Mark Chapter 13
13:1-37. This is called the Olivet Discourse, having been delivered on the Mount of Olives.
13:2. The temple was leveled by the Romans about A.D. 70.
13:9. Take heed: Throughout this chapter Jesus consistently stresses, not just coming events, but the proper
response and life-style of His disciples. They ought always to live in the light of His coming.
13:10. Published here means simply "proclaimed" by whatever means.
13:14. See Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11. This abomination, something or someone detestable to God, probably refers
to two things. One could be the desecration of the temple in the course of the fall of Jerusalem A.D. 70. The other
may well be the Man of Sin of the end time (2 Thess. 2:4). Biblical prophecy often has both a near and a remote
point of reference.
13:22. Jesus also warns of impostors in Matthew 7:15. Deuteronomy 13 offers similar warning.
13:23. Prophecy in the biblical sense often involves "forthtelling," or setting forth God's verdict on a present
situation. It can, however, also involve "foretelling," as here. Jesus' ministry included the fulfilling of the prophetic
office in both senses.
13:26. See Daniel 7:13. Every verse of this section is laden with Old Testament imagery. Jesus would have been
intimately familiar with it. Naturally the Son of God would uphold, and express Himself in terms of, the Word of God.
Jesus held the Old Testament in very high esteem.
13:30. This generation: Jesus perhaps means that the Jewish genea ("race," "people") will survive until the Son of
Man returns. or perhaps all these things makes primary reference to the events connected with Jerusalem's fall, A.D.
70. In this case Jesus speaks of the disciples themselves, along with their contemporaries. See 8:12, 38; 9:19.
13:31. God makes a similar claim about His Word in Isaiah 40:8.
13:32. Many of the general features about the end are clear. but not the chronological specifics.
13:33. See the other warnings in verses 5, 9, and 23. Jesus is not trying to encourage idle curiosity about last things,
but rather to stir up His followers in faithful living, always.
13:37. The message, Watch, extends even to the present hour.
Mark Chapter 14
14:1. The Passover commemorated that night of deliverance (see Ex. 12) when God spared the Israelites the
ravages of the death angel. This observance fell on the 14th of Nisan (April-May). The Feast of Unleavened Bread
followed on the 15th to the 21st.
14:2. At feast time the city would be teeming with pilgrims; such crowds were easily incited to riot.
14:3. The woman is Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus (John 12:3). Box would be a flask or vial.
14:5. Three hundred pence is equivalent to a year's income for a rural worker.
14:8. This statement shows that Jesus foresaw a criminal's death, for only in the case of a criminal's burial was the
body not anointed before being laid to rest.
14:12. It is now Thursday. Passover here refers to the Passover lamb.
14:13. A man might commonly carry a wineskin, but generally only women carried water jars. he would be easily
spotted in a crowd and no words would have to be exchanged- there was already a warrant out for Jesus' arrest
(John 11:57).
14:21. In the words as it is written, Jesus refers to Old Testament prophecies about His atoning death. An example
would be Isaiah 53.
14:24. Testament means "covenant."
14:26. The hymn would be a selection of verses from the Hallel (praise) Psalms, especially Psalms 116-118.
14:27. See Zechariah 13:7.
14:29. Offended means "fall away." All of the disciples would desert Jesus.
14:33. Amazed and heavy: The sense is that Jesus is deeply distressed as He contemplates the coming hours. The
weight of the prospect threatens to pull Him under.
14:36. By the word Abba, Jesus addresses God with the household term for Father. This was unheard of in
Palestinian Judaism at that time. It points to Jesus' unique relationship to God.
14:43. The arresting party would have included not only Roman soldiers, but a mixture of Jewish police and other
Jewish authorities.
14:45. Disciples commonly greeted their rabbi in this way.
14:47. The swordsman was Peter (John 18:10).
14:49. Jesus constantly looks to the Old Testament Scripture for strength and direction as He undergoes His last
hours.
14:51, 52. This is perhaps a reference to Mark himself. He also "fled."
14:53-15:15. This passage rehearses the trial of Jesus.
14:54. The narrative bears the stamp of Peter's insight.
14:61. The Blessed: Jews customarily avoided uttering God's name out of reverence for Him. "Blessed" or "Blessed
One" could be used instead.
14:62. Jesus claims to be both Messiah and the coming Judge. Power is here another indirect reference to God. See
Daniel 7:13.
14:64. At this point a death sentence is pronounced by the assembled authorities.
14:70. Peter's Galilean accent would have been conspicuous in Jerusalem.
14:72. Despite this lapse, Peter will be forgiven and accepted again into His Lord's service (16:7).
Mark Chapter 15
15:1. The whole council would be the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish judicial body, which must ratify the sentence
pronounced by night in 14:64. Pilate alone, however, who wielded Rome's authority in Palestine, could actually have
a death sentence carried out.
15:2. To the Jews, Jesus' crime was one of blasphemy, a religious offense. Pilate's concern is that Jesus might
represent a political threat. Thus he questions Him on His pretensions, if any, to kingship.
15:5. On Jesus' silence see Isaiah 53:7 and 1 Peter 2:23.
15:16. Band is a cohort (six hundred men) of Roman soldiers. It may rather refer to a smaller contingent from among
such a cohort.
15:21. Cyrene was a city on the northern coast of Africa. Since Mark may have been written to a Roman audience, it
is worth asking whether this is the same Rufus as in Romans 16:13.
15:22. Golgotha lay outside the city wall, and was the execution site for Jerusalem. It is synonymous with Calvary,
which comes from a Latin word also meaning "skull".
15:23. Myrrh would have dulled the pain, but Jesus would not take it.
15:24. Roman legal texts indicate that the executioners had a legal right to claim the minor possessions of the
accused.
15:26. This sign confirms that Jesus was sentenced for having claimed to be the Jewish Messiah.
15:29. Railed on means they hurled insults.
15:33. Darkness reigned from noon until 3 P.M.
15:34. Mark preserves the Aramaic form of Jesus' outcry, which calls Psalm 22:1 to mind. Some mistook His words (v.
35). Even in the midst of bearing God's wrath for sin, Jesus still calls Him my God. His agony does not overcome His
faith.
15:36. The thought in offering drink was to prolong consciousness in case Elias (Elijah) was about to appear.
15:38. The temple veil hung between the Holy of Holiness (the sanctuary of God's very presence) and the rest of the
temple. It was a somber reminder of the separation between God and man. Tearing of the veil indicates that Christ's
death makes possible free access for sinners to the holy and almighty God.
15:40. Mention of these women is significant, for they serve as eyewitnesses to the death, burial, and Resurrection.
See 15:47; 16:1.
15:43. Craved means requested. Arimathea, Joseph's birthplace, was about 20 miles northwest of Jerusalem.
Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin, and asking for the body of one convicted of treason or sedition was a
daring step of devotion to an unpopular figure. Such criminals were normally left to the elements and carrion birds.
15:44. Pilate was surprised at the report because men typically hung two or three days before dying. The centurion's
expert opinion confirms the fact of Jesus' death.
Mark Chapter 16
16:3. Rolling the stone into its slot would have been relatively easy (15:46). But moving it away would have required
the strength of several men.
16:5. Affrighted denotes extreme fear or distress. Mark alone in the New Testament uses the word. See also 14:33.
16:6. The fact of the empty tomb did not explain itself. God provided a revelation of the meaning of what the women
saw, or rather did not see. The Resurrection becomes the starting point and basis of the Christian faith. See
Romans 1:4; 1 Corinthians 15:4.
16:9-20. Ancient manuscripts contain two different endings for Mark. While some suggest that Mark did indeed
intend for his gospel to end at verse 8, it ends on a note of fear and lacks a clear Resurrection account. In light of
the uncertainty attached to doctrine upon them (especially vv. 16-18).
16:16. Only faith, not baptism, is essential for salvation, as the omission of baptism from the last clause shows.
16:19, 20. Christ ascends to glory. (See Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:3-9.) The so-called "shorter ending" is accepted by
no one as being written by Mark. The traditional ending (KJV) is in nearly all manuscripts, but is lacking in the two
oldest ones we have.
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