that the wild birds ¹⁴  can nest in its shade.” ¹⁵ 

Mark 8:31

First Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection

8:31 Then ¹⁶  Jesus ¹⁷  began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer ¹⁸  many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, ¹⁹  and be killed, and after three days rise again.

[4:21]  ¹ sn The lamp is probably an ancient oil burning lamp or perhaps a candlestick. Jesus is comparing revelation to light, particularly the revelation of his ministry.

[4:21]  ² tn Or “a bowl”; this refers to any container for dry material of about eight liters (two gallons) capacity. It could be translated “basket, box, bowl” (L&N 6.151).

[2:3]  ³ tn Grk “they”; the referent (some unnamed people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ⁴ tn The redundancy in this verse is characteristic of the author’s rougher style.

[13:13]  ⁵ sn See 1 Cor 1:25-31.

[13:13]  ⁶ sn But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Jesus was not claiming here that salvation is by works, because he had already taught that it is by grace (cf. 10:15). He was simply arguing that genuine faith evidences itself in persistence through even the worst of trials.

[1:9]  ⁷ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[1:9]  ⁸ map For location see Map1 D3; Map2 C2; Map3 D5; Map4 C1; Map5 G3.

[1:9]  ⁹ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[1:13]  ⁹ sn The forty days may allude to the experience of Moses (Exod 34:28), Elijah (1 Kgs 19:8, 15), or David and Goliath (1 Sam 17:16).

[1:13]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And he.”

[1:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “were serving him,” “were ministering to him.”

[4:32]  ¹¹ tn Mark 4:31-32 is fairly awkward in Greek. Literally the sentence reads as follows: “As a mustard seed, which when sown in the earth, being the smallest of all the seeds in the earth, and when it is sown, it grows up…” The structure has been rendered in more idiomatic English, although some of the awkward structure has been retained for rhetorical effect.

[4:32]  ¹² tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[4:32]  ¹³ sn The point of the parable seems to be that while the kingdom of God may appear to have insignificant and unnoticeable beginnings (i.e., in the ministry of Jesus), it will someday (i.e., at the second advent) be great and quite expansive. The kingdom, however, is not to be equated with the church, but rather the church is an expression of the kingdom. Also, there is important OT background in the image of the mustard seed that grew and became a tree: Ezek 17:22-24 pictures the reemergence of the Davidic house where people can find calm and shelter. Like the mustard seed, it would start out small but grow to significant size.

[8:31]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:31]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:31]  ¹⁵ sn The necessity that the Son of Man suffer is the particular point that needed emphasis, since for many 1st century Jews the Messiah was a glorious and powerful figure, not a suffering one.

[8:31]  ¹⁶ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.