Faithgirlz! NIV Bible Book of Mark

Who wrote it: Mark
When it was written:

Probably between AD 55
and 65
Where it takes place:
Probably Rome
Mark
M
arks gospel is way shorter

than Matthews because Mark
doesnt give us details about when
Jesus was born and how he grew
up. He cuts to the chase, to the part
where Jesus says that God is here
for us and he wants us to really
live, forever! He wants to help us
when we really need it. He wants
us to count on him for everything.
He wants us to know how much he
lovesus.
Fasten your seat belt, Mark seems to
say, because here we go.
Cool characters youll

meet: Jesus, the disciples,
blind Bartimaeus, Simon
of Cyrene, and Joseph of
Arimathea
Bad guys to watch for:
Satan and Pilate
The point: Actions speak
louder than words could
be the motto of Marks
gospel. This book shows
Jesus power through his
miracles and covers the
most important events of
his ministry, death and
resurrection. Mark was
written for Gentiles (people
who were not Jews) and
reminds us that the salvation
Jesus offers was for all
people everywhere.
How it connects: Mark,
also called John Mark, was
the cousin of Barnabas, who
ministered with Paul. Mark
received the information
for his gospel from the
disciple Peter. Mark wrote
about Jesus life in a way
that showed who Jesus was
through what he did. Even
someone who didnt know
the Old Testament could
understand that Jesus was
God.
0310722365_int_05_matt_acts_NIV_Faithgirlz_cs4.indd 1138
9/21/11 10:16 AM
Mark 1
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
oh,i get it!
The beg inn ing of the good news

about Jesus the Messia h,a the Son
of God,b 2as it is written in Isaiah
the prophet:
Was that really God talking

when Jesus got baptized?
I will send my messenger ahead

of you,
who will prepare your
wayc
3 a voice of one calling in the
wilderness,
Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for
him.d
4And so John the Bapt ist appeared in the
wilderness, preachi ng a bapt ism of re
pentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5The
whole Judean countryside and all the peo
ple of Jerusalem went out to him. Confess
ing t heir sins, they were baptized by him
in the Jordan River. 6John wore clothing
made of camels hair, with a leather belt
a round his waist, and he ate locusts and
wild honey. 7And this was his message:
After me comes the one more powerf ul
than I, the straps of whose sandals I am
not wort hy to stoop down and unt ie. 8I
bapt ize you withe water, but he will bap
tize you withe the Holy Spirit.
The Baptism and Testing ofJesus

9At
that time Jesus came from Naza

reth in Gali lee and was baptized by John
in the Jordan. 10Just as Jesus was coming
up out of the water, he saw heaven being
torn open and the Spirit descendi ng on
him like a dove. 11And a voice came from
heaven: You are my Son, whom I love;
with you I am well pleased.
12At once the Spirit sent him out into
the wilderness, 13and he was in the wil
derness fort y days, being temptedf by Sa
tan. He was with the wild ani mals, and
angels attended him.
Jesus Announces the Good News

14After
John was put in prison, Jesus

went into Gali lee, proclaimi ng the good
news of God. 15The time has come, he
said. The kingdom of God has come
near. Repent and believe the good news!
1139
It wasnt John the Baptist saying, This is Gods

son and hes pleased with him.
It wasnt Jesus himself saying, Im Gods son and
he loves me and is proud of me.
It was God himself saying, You are my Son,
whom I love; with you I am well pleased.
That made it pretty clear, right from the start.
Now Jesus could start his ministry without a doubt
in anyones mind.
Mark 1:913
Jesus Calls His First Disciples

16As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Gal
ilee, he saw Simon and his brother An
drew casting a net into the lake, for they
were fishermen. 17Come, follow me,
Jesus said, and I will send you out to fish
for people. 18At once they left t heir nets
and followed him.
19When he had gone a litt le fart her, he
saw James son of Zebedee and his broth
er John in a boat, prepari ng t heir nets.
20Without delay he called them, and they
left t heir fat her Zebedee in the boat with
the hired men and followed him.
Jesus Drives Out an ImpureSpirit

21They went to Capernau m, and when
the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the
a1
OrJesus Christ. Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek)

both mean Anointed One. b1 Some manuscripts do
not have the Son of God. c2 Mal. 3:1 d3 Isaiah
40:3 e8 Orin f13 TheGreek for tempted can also
mean tested.
9/21/11 10:16 AM
1140
Mark 1
treasure this!
had various diseases. He also d rove out

many demons, but he would not let the
demons speak because they knew who he
was.
Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place

Come, follow me,
Jesus said, and I will
send you out to fish
for people.
Mark 1:17
synagogue and began to teach. 22The peo

ple were a mazed at his teaching, because
he taught them as one who had aut hor
it y, not as the teachers of the law. 23Just
then a man in t heir synagogue who was
possessed by an impure spirit cried out,
24What do you want with us, Jesus of
Naza reth? Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you aret he Holy One of
God!
25Be quiet! said Jesus sternly. Come
out of him! 26The impure spirit shook the
man violently and came out of him with
a shriek.
27The people were all so a mazed that
they a sked each othe r, What is this?
A new teachi nga nd with aut horit y!
He even g ives orders to impure spirits
and they obey him. 28News about him
spread quickly over the whole reg ion of
Gali lee.
Jesus Heals Many

29As
soon as they left the synagogue,

they went with James and John to the
home of Simon and And rew. 30Simons
mother-in-law was in bed with a fever,
and they immed iately told Jesus about
her. 31So he went to her, took her hand and
helped her up. The fever left her and she
began to wait on them.
32That even ing after sunset the people
brought to Jesus all the sick and demonpossessed. 33The whole town gathered at
the door, 34and Jesus healed many who
35Very early in the morni ng, w hile it

was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house
and went off to a solitary place, where he
prayed. 36Simon and his companions went
to look for him, 37and when they found
him, they exclaimed: Everyone is look
ing for you!
38Jesus replied, Let us go somewhere
elseto the nearby villagesso I can
preach t here also. That is why I have
come. 39So he traveled throughout Gal
ilee, preachi ng in t heir synagogues and
driving out demons.
oh,i get it!

Why didnt Jesus want
the leper to tell anybody
he had healed him?
Jesus had good reasons:
He didnt want p eople coming to him just
to be physically healed; he wanted them
to come to be changed in their hearts and
actions, too.
If his enemies knew about him too soon,
Jesus might be crucified before hed finished
spreading his message.
The priests would know that a real healing had
happened when the leper came to make his sacrifice. Pretty smart guy, that J esus.
Mark 1:4045
9/21/11 10:16 AM
Mark 2
Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy

40A man with leprosya came to him and
egged him on his k nees, If you are will

b
ing, you can make me clean.
41Jesus was ind ign ant.b He r eached
out his hand and touched the man. I am
willi ng, he said. Be c lean! 42Imme
diately the lepros y left him and he was
cleansed.
43Jesus sent him away at once with a
s trong warni ng: 44See that you dont
tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself
to the priest and offer the sacrif ices that
Moses commanded for your cleansing, as
a test imony to them. 45Instead he went
out and began to talk freely, spreading the
news. As a result, Jesus could no longer
enter a town openly but stayed outside in
lonely places. Yet the people still came to
him from everywhere.
1141
Jesus Forgives and Heals

a Paralyzed Man
A few days later, when Jesus again

ent ered Cap ern au m, the peo
ple heard that he had come home.
2They gathered in such l arge numb ers
that t here was no room left, not even out
side the door, and he preached the word to
them. 3Some men came, bringing to him
a para lyzed man, carried by four of them.
4Since they could not get him to Jesus be
cause of the crowd, they made an opening
in the roof above Jesus by digging through
it and then lowered the mat the man was
lying on. 5When Jesus saw t heir faith, he
said to the para lyzed man, Son, your sins
are forgiven.
a40 TheGreek word traditionally translated leprosy was
used for various diseases affecting the skin.
b41 Many manuscripts Jesus was filled with compassion
in your own
words
Four Friends Bring Their Buddy to Jesus

Read Mark 2:14.
Heres a recap:
1.Jesus was speaking at a house in Capernaum (say it like
kuh-PURR-num).
2.Four guys brought their paralyzed friend to be healed by Jesus,
but the house was so crowded, they couldnt get through, which
was a bummer.
3.The friends went up on the roof and cut a hole to lower their
friend (who was lying on a mat) down to Jesus. Those are some
GOOD friends.
Now read the rest of the story in Mark 2:512.
Write a recap:
4.
5.
6.
Word to the Wise: Jesus not only healshe forgives sins.
9/21/11 10:16 AM
1142
Mark 2
6Now
some teachers of the law were sit

ting t here, thinking to themselves, 7Why
does this fellow talk like that? Hes blas
pheming! Who can forg ive sins but God
alone?
8Immed iately Jesus knew in his spirit
that this was what they were thinking in
t heir hearts, and he said to them, Why
are you thinking t hese t hings? 9Which is
easier: to say to this para lyzed man, Your
sins are forg iven, or to say, Get up, take
your mat and walk? 10But I want you to
know that the Son of Man has aut horit y
on earth to forgive sins. So he said to the
man, 11I tell you, get up, take your mat
and go home. 12He got up, took his mat
and walked out in full view of them all.
This a mazed everyone and they praised
God, sayi ng, We have never seen any
thing like this!
Jesus Calls Levi and Eats

With Sinners
13Once a gain Jesus went out bes ide
the lake. A large crowd came to him, and
he began to teach them. 14As he walked
a long, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting
at the tax collectors booth. Follow me,
Jesus told him, and Levi got up and fol
lowed him.
15While Jesus was havi ng dinner at Le
vis house, many tax collectors and sin
ners were eating with him and his disci
ples, for t here were many who followed
him. 16When the teachers of the law who
were Pharisees saw him eati ng with the
sinners and tax collectors, they asked his
disciples: Why does he eat with tax col
lectors and sinners?
17On heari ng this, Jesus said to them,
It is not the healthy who need a doctor,
but the sick. I have not come to call the
righteous, but sinners.
Jesus Questioned About Fasting

18Now Johns disc iples and the Phari
sees were fasting. Some people came and
asked Jesus, How is it that Johns disciples
and the disciples of the Pharisees are fast
ing, but yours are not?
19Jesus answered, How can the g uests
of the brideg room fast while he is with
them? They cannot, so long as they have

him with them. 20But the time will come
when the bridegroom will be taken from
them, and on that day they will fast.
21No one sews a patch of unshrunk
c loth on an old garment. Otherw ise,
the new piece will pull away from the
old, maki ng the tear worse. 22And no
one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherw ise, the wine will burst the skins,
and both the wine and the wineskins will
be rui ned. No, they pour new wine into
new wineskins.
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

23One Sabbath Jesus was goi ng t hrough
the grainf ields, and as his disciples walked
a long, they began to pick some heads of
grain. 24The Pharisees said to him, Look,
why are they doi ng what is unlawf ul on
the Sabbath?
25He ans wered, Have you never read
what Dav id did when he and his com
panions were hung ry and in need? 26In
the days of Abiat har the high priest, he
entered the house of God and ate the con
secrated bread, which is lawf ul only for
priests to eat. And he also gave some to his
companions.
27Then he said to them, The Sabbath
was made for man, not man for the Sab
bath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord even of
the Sabbath.
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
Another time Jesus went into the

synagogue, and a man with a shriv
eled hand was t here. 2Some of them
were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus,
so they watched him closely to see if he
would heal him on the Sabbath. 3Jesus
said to the man with the shriveled hand,
Stand up in f ront of everyone.
4Then Jesus asked them, Which is law
ful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do
evil, to save life or to kill? But they re
mained silent.
5He looked a round at them in anger
and, deeply dist ressed at t heir stubborn
hearts, said to the man, Stretch out your
hand. He stretched it out, and his hand
was completely restored. 6Then the Phar
9/21/11 10:16 AM
Mark 4
isees went out and began to plot with the

Herodians how they might kill J esus.
Crowds Follow Jesus

7Jesus withd rew with his disc iples to
the lake, and a large crowd from Gali
lee followed. 8When they heard about all
he was doing, many people came to him
from Judea, Jer usalem, Idu mea, and the
regions across the Jordan and around Tyre
and Sidon. 9Because of the crowd he told
his disciples to have a small boat ready for
him, to keep the people from crowdi ng
him. 10For he had healed many, so that
t hose with diseases were pushing forward
to touch him. 11Whene ver the impure
spirits saw him, they fell down before him
and cried out, You are the Son of God.
12But he gave them strict orders not to tell
others a bout him.
Jesus Appoints the Twelve

13Jesus went up on a mountainside and
c alled to him t hose he wanted, and they
came to him. 14He appointed t welvea that
they might be with him and that he might
send them out to preach 15and to have au
thorit y to d rive out demons. 16These are
the t welve he appointed: Simon (to whom
he gave the name Peter), 17James son of
Zebedee and his brother John (to them he
gave the name Boa nerges, which means
sons of thunder), 18Andrew, Philip, Bar
tholomew, Matt hew, Thomas, James son
of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zeal
ot 19and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Jesus Accused by His Family and

byTeachers ofthe Law
20Then Jesus entered a house, and again
a crowd gathered, so that he and his disci
ples were not even able to eat. 21When his
familyb heard about this, they went to take
charge of him, for they said, He is out of
his mind.
22And the teachers of the law who came
down from Jer usalem said, He is pos
sessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of de
mons he is driving out demons.
23So Jesus called them over to him and
began to speak to them in parables: How
can Sat an d rive out Sat an? 24If a king
1143
dom is div ided against itself, that king

dom cannot stand. 25If a house is div ided
a gainst itself, that house cannot stand.
26And if Satan opposes himself and is di
vided, he cannot stand; his end has come.
27In fact, no one can enter a strong mans
house without f irst tyi ng him up. Then
he can plunder the strong mans house.
28Truly I tell you, people can be forg iven
all t heir sins and every slander they ut
ter, 29but whoever blasphemes against the
Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are
g uilty of an eternal sin.
30He said this because they were sayi ng,
He has an impure spirit.
31Then Jesus mother and brothers ar
rived. Standing outside, they sent some
one in to call him. 32A crowd was sitting
a round him, and they told him, Your
mother and brothers are outside looking
for you.
33Who are my mother and my broth
ers? he asked.
34Then he looked at t hose seate d in
a circle a round him and said, Here are
my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever
does Gods will is my brother and sister
and mother.
The Parable of the Sower
Again Jesus began to teach by the

lake. The c rowd that gathe red
a round him was so large that he
got into a boat and sat in it out on the
lake, while all the people were a long the
s hore at the waters edge. 2He t aught
them many t hings by parables, and in his
teachi ng said: 3Listen! A farmer went
out to sow his seed. 4As he was scatter
ing the seed, some fell a long the path, and
the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on
rocky places, where it did not have much
soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil
was shallow. 6But when the sun came up,
the plants were scorched, and they with
ered bec ause they had no root. 7Other
seed fell a mong t horns, which grew up
and choked the plants, so that they did
not bear g rain. 8Still other seed fell on
good soil. It came up, grew and produced
a14 Some manuscripts twelved esignating them
apostles b21 Orhis associates
9/21/11 10:16 AM
1144
Mark 4
Bring
it on!
I get distracted from

God by:
A. What everybody else is

doing.
B. My problems.
C. Trying to get stuff I
want.
a crop, some mult iplying thirt y, some six

ty, some a hund red times.
9Then Jesus said, Whoever has ears to
hear, let them hear.
10When he was a lone, the Twelve and
the others a round him asked him about
the parables. 11He told them, The secret
of the kingdom of God has been given to
you. But to t hose on the outside every
thing is said in parables 12so that,
they may be ever seeing but never
perceiving,
and ever hearing but never
understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be
forgiven!a
13Then Jesus said to them, Dont you
understand this parable? How then will
you understand any parable? 14The farm
er sows the word. 15Some people are like
seed a long the path, where the word is
sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes
and takes away the word that was sown in
them. 16Others, like seed sown on rocky
places, hear the word and at once receive
it with joy. 17But since they have no root,
they last only a short time. When trouble
or persecution comes because of the word,
they quickly fall away. 18Still others, like
seed sown a mong t horns, hear the word;
19but the worr ies of this life, the dec eit
fulness of wealth and the desires for other
t hings come in and choke the word, mak
ing it unfruitf ul. 20Others, like seed sown

on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and
produce a cropsome thirt y, some sixt y,
some a hundred times what was sown.
A Lamp on a Stand
21He said to them, Do you bring in a
lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? In
stead, dont you put it on its stand? 22For
whate ver is hidden is meant to be dis
closed, and whatever is concealed is meant
to be brought out into the open. 23If any
one has ears to hear, let them hear.
24Consider caref ully what you hear,
he continued. With the measure you use,
it will be measured to youa nd even
more. 25Whoever has will be given more;
whoever does not have, even what they
have will be taken from them.
The Parable of the Growing Seed

26He also said, This is what the king
dom of God is like. A man scatters seed
on the ground. 27Night and day, whether
he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and
g rows, t hough he does not know how.
28All by its elf the soil produce s g rain
f irst the stalk, then the head, then the full
kernel in the head. 29As soon as the grain
is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the
harvest has come.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed

30Again he said, What s hall we say
the kingdom of God is like, or what par
able shall we use to describe it? 31It is like
a mustard seed, which is the smallest of
all seeds on earth. 32Yet when planted, it
grows and becomes the largest of all gar
den plants, with such big branches that
the birds can perch in its shade.
33With many simi l ar para bles Jesus
spoke the word to them, as much as they
could understand. 34He did not say any
thing to them without using a parable. But
when he was a lone with his own disciples,
he explained everyt hing.
Jesus Calms the Storm

35That
day when evening came, he said

to his disciples, Let us go over to the oth
a12
Isaiah 6:9,10
9/21/11 10:16 AM
Mark 5
er side. 36Leaving the crowd behind, they

took him a long, just as he was, in the boat.
There were also other boats with him. 37A
fur ious squall came up, and the waves
broke over the boat, so that it was nearly
swamped. 38Jesus was in the stern, sleep
ing on a cushion. The disciples woke him
and said to him, Teacher, dont you care
if we drown?
39He got up, rebuked the wind and said
to the waves, Quiet! Be still! Then the
wind died down and it was completely
calm.
40He said to his disciples, Why are you
so afraid? Do you still have no faith?
41They were terr if ied and a sked each
other, Who is this? Even the wind and
the waves obey him!
Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed

Man
They went across the lake to the

reg ion of the Gera senes.a 2When
Jesus got out of the boat, a man with
an impure spirit came from the tombs to
meet him. 3This man lived in the tombs,
and no one could bind him anymore, not
even with a chain. 4For he had often been
chained hand and foot, but he tore the
chains apart and broke the i rons on his
feet. No one was strong enough to subdue
him. 5Night and day a mong the tombs
and in the hills he would cry out and cut
himself with stones.
6When he saw Jesus from a dist ance,
he ran and fell on his k nees in f ront of
him. 7He shouted at the top of his voice,
What do you want with me, Jesus, Son
of the Most High God? In G ods name
dont torture me! 8For Jesus had said to
him, Come out of this man, you impure
spirit!
9Then Jesus a sked him, What is your
name?
My name is Leg ion, he replied, for
we are many. 10And he b egged Jesus
again and again not to send them out of
the area.
11A large herd of pigs was feedi ng on
the nearby hillside. 12The demons begged
Jesus, Send us among the pigs; allow us to
go into them. 13He gave them permission,
1145
and the impure spirits came out and went

into the pigs. The herd, about two thou
sand in number, r ushed down the steep
bank into the lake and were drowned.
14Those tendi ng the pigs ran off and re
ported this in the town and countryside,
and the people went out to see what had
happened. 15When they came to Jesus,
they saw the man who had been possessed
by the leg ion of demons, sitt ing t here,
d ressed and in his right mind; and they
were afraid. 16Those who had seen it told
the people what had happened to the de
mon-possessed manand told about the
pigs as well. 17Then the people began to
plead with Jesus to leave t heir region.
18As Jesus was gett ing into the boat,
the man who had been demon-possessed
begged to go with him. 19Jesus did not let
him, but said, Go home to your own peo
ple and tell them how much the Lord has
done for you, and how he has had merc y
on you. 20So the man went away and be
gan to tell in the Decapol isb how much
Jesus had done for him. And all the peo
ple were amazed.
Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and

Heals a Sick Woman
21When Jesus had again crossed over by
boat to the other side of the lake, a large
crowd gathered around him while he was
a1 Some manuscripts Gadarenes; other manuscripts
Gergesenes b20 That is, the Ten Cities
If you answered...
A. Go to Romans 12:2.
B. Go to Matthew
11:2830.
C. Go to Ecclesiastes
2:111.
Bring
it on!
9/21/11 10:16 AM
1146
Mark 5
by the lake. 22Then one of the synagogue

leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he
saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23He plead
ed earnestly with him, My litt le daughter
is dying. Please come and put your hands
on her so that she will be healed and live.
24So Jesus went with him.
A large c rowd followed and pressed
a round him. 25And a woma n was t here
who had been subject to bleedi ng for
t welve years. 26She had suffered a g reat
deal under the care of many doctors and
had spent all she had, yet instead of get
ting better she grew worse. 27When she
heard about Jesus, she came up beh ind
him in the crowd and touched his cloak,
28because she t hought, If I just touch his
clothes, I will be healed. 29Immed iately
her bleedi ng stopped and she felt in her
body that she was f reed from her suffer
ing.
30At once Jesus rea li zed that power had
gone out from him. He turned around in
the crowd and asked, Who touched my
clothes?
31You see the people crowdi ng against
you, his disciples answered, and yet you
can ask, Who touchedme?
32But Jesus kept looki ng a round to
see who had done it. 33Then the woma n,
knowing what had happened to her, came
and fell at his feet and, trembling with
fear, told him the whole t ruth. 34He said
to her, Daughter, your faith has healed
you. Go in peace and be f reed from your
suffering.
35While Jesus was still speaki ng, some
people came from the house of Jai r us,
the synagogue leader. Your daughter is
dead, they said. Why bother the teacher
anymore?
36Overheari nga what they said, Jesus
told him, Dont be afraid; just believe.
37He did not let anyone follow him ex
cept Peter, James and John the brother of
James. 38When they came to the home of
the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commo
tion, with people crying and wailing loud
ly. 39He went in and said to them, Why
all this commot ion and waili ng? The
child is not dead but asleep. 40But they
laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the
c hilds father and mother and the disciples

who were with him, and went in where the
child was. 41He took her by the hand and
said to her, Talitha koum! (which means
Litt le girl, I say to you, get up!). 42Im
mediately the girl stood up and began to
walk a round (she was t welve years old).
At this they were completely astonished.
43He gave strict orders not to let anyone
know about this, and told them to give her
somet hing to eat.
A Prophet Without Honor
Jesus left t here and went to his

hometown, acc omp an ied by his
disciples. 2When the Sabbath came,
he began to teach in the synagogue, and
many who heard him were amazed.
Where did this man get t hese t hings?
they asked. Whats this wisdom that has
been given him? What are t hese remark
able miracles he is performing? 3Isnt this
the carpenter? Isnt this Marys son and
the brother of James, Joseph,b Judas and
Simon? A rent his sisters here with us?
And they took offense at him.
4Jesus said to them, A prophet is not
without honor except in his own town,
among his relatives and in his own home.
5He could not do any miracles t here, ex
cept lay his hands on a few sick people and
heal them. 6He was a mazed at t heir lack
of faith.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

Then Jesus went around teaching from
village to village. 7Calli ng the Twelve to
him, he began to send them out two by
two and gave them aut horit y over impure
spirits.
8These were his ins truct ions: Take
nothi ng for the journey except a staff
no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.
9Wear sand als but not an ext ra s hirt.
10Whenever you enter a house, stay t here
unt il you leave that town. 11And if any
place will not welcome you or listen to
you, leave that place and shake the dust
off your feet as a testimony against them.
12They went out and preached that peo
ple should repent. 13They drove out many
a36
OrIgnoring b3 Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph
9/21/11 10:16 AM
Mark 6
demons and anointed many sick people

with oil and h
ealed them.
John the Baptist Beheaded

14King Hero d heard a bout this, for
J esus name had bec ome well k nown.
Some were saying,a John the Baptist has
been raised from the dead, and that is why
miracu lous powers are at work in him.
15Others said, He is Elijah.
And still others claimed, He is a proph
et, like one of the prophets of long ago.
16But when Herod heard this, he said,
John, whom I beheaded, has been raised
from the dead!
17For Herod himself had given orders to
have John arrested, and he had him bound
and put in prison. He did this because of
Herodias, his brother Philips wife, whom
he had married. 18For John had been say
ing to Herod, It is not lawf ul for you to
have your brothers wife. 19So Herod ias
nursed a grudge against John and wanted
to kill him. But she was not able to, 20be
cause Herod feared John and protected
him, knowing him to be a righteous and
holy man. When Herod heard John, he
was greatly puzzledb; yet he l iked to lis
ten to him.
21Finally the opport une time came. On
his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his
high off icials and military commanders
and the leadi ng men of Gali lee. 22When
the daughter ofc Herod ia s came in and
danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner
guests.
The king said to the girl, Ask me for
anyt hing you want, and Ill give it to you.
23And he promi sed her with an oath,
Whatever you ask I will give you, up to
half my kingdom.
24She went out and said to her mother,
What s hall I ask for?
The head of John the Baptist, she an
swered.
25At once the girl hurr ied in to the king
with the request: I want you to give me
right now the head of John the Baptist on
a platter.
26The king was greatly dist ressed, but
because of his oaths and his dinner guests,
he did not want to refuse her. 27So he im
mediately sent an executioner with orders
1147
to bring Johns head. The man went, be

headed John in the prison, 28and brought
back his head on a platter. He presented it
to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.
29On hearing of this, Johns disciples came
and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

30The
apost les gathered a round Jesus

and reported to him all they had done and
taught. 31Then, because so many people
were coming and going that they did not
even have a chance to eat, he said to them,
Come with me by yourselves to a quiet
place and get some rest.
32So they went away by themselves in a
boat to a solitary place. 33But many who
saw them leavi ng recogn ized them and
ran on foot from all the towns and got
t here a head of them. 34When Jesus landed
and saw a large crowd, he had compassion
on them, bec ause they were like sheep
without a shepherd. So he began teaching
them many things.
35By this time it was late in the day, so
his disciples came to him. This is a re
mote place, they said, and its already
very late. 36Send the people away so that
they can go to the surroundi ng coun
tryside and villages and buy themselves
somet hing to eat.
37But he ans wered, You give them
somet hing to eat.
They said to him, That would take
more than half a years wagesd! Are we to
go and spend that much on bread and give
it to them to eat?
38How many loaves do you have? he
asked. Go and see.
When they found out, they said,
Fiveand two fish.
39Then Jesus directe d them to have
all the people sit down in g roups on the
green grass. 40So they sat down in groups
of hundreds and fifties. 41Taking the five
loaves and the two fish and looki ng up
to heaven, he gave t hanks and broke the
loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples
to distribute to the people. He also divided
a14 Some early manuscripts He was saying b20 Some
early manuscripts he did many things c22 Some early
manuscripts When his daughter d37 Greek take two
hundred denarii
9/21/11 10:16 AM
1148
Mark 6
the two fish a mong them all. 42They all

ate and were satisf ied, 43and the disciples
picked up t welve basketf uls of broken
pieces of bread and fish. 44The number of
the men who had eaten was five thousand.
Jesus Walks on the Water

45Immed iately Jesus made his disc i
ples get into the boat and go on a head of
him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the
crowd. 46After leavi ng them, he went up
on a mountainside to pray.
47Later that night, the boat was in the
midd le of the lake, and he was a lone on
land. 48He saw the disciples straini ng at
the oars, bec ause the wind was against
them. Shortly before dawn he went out to
them, walking on the lake. He was about
to pass by them, 49but when they saw him
walking on the lake, they t hought he was
a ghost. They cried out, 50because they all
saw him and were terrif ied.
Immediately he spoke to them and said,
Take courage! It is I. Dont be a fraid.
51Then he c limbed into the boat with
them, and the wind died down. They were
completely a mazed, 52for they had not
understood about the loaves; t heir hearts
were hardened.
53When they had c rossed over, they
landed at Gennesaret and anchored t here.
54As soon as they got out of the boat, peo
ple recognized Jesus. 55They ran through
out that whole region and carried the sick
on mats to wherever they heard he was.
56And where ver he wenti nto village s,
towns or count rysidet hey placed the
sick in the marketplace s. They begged
him to let them touch even the edge of his
cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
That Which Defiles
The Phari s ees and some of the

teachers of the law who had come
from Jer us alem gathered a round
Jesus 2and saw some of his disciples eat
ing food with hands that were def iled,
that is, unwashed. 3(The Pharisees and all
the Jews do not eat unless they give t heir
hands a ceremonia l washi ng, holdi ng to
the trad it ion of the elders. 4When they
come from the marketplace they do not
eat unless they wash. And they observe
many other traditions, such as the wash

ing of cups, pitchers and kett les.a)
5So the Phari s ees and teachers of the
law asked Jesus, Why dont your disciples
live according to the tradition of the elders
instead of eati ng t heir food with def iled
hands?
6He replied, Isaiah was r ight when he
prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is
written:
These people honor me with their
lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human
rules.b
8You
have let go of the commands of God

and are holding on to human traditions.
9And he cont inued, You have a fine
way of setting aside the commands of God
in order to observec your own traditions!
10For Moses said, Honor your fat her and
mother,d and, Anyone who curses t heir
fat her or mother is to be put to death.e
11But you say that if anyone declares that
what might have been used to help t heir
fat her or mother is Corban (that is, de
voted to God) 12then you no longer let
them do anything for their father or moth
er. 13Thus you null if y the word of God
by your trad it ion that you have handed
down. And you do many things like that.
14Again Jesus c alled the crowd to him
and said, Listen to me, everyone, and un
derstand this. 15Nothing outside a person
can def ile them by going into them. Rath
er, it is what comes out of a person that
def iles them. [16]f
17After he had left the c rowd and en
tered the house, his disciples asked him
about this parable. 18Are you so dull?
he asked. Dont you see that nothing that
enters a person from the outside can def ile
them? 19For it doesnt go into their heart
but into their stomach, and then out of the
body. (In sayi ng this, Jesus declared all
foods clean.)
a4
Some early manuscripts pitchers, kettles and dining

couches b6,7 Isaiah 29:13 c9 Some manuscripts
set up d10 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16 e10 Exodus
21:17; Lev. 20:9 f16 Some manuscripts include here
the words of 4:23.
9/21/11 10:16 AM
Mark 7
1149
Dream Girl
After filling your jar at the well, someone tells
you, Hurry! Jesus is teaching! You quickly
leave the jar, sloshing water on the ground,
and run to join the crowd that has gathered
just as it always does when the teacher speaks.
Maybe hell give a blind person her sight today, you think
as you squeeze through a crowd of elbows and knees.
There doesnt seem to be any good thing this Jesus cant
do, and you want to be in the front to see. Just watching
his kind eyes fills you with a sunny kind of hope. But there
is nothing sunny about the scene you burst upon, and
nothing kind about Jesus at this moment. Isaiah was right
when he prophesied about you hypocrites, he barks out.
As you follow his angry gaze to the Pharisees, you know
what hypocrites are. Youve seen that one Pharisee with
the longest tassels ever on his garments. Those tassels are
supposed to remind him to obey Gods commandments,
but youve seen his parents begging for food. He must be
missing the Honor your father and your mother tassel.
You have let go of the commands of God, Jesus shouts,
and are holding onto the traditions of men. Several
people gasp. No one talks to these important Jews this
way. But a look of distress wrinkles your forehead. Wow!
Iwonder what traditions Im holding onto that disagree
with Gods commands. You hurry back to the well to fetch
your jar for your mother, who is waiting for it.
M a r k 7:113
9/21/11 10:16 AM
1150
Mark 7
20He
went on: What comes out of a

person is what def iles them. 21For it is
from within, out of a persons heart, that
evil t houghts comesexua l immoralit y,
t heft, murder, 22adultery, g reed, malice,
deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance
and folly. 23All t hese evils come from in
side and def ile a person.
Jesus Honors a Syrophoenician

Womans Faith
24Jesus left that place and went to the vi
cinit y of Tyre.a He entered a house and did

not want anyone to know it; yet he could
not keep his presence secret. 25In fact, as
soon as she heard about him, a woma n
whose litt le daughter was possessed by
an impure spirit came and fell at his feet.
26The woma n was a Greek, born in Syria n
Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to d rive the
demon out of her daughter.
27First let the child ren eat all they
want, he told her, for it is not r ight to
take the childrens bread and toss it to the
dogs.
28Lord, she replied, even the dogs
under the table eat the childrens crumbs.
29Then he told her, For such a re
ply, you may go; the demon has left your
daughter.
30She went home and found her child
lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man

31Then Jesus left the vic init y of Tyre
and went t hrough Sidon, down to the Sea
of Gali lee and into the reg ion of the De
capolis.b 32There some people brought to
him a man who was deaf and could hard
ly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his
hand on him.
33After he took him a side, away from
the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the
mans ears. Then he spit and touched the
mans tongue. 34He looked up to heaven
and with a deep sigh said to him, Eph
phatha! (which means Be opened!).
35At this, the m ans ears were opened,
his tongue was loosened and he began to
speak plainly.
36Jesus comm ande d them not to tell
anyone. But the more he did so, the more
they kept talking about it. 37People were

overwhelmed with amazement. He has
done everyt hing well, they said. He even
makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
Duri ng t hose days another large

c rowd gathered. Since they had
nothing to eat, Jesus called his dis
ciples to him and said, 2I have compas
sion for t hese people; they have already
been with me t hree days and have nothing
to eat. 3If I send them home hungry, they
will collapse on the way, because some of
them have come a long distance.
4His disciples answered, But where in
this remote place can anyone get enough
bread to feed them?
5How many loaves do you have? Jesus
asked.
Seven, they replied.
6He told the crowd to sit down on the
g round. When he had taken the seven
loaves and given t hanks, he broke them
and gave them to his disciples to distrib
ute to the people, and they did so. 7They
had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks
for them also and told the disciples to dis
tribute them. 8The people ate and were
satisf ied. Afterward the disciples picked
up seven basketf uls of broken pieces that
were left over. 9About four thousand were
present. After he had sent them away, 10he
got into the boat with his disciples and
went to the region of Dalmanut ha.
11The Phari s ees came and beg an to
quest ion Jesus. To test him, they a sked
him for a sign from heaven. 12He sighed
deeply and said, Why does this genera
tion ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign
will be given to it. 13Then he left them,
got back into the boat and crossed to the
other side.
The Yeast of the Pharisees andHerod

14The disciples had forgotten to bring
read, except for one loaf they had with
b
them in the boat. 15Be caref ul, Jesus
warned them. Watch out for the yeast of
the Pharisees and that of Herod.
a24 Many early manuscripts Tyre and Sidon
b31 That is, the Ten Cities
9/21/11 10:16 AM
Mark 9
16They discussed this with one another
and said, It is because we have no bread.
17Aware of t heir discussion, Jesus asked
them: Why are you talking about having
no bread? Do you still not see or under
stand? Are your hearts hardened? 18Do
you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but
fail to hear? And dont you remember?
19When I broke the five loaves for the five
thousand, how many basketf uls of pieces
did you pickup?
Twelve, they replied.
20And when I broke the seven loaves
for the four thousand, how many basket
fuls of pieces did you pickup?
They answered, Seven.
21He said to them, Do you still not un
derstand?
Jesus Heals a Blind Man atBethsaida

22They came to Beths aid a, and some
people brought a blind man and begged
Jesus to touch him. 23He took the blind
man by the hand and led him outside the
village. When he had spit on the mans
eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus
asked, Do you see anyt hing?
24He looked up and said, I see people;
they look like trees walking around.
25Once more Jesus put his hands on the
mans eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his
sight was restored, and he saw everyt hing
clearly. 26Jesus sent him home, sayi ng,
Dont even go intoa the village.
Peter Declares That Jesus Is

the Messiah
27Jesus and his disciples went on to the
villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the
way he asked them, Who do people say
Iam?
28They replied, Some say John the
Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others,
one of the prophets.
29But what a bout you? he a sked.
Who do you say Iam?
Peter answered, You are the Messia h.
30Jesus warned them not to tell anyone
about him.
Jesus Predicts His Death

31He
then began to teach them that the

Son of Man must suffer many t hings and
1151
be rejected by the elders, the chief priests

and the teachers of the law, and that he
must be k illed and after t hree days rise
again. 32He spoke plainly about this, and
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke
him.
33But when Jesus t urned and looked at
his disciples, he rebuked Peter. Get be
hind me, Satan! he said. You do not have
in mind the concerns of God, but merely
human concerns.
The Way of the Cross

34Then he called the crowd to him a long
with his disc iples and said: Whoe ver
wants to be my disciple must deny them
selves and take up t heir cross and follow
me. 35For whoever wants to save t heir lifeb
will lose it, but whoever loses t heir life for
me and for the gospel will save it. 36What
good is it for someone to gain the whole
world, yet forfeit their soul? 37Or what can
anyone give in exchange for their soul?
38If anyone is a shamed of me and my
words in this adulterous and sinf ul gener
ation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of
them when he comes in his Fat hers glor y
with the holy angels.
And he said to them, Truly I tell
you, some who are standi ng here
will not taste death before they see
that the kingdom of God has come with
power.
The Transfiguration
2After six days Jesus took Peter, James
and John with him and led them up a
high mountain, where they were all a lone.
T here he was transf igu red before them.
3His clothes became dazzling white, whit
er than anyone in the world could bleach
them. 4And t here appeared before them
Elijah and Moses, who were talking with
Jesus.
5Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good
for us to be here. Let us put up t hree shel
tersone for you, one for Moses and one
for Elijah. 6(He did not know what to say,
they were so frightened.)
7Then a c loud app eared and covered
a26
b35
Some manuscripts go and tell anyone in

TheGreek word means either life or soul; also in
verses 36 and37.
9/21/11 10:16 AM
1152
Mark 9
them, and a voice came from the cloud:

This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to
him!
8Suddenly, when they looked a round,
they no longer saw anyone with them ex
cept Jesus.
9As they were comi ng down the moun
tain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell
anyone what they had seen unt il the Son
of Man had risen from the dead. 10They
kept the matter to themselves, discussing
what rising from the dead meant.
11And they a sked him, Why do the
teachers of the law say that Elijah must
come first?
12Jesus replied, To be sure, Elijah does
come f irst, and restores all t hings. Why
then is it written that the Son of Man must
oh,i get it!

What exactly did the disciples
see at the transfiguration?
(And whats a transfiguration?!)
One day, when Jesus was up on a mountain with
Peter, James and John, his clothes and body became dazzling white. Suddenly, Jesus disciples
saw him for who he really wasGod in human
form. Imagine their wonder when Moses and
Elijah, the two greatest prophets who ever lived,
showed up and talked to J esus.
Moses and Elijah had been Gods obedient servants, but their missions were complete. Now
Jesus would do what they couldntsave people
from their own sins. This event made such an impression on Peter (ya think?) that he was still
talking about it years later (2Peter 1:1718).
Mark 9:29
suffer much and be rejected? 13But I tell

you, Elijah has come, and they have done
to him everyt hing they w ished, just as it is
written a bout him.
Jesus Heals a Boy Possessed

byan ImpureSpirit
14When they came to the other disc i
ples, they saw a large crowd around them
and the teachers of the law arg uing with
them. 15As soon as all the people saw
Jesus, they were overwhelmed with won
der and ran to g reet him.
16What are you arg ui ng with them
about? he asked.
17A man in the c rowd ans wered,
Teacher, I brought you my son, who is
possessed by a spirit that has robbed him
of speech. 18Whenever it seizes him, it
t hrows him to the g round. He foams at
the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes
rigid. I asked your disciples to d rive out
the spirit, but they could not.
19You unb el ievi ng generat ion, Jesus
replied, how long shall I stay with you?
How long shall I put up with you? Bring
the boy tome.
20So they brought him. When the spir
it saw Jesus, it immediately t hrew the boy
into a conv ulsion. He fell to the g round
and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21Jesus a sked the b oys fat her, How
long has he been like this?
From childhood, he answered. 22It
has often t hrown him into fire or water to
kill him. But if you can do anyt hing, take
pity on us and helpus.
23If you can? said Jesus. Everyt hing
is possible for one who believes.
24Imm ed ia tel y the b oys fat her ex
claimed, I do believe; help me overcome
my unbelief!
25When Jesus saw that a c rowd was
running to the scene, he rebuked the im
pure spirit. You deaf and mute spirit, he
said, I command you, come out of him
and never enter him again.
26The spirit shrieked, conv ulsed him
violently and came out. The boy looked so
much like a corpse that many said, Hes
dead. 27But Jesus took him by the hand
and lifted him to his feet, and he stoodup.
9/21/11 10:16 AM
Mark 10
28After
Jesus had gone indoors, his dis

ciples asked him privately, Why couldnt
we drive it out?
29He replied, This kind can come out
only by prayer.a
Jesus Predicts His Death

a Second Time
30They left that p lace and p assed
t hrough Gali lee. Jesus did not want any
one to know where they were, 31because
he was teachi ng his disciples. He said to
them, The Son of Man is going to be de
livered into the hands of men. They will
kill him, and after t hree days he will rise.
32But they did not unders tand what he
meant and were afraid to ask him aboutit.
33They came to Capernau m. When he
was in the house, he asked them, What
were you arg ui ng about on the road?
34But they kept quiet bec ause on the way
they had arg ued about who was the great
est.
35Sitt ing down, Jesus called the Twelve
and said, Anyone who wants to be f irst
must be the very last, and the servant of
all.
36He took a litt le child whom he placed
a mong them. Taki ng the c hild in his
arms, he said to them, 37Whoever wel
comes one of t hese litt le child ren in my
name welcomes me; and whoe ver wel
comes me does not welcome me but the
one who sentme.
Whoever Is Not Against Us Is forUs

38Teacher,
said John, we saw some

one driving out demons in your name and
we told him to stop, because he was not
one ofus.
39Do not stop him, Jesus said. For no
one who does a miracle in my name can in
the next moment say anyt hing bad about
me, 40for whoever is not against us is for
us. 41Truly I tell you, anyone who g ives
you a cup of water in my name because
you belong to the Messia h will certainly
not lose their reward.
Causing to Stumble
42If anyone cause s one of t hese lit
tle onesthose who bel ieve in meto
1153
stumble, it would be better for them if a

l arge millstone were hung a round t heir
neck and they were t hrown into the sea.
43If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it
off. It is better for you to enter life maimed
than with two hands to go into hell, where
the fire never goes out. [44]b 45And if your
foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is
better for you to enter life crippled than to
have two feet and be t hrown into hell. [46]b
47And if your eye causes you to stumble,
pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the
kingdom of God with one eye than to have
two eyes and be t hrown into hell, 48where
the worms that eat them do not die,
and the fire is not quenched.c
49Everyone
will be salted with fire.

is good, but if it loses its salti
ness, how can you make it salty again?
Have salt a mong yourselves, and be at
peace with each other.
50Salt
Divorce
10
Jesus then left that place and

went into the reg ion of Judea
and across the Jordan. Again
crowds of people came to him, and as was
his custom, he taught them.
2Some Pharisees came and tested him
by aski ng, Is it lawf ul for a man to di
vorce his wife?
3What did Moses command you? he
replied.
4They said, Moses perm itted a man to
w rite a certificate of divorce and send her
away.
5It was because your hearts were hard
that Moses w rote you this law, Jesus re
plied. 6But at the beg inning of creat ion
God made them male and female.d 7For
this reason a man will leave his fat her and
mother and be united to his wife,e 8and
the two will become one f lesh.f So they
are no longer two, but one f lesh. 9There
fore what God has joined together, let no
one separate.
10When they were in the house a gain,
a29 Some manuscripts prayer and fasting
b44,46 Some manuscripts include here the words of
verse48. c48 Isaiah 66:24 d6 Gen. 1:27
e7 Some early manuscripts do not have and be united to
his wife. f8 Gen. 2:24
9/21/11 10:16 AM
1154
Mark 10
the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11He

answered, Anyone who divorces his wife
and marr ies another woma n comm its
adultery against her. 12And if she divorces
her husband and marr ies another man,
she commits adultery.
The Little Children and Jesus

13People were bringi ng litt le child ren to
J esus for him to place his hands on them,

but the disciples rebuked them. 14When
Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said
to them, Let the litt le child ren come to
me, and do not hinder them, for the king
dom of God belongs to such as t hese.
15Truly I tell you, anyone who will not
receive the kingdom of God like a litt le
child will never enter it. 16And he took
the children in his arms, placed his hands
on them and blessed them.
treasure this!
He said to them,
Let the little children
come to me, and do not
hinder them, for the
kingdom of God belongs
to such as these.
Mark 10:14
20Teacher,
he declared, all t hese I

have kept since I was a boy.
21Jesus looked at him and loved him.
One t hing you lack, he said. Go, sell
everyt hing you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, followme.
22At this the mans face fell. He went
away sad, because he had great wealth.
23Jesus looked a round and said to his
disciples, How hard it is for the rich to
enter the kingdom of God!
24The disc iples were a mazed at his
words. But Jesus said again, Child ren,
how hard it isb to enter the kingdom
of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go
t hrough the eye of a need le than for some
one who is rich to enter the kingdom of
God.
26The disciples were even more a mazed,
and said to each other, Who then can be
saved?
27Jesus looked at them and said, With
man this is impossible, but not with God;
all t hings are possible with God.
28Then Peter spoke up, We have left
everyt hing to follow you!
29Truly I tell you, Jesus replied, no
one who has left home or brothers or sis
ters or mother or fat her or child ren or
f ields for me and the gospel 30will fail to
receive a hund red t imes as much in this
present age: homes, brothers, sist ers,
mothers, children and f ieldsalong with
persec ut ionsa nd in the age to come
eternal life. 31But many who are f irst will
be last, and the last first.
Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time

The Rich and the Kingdom of God
17As Jesus starte d on his way, a man
ran up to him and fell on his k nees be
fore him. Good teacher, he asked, what
must I do to inherit eternal life?
18Why do you call me good? Jesus
answered. No one is goodexcept God
a lone. 19You know the commandments:
You shall not murder, you shall not com
mit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall
not give false testimony, you shall not de
fraud, honor your fat her and mother.a
32They were on t heir way up to Jer us a

lem, with Jesus leadi ng the way, and the
disc iples were astoni shed, w hile t hose
who followed were a fraid. Again he took
the Twelve a side and told them what was
goi ng to happen to him. 33We are goi ng
up to Jer us alem, he said, and the Son
of Man will be del ivered over to the chief
priests and the teachers of the law. They
will cond emn him to d eath and will
hand him over to the Gent iles, 34who
a19 Exodus 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20 b24 Some
manuscripts is for those who trust in riches
9/21/11 10:16 AM
Mark 11
will mock him and spit on him, flog him

and kill him. T hree days later he will
rise.
The Request of James and John

35Then James and John, the sons of
Zebedee, came to him. Teacher, they
said, we want you to do for us whatever
we ask.
36What do you want me to do for you?
he asked.
37They replied, Let one of us sit at your
r ight and the other at your left in your
glor y.
38You dont know what you are ask
ing, Jesus said. Can you d rink the cup
I drink or be baptized with the baptism I
am baptized with?
39We can, they answered.
Jesus said to them, You will drink the
cup I drink and be baptized with the bap
tism I am baptized with, 40but to sit at my
right or left is not for me to g rant. These
places belong to t hose for whom they have
been prepared.
41When the ten heard about this, they
became ind ignant with James and John.
42Jesus c alled them togethe r and said,
You know that t hose who are regarded
as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and t heir high off icials exercise aut hori
ty over them. 43Not so with you. Instead,
whoever wants to become g reat a mong
you must be your servant, 44and whoever
wants to be f irst must be slave of all. 45For
even the Son of Man did not come to be
served, but to serve, and to give his life as
a ransom for many.
Blind Bartimaeus Receives HisSight

46Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus
and his disciples, together with a large
crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man,
Bartimaeus (which means son of Timae
us), was sitting by the roadside begging.
47When he heard that it was Jesus of Naz
areth, he began to shout, Jesus, Son of
Dav id, have merc y onme!
48Many rebuked him and told him to be
quiet, but he shouted all the more, Son of
Dav id, have merc y onme!
49Jesus s
topped and said, Call him.
1155
So they called to the blind man, Cheer

up! On your feet! Hes calling you. 50Throw
ing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and
came to Jesus.
51What do you want me to do for you?
Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, Rabbi, I want to
see.
52Go, said Jesus, your faith has healed
you. Immed iately he received his sight
and followed Jesus a long the road.
Jesus Comes to JerusalemasKing
11
As they approached Jer us a

lem and came to Bethphage
and Betha ny at the Mount of
Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2say
ing to them, Go to the village a head of
you, and just as you enter it, you will find
a colt tied there, which no one has ever rid
den. Untie it and bring it here. 3If anyone
asks you, Why are you doing this? say,
The Lord needs it and will send it back
here shortly.
4They went and found a colt outside in
the street, tied at a doorway. As they un
tied it, 5some people standing t here asked,
What are you doing, unt ying that colt?
6They answered as Jesus had told them to,
and the people let them go. 7When they
brought the colt to Jesus and t hrew t heir
cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8Many peo
ple spread t heir cloaks on the road, while
others spread branches they had cut in the
f ields. 9Those who went a head and t hose
who followed shouted,
Hosanna!a
Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord!b
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of
our father David!
Hosanna in the highest
heaven!
11Jesus entered Jer usalem and went into
the temple courts. He looked a round at

everyt hing, but since it was already late,
he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
a9
AHebrew expression meaning Save! which became

an exclamation of praise; also in verse10 b9 Psalm
118:25,26
9/21/11 10:16 AM
1156
Mark 11
he
sT
re a Little
Palm Waver
In You?
Consider why you might have joined the crowd:

To see if this Jesus was as great as everyone
said.
Just to be part of the excitement.
Because you believed he was the Son of God and
you wanted to honor him.
Read on and see how these same people acted less
than a week later.
Mark 11:111
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree and

Clears theTempleCourts
12The next day as they were leavi ng
Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13Seeing in the
distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find
out if it had any f ruit. When he reached
it, he found nothi ng but leaves, because
it was not the season for figs. 14Then he
said to the tree, May no one ever eat fruit
from you again. And his disciples heard
him sayit.
15On reachi ng Jer usalem, Jesus entered
the temple courts and began driving out
t hose who were buying and selling t here.
He overt urned the tables of the money
changers and the benches of t hose sell
ing doves, 16and would not allow anyone
to carr y merchandise t hrough the temple
courts. 17And as he taught them, he said,
Is it not written: My house will be called
a house of prayer for all nationsa? But you
have made it a den of robbers.b
18The chief priests and the teachers of
the law heard this and began looking for
a way to kill him, for they feared him, be
cause the whole crowd was a mazed at his
teaching.
19When even ing came, Jesus and his

disciplesc went out of the city.
20In the morni ng, as they went a long,
they saw the fig tree withered from the
roots. 21Peter remembered and said to
Jesus, Rabbi, look! The fig tree you
cursed has withered!
22Have faith in God, Jesus answered.
23Trulyd I tell you, if anyone says to this
mountain, Go, t hrow yourself into the
sea, and does not doubt in their heart but
believes that what they say will happen, it
will be done for them. 24Therefore I tell
you, whatever you ask for in prayer, be
lieve that you have received it, and it will
be yours. 25And when you stand praying,
if you hold anyt hing against anyone, for
give them, so that your Fat her in heaven
may forgive you your sins. [26]e
The Authority of Jesus Questioned

27They arr ived a gain in Jer us al em,
and while Jesus was walking in the tem
a17 Isaiah 56:7 b17 Jer. 7:11 c19 Some early
manuscripts came, Jesus d22,23 Some early
manuscripts If you have faith in God, Jesus answered,
23truly e26 Some manuscripts include here words
similar to Matt.6:15.
9/21/11 10:16 AM
Mark 12
ple courts, the chief priests, the teachers

of the law and the elders came to him.
28By what aut horit y are you doi ng t hese
t hings? they asked. And who gave you
aut horit y to do this?
29Jesus replied, I will ask you one ques
tion. Answer me, and I will tell you by
what aut horit y I am doi ng t hese t hings.
30Johns bapt ismwas it from heaven, or
of human origin? Tellme!
31They disc ussed it a mong themselves
and said, If we say, From heaven, he will
ask, Then why d idnt you bel ieve him?
32But if we say, Of human orig in . . .
(They feared the people, for everyone held
that John really was a prophet.)
33So they ans wered Jesus, We dont
know.
Jesus said, Neit her will I tell you by
what aut horit y I am doing t hese things.
The Parable of the Tenants
12
Jesus then beg an to s peak

to them in parables: A man
planted a vineyard. He put a
wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress
and built a watchtower. Then he rented
the vineyard to some farmers and moved
to another place. 2At harvest time he sent
a servant to the tena nts to collect from
them some of the f ruit of the vineyard.
3But they seized him, beat him and sent
him away empt y-handed. 4Then he sent
another servant to them; they struck this
man on the head and treated him shame
fully. 5He sent still another, and that one
they k illed. He sent many others; some of
them they beat, others they killed.
6He had one left to send, a son, whom
he loved. He sent him last of all, sayi ng,
They will respect my son.
7But the tena nts said to one another,
This is the heir. Come, lets kill him, and
the inheritance will be ours. 8So they took
him and k illed him, and t hrew him out of
the vineyard.
9What then will the owne r of the
vineyard do? He will come and kill t hose
tena nts and give the vineyard to others.
10Havent you read this passage of Scrip
ture:
The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
1157
11 the Lord has done this,

and it is marvelous in our eyesa?
12Then the chief priests, the teachers
of the law and the elders looked for a way
to arrest him because they knew he had
spoken the parable against them. But they
were afraid of the crowd; so they left him
and went away.
Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar

13Later they sent some of the Pharisees
and Herod ia ns to Jesus to catch him in
his words. 14They came to him and said,
Teacher, we know that you are a man of
integrit y. You arent swayed by others, be
cause you pay no attent ion to who they
are; but you teach the way of God in accor
dance with the truth. Is it right to pay the
imperia l taxb to Caesar or not? 15Should
we pay or shouldntwe?
But Jesus knew t heir hypocrisy. Why
are you tryi ng to trap me? he a sked.
Bring me a denarius and let me look at
it. 16They brought the coin, and he asked
them, Whose image is this? And whose
inscription?
Caesars, they replied.
17Then Jesus said to them, Give back to
Caesar what is Caesars and to God what
is Gods.
And they were amazed at him.
Marriage at the Resurrection

18Then the Sadduc ees, who say t here
is no resu rrect ion, came to him with a
quest ion. 19Teacher, they said, Moses
w rote for us that if a mans brother dies
and leaves a wife but no children, the man
must marr y the widow and raise up off
spring for his brother. 20Now t here were
seven brothers. The f irst one married and
died without leaving any children. 21The
second one married the widow, but he also
died, leavi ng no child. It was the same
with the t hird. 22In fact, none of the sev
en left any children. Last of all, the wom
an died too. 23At the resurrectionc whose
wife will she be, since the seven were mar
ried to her?
a11 Psalm 118:22,23 b14 A special tax levied on
subject peoples, not on Roman citizens c23 Some
manuscripts resurrection, when people rise from the dead,
9/21/11 10:16 AM
1158
Mark 12
24Jesus replied, Are you not in error

because you do not know the Script ures
or the power of God? 25When the dead
rise, they will neit her marr y nor be given
in marr iage; they will be like the angels
in heaven. 26Now about the dead rising
have you not read in the Book of Moses, in
the account of the burning bush, how God
said to him, I am the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacoba?
27He is not the God of the dead, but of the
living. You are badly mistaken!
The Greatest Commandment

28One of the teachers of the law came
and heard them debati ng. Not ici ng that
Jesus had given them a good answer, he
a sked him, Of all the commandments,
which is the most important?
29The most important one, answered
Jesus, is this: Hear, OIsrael: The Lord
our God, the Lord is one.b 30Love the
Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your mind
and with all your strength.c 31The second
is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.d
T here is no commandment greater than
these.
32Well said, teacher, the man replied.
You are right in sayi ng that God is one
and t here is no other but him. 33To love
him with all your heart, with all your un
derstandi ng and with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself is
more important than all burnt offeri ngs
and sacrif ices.
34When Jesus saw that he had answered
wisely, he said to him, You are not far
from the kingdom of God. And from
then on no one dared ask him any more
questions.
Whose Son Is the Messiah?

35While Jesus was teachi ng in the tem
ple courts, he asked, Why do the teachers
of the law say that the Messia h is the son
of Dav id? 36Dav id himself, speaki ng by
the Holy Spirit, declared:
The Lord said to my Lord:

Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.e
37Dav id
himself c alls him Lord. How

then can he be his son?
The large crowd listened to him with
delight.
Warning Against the Teachers

oftheLaw
38As he t aught, Jesus said, Watch
out for the teachers of the law. They like
to walk a round in flowi ng robes and be
greeted with respect in the marketplaces,
39and have the most imp ort ant s eats
in the synagogues and the places of hon
or at banquets. 40They devour widows
house s and for a show make lengthy
prayers. These men will be punished most
severely.
The Widows Offering

41Jesus
sat down opp osite the place

here the offerings were put and watched
w
the crowd putt ing t heir money into the
temple treasury. Many rich people t hrew
in large a mounts. 42But a poor widow
came and put in two very small copper
coins, worth only a few cents.
43Calli ng his disc iples to him, Jesus
said, Truly I tell you, this poor widow
has put more into the treasury than all the
others. 44They all gave out of t heir wealth;
but she, out of her povert y, put in every
thinga ll she had to liveon.
The Destruction of the Temple and

SignsoftheEndTimes
13
As Jesus was leaving the tem

ple, one of his disciples said
to him, Look, Teacher! What
massive stones! What magnificent build
ings!
2Do you see all t hese g reat buildi ngs?
replied Jesus. Not one stone here will be
left on another; every one will be t hrown
down.
3As Jesus was sitt ing on the Mount of
Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James,
John and And rew a sked him privately,
4Tell us, when will t hese t hings happen?
And what will be the sign that they are all
about to be fulf illed?
a26 Exodus 3:6 b29 OrThe Lord our God is one Lord
c30 Deut. 6:4,5 d31 Lev. 19:18 e36 Psalm 110:1
9/21/11 10:16 AM
Mark 14
5Jesus said to them: Watch out that no
one deceives you. 6Many will come in my
name, claimi ng, I am he, and will de
ceive many. 7When you hear of wars and
rumors of wars, do not be a larmed. Such
t hings must happen, but the end is still
to come. 8Nation will rise against nation,
and kingdom a gainst kingdom. T here
will be earthquakes in various places, and
famines. These are the beginning of birth
pains.
9You must be on your g uard. You will
be handed over to the local councils and
f logged in the synagogues. On account of
me you will stand before governors and
k ings as witnesses to them. 10And the gos
pel must f irst be preached to all nat ions.
11Whenever you are arrested and brought
to tria l, do not worr y beforehand about
what to say. Just say whatever is given you
at the time, for it is not you speaking, but
the Holy Spirit.
12Brother will bet ray brother to death,
and a fat her his child. Children will rebel
against t heir parents and have them put
to death. 13Everyone will hate you because
of me, but the one who stands firm to the
end will be saved.
14When you see the abomi nat ion that
causes desolationa standing where itb does
not belonglet the reader understand
then let t hose who are in Judea flee to the
mountains. 15Let no one on the housetop
go down or enter the house to take any
thing out. 16Let no one in the f ield go back
to get t heir cloak. 17How dreadf ul it will
be in t hose days for pregnant women and
nursing mothers! 18Pray that this will not
take place in winter, 19because t hose will
be days of distress unequaled from the be
ginning, when God created the world, un
til nowand never to be e qualed a gain.
20If the Lord had not cut short t hose
days, no one would surv ive. But for the
sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he
has shortened them. 21At that time if any
one says to you, Look, here is the Messi
ah! or, Look, t here he is! do not believe
it. 22For false messia hs and false prophets
will appear and perform signs and won
ders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
23So be on your g uard; I have told you
everyt hing a head of time.
1159
24But in t hose days, followi ng that dis

tress,
the sun will be darkened,

and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be
shaken.c
26At that time people will see the Son
of Man coming in clouds with great power
and glor y. 27And he will send his angels
and gather his elect from the four w inds,
from the ends of the earth to the ends of
the heavens.
28Now learn this less on from the fig
tree: As soon as its t wigs get tender and its
leaves come out, you know that summer is
near. 29Even so, when you see t hese t hings
happening, you know that itb is near, right
at the door. 30Truly I tell you, this genera
tion will certainly not pass away until all
these things have happened. 31Heaven and
earth will pass away, but my words will
never pass away.
The Day and Hour Unknown

32But about that day or hour no one
k nows, not even the angels in heaven,
nor the Son, but only the Fat her. 33Be on
g uard! Be a lertd! You do not know when
that time will come. 34Its like a man going
away: He leaves his house and puts his ser
vants in charge, each with their assigned
task, and tells the one at the door to keep
watch.
35Therefore keep w atch bec ause you
do not know when the owner of the house
will come backwhether in the evening,
or at midnight, or when the rooster crows,
or at dawn. 36If he comes suddenly, do not
let him find you sleeping. 37What I say to
you, I say to everyone: Watch!
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
14
Now the Passo ver and the

Fest ival of Unleavened Bread
were only two days away, and
the chief priests and the teachers of the
law were schemi ng to arrest Jesus se
cretly and kill him. 2But not duri ng the
a14
c25
Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11 b14,29 Orhe

Isaiah 13:10; 34:4 d33 Some manuscripts alert
and pray
9/21/11 10:16 AM
1160
Mark 14
fest iv al, they said, or the people may

riot.
3While he was in Betha ny, reclini ng at
the table in the home of Simon the Lep
er, a woma n came with an alabaster jar
of very expensive perf ume, made of pure
nard. She broke the jar and poured the
perf ume on his head.
4Some of t hose present were sayi ng in
dignantly to one another, Why this waste
of perf ume? 5It could have been sold for
more than a years wagesa and the money
given to the poor. And they rebuked her
harshly.
6Leave her a lone, said Jesus. Why are
you bothering her? She has done a beau
tif ul t hing to me. 7The poor you will al
ways have with you,b and you can help
them any time you want. But you will not
always have me. 8She did what she could.
She poured perf ume on my body before
hand to prepare for my buria l. 9Truly I
tell you, wherever the gospel is preached
throughout the world, what she has done
will also be told, in memor y of her.
oh,i get it!

Who wants a bottle of perfume
dumped on their head?
The perfume was in an alabaster jar that had to
be broken to get the perfume out. Talk about dramatic! But anointing someones head with oil was
a common custom, messy though it was, to show
that the person was being given power by God or
had a holy purpose.
Looks like our perfume lady knew something the
rest of the dinner guests didnt.
Mark 14:19
10Then
Jud as Isc ario t, one of the

welve, went to the chief priests to betray
T
Jesus to them. 11They were del ighted to
hear this and promised to give him mon
ey. So he watched for an opport unit y to
hand him over.
The Last Supper

12On the f irst day of the Fest ival of Un
leavened Bread, when it was customary to
sacrif ice the Passover lamb, Jesus disci
ples asked him, Where do you want us to
go and make prepa rat ions for you to eat
the Passover?
13So he sent two of his disciples, telli ng
them, Go into the city, and a man car
rying a jar of water will meet you. Follow
him. 14Say to the owner of the house he
enters, The Teacher asks: W here is my
g uest room, where I may eat the Passover
with my disciples? 15He will show you a
large room upstairs, furnished and ready.
Make preparations for us there.
16The disc iples left, went into the city
and found t hings just as Jesus had told
them. So they prepared the Passover.
17When even ing came, Jesus arr ived
with the Twelve. 18While they were reclin
ing at the table eating, he said, Truly I tell
you, one of you will betray meone who
is eating withme.
19They were saddened, and one by one
they said to him, Surely you dont mean
me?
20It is one of the Twelve, he replied,
one who dips bread into the bowl with
me. 21The Son of Man will go just as it is
written about him. But woe to that man
who betrays the Son of Man! It would be
better for him if he had not been born.
22While they were eati ng, Jesus took
bread, and when he had given t hanks, he
broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying,
Take it; this is my body.
23Then he took a cup, and when he had
given t hanks, he gave it to them, and they
all d
rank fromit.
24This is my blood of thec covenant,
which is poured out for many, he said to
them. 25Truly I tell you, I will not drink
a5
Greek than three hundred denarii b7 See

Deut.15:11. c24 Some manuscripts the new
9/21/11 10:16 AM
Mark 14
a gain from the fruit of the vine until that

day when I d rink it new in the kingdom
of God.
26When they had sung a hymn, they
went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus Predicts Peters Denial

27You
will all fall away, Jesus told

them, for it is written:
I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.a
28But
after I have risen, I will go a head of

you into Galilee.
29Peter declared, Even if all fall away,
I will not.
30Truly I tell you, Jesus ans wered,
todayyes, tonightbefore the rooster
crows t wiceb you yourself will disown me
t hree times.
31But Peter insisted emphatically, Even
if I have to die with you, I will never dis
own you. And all the others said the
same.
Gethsemane
32They went to a place called Gethsem
ane, and Jesus said to his disciples, Sit
here while I pray. 33He took Peter, James
and John a long with him, and he began to
be deeply dist ressed and troubled. 34My
soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the
point of death, he said to them. Stay here
and keep watch.
35Goi ng a litt le fart her, he fell to the
g round and prayed that if possible the
hour might pass from him. 36Abba,c Fa
ther, he said, everyt hing is possible for
you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what
I will, but what you will.
37Then he ret urned to his disciples and
found them sleeping. Simon, he said to
Peter, are you asleep? Couldnt you keep
watch for one hour? 38Watch and pray so
that you will not fall into temptation. The
spirit is willing, but the f lesh is weak.
39Once more he went away and prayed
the same t hing. 40When he came back, he
again found them sleeping, because t heir
eyes were heavy. They did not know what
to say to him.
41Ret urni ng the t hird time, he said to
them, Are you still sleeping and resting?
1161
nough! The hour has come. Look, the

E
Son of Man is delivered into the hands of
sinners. 42Rise! Let us go! Here comes my
betrayer!
Jesus Arrested
43Just
as he was speaki ng, Judas, one

of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a
crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent
from the chief priests, the teachers of the
law, and the elders.
44Now the bet raye r had arr anged a
signal with them: The one I kiss is the
man; arrest him and lead him away un
der guard. 45Going at once to Jesus, Judas
said, Rabbi! and k issed him. 46The men
seized Jesus and arrested him. 47Then one
of t hose standing near drew his sword and
struck the servant of the high priest, cut
ting off his ear.
48AmI leadi ng a rebell ion, said Jesus,
that you have come out with swords and
clubs to capt ure me? 49Every day I was
with you, teachi ng in the temple courts,
and you did not arrest me. But the Scrip
tures must be fulf illed. 50Then everyone
deserted him and fled.
51A young man, weari ng nothi ng but a
linen garment, was following Jesus. When
they seized him, 52he fled naked, leaving
his garment behind.
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin

53They took Jesus to the high priest,
and all the chief priests, the elders and the
teachers of the law came together. 54Peter
followed him at a distance, right into the
courtyard of the high priest. There he sat
with the g uards and warmed himself at
the fire.
55The chief priests and the whole San
hedrin were looking for evidence against
Jesus so that they could put him to death,
but they did not find any. 56Many testif ied
falsely against him, but t heir statements
did not agree.
57Then some s tood up and gave this
false testimony against him: 58We heard
him say, I will destroy this temple made
with human hands and in t hree days will
a27
Zech. 13:7 b30 Some early manuscripts do not

have twice. c36 Aramaic for father
9/21/11 10:16 AM
1162
Mark 14
Dream Girl
You never thought it would turn out like this.
Youve followed Jesus since his baptism.
Youve seen him heal the unhealable and
forgive the unforgivable. Youve changed
because of him. If he can change selfish, frightened
you, think what he could do for the whole world! You had
such high hopes. But now, from your miserable, curled-up
place in the garden, you can see Jesus hunched on the
ground in despair. Youre sure hes talking to God, but from
the slump of his shoulders you know he isnt getting the
answers he wants. Fear, the kind you havent felt since you
met Jesus, wraps its ugly fingers around your heart. Jesus
said he was going to be put to death. Is he going to leave
you after all, when you have come to depend on him for
everything? Your hopelessness is suddenly so heavy you
cant hold your head up or keep your eyes open. Suddenly
you are sharply awakened by Jesus voice. Are you still
sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. What
hour? you wonder sleepily. And then you know. The
soldiers torches jar the night. You can hear their rough
voices, smell their sweat and their cruelty. Here comes my
betrayer! Jesus says. You feel a chill. Perhaps they are
coming to kill you, too. You search Jesus face for some
sign that he will use his power to strike them down and
protect you. But he does nothing. Judas steps into
the garden, his face distorted by the shadows.
You scramble to your feet, and you run.
M a r k 14 :325 0
9/21/11 10:16 AM
Mark 15
build another, not made with hands.

59Yet even then t heir test imony did not
agree.
60Then the high priest s tood up be
fore them and asked Jesus, Are you not
goi ng to answer? What is this test imony
that t hese men are bringing against you?
61But Jesus remained silent and gave no
answer.
Again the high priest asked him, Are
you the Messia h, the Son of the Blessed
One?
62I am, said Jesus. And you will see
the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of
the Mighty One and coming on the clouds
of heaven.
63The high priest tore his clothes. Why
do we need any more witnesse s? he
asked. 64You have heard the blasphemy.
What do you think?
They all condemned him as wort hy of
death. 65Then some began to spit at him;
they blindfolded him, struck him with
t heir f ists, and said, Prophesy! And the
g uards took him and beat him.
oh,i get it!

Okay, so who were the
Sadducees and Pharisees?
The Sadducees and Pharisees were the big-time
religious leaders of Israel. The two groups were a
lot alike, but not totally:
Sadduceeswealthy, powerful men who
were more interested in politics than religion.
They believed only Scripture was inspired by
God, (so forget anything teachers like Jesus
had to say) and they didnt believe in an afterlife or resurrection. When you were dead,
you were done.
Phariseesmiddle-class businessmen who
basically told the common people what to do
when it came to religion. They believed both
Scripture and the words of famous rabbis
were inspired by God. They also believed in an
afterlife where people would be rewarded or
punished based on their good works.
Peter Disowns Jesus

66While Peter was below in the court
yard, one of the servant g irls of the high
priest came by. 67When she saw Peter
warmi ng himself, she looked closely at
him.
You also were with that Naza rene,
Jesus, she said.
68But he denied it. I d
ont know or un
derstand what youre talki ng about, he
said, and went out into the entryway.a
69When the servant girl saw him t here,
she said again to t hose standing a round,
This fellow is one of them. 70Again he
deniedit.
After a litt le while, t hose standing near
said to Peter, Surely you are one of them,
for you are a Galilean.
71He began to call down curse s, and
he swore to them, I dont know this man
youre talking about.
72Immed iately the rooster c rowed the
second time.b Then Peter remembered
the word Jesus had spoken to him: Be
fore the rooster crows t wicec you will dis
own me t hree times. And he broke down
and wept.
1163
You can see why neither group was that excited

about J esus.
Mark 14:53
Jesus Before Pilate
15
Very early in the morning, the

chief priests, with the elders,
the teachers of the law and the
whole Sanhed rin, made their plans. So
they bound Jesus, led him away and hand
ed him over to Pilate.
a68
Some early manuscripts entryway and the rooster

crowed b72 Some early manuscripts do not have the
second time. c72 Some early manuscripts do not
have twice.
9/21/11 10:16 AM
1164
Mark 15
2Are you the king of the Jews? a sked

Pilate.
You have said so, J esus replied.
3The chief priests accused him of many
t hings. 4So again Pilate asked him, Arent
you going to answer? See how many things
they are accusing youof.
5But Jesus still made no reply, and Pi
late was amazed.
6Now it was the custom at the fest ival
to release a prisoner whom the people re
quested. 7A man called Barabbas was in
prison with the insurrectionists who had
committed murder in the uprising. 8The
crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for
them what he usua lly did.
9Do you want me to release to you the
king of the Jews? asked Pilate, 10know
ing it was out of self-interest that the chief
priests had handed Jesus over to him.
11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd
to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
12What shall I do, then, with the one
you call the king of the Jews? Pilate asked
them.
13Crucif y him! they shouted.
14Why? What c rime has he comm it
ted? a sked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, Cru
cif y him!
15Wanti ng to satisf y the crowd, Pilate
released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus
f logged, and handed him over to be cru
cif ied.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus

16The sold iers led Jesus away into the
palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called
together the whole company of sold iers.
17They put a purple robe on him, then
twisted together a crown of thorns and set
it on him. 18And they began to call out to
him, Hail, king of the Jews! 19Again and
again they struck him on the head with
a staff and spit on him. Falling on t heir
k nees, they paid homage to him. 20And
when they had mocked him, they took off
the purple robe and put his own clothes on
him. Then they led him out to crucif y him.
The Crucifixion of Jesus

21A
certain man from Cyrene, Simon,

the fat her of Alexa nder and Ruf us, was
passing by on his way in from the coun

try, and they forced him to carry the cross.
22They brought Jesus to the place called
Golgotha (which means the place of the
skull). 23Then they offered him wine mixed
with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24And
they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes,
they cast lots to see what each would get.
25It was nine in the morni ng when they
crucif ied him. 26The written notice of the
charge against him read: the king of the
jews.
27They crucif ied two rebels with him,
one on his right and one on his left. [28]a
29Those who passed by hurled insults at
him, shaking t heir heads and saying, So!
You who are going to destroy the temple
and build it in t hree days, 30come down
from the cross and save yourself! 31In the
same way the chief priests and the teach
ers of the law mocked him a mong them
selves. He saved others, they said, but
he cant save himself! 32Let this Messia h,
this king of Israel, come down now from
the cross, that we may see and bel ieve.
Those crucif ied with him also heaped in
sults on him.
The Death of Jesus

33At noon, darkness came over the
whole land unt il t hree in the afternoon.
34And at t hree in the afternoon Jesus cried
out in a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lema sa
bachthani? (which means My God, my
God, why have you forsaken me?).b
35When some of t hose standi ng near
heard this, they said, Listen, hes calling
Elijah.
36Someone ran, f illed a s ponge with
wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and of
fered it to Jesus to drink. Now leave him
a lone. Lets see if Elijah comes to take him
down, he said.
37With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his
last.
38The curt ain of the temple was torn
in two from top to bottom. 39And when
the centurion, who stood t here in front of
Jesus, saw how he died,c he said, Surely
this man was the Son of God!
a28
Some manuscripts include here words similar to

Luke22:37. b34 Psalm 22:1 c39 Some
manuscripts saw that he died with such a cry
9/21/11 10:16 AM
Mark 16
treasure this!
You are looking for
Jesus the Nazarene, who
was crucified. He has
risen! He is not here.
Mark 16:6
40Some women were watchi ng from a

distance. A mong them were Mary Mag
dalene, Mary the mother of James the
younger and of Joseph,a and Salome. 41In
Gali lee t hese women had followed him
and cared for his needs. Many other wom
en who had come up with him to Jerusa
lem were also there.
The Burial of Jesus

42It
was Prepa rat ion Day (that is, the

day before the Sabbath). So as even ing
approached, 43Jos eph of Ari mat hea, a
promi nent member of the Council, who
was himself waiti ng for the kingdom of
God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for
Jesus body. 44Pilate was surprised to hear
that he was already dead. Summoning the
cent ur ion, he asked him if Jesus had al
ready died. 45When he learned from the
centurion that it was so, he gave the body
to Joseph. 46So Joseph bought some linen
cloth, took down the body, w rapped it in
the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out
of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the
entrance of the tomb. 47Mary Magdalene
and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where
he was laid.
Jesus Has Risen
16
When the Sabbath was over,

Mary Magd alene, Mary the
mother of James, and Salo
me bought spices so that they m ight go
to a noint Jesus body. 2Very early on the
1165
f irst day of the week, just after sunr ise,

they were on t heir way to the tomb 3and
they a sked each other, Who will roll
the stone away from the ent rance of the
tomb?
4But when they looked up, they saw that
the stone, which was very large, had been
rolled away. 5As they entered the tomb,
they saw a young man dressed in a white
robe sitt ing on the r ight side, and they
were alarmed.
6Dont be a larmed, he said. You are
looking for Jesus the Naza rene, who was
crucif ied. He has risen! He is not here. See
the place where they laid him. 7But go, tell
his disciples and Peter, He is going a head
of you into Gali lee. T here you will see
him, just as he told you.
8Trembling and bew ildered, the wom
en went out and fled from the tomb. They
said nothing to anyone, because they were
afraid.b
[The earliest manuscripts and some other

ancient witnesses do not have verses 920.]
9When Jesus rose early on the f irst day of the
week, he appeared f irst to Mary Magd al ene,
a40 Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph; also in verse47
b8 Some manuscripts have the following ending between
verses 8 and 9, and one manuscript has it after verse 8

(omitting verses 9-20): Then they quickly reported all these
instructions to those around Peter. After this, Jesus himself
also sent out through them from east to west the sacred and
imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. Amen.
treasure this!
Go into all the world
and preach the
good news to
all creation.
Mark 16:15
9/21/11 10:16 AM
1166
Mark 16
out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10She

went and told those who had been with him and
who were mourning and weeping. 11When they
heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen
him, they did not believeit.
12Aft erward Jesus app eared in a diff ere nt
form to two of them while they were walking in
the country. 13T hese returned and reported it
to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
14Late r Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they
were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of
faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those
who had seen him after he had risen.
15He said to them, Go into all the world and
preach the gospel to all creation. 16Whoever be
lieves and is baptized will be saved, but who

ever does not believe will be condemned. 17And
these signs will accompany those who believe:
In my name they will drive out demons; they
will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up
snakes with their hands; and when they drink
deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they
will place their hands on sick people, and they
will get well.
19After the Lord Jesus had spok en to them, he
was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right
hand of God. 20Then the disciples went out and
preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with
them and conf irmed his word by the signs that
accompaniedit.
9/21/11 10:16 AM

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Who wrote it: Mark

When it was written:

arks gospel is way shorter

Cool characters youll

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

oh,i get it!

The beg inn ing of the good news

Was that really God talking

I will send my messenger ahead

The Baptism and Testing ofJesus

that time Jesus came from Naza

Jesus Announces the Good News

John was put in prison, Jesus

It wasnt John the Baptist saying, This is Gods

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

Jesus Drives Out an ImpureSpirit

OrJesus Christ. Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek)

had various diseases. He also d rove out

Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place

synagogue and began to teach. 22The peo

Jesus Heals Many

soon as they left the synagogue,

35Very early in the morni ng, w hile it

oh,i get it!

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy

egged him on his k nees, If you are will

Jesus Forgives and Heals

A few days later, when Jesus again

Four Friends Bring Their Buddy to Jesus

Word to the Wise: Jesus not only healshe forgives sins.

some teachers of the law were sit

Jesus Calls Levi and Eats

Jesus Questioned About Fasting

them? They cannot, so long as they have

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

Another time Jesus went into the

isees went out and began to plot with the

Crowds Follow Jesus

Jesus Appoints the Twelve

Jesus Accused by His Family and

dom is div ided against itself, that king

The Parable of the Sower

Again Jesus began to teach by the

I get distracted from

A. What everybody else is

a crop, some mult iplying thirt y, some six

ing it unfruitf ul. 20Others, like seed sown

The Parable of the Growing Seed

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Jesus Calms the Storm

day when evening came, he said

er side. 36Leaving the crowd behind, they

Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed

They went across the lake to the

and the impure spirits came out and went

Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and

by the lake. 22Then one of the synagogue

c hilds father and mother and the disciples

A Prophet Without Honor