Mark

DID THIS
, WHEN
HAPPEN?

a.d. 1 to 36 in Palestine

IS IN
, WHO
THIS BOOK?

J esus
the disciples
Bartimaeus
Pilate
Simon of Cyrene
Joseph of Arimathea

YOU
, VERSES
MIGHT RECOGNIZE

MARK 1:17 Come, follow

me, Jesus said, and I will
send you out to fish for
people.

MARK 16:15 Go into all the

world and preach the good
news to all creation.

WHATS IT ABOUT?

he second of the synoptic gospels,

the book of Mark jumps right into
the action, skipping the story of
Jesus birth and going straight to the start of
his ministry. Like an action movie, Mark is
fast-paced, covering J esus miracles and the
most important events of his life, death, and
resurrection.
Mark wrote for a non-Jewish audience, so
he didnt include the prophecies that Matthew
did. Even someone who hadnt read the Old
Testament could easily see that J esus was
God from the miracles he performed. Mark,
who is mentioned in the book of Acts, got his
information from the disciple Peter.
Where Matthews gospel portrays J esus as
Messiah and King, Marks gospel portrays him
as the ultimate servant. It shows him serving
the poor, the sick, and even children. He would
serve humanity by paying the ultimate price,
giving his life as a ransom for many (Mark
10:45). His death and resurrection would
change everything, freeing those who believe
from the bondage of their sin.

1225

MARK
John the Baptist Prepares the Way

The beg inn ing of the good news a bout

Jesus the Messia h, a the Son of God,b 2as
it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

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 Baptist appeared in the

wilder ness, preach i ng a bapt ism of repen
tance for the forg iveness of sins. 5The whole
Judea n count ryside and all the people of Je
rusalem went out to him. Confessing t heir
sins, they were bapt ized by him in the Jor
dan River. 6John wore clothi ng made of cam
els 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 powerful than I, the s traps of w
hose
sandals I am not wort hy to s toop down and
unt ie. 8I bapt ize you withe water, but he will
bapt ize you withe the Holy Spirit.

God. 15The time has come, he said. The

kingdom of God has come near. Repent and
bel ieve the good news!

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

16As

Jesus w
alked beside the Sea of Gal
ilee, he saw Simon and his brother And rew
casti ng a net into the lake, for they were fish
ermen. 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 brother John
in a boat, prepari ng t heir nets. 20Without de
lay he c alled them, and they left t heir fat her
Zebedee in the boat with the h ired men and
followed him.

Jesus Drives Out an ImpureSpirit

that time Jesus came from Naza reth

in Gali lee and was bapt ized by John in the
Jordan. 10Just as Jesus was comi ng up out of
the water, he saw heaven being torn open
and the Spirit descending 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
wilder ness, 13and he was in the wilderness
fort y days, bei ng tempted f by Satan. He was
with the wild ani mals, and angels attended
him.

21They went to Ca
pern au m, and when
the Sabbath came, J esus went into the syn
agogue and began to teach. 22The people
were a mazed at his teaching, bec ause he
t aught them as one who had aut horit 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, J esus of Naza reth? Have you come
to destroy us? I know who you aret he Holy
One of God!
25Be quiet! said J esus sternly. Come out
of him! 26The impure spirit shook the man
violently and came out of him with a shriek.
27The peo
ple were all so a mazed that
they asked each other, What is this? A new
teach i ng and with aut hor it 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 Announces the Good News

Jesus Heals Many

The Baptism and Testing ofJesus

9At

14After

John was put in prison, Jesus went

into Gali lee, proclaimi ng the good news of

29As soon as they left the synagogue, they

went with James and John to the home of

a1OrJesus Christ. Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) both mean Anointed One. b1Some

manuscripts do not have the Son of God. c2Mal. 3:1 d3Isaiah 40:3 e8Orinf13TheGreek
for tempted can also mean tested.

GREAT NEWS
READ: MARK 1:14

growing in

FAITH
HOPE
LOVE

f you havent grown up in a

Christian home, you might
not know where to start
with sharing the gospel. For me,
I started by writing status updates of
Scriptures on my Facebook page. I remember
feeling afraid when I did the very first one. What might people think? Will they
say something nasty to me?
After I did it, I thought, Im making God proud. Isnt that more important
than what others might think of me? Do I want to be liked more than I want to
share the eternal love of J esus Christ? The answer was no. I remember that J esus
simply told his disciples to go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:1620).
I notice he didnt add, Unless youre embarrassed.
If youre not used to sharing, start listening to Christian music, because
youll hear an encouraging song and youll start remembering how God loves
you. When I first gave my life to J esus, I remember driving in my car and
turning on the Christian radio station. I felt an overwhelming sense of love
from God wash over and envelop me. Through that song, God spoke directly to
my heart.
These God moments, when he speaks directly to you and you have absolute
clarity about your direction, are the best feeling in the world.
If youre unsure of how to tell others about your faith, just start by sharing
how God transformed your own life. Tell how he has impacted you for the
better and for all eternity. Who doesnt want to hear that good news? Or if you
dont know exactly what to say, simply tell others that God has a great plan for
their lives. Tell them he loves them unconditionallyjust the way they are.
Taken from Project Inspired by Nicole Weider, copyright 2015 by Nicole Weider, published by Zondervan.

1227

1228

Mark 1:30

Si mon and And rew. 30Si mons mother-inlaw was in bed with a fever, and they imme
diately told Jesus about her. 31So he went to
her, took her hand and h
elped her up. The
fever left her and she began to wait on them.
32That eve
n ing after sunset the people
brought to Jesus all the sick and demonpossessed. 33The w hole town gathered at
ealed many who had
the door, 34and Jesus h
various diseases. He also d
rove out many de
mons, but he would not let the demons speak
because they knew who he was.

Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place

35Very earl y in the morni ng, w hile it was
s till dark, Jesus got up, left the h
ouse and
went off to a solitary p
lace, w
here he prayed.
36Simon and his companions went to look
for him, 37and when they found him, they
exclaimed: Everyone is looki ng for you!
38Jesus re
plied, Let us go somewhere
else to the nearby villages so I can preach
there also. That is why I have come. 39So he
traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in
their synagogues and driving out demons.

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy

40A man with lepros ya came to him and
egged him on his k nees, If you are willi ng,
b
you can make me clean.
41Jesus was ind ig n ant. b He reached out
his hand and t ouched the man. I am will
ing, he said. Be clean! 42Immed iately the
lepros y left him and he was cleansed.
43Jesus sent him away at once with a
strong warni ng: 44See that you dont tell
this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the
priest and of fer the sacr i f ices that Moses
commanded for your cleansing, as a test i
mony to them. 45Instead he went out and
began to talk freely, spreadi ng the news. As
a result, Jesus c ould no longer enter a town
openly but stayed outside in lonely places.
Yet the people s till came to him from every
where.

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed

Man

A few days later, when J esus a gain en

tered Capernau m, the people heard that
he had come home. 2They gathered in such
a40
b41

Mark 2:17

1228

large numbers that t here was no room left,

not even outside the door, and he preached
the word to them. 3Some men came, bring
ing to him a para lyzed man, carr ied by four
of them. 4Since they could not get him to
Jesus bec ause of the c rowd, they made an
openi ng in the roof above Jesus by digg ing
t hrough it and then lowered the mat the man
was lyi ng on. 5When J esus saw t heir faith, he
said to the para lyzed man, Son, your sins
are forg iven.
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?
8Im m ed ia tel y Jesus knew in his spir
it that this was what they were thinki ng in
t heir h
earts, and he said to them, Why are
you think i ng t hese t hings? 9Which is easi
er: 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 e arth to forg ive
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 w
alked out in full view of
them all. This a mazed everyone and they
praised God, saying, We have never seen
anyt hing like this!

Jesus Calls Levi and Eats

With Sinners
13Once a
gain Jesus went out beside the
lake. A large c rowd came to him, and he be
gan to teach them. 14As he w
alked a long, he
saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitt ing at the tax
col lectors booth. Fol low me, Jesus told
him, and Levi got up and followed him.
15While J esus was havi ng dinner at Lev is
house, many tax collectors and sinners were
eati ng with him and his disciples, 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 collec
tors, they asked his disciples: Why does he
eat with tax collectors 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.

TheGreek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
Many manuscripts Jesus was filled with compassion

GUARDRAILS
READ: MARK 1:3539

growing in

FAITH
HOPE
LOVE

eing a servant leader is not

about doing everything
people want you to do.
Its more about giving of what
you have, so you can help others give
what they have. Having discernment means
knowing when to say yes and when to say no.
Look at how J esus does it. Everyone is anxious for more of him. And what
does Jesus do? He spends the morning in prayer, getting the plan from the
Master Planner himself. The disciples think that J esus needs to get back in
thereEveryone is looking for you! But J esus says no to what is good so he
can say yes to what is right. God tells him he needs to move on.
I learned this lesson the hard way. During my first few years in ministry,
I thought whenever an opportunity to serve presented itself to me, I had to
be there. If someone called at 10 oclock at night because they were having a
rough time, I ran right over to offer prayer and comfort. When the phone rang
during my quiet time, I answered it. There wasnt an hour of my day that was
off-limits.
Soon, whenever someone needed me, my stomach tensed up. I found
myself caring lessnot morefor people. I couldnt even discern what to
do about the way I was feeling because meeting with God every morning had
been swallowed up by serving him. Finally, I realized that I was of no use to
anyoneespecially God. So I finally asked for help.
How arrogant of me to think I could do what J esus wouldnt do! I had to
learn to get away to that quiet place on a regular basis and allow my Master
Planner to tell me when to move on to the next town, just as he did for J esus.
Taken from Step Up by Denise VanEck, copyright 2012 by Zondervan, published by Zondervan.

1229

ACCEPTING
GODS HELP
READ: MARK 2:17

growing in

FAITH
HOPE
LOVE

uppose you were a doctor

dropped into the rubble
of a natural catastrophe.
As you survey countless injured and
dying, you stumble on a group that eyes you
suspiciously. Theyre as badly wounded as everyone else, but they claim they
dont need your care. When they reject your treatment, you wouldnt hesitate to
move on to others begging for help.
Thats the scene in Mark 2. J esus had just called a follower named Levi,
better known as Matthew. He was a despised tax collector, hated not only
for cheating fellow citizens but also for collaborating with the Romans who
occupied Israel. Everyone regarded Levi as one of the worst sinners of his day,
yet J esus didnt shy away from dining with him. It flashed a powerful sign of
acceptance and fellowship.
The Pharisees couldnt understand why J esus ate with sinners. They didnt
want to join up with J esus as friends. And they certainly werent eager to obey
his teachings. J esus didnt get hung up on their criticisms. Those religious rule
keepers were like dying people living in denial of their condition. They could
pretend to be well, but they were as needy as everyone else.
The Lord comes to people who recognize they have problems. If youre
honest, you realize thats all of us. But you have to want his help.

1230

1231

Mark 2:18

Jesus Questioned About Fasting

18Now

Johns disciples and the Phar isees

were fasti ng. Some people came and asked
Jesus, How is it that J ohns disciples and the
disc iples of the Pharisees are fasting, but
yours are not?
19Jesus ans wered, 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
brideg room will be taken from them, and on
that day they will fast.
21No one sews a p
atch 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 s kins, and both the wine and the wine
skins will be rui ned. No, they pour new wine
into new wineskins.

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

23One Sabbath Jesus was going t hrough
the grainf ields, and as his disciples w
alked
a long, they beg an to pick some h
eads of
g rain. 24The Pharisees said to him, Look,
why are they doi ng what is unlawf ul on the
Sabbath?
25He an
s wered, Have you never read
what Dav id did when he and his compan
ions were hung ry and in need? 26In the days
of Abiat har the high priest, he entered the
house of God and ate the consecrated bread,
which is lawf ul only for p
riests 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 Sabbath. 28So
the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

Another time Jesus went into the syna

gogue, and a man with a shriveled hand
was t here. 2Some of them were looking for
a reason to acc use Jesus, so they w
atched
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 every
one.
4Then Jesus a sked them, Which is lawf ul
on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to
save life or to kill? But they remained silent.
5He looked a round at them in anger and,
a14

Mark 3:23

1231

deeply dist ressed at t heir stubborn hearts,

said to the man, Stretch out your hand. He
stretched it out, and his hand was complete
ly restored. 6Then the Pharisees went out
and began to plot with the Herod ia ns how
they m
ight kill J esus.

Crowds Follow Jesus

7Jesus withd rew with his disc iples to the
lake, and a large c rowd from Galilee fol
lowed. 8When they heard about all he was
doing, many people came to him from Ju
dea, Jer us a lem, Idu mea, and the reg ions
across the Jordan and a round Tyre and Si
don. 9Because of the crowd he told his dis
ciples to have a small boat ready for him, to
keep the people from crowding him. 10For
he had h
ealed many, so that t hose with dis
eases were pushing forw ard to touch him.
11Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they
fell down before him and cried out, You are
the Son of God. 12But he gave them strict or
ders not to tell others about him.

Jesus Appoints the Twelve

13Jesus went up on a mount ains ide and
c alled to him those he wanted, and they
came to him. 14He appointed t welve a that
they m
ight be with him and that he m
ight
send them out to p
reach 15and to have au
thorit y to d rive out demons. 16These are the
twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he
gave the name Peter), 17James son of Zebe
dee and his brother John (to them he gave
the name Boa nerges, which means sons of
thunder), 18And rew, Phil ip, Bar t holomew,
Mat t hew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus,
Thaddaeu s, Si mon the Zealot 19and Judas
Iscariot, who bet rayed him.

Jesus Accused by His Family and

byTeachers ofthe Law
20Then Jesus entered a house, and again a
c rowd gathered, so that he and his disciples
were not even able to eat. 21When his fami ly b
heard a bout this, they went to take c harge 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 possessed
by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is
drivi ng out demons.
23So Jesus c
alled them over to him and

Some manuscripts twelvedesignating them apostles b21Orhis associates

1232

Mark 3:24

began to s peak to them in parables: How

can Satan d rive out Satan? 24If a kingdom
is div ided a gainst itself, that kingdom can
not stand. 25If a house is div ided against
it self, that house can not stand. 26And if Sa
tan opposes himself and is div ided, he can
not 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 slan
der they utter, 29but whoe ver blasphemes
against the Holy Spirit will never be forg iven;
they are g uilty of an eternal sin.
30He said this bec ause they were sayi ng,
He has an impure spirit.
31Then
Jesus mother and brothers ar
rived. Standi ng outside, they sent someone
in to call him. 32A crowd was sitt ing a round
him, and they told him, Your mother and
brothers are outside looki ng for you.
33Who are my mother and my brothers?
he asked.
34Then he l ooked at t hose seated 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 gathered a round him
was so large that he got into a boat and sat
in it out on the lake, w hile all the people
were a long the shore 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 scatteri ng the
seed, some fell a long the path, and the birds
came and ate it up. 5Some fell on r ocky plac
es, w
here it did not have much soil. It s prang
up quickly, bec ause the soil was shallow.
6But when the sun came up, the plants were
scorched, and they withered bec ause they
had no root. 7Other seed fell a mong t horns,
w hich 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 pro
duced a crop, some mult iplyi ng thirt y, some
sixt y, some a hund red times.
9Then Jesus said, Whoe ver has ears to
hear, let them hear.
10When he was a
lone, the Twelve and
a12Isaiah 6:9,10

Mark 4:27

1232

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 everyt hing 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 J esus said to them, Dont you un
derstand this parable? How then will you
understand any parable? 14The farmer sows
the word. 15Some people are like seed a long
the path, w
here 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 persec ut ion 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 deceitf ulness of w
ealth and the desires
for other t hings come in and c hoke the word,
mak i ng it un f ruit f ul. 20Others, like seed
sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it,
and produce a cropsome thirt y, some six
ty, some a hund red t imes 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? Instead, d
ont
you put it on its stand? 22For whatever is hid
den is m
eant to be disclosed, and whatever
is concealed is m
eant to be b
rought out into
the open. 23If anyone has ears to hear, let
them hear.
24Consider caref ull y 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 kingdom
of God is like. A man scatters seed on the
g round. 27Night and day, whether he s leeps

1233

Mark 4:28

or gets up, the seed sprouts and g rows,

t hough he does not know how. 28All by itself
the soil produces g rain f irst the stalk, then
the head, then the full kernel in the head.
29As soon as the g rain 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 parable s hall
we use to describe it? 31It is like a must ard
seed, w hich is the smallest of all seeds on
earth. 32Yet when planted, it g rows and be
comes the largest of all garden plants, with
such big branches that the birds can p
erch
in its shade.
33With many simi lar parables Jesus spoke
the word to them, as much as they c ould un
derstand. 34He did not say anyt hing to them
without using a parable. But when he was
a lone with his own disc iples, he explained
every t hing.

Jesus Calms the Storm

35That day when even ing came, he said
to his disc iples, Let us go over to the oth
er side. 36Leaving the c rowd beh ind, they
took him a long, just as he was, in the boat.
T here were also other b
oats with him. 37A
fur ious squall came up, and the waves b
roke
over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
38Jesus was in the s
tern, sleepi ng on a cush
ion. 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 disc iples, Why are you so
a fraid? Do you s till have no faith?
41They were ter
r ified and a sked each
other, Who is this? Even the wind and the
waves obey him!

Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed

Man

They went a cross the lake to the reg ion

of the Geras enes. a 2When Jesus got
out of the boat, a man with an impure spir
it came from the t ombs 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 c hained hand and
a1

Mark 5:21

1233

foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke

the irons on his feet. No one was strong
enough to subdue him. 5Night and day
a mong the tombs and in the h
ills he would
cry out and cut himself with stones.
6When he saw J esus from a dist ance, he
ran and fell on his k nees in front of him.
7He shoute d at the top of his v
oice, What
do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most
High God? In G
ods name d
ont tort ure 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
egged J esus a gain and
are many. 10And he b
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 a mong the pigs; allow us to go into
them. 13He gave them perm ission, and the
impure spirits came out and went into the
pigs. The herd, a bout two thousand in num
ber, r ushed down the s teep bank into the
lake and were drowned.
14Those tending the pigs ran off and re
ported this in the town and countryside,
and the people went out to see what had hap
pened. 15When they came to J esus, they saw
the man who had been possessed by the le
gion of demons, sitt ing t here, d ressed and in
his r ight mind; and they were a fraid. 16Those
who had seen it told the people what had
happened to the demon-possessed man
and told about the pigs as well. 17Then the
people began to p
lead with Jesus to leave
t heir reg ion.
18As
Jesus was getting 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 people
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 began to tell in
the Decapol is b how much Jesus had done for
him. And all the people were amazed.

Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals

a Sick Woman
21When Jesus had a
gain c rossed over
by boat to the other side of the lake, a large
crowd gathered a round him while he was by

Some manuscripts Gadarenes; other manuscripts Gergesenes b20 That is, the Ten Cities

1234

Mark 5:22

the lake. 22Then one of the synagogue lead

ers, n
amed Jai r us, came, and when he saw
Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23He pleaded ear
nestly with him, My litt le daughter is dyi ng.
Please come and put your hands on her so
that she will be healed and live. 24So Jesus
went with him.
A large crowd fol
lowed and
pressed
a round him. 25And a woma n was t here who
had been subject to bleeding for twelve
years. 26She had suffered a g reat deal un
der the care of many doctors and had spent
all she had, yet instead of gett ing better she
grew worse. 27When she heard about J esus,
she came up beh ind him in the crowd and
touched his cloak, 28bec ause she t hought,
If I just t ouch his c lothes, I will be healed.
29Immed iately her bleedi ng stopped and she
felt in her body that she was f reed from her
suf feri ng.
30At once J esus rea lized that power had
gone out from him. He turned a round in
the c rowd and a sked, Who touched my
clothes?
31You see the people crowding a gainst
you, his disc iples ans wered, and yet you
can ask, Who t ouchedme?
32But
Jesus kept looking a round to see
who had done it. 33Then the woma n, know
ing 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 sufferi ng.
35While Jesus was still speaking, some peo
ple came from the house of Jair us, the syna
gogue leader. Your daughter is dead, they
said. Why bother the teacher anymore?
36Overheari ng a what they said, Jesus told
him, Dont be a fraid; just bel ieve.
37He did not let anyone follow him except
Peter, James and John the brother of James.
38When they came to the home of the syna
gogue leader, Jesus saw a commot ion, with
people cryi ng and waili ng loudly. 39He went
in and said to them, Why all this commo
tion and waili ng? The child is not dead but
asleep. 40But they l aughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the
childs fat her and mother and the disciples
who were with him, and went in w
here the
child was. 41He took her by the hand and said

Mark 6:14

1234

to her, Talitha koum! (which means Litt le

girl, I say to you, get up!). 42Immed iately the
girl stood up and began to walk a round (she
was t welve years old). At this they were com
pletely aston ished. 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 home

town, acc ompa n ied by his disc iples.
2When the Sabbath came, he began to t each
in the synagogue, and many who h
eard him
were amazed.
Where did this man get t hese t hings?
they a sked. Whats this wisdom that has
been given him? What are these rem ark
able miracles he is per form i ng? 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 proph
et is not
without honor exc ept in his own town,
a mong his relat ives and in his own home.
5He could not do any miracles t here, except
lay his h
ands 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 a round teaching from
welve to him,
village to village. 7Calli ng the T
he began to send them out two by two and
gave them aut horit y over impure spirits.
8These were his instruct ions: Take noth
ing for the journey except a staffno bread,
no bag, no money in your belts. 9Wear san
dals but not an ext ra shirt. 10Whenever you
enter a house, stay t here unt il you l eave that
lace will not welcome
town. 11And if any p
you or listen to you, leave that place and
shake the dust off your feet as a test imony
against them.
12They went out and p
reached that people
should repent. 13They d rove out many de
mons and anointed many sick people with
oil and h
ealed them.

John the Baptist Beheaded

14King Herod h
eard a bout this, for J esus
name had become well k nown. Some were
say i ng, c John the Bapt ist has been r aised

a36OrIgnoring b3Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph c14

Some early manuscripts He was saying

A NOT-SOFLASHY FAITH
READ: MARK 6:34

growing in

FAITH
HOPE
LOVE

inning a worldwide talent

competition could
score you friends in your hometown.
But dont count on them to cheer you on if you
show up and speak for the Lord. Expect no love at all if you suddenly inform
everyone youre God.
Mark 5:21 puts J esus in Capernaum, a detail hinted at in Matthew 9:1.
Thats a city where the Lord based much of his ministry. There he not only
healed a chronically ill woman but also raised a dead girl to life. So when
Jesus arrived in his boyhood town (Nazareth) in Mark 6 with at least a dozen
disciples in tow, he must have made a scene. Indeed, people who heard him
preach were amazed.
The thrill old neighbors felt about J esus quickly faded. They questioned
his wisdom and wondered about his miracles. They remembered he was a
carpenter, the kid who grew up in a family they knew. Instead of welcoming
Jesus, people rejected their hometown prophet.
As tough as it is to hear, the people closest to you might be the least
enthusiastic about seeing you follow God. They might be hostile when you
break out of bad habits. So if you feel their love, be grateful. If theyre less than
impressed, dont take it personally. Gods people often are honored everywhere
except their hometown.

1235

1236

Mark 6:15

from the dead, and that is why miracu lous

powers are at work in him.
15Others said, He is Elijah.
And s till others claimed, He is a prophet,
like one of the prophets of long ago.
16But when Her
od heard this, he said,
John, whom I beheaded, has been raised
from the dead!
17For Herod hims elf had given orders to
have John arrested, and he had him b
ound
and put in prison. He did this bec ause of
Herod ia s, his brother Phil ips wife, whom
he had marr ied. 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 g rudge against John and wanted to kill
him. But she was not able to, 20because Her
od f eared John and protected him, knowi ng
him to be a righteous and holy man. When
Herod heard John, he was greatly puzz leda;
yet he l iked to listen to him.
21Fin ally the opp ort une time came. On
his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his
high of f ic ials and mil it ary com m anders
and the leadi ng men of Gali lee. 22When the
daughter of b Herod ias came in and danced,
she p
leased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, Ask me for any
thing you want, and Ill give it to you. 23And
he promised 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 r ight
now the head of John the Bapt ist on a platter.
26The king was great
l y distressed, but
because of his oaths and his dinner g uests,
he did not want to refuse her. 27So he imme
diately sent an exec ut ioner with orders to
bring J ohns head. The man went, beheaded
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 heari ng
of this, Johns disc iples 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
a20

Mark 6:48

1236

t aught. 31Then, bec ause 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 yours elves to a quiet
place and get some rest.
32So they went away by thems elves in a
boat to a solitary place. 33But many who saw
them leaving 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, because
they were like s heep without a shepherd. So
he began teachi ng them many things.
35By this time it was late in the day, so
his disciples came to him. This is a remote
place, they said, and its already very late.
36Send the people away so that they can go
to the surroundi ng count ryside and villages
and buy themselves somet hing to eat.
37But he ans wered, You give them some
thing to eat.
They said to him, That w
ould take more
than half a years wagesc! 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, Five
and two fish.
39Then J esus directed them to have all the
people sit down in g roups on the g reen g rass.
40So they sat down in g
roups of hund reds
and fif t ies. 41Taki ng 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 disc iples to distribute to the
people. He also div ided the two fish a mong
them all. 42They all ate and were satisf ied,
43and the disc iples picked up t welve basket
fuls of broken pieces of b
read and fish. 44The
number of the men who had eaten was five
thousand.

Jesus Walks on the Water

45Im med iatel y Jesus made his disc iples
get into the boat and go on a head of him to
Bethsa ida, w hile he dism issed the c rowd.
46After leavi ng them, he went up on a moun
tainside 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 disc iples straini ng at the oars,

Some early manuscripts he did many things b22 Some early manuscripts When his daughter

c37Greek take two hundred denarii

SMALL
MATTERS
READ: MARK 6:3044

growing in

FAITH
HOPE
LOVE

esus has always used

small things to make a
big difference: five little
loaves of bread and two fishes to feed
thousands?
Thats exactly what he does with our small gifts. Whatever we receive from
God is what he asks that we give to someone else. This is what J esus meant
when he said, Freely you have received; freely give (Matthew 10:8).
I saw the power of this the time Sophia, who was now five, and I were
walking down a crowded street. I had a full day but had promised to let Sophia
accompany me.
Suddenly, I realized that Sophias hand was no longer in mine. Just steps
behind, she had stopped to kneel at the curb next to a man who appeared to
be homeless. She held out to him the dollar Id given her that morning to buy a
treat for herself. She had been holding tightly to that dollar the entire day.
Now, without hesitation, she was handing it to a stranger. Jesus gave me
this dollar to give to you, she said. How easily she had handed over what
was so precious to her. How powerful that mere dollar became. The man she
handed it to handed it back, tears streaming down his face.
Honey, he said, you spend that on some candy for yourself. He had
been given something much more precious than her dollar. Sophia had given
her heartand so much more. She reminded him that there was goodness in
this world, and grace. She had reminded him that God would provideeven
from the least and most unlikely sources. God used her willing spirit to show
me that when we give what we have, and dont overthink it, Godthe God of
hopedelivers all the rest.
Taken from Undaunted, Student Edition by Christine Caine, copyright 2013 by Christine Caine and Equip & Empower
Ministries, published by Zondervan.

1237

1238

Mark 6:49

because 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 walki ng on the lake, they
t hought he was a g host. They cried out, 50be
cause they all saw him and were terr if ied.
Immed iately 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 a bout
the l oaves; t heir hearts were hardened.
53When they had c rossed over, they land
ed at Gen nesa ret and anchored t here. 54As
soon as they got out of the boat, people
recog n ized Jesus. 55They ran throughout
that w hole reg ion and carr ied the sick on
mats to wherever they h
eard he was. 56And
wherever he went i nto vil lages, towns or
countrysidethey placed the sick in the
marketplaces. They begged him to let them
touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who
touched it were healed.

That Which Defiles

The Pharisees and some of the teachers

of the law who had come from Jer usa
lem gathered a round Jesus 2and saw some
of his disciples eati ng food with hands that
were def iled, that is, unwashed. 3(The Phar
isees and all the Jews do not eat unless they
give t heir h ands a ceremon ia l wash i 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 trad it ions, such as the washi ng
of cups, pitchers and kett les.a)
5So the Phar
i sees and teachers of the
law asked Jesus, Why dont your disc iples
live accordi ng to the trad it ion of the elders
instead of eating their food with defiled
hands?
6He re
plied, Isaiah was r ight when he
prophesied about you hypoc rites; as it is
writ ten:
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
a4

Mark 7:27

1238

8You

have let go of the commands of God

and are holdi ng on to human trad it ions.
9And he cont inued, You have a fine way
of sett ing a side the commands of God in or
der to observec your own trad it ions! 10For
Moses said, Honor your fat her and moth
er,d and, Anyone who curses t heir fat her or
mother is to be put to d
eath.e 11But you say
that if anyone declares that what m ight have
been used to help t heir fat her or mother is
Corban (that is, devoted to God)12then
you no longer let them do anyt hing for t heir
fat her or mother. 13Thus you nullif y the word
of God by your trad it ion that you have hand
ed down. And you do many t hings like that.
14Again
Jesus c alled the c rowd to him
and said, Listen to me, everyone, and un
derstand this. 15Noth i ng out side a person
can def ile them by goi ng into them. Rather,
it is what comes out of a person that def iles
them. [16]f
17After he had left the c
rowd and entered
the house, his disc iples a sked him a bout
this parable. 18Are you so dull? he asked.
Dont you see that nothi ng that enters a per
son from the outside can def ile them? 19For
it d
oesnt go into their heart but into their
stomach, and then out of the body. (In say
ing this, J esus declared all f oods clean.)
20He went on: What c
omes out of a per
son is what defiles them. 21For it is from
within, out of a persons h
eart, that evil
t houghts come sex ua l im moral it y, t heft,
murder, 22adultery, g reed, mal ice, dec eit,
lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.
23All t hese evils come from inside and def ile
a person.

Jesus Honors a Syrophoenician

Womans Faith
24Jesus left that p
lace and went to the vi
cin it y of Tyre. g He entered a h
ouse and did
not want anyone to know it; yet he c ould not
keep his presence secret. 25In fact, as soon as
she h
eard a bout him, a woma n w
hose 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 Phoen icia. She begged
Jesus to d
rive the demon out of her daughter.
27First let the child ren eat all they want,

Some early manuscripts pitchers, kettles and dining couches b6,7Isaiah 29:13 c9Some
manuscripts set up d10Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16 e10Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9 f16Some
manuscripts include here the words of 4:23. g24 Many early manuscripts Tyre and Sidon

1239

Mark 7:28

he told her, for it is not r ight to take the chil

drens b
read and toss it to the dogs.
28Lord, she replied, even the dogs un
der the table eat the child rens crumbs.
29Then he told her, For such a reply, you
may go; the demon has left your daughter.
30She went home and f ound her c
hild ly
ing on the bed, and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man

31Then

J esus left the vicinit y of Tyre and

went t hrough Sidon, down to the Sea of Gal
ilee and into the reg ion of the Dec apolis.a
32There some people brought to him a man
who was deaf and c ould hardly talk, and
they b
egged J esus to p
lace his hand on him.
33After he took him a
side, away from the
c rowd, Jesus put his fingers into the mans
ears. Then he spit and touched the mans
tongue. 34He l ooked up to heaven and with a
deep sigh said to him, Ephphatha! (which
means Be opened!). 35At this, the m
ans
ears were opened, his t ongue was loosened
and he began to s peak plainly.
36Jesus commanded them not to tell any
one. But the more he did so, the more they
kept talking about it. 37People were over
whelmed 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 crowd

gathered. Since they had nothi ng to eat,
Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 2I
have compassion for t hese people; they have
already been with me t hree days and have
nothi ng to eat. 3If I send them home hung ry,
they will collapse on the way, because some
of them have come a long distance.
4His disc iples ans wered, But w here in
this remote place can anyone get enough
bread to feed them?
5How many loaves do you have? J esus
asked.
Seven, they replied.
6He told the
c rowd to sit down on the
g round. When he had taken the seven loaves
and given t hanks, he b
roke them and gave
them to his disciples to dist ribute to the peo
ple, and they did so. 7They had a few s mall
fish as well; he gave t hanks for them also and
a31

That is, the Ten Cities

Mark 8:25

1239

told the disc iples to dist ribute them. 8The

people ate and were satisf ied. Afterward the
disciples picked up seven basketf uls of bro
ken 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 reg ion of Dalma
nut ha.
11The Pharisees came and began to ques
tion Jesus. To test him, they a sked him for a
sign from heaven. 12He sighed deeply and
said, Why does this generation 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 c rossed to the other side.

The Yeast of the Pharisees andHerod

14The disc iples had for g ot t en to bring
read, except for one loaf they had with them
b
in the boat. 15Be caref ul, Jesus w arned
them. Watch out for the yeast of the Phar
isees and that of Herod.
16They disc ussed this with one another
and said, It is because we have no bread.
17Aware of t heir disc uss ion, Jesus a sked
them: Why are you talki ng about havi ng no
bread? Do you s till not see or understand?
Are your hearts hardened? 18Do you have
eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?
roke
And dont you remember? 19When I b
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 basketf uls of
pieces did you pickup?
They answered, Seven.
21He said to them, Do you s
till not under
stand?

Jesus Heals a Blind Man atBethsaida

22They came to Bethsaida, and some peo
ple brought a blind man and begged J esus to
lind man by the
touch him. 23He took the b
hand and led him outside the village. When
he had spit on the mans eyes and put his
hands on him, J esus a sked, Do you see any
thing?
24He looked up and said, I see people;
they look like t rees walki ng around.
25Once more J esus put his h ands on the
mans eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his

1240

Mark 8:26

s ight was restored, and he saw everyt hing

clearl y. 26Jesus sent him home, saying,
Dont even go intoa the village.

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

27Jesus

and his disc iples went on to the

vil lages a round Caesa rea Phi l ippi. On the
way he a sked them, Who do people say
Iam?
28They replied, Some say John the Bap
tist; 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 w arned them not to tell anyone
about him.

Jesus Predicts His Death

31He then beg an to teach them that the
Son of Man must suffer many t hings and be
rejected by the elders, the chief p
riests 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 beh ind me,
Satan! he said. You do not have in mind
the concerns of God, but merely human con
cerns.

The Way of the Cross

34Then he c alled the c rowd to him a long
with his disciples and said: Whoever wants
to be my disciple must deny themselves and
take up t heir c ross and follow me. 35For who
ever w
ants 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 some
one to gain the w
hole w
orld, yet forfeit their
soul? 37Or what can anyone give in exchange
for their soul? 38If anyone is ashamed of me
and my words in this adulterous and sinf ul
generat ion, 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 standing here will not
taste d
eath before they see that the kingdom
of God has come with power.

a26

Mark 9:18

1240

The Transfiguration
2After six days J esus took Peter, J ames and
John with him and led them up a high moun
tain, where they were all a lone. T
here he was
transf ig u red before them. 3His c lothes be
came dazz ling w
hite, whiter than anyone in
the world could bleach them. 4And t here ap
peared before them Elijah and Moses, who
were talki ng with J esus.
5Peter said to J esus, Rabbi, it is good for
us to be here. Let us put up t hree shelters
one for you, one for Moses and one for Eli
jah. 6(He did not know what to say, they
were so frightened.)
7Then a
c loud app eared and covered
them, and a voice came from the c loud:
This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!
8Sudd en l y, when they looked a round,
they no longer saw anyone with them except
Jesus.
9As they were coming down the moun
tain, J esus gave them orders not to tell any
one what they had seen unt il the Son of Man
had risen from the dead. 10They kept the
matter to themselves, disc ussi ng what ris
ing from the dead meant.
11And they a sked him, Why do the teach
ers 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 suffer
much and be rejected? 13But I tell you, Elijah
has come, and they have done to him every
thing they w
ished, just as it is written a bout
him.

Jesus Heals a Boy Possessed

byan ImpureSpirit
14When

they came to the other disciples,

they saw a l arge c rowd a round them and the
teachers of the law arg ui ng with them. 15As
soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were
overwhelmed with wonder and ran to g reet
him.
16What are you ar
g u
i ng with them
about? he asked.
17A man in the c
rowd answered, Teacher,
I brought you my son, who is possessed by a
spirit that has r obbed him of s peech. 18When
ever it seizes him, it t hrows him to the ground.

Some manuscripts go and tell anyone in b35 TheGreek word means either life or soul; also in
verses 36 and37.

WHAT DOES
IT TAKE?
READ: MARK 8:31

growing in

FAITH
HOPE
LOVE

uppose you volunteer

to tutor young kids.
Instead of bringing about
breakthrough educational moments,
you end up babysitting a crew of little monsters.
When you sign up to do something noble, you might get more than you
bargained for.
Jesus knew exactly what lay ahead as he journeyed toward the cross. He told
his disciples straight up that he would suffer, die, and come back to life. When
Peter pulled him aside to protest that terrible thought, the Lord became angry.
He accused his friend of forgetting Gods perspective. In Peters harsh words
Jesus heard Satan attempting to stop him from saving the world.
Jesus thought hard about the cost of dying for sin. As he prayed in the
garden of Gethsemane hours before his crucifixion, he asked his Father if there
was a way he could avoid the cross. Yet J esus embraced his Fathers plan (Luke
22:42). He humbled himself by becoming obedient to deatheven death on
a cross (Philippians 2:8). He endured the cross for the joy set before him, the
good result that would come from his pain (Hebrews 12:2).
The cross didnt catch J esus by surprise. Dont be shocked when showing
love feels like more trouble than its worth, or if it causes you true agony. Look
hard at what love will cost you, then do what you know J esus would do.

1241

1242

Mark 9:19

He f oams at the m
outh, gnashes his t eeth and
becomes rigid. I a sked your disciples to d
rive
out the spirit, but they c ould not.
19You unbel ievi ng generat ion, Jesus re
plied, how long s hall I stay with you? How
long shall I put up with you? B
ring the boy
tome.
20So they
brought him. When the spir
it saw Jesus, it immed iately t hrew the boy
into a conv ulsion. He fell to the g round and
rolled a round, foami ng at the mouth.
21Jesus a
sked the boys 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 bel ieves.
24Immed iately the boys fat her exclaimed,
I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!
25When J esus saw that a c
rowd was run
ning to the scene, he rebuked the impure
spirit. You deaf and mute spirit, he said, I
command you, come out of him and never
enter him again.
26The spirit s
hrieked, conv ulsed him vi
olently and came out. The boy looked so
much like a c orpse that many said, Hes
dead. 27But J esus took him by the hand and
lifted him to his feet, and he s toodup.
28After J esus had gone indoors, his disc i
ples asked him privately, Why couldnt we
d rive it out?
29He re
plied, This kind can come out
only by prayer.a

Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time

30They left that place and passed t hrough
Gali lee. Jesus did not want anyone to know
where they were, 31because he was teachi ng
his disc iples. He said to them, The Son of
Man is goi ng to be del ivered into the h
ands
of men. They will kill him, and after t hree
days he will rise. 32But they did not under
stand what he m
eant and were a fraid 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 because on the way they had arg ued
about who was the greatest.
a29

Mark 10:1

1242

35Sitting down, Jesus c

alled the Twelve
and said, Anyone who w
ants to be f irst must
be the very last, and the servant of all.
36He took a litt le c hild whom he p
laced
a mong them. Taki ng the child in his arms,
he said to them, 37Whoever welcomes one
of t hese litt le child ren in my name welcomes
me; and whoever welcomes me does not wel
come me but the one who sentme.

Whoever Is Not Against Us Is forUs

38Teacher, said John, we saw someone
driving out demons in your name and we told
him to stop, because he was not one ofus.
39Do not stop him, J esus said. For no
one who does a miracle in my name can in
the next moment say anything bad a bout
me, 40for whoe ver 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 be
long to the Messia h will cert ainly not lose
their reward.

Causing to Stumble
42If

anyone cause s one of these little

onesthose who bel ieve in meto stum
ble, it would be better for them if a large
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, w
here 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 bet
ter 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.
50Salt

is good, but if it loses its salti ness,

how can you make it salty again? Have salt
a mong yourselves, and be at p
eace with each
other.

Divorce

10

Jesus then left that place and went

into the reg ion of Judea and a cross

Some manuscripts prayer and fasting b44,46 Some manuscripts include here the words
of verse48.c48Isaiah 66:24

OVERCOMING
UNBELIEF
READ: MARK 9:1429

growing in

FAITH
HOPE
LOVE

ou probably havent
spotted demons
hanging around in your
world. Maybe you were also astounded
to read about your Lord shining with heavenly
glory (Mark 9:23). Supernatural spiritual happenings might not seem real
life, but J esuss coming to earth as God in the flesh provoked intense activity by
dark forces.
Mark gives an account of a boy who brought his parents sadness and terror
from birth onward. They watched him violently tossed around, sometimes
nearly killed in fire or water. The boy foamed at the mouth and gnashed his
teeth. These parents were desperate for help, but this wasnt an ordinary
physical or psychological problem. It had a spiritual source.
This episode is one of many in the Gospelsthe first four books of the
New Testamentthat show J esus exerting power over demons. In the story,
his disciples attempted to drive out the spirit possessing the boy, but couldnt.
Jesus speaks sharply to the impure spirit, commanding it to come out. The
spirit shrieks and leaves the boy.
The Lord challenged his disciplesand the boys fatherto believe in his
power. And that dad offered a prayer to J esus thats worth repeating every time
you encounter a challenge you cant understand or defeat: I do believe; help
me overcome my unbelief! (Mark 9:24). God wants you to trust in him. He
also wants to help grow your faith.

1243

1244

Mark 10:2

the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to

him, and as was his custom, he t aught them.
2Some Pharisees came and tested him by
aski ng, Is it lawf ul for a man to divorce his
wife?
3What did Moses command you? he re
plied.
4They said, Mos es perm itted a man to
w rite a cert ific ate of divorce and send her
away.
5It was bec ause your hearts were hard
that Mos es w
rote you this law, Jesus re
plied. 6But at the beg inn ing of creation
God made them male and female.a 7For
this reason a man will leave his fat her and
mother and be united to his wife,b 8and the
two will become one f lesh.c So they are no
longer two, but one f lesh. 9Therefore what
God has joined together, let no one sepa
rate.
10When they were in the h
ouse again, the
disc iples a sked Jesus about this. 11He an
swered, Anyone who divorces his wife and
mar r ies another woma n com m its adultery
against her. 12And if she divorces her hus
band and marr ies another man, she com
mits adultery.

The Little Children and Jesus

13People were bringi ng litt le child ren to
J esus for him to p
lace his hands on them, but
the disc iples rebuked them. 14When Jesus
saw this, he was ind ignant. He said to them,
Let the litt le child ren come to me, and do
not hinder them, for the kingdom of God be
longs to such as t hese. 15Truly I tell you, any
one who will not receive the kingdom of God
like a litt le child will never enter it. 16And
he took the child ren in his arms, placed his
hands on them and b
lessed them.

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 before him.
Good teacher, he asked, what must I do to
inherit eternal life?
18Why do you call me good? Jesus an
swered. No one is goodexcept God a lone.
19You know the commandments: You s
hall
not murder, you s hall not comm it adultery,
you s hall not s teal, you s hall not give false
a6Gen. 1:27 b7

Mark 10:34

1244

test imony, you shall not def raud, honor your

fat her and mother. d
20Teacher, he declared, all t hese I have
kept s ince 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, fol
lowme.
22At this the m
ans face fell. He went away
sad, because he had g reat wealth.
23Jesus looked a round and said to his dis
ciples, How hard it is for the rich to enter the
kingdom of God!
24The disc iples were a mazed at his w
ords.
But Jesus said again, Child ren, how hard it
ise to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier
for a camel to go t hrough the eye of a nee
dle than for someone who is rich to enter the
kingdom of God.
26The disc iples 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 s
poke up, We have left ev
eryt hing to follow you!
29Tru
l y 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, sisters, mothers, child ren
and f ields a long with persec ut ions a 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

32They were on t heir way up to Jer usalem,

with J esus leading the way, and the disciples

were aston ished, while t hose who fol lowed
were a fraid. Again he took the Twelve a side
and told them what was goi ng to happen to
him. 33We are going up to Jer usalem, he
said, and the Son of Man will be del ivered
over to the chief priests and the teachers of
the law. They will condemn him to d
eath and
will hand him over to the Gent iles, 34who
will mock him and spit on him, flog him and
kill him. T
hree days later he will rise.

Some early manuscripts do not have and be united to his wife. c8Gen. 2:24
Some manuscripts is for those who trust in riches

d19Exodus 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20 e24

1245

Mark 10:35

The Request of James and John

35Then

James and John, the sons of Zebe

dee, 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 aski ng,
Jesus said. Can you d
rink the cup I d
rink or
be bapt ized with the bapt ism I am bapt ized
with?
39We can, they ans wered.
Jesus said to them, You will d
rink the cup
I d rink and be bapt ized with the bapt ism I
am bapt ized with, 40but to sit at my r ight or
left is not for me to g rant. T hese places be
long to t hose for whom they have been pre
pared.
41When the ten
heard about this, they
bec ame ind ign ant with James and John.
42Jesus c
alled them together and said, You
know that t hose who are regarded as rulers
of the Gent iles lord it over them, and t heir
high of f icials exercise aut hor it y over them.
43Not so with you. Instead, whoever w
ants to
become g reat a mong you must be your ser
ants to be f irst must
vant, 44and whoever w
be s lave of all. 45For even the Son of Man did
not come to be s erved, but to s erve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many.

Blind Bartimaeus Receives HisSight

46Then they came to Jericho. As J esus and
his disc iples, together with a large c rowd,
were leaving the city, a blind man, Barti
maeus (which means son of Timaeus), was
sitt ing by the roadside begg ing. 47When he
heard that it was J esus of Naza reth, 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.
So they c alled to the b
lind man, Cheer
up! On your feet! Hes calli ng you. 50Throw
ing his c loak aside, he j umped to his feet and
came to J esus.
51What do you want me to do for you?
Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, Rabbi, I want to see.
a9

Mark 11:15

1245

52Go, said J esus, your f aith has h

ealed
you. Immed iately he received his sight and
followed J esus a long the road.

Jesus Comes to JerusalemasKing

11

As they approached Jer usa lem and

came to Bethphage and Betha ny at
the M
ount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his
disciples, 2sayi ng to them, Go to the village
a head of you, and just as you enter it, you will
find a colt tied t here, which no one has ever
ridden. Untie it and b
ring it here. 3If any
one asks you, Why are you doi ng this? say,
The Lord needs it and will send it back here
shortly.
4They went and f ound a colt outside in the
street, tied at a doorway. As they unt ied it,
5some people standi ng t here a sked, What
are you doi ng, unt yi ng that colt? 6They an
swered as Jesus had told them to, and the
people let them go. 7When they brought the
colt to J esus and t hrew t heir cloaks over it, he
sat on it. 8Many people spread t heir cloaks
on the road, w hile 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 c ourts. He looked a round at ev
erything, but since it was already late, he
went out to Betha ny with the Twelve.

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree and Clears

theTempleCourts
12The next day as they were leavi ng Beth
a ny, Jesus was hung ry. 13Seei ng in the dis
tance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it
had any f ruit. When he r eached it, he f ound
nothing but leaves, bec ause it was not the
season for figs. 14Then he said to the tree,
May no one ever eat f ruit from you again.
And his disciples h
eard him sayit.
15On reach i ng Jer u s a lem, Jesus ent ered
the temple c ourts and began driving out

AHebrew expression meaning Save! which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse10

b9Psalm 118:25,26

THE ULTIMATE
PARADOX
READ: MARK 10:4345

growing in

FAITH
HOPE
LOVE

he disciples have pegged

Jesus as the next king;
and he isonly he is
a different kind of king than theyve
imagined. When they begin to argue about who
is the most powerful among them, J esus turns their suppositions upside down.
Imagine how blown away those disciples must have been. Imagine what
they must have been thinking, This guy is gonna be the next king, and Im right
in line to be his number one guy! Sweet! Instead, J esus tells them they have to be
like servants.
Truthfully, were not any different from the disciples. We think of a servant
as someone whos unable to think for himself and who only does the bidding
of his master. We also think of a leader as someone who does the choosing for
whomever he leads. Then how can someone be both a servant and a leader at
the same time? Servant leadership is so radical that it really defies everything
our culture teaches us about leadership. It was true in J esus day, and its true
today.
Servant leadership is a choice. It doesnt matter what your spiritual gifts are,
whether you are popular, or even whether you like to serve others. Every leader
in the kingdom of God is expected to lead by serving.
But lets be honestits not easy. We dont always feel like serving. To tell
the truth, sometimes we really like being served. Being a servant leader doesnt
mean others will never serve you. In fact, we are commanded to serve one
another. So an important part of being a servant leader is modeling humility as
you graciously accept another persons service to you.

Taken from Step Up by Denise VanEck, copyright 2012 by Zondervan, published by Zondervan.

1246

1247

Mark 11:16

t hose who were buyi ng and selli ng t here. He

overt urned the tables of the money chang
ers and the benches of t hose selli ng d
oves,
16and w
ould not allow anyone to carr y mer
chand ise t hrough the temple courts. 17And
as he t aught them, he said, Is it not written:
My house will be called a house of prayer for
all nat ions a? But you have made it a den of
robbers. b
18The c
hief p
riests and the teachers of the
law heard this and began looki ng for a way
to kill him, for they f eared him, because the
whole c rowd was a mazed at his teachi ng.
19When even ing came, Jesus and his dis
ciples c went out of the city.
20In the morni ng, as they went a
long, they
saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21Pe
ter remembered and said to Jesus, Rabbi,
look! The fig tree you c ursed has withered!
22Have faith in God, Jesus an
s wered.
23Trul y d I tell you, if anyone says to this
mountain, Go, throw 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 p
rayer, bel ieve that
you have rec eived it, and it will be y ours.
25And when you s
tand prayi ng, if you hold
anyt hing a gainst anyone, forg ive them, so
that your Fat her in heaven may forg ive you
your sins. [26]e

The Authority of Jesus Questioned

27They

arr ived again in Jer usalem, and

while Jesus was walking in the temple courts,
the c hief p
riests, the teachers of the law and
the elders came to him. 28By what aut hor
it 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 hor it y I am doi ng t hese t hings. 30Johns
bapt ismwas it from heaven, or of human
orig in? Tellme!
31They dis
c ussed it a mong thems elves
and said, If we say, From heaven, he will
ask, Then why d
idnt you believe him?
32But if we say, Of human orig in... (They
feared the people, for everyone held that
John really was a prophet.)
a17Isaiah 56:7 b17Jer. 7:11 c19

Mark 12:14

1247

33So they answered Jesus, We dont know.

Jesus said, Neit her will I tell you by what
aut horit y I am doi ng t hese things.

The Parable of the Tenants

12

Jesus then began to speak to them

in parables: A man planted a vine
yard. He put a wall a round it, dug a pit for
the winepress and b
uilt 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 s eized 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 shamef ully. 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 ten
a 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 owner of the vine
yard do? He will come and kill t hose tena nts
and give the vineyard to others. 10Havent
you read this passage of Script ure:
The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
11 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyesf?
12Then

the chief priests, the teachers of

the law and the elders looked for a way to
arrest him because they knew he had spo
ken the parable against them. But they were
a fraid of the crowd; so they left him and went
away.

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar

13Later they sent some of the Pharis ees
and Herod ia ns to Jesus to catch him in his
words. 14They came to him and said, Teach
er, we know that you are a man of integr it y.
You a rent swayed by others, because you pay

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. f11Psalm 118:22,23

1248

Mark 12:15

no attent ion to who they are; but you t each

the way of God in accordance with the t ruth.
Is it r ight to pay the imper ia l taxa to Caesar or
not? 15Should we pay or s houldntwe?
But Jesus knew t heir hy pocr is y. Why
are you trying to trap me? he a sked. Bring
me a denarius and let me look at it. 16They
brought the coin, and he a sked them, Whose
image is this? And w
hose inscript ion?
Caesars, they replied.
17Then J esus said to them, Give back to
Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is
Gods.
And they were a mazed at him.

Marriage at the Resurrection

18Then the Sadducees, who say t here is no
resu rrect ion, came to him with a quest ion.
19Teacher, they said, Mos es w
rote for us
that if a mans brother dies and leaves a wife
but no child ren, the man must marr y the
widow and r aise up offspring for his broth
er. 20Now there were seven brothers. The
f irst one marr ied and died without leavi ng
any child ren. 21The second one marr ied the
widow, but he also died, leavi ng no c hild. It
was the same with the t hird. 22In fact, none
of the seven left any child ren. Last of all,
the woma n died too. 23At the resu r rect ion b
whose wife will she be, s ince the seven were
marr ied to her?
24Jesus replied, Are you not in error be
cause 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 marriage;
they will be like the angels in heaven. 26Now
about the dead risinghave you not read in
the Book of Moses, in the account of the burn
ing bush, how God said to him, I am the God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacobc? 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 debat i ng. Not ici ng that Jesus

had given them a good ans wer, he a sked
him, Of all the commandments, w
hich is
the most important?
29The most im
portant one, ans wered
Jesus, is this: Hear, OIsrael: The Lord our
a14

Mark 12:41

1248

God, the Lord is one.d 30Love the Lord your

God with all your h
eart and with all your
soul and with all your mind and with all
your strength. e 31The second is this: Love
your neighbor as yourself.f T here is no com
mandment greater than these.
32Well said, teacher, the man replied.
You are r ight 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 understandi ng
and with all your s trength, and to love your
neighbor as yourself is more important than
all burnt offeri ngs and sacr if ices.
34When J esus saw that he had ans wered
wisely, he said to him, You are not far from
the kingdom of God. And from then on no
one d
ared ask him any more quest ions.

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

35While

J esus was teachi ng in the temple

c ourts, 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.g
37Dav id

himself calls him Lord. How then

can he be his son?
The large c rowd listened to him with de
light.

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 important s eats in the synagogues and
the places of honor at banquets. 40They de
vour widows houses and for a show make
lengthy p
rayers. T hese men will be pun
ished most severely.

The Widows Offering

41Jesus sat down opposite the p
lace w
here
the offerings were put and w atched the
crowd putt ing t heir money into the temple
treasury. Many rich people t hrew in large

A special tax levied on subject peoples, not on Roman citizens b23 Some manuscripts
resurrection, when people rise from the dead, c26Exodus 3:6 d29OrThe Lord our God is one Lord
e30Deut. 6:4,5 f31Lev. 19:18 g36Psalm 110:1

GIVING UP
SELF-HATE
READ: MARK 12:2831

growing in

FAITH
HOPE
LOVE

spent my entire high school

career, and many days of
college, struggling with selfhate. Now, sitting on top of the well
looking back down, I grieve over the years Ispent
living in the bottom of that muck. But Im loving the view from up here.
The entire time I was struggling with self-hate, I loved God. I never quit
loving God. I just quit loving his creation. I quit loving all that he had made.
And that all included me. When J esus was asked (Mark 12:2831) what the
most important commandments are, his answer was very interesting.
Were supposed to love other people the same way we love ourselves. But do
you love yourself? If you want to love other people correctly, you have to figure
out some way to love yourself correctly. Completely. Today. Just as you are.
If youre like me, even a little bit, then the idea of loving all of you seems
challenging at best. More like impossible, if you were to be really honest. I sat
at a coffee shop while I was writing this as my friend, in tears, looked across
the table and said, How do I love me, Annie? And as I sat there, I realized
that it isnt a one-sentence answer. And it isnt a one-moment solution. I want
you to know that learning to love is a process, and it takes work, just like most
everything else.
And I can only love me because I know that God loves mebody, mind,
and soul. Am I perfect? Absolutely ... not. But Im choosing today to love the
person God made me. To look in the mirror and say, Downs, youre all right,
old girl. God loves all of you today. And then choose to make the decision to
love me.
Taken from Perfectly Unique by Annie F. Downs, copyright 2012 by Annie F. Downs, published by Zondervan.

1249

1250

Mark 12:42

a mounts. 42But a poor widow came and put

in two very s mall copper c oins, w
orth only
a few c ents.
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 everyt hinga ll
she had to liveon.

The Destruction of the Temple

and SignsoftheEndTimes

13

As Jesus was leavi ng the temple, one

of his disc iples said to him, Look,
Teacher! What massive stones! What mag
nificent buildi ngs!
2Do you see all t hese g reat buildings?
replied Jesus. Not one stone here will be left
on another; every one will be t hrown down.
3As J esus was sitt ing on the M
ount of Ol
ives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John
and And rew asked 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?
5Jesus said to them: Watch out that no
one deceives you. 6Many will come in my
name, claimi ng, I am he, and will deceive
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. 8Na
tion will rise a gainst nat ion, and kingdom
against kingdom. T
here will be earthquakes
in various places, and famines. T
hese are
the beg inn ing of b
irth pains.
9You must be on your g
uard. You will
be handed over to the loc al counc ils and
f logged in the synagogues. On account of me
you will stand before governors and k ings as
wit nesses to them. 10And the gospel must
f irst be p
reached to all nat ions. 11Whenever
you are arrested and brought to tria l, do not
worr y beforehand a bout what to say. Just say
whatever is given you at the time, for it is not
you speaki ng, but the Holy Spirit.
12Brother will bet ray brother to death,
and a fat her his c hild. Child ren will rebel
against t heir parents and have them put to
death. 13Everyone will hate you because of
me, but the one who s tands firm to the end
will be saved.
14When you see the abomin at ion that

Mark 13:33

1250

causes desolat ion a standi ng w

here itb does
not belong let the reader understand
then let t hose who are in Judea flee to the
mount ains. 15Let no one on the housetop
go down or enter the house to take anyt hing
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 nursi ng moth
ers! 18Pray that this will not take p
lace in
winter, 19because t hose will be days of dis
tress unequaled from the beg inn ing, when
God created the w
orld, unt il nowa nd nev
er 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 anyone says to you,
Look, here is the Messia h! or, Look, t here
he is! do not bel ieve it. 22For false messia hs
and false prophets will appear and perform
signs and wonders to dec eive, if possible,
even the e lect. 23So be on your g uard; I have
told you everyt hing a head of time.
24But in t hose days, following 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 comi ng in clouds with g reat power
and glor y. 27And he will send his angels and
gather his elect from the four w
inds, from
the ends of the e arth to the ends of the heav
ens.
28Now l earn this lesson from the fig tree:
As soon as its t wigs get tender and its l eaves
come out, you know that summer is near.
29Even so, when you see t hese t hings hap
pening, you know that itb is near, r ight at
the door. 30Truly I tell you, this generat ion
will cert ainly not pass away unt il all t hese
t hings have happened. 31Heaven and earth
will pass away, but my w
ords 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!

a14Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11 b14,29Orhe c25Isaiah 13:10; 34:4

The Widow Who

Gave Two Coins

$%

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, Truly I tell you,

this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all
theothers.
Mark 12:43

women

OF THE BIBLE

HER NAME MEANS:unknown

READ HER STORY: Mark 12:4144; Luke 21:14
n Gods economy, its not the amount of money we
give but the attitude of our heart when we give it.
The widow who gave two small copper coins is the
perfect example of this. While rich people were tossing large
amounts of money into the temple treasury, the poor widow
only gave on offering that was worth a few pennies. Yet J esus
praised her for it.
God doesnt need our moneyhe owns all the cattle on
a thousand hills. He does, however, want us to use our money
wisely and in such a way that includes offering back to him
a portion of it to be used in building the kingdom of God. As
Paul explains to the believers in the church at Corinth, Each
of you should give what you have decided in your heart to
give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a
cheerful giver (2Corinthians 9:7).
You may not have much money to give. Its not the amount
that matters. Pray about your money. Ask God to help you
decide what to give as an offering. Then give it willingly
and cheerfully. Ask God to use it to bring lost souls into his
eternal kingdom.

1251

1252

Mark 13:34

Be a lert a! You do not know when that time

will come. 34Its like a man goi ng away: He
leaves his h
ouse and puts his serv ants 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 h
ouse will
come backw hether in the even ing, or at
midn ight, or when the rooster c rows, or at
dawn. 36If he c omes suddenly, do not let him
find you sleepi ng. 37What I say to you, I say to
everyone: Watch!

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

14

Now the Passover and the Fest ival of

Unleavened Bread were only two days
away, and the c hief p
riests and the teachers
of the law were schemi ng to arrest Jesus se
cretly and kill him. 2But not during the fest i
val, they said, or the people may riot.
3While he was in Beth
a ny, reclining at
the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a
woma n came with an alabaster jar of very
expensive perf ume, made of pure nard. She
broke the jar and p
oured the perf ume on his
head.
4Some of t hose present were saying in
dignantly to one another, Why this waste of
perf ume? 5It could have been sold for more
than a y ears wagesb and the money given to
the poor. And they rebuked her harshly.
6Leave her a
lone, said J esus. Why are
you botheri ng her? She has done a beaut if ul
t hing to me. 7The poor you will always have
with you,c and you can help them any time
you want. But you will not always have me.
8She did what she c ould. She p oured per
fume on my body beforehand 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 mem
or y of her.
10Then Judas Isc ariot, one of the Twelve,
went to the chief priests to bet ray Jesus to
them. 11They were del ighted to hear this and
promised to give him money. So he watched
for an opport un it y to hand him over.

The Last Supper

12On

the first day of the Fest iv al of Un

leavened B
read, when it was customa ry to
sacr if ice the Passover lamb, Jesus disciples

Mark 14:28

1252

a sked him, Where do you want us to go and

make prepa rat ions for you to eat the Pass
over?
13So he sent two of his disc iples, telling
them, Go into the city, and a man carr y
ing a jar of water will meet you. Follow him.
14Say to the owner of the h
ouse he enters,
The Teacher asks: W here is my g uest room,
where I may eat the Passover with my disci
ples? 15He will show you a large room up
stairs, furn ished and r eady. Make prepa ra
tions for us there.
16The disc iples left, went into the city and
found t hings just as J esus had told them. So
they prepared the Passover.
17When even ing came, J esus arr ived with
the Twelve. 18While they were reclining at
the table eating, he said, Truly I tell you,
one of you will bet ray meone who is eat
ing withme.
19They were sad
dened, and one by one
they said to him, Surely you dont mean me?
20It is one of the T
welve, 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 bet rays the
Son of Man! It would be better for him if he
had not been born.
22While they were eat
i ng, Jesus took
bread, and when he had given thanks, he
broke it and gave it to his disciples, sayi ng,
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 thed covenant,
w hich is poured out for many, he said to
them. 25Truly I tell you, I will not d rink
again from the f ruit of the vine unt il that day
when I d
rink it new in the kingdom of God.
26When they had sung a hymn, they went
out to the M
ount of Olives.

Jesus Predicts Peters Denial

27You

will all fall away, J esus told them,

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

into Gal i lee.

a33

Some manuscripts alert and pray b5Greek than three hundred denarii c7See Deut.15:11.

d24

Some manuscripts the new e27Zech. 13:7

1253

Mark 14:29

29Peter dec lared, Even if all fall away, I

will not.
30Truly I tell you, Jesus ans wered, to
dayy es, ton ightb ef ore the rooste r
c rows t wice a you yourself will disown me
t hree times.
31But Peter in s iste d emphat ic al l y, Even
if I have to die with you, I will never disown
you. And all the others said the same.

Gethsemane
32They went to a p
lace c alled Gethsema
ne, and Jesus said to his disciples, Sit here
w hile 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.
35Go
i ng a little farther, he fell to the
g round and p
rayed that if possible the hour
m ight pass from him. 36Abba,b Fat her, 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 disc iples and
found them sleepi ng. Simon, he said to Pe
ter, are you a sleep? Couldnt you keep w
atch
for one hour? 38Watch and pray so that you
will not fall into temptation. The spirit is
willi ng, but the f lesh is weak.
39Once more he went away and prayed the
same t hing. 40When he came back, he a gain
found them sleeping, bec ause their eyes
were heavy. They did not know what to say
to him.
41Re
t urning the third time, he said to
them, Are you s till sleeping and resting?
Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son
of Man is del ivered into the hands of sinners.
42Rise! Let us go! Here c
omes my bet rayer!

Jesus Arrested
43Just as he was speaking, Jud as, one of
the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd
a rmed with swords and clubs, sent from the
chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the
elders.
44Now the bet rayer had arranged a signal
with them: The one I kiss is the man; arrest
him and lead him away under g uard. 45Go
ing at once to Jesus, Judas said, Rabbi! and
a30

Mark 14:65

1253

k issed him. 46The men seized Jesus and ar

rested him. 47Then one of those standing
near drew his s word and s truck the servant
of the high p
riest, cutt ing off his ear.
48Am I leading a reb ellion, said Jesus,
that you have come out with s words 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 Script ures must
be fulf illed. 50Then everyone deserted him
and fled.
51A young man, weari ng nothi ng but a lin
en garment, was followi ng J esus. When they
seized him, 52he fled naked, leavi ng his gar
ment beh ind.

Jesus Before the Sanhedrin

53They took J esus to the high priest, and
all the chief priests, the elders and the teach
ers of the law came together. 54Peter fol
lowed him at a distance, r ight into the court
yard of the high priest. T
here he sat with the
g uards and w
armed himself at the fire.
55The c
hief p
riests and the w
hole Sanhe
drin were looki ng for evidence against J esus
so that they could put him to death, but they
did not find any. 56Many test if ied falsel y
against him, but their statements did not
agree.
57Then some s
tood up and gave this f alse
test imony against him: 58We heard him say,
I will destroy this temple made with human
hands and in t hree days will build another,
not made with hands. 59Yet even then t heir
test imony did not agree.
60Then the high
priest stood up before
them and asked J esus, Are you not goi ng to
ans wer? What is this test imony that t hese
men are bringi ng against you? 61But Jesus
remained silent and gave no answer.
Again the high p
riest a sked him, Are you
the Messia h, the Son of the B
lessed One?
62I am, said J esus. And you will see the
Son of Man sitt ing at the r ight hand of the
M ighty One and coming on the clouds of
heaven.
63The high priest tore his c lothes. Why
do we need any more witnesses? he a sked.
64You have h
eard the blasphemy. What do
you think?
They all condemned him as worthy of
death. 65Then some began to spit at him;

Some early manuscripts do not have twice. b36 Aramaic for father

1254

Mark 14:66

they blindfolded him, struck him with t heir

f ists, and said, Prophes y! And the g uards
took him and beat him.

Peter Disowns Jesus

66While Peter was below in the courty ard,
one of the serv ant g irls of the high priest
came by. 67When she saw Peter warming
himself, she l ooked closely at him.
You also were with that Naza rene, Jesus,
she said.
68But he den ied it. I dont know or under
stand what youre talking about, he said,
and went out into the ent ryway.a
69When the serv ant girl saw him t here,
she said a gain to those standing a round,
This fellow is one of them. 70Again he de
niedit.
After a litt le w
hile, t hose standing near
said to Peter, Surely you are one of them, for
you are a Gali lea n.
71He beg an to call down curse s, and he
swore to them, I dont know this man y oure
talki ng about.
72Im med ia tel y the rooste r c rowed the
second time. b Then Peter remembered the
word Jesus had spoken to him: Before the
rooster c rows t wice c you will disown me
t hree t imes. And he b
roke down and wept.

Jesus Before Pilate

15

Very early in the morni ng, the c hief

riests, with the elders, the teachers
p
of the law and the whole Sanhed rin, made
their plans. So they b
ound Jesus, led him
away and handed him over to Pilate.
2Are you the king of the Jews? a sked Pi
late.
You have said so, J esus replied.
3The c hief priests acc used him of many
t hings. 4So again Pilate asked him, Arent
you goi ng to ans wer? See how many t hings
they are accusi ng youof.
5But J esus still made no reply, and Pilate
was amazed.
6Now it was the custom at the fest iv al to
release a prisoner whom the people request
ed. 7A man c alled Barabbas was in prison
with the insurrectionists who had com
mit ted murder in the upr isi ng. 8The crowd
came up and a sked Pilate to do for them
what he usua lly did.
a68

Mark 15:29

1254

9Do you want me to release to you the

king of the Jews? asked Pilate, 10knowi ng it
was out of self-interest that the c hief p
riests
had hande d Jesus over to him. 11But the
chief p
riests s tirred up the c rowd to have Pi
late release Barabbas instead.
12What s
hall I do, then, with the one you
call the king of the Jews? Pilate a sked them.
13Cruc if y him! they shouted.
14Why? What c
rime has he comm itted?
asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, Crucif y
him!
15Want i ng to sat i sf y the c rowd, Pi l ate
released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus
f logged, and handed him over to be crucif ied.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

16The sol
d iers led Jesus away into the
palace (that is, the Praetor iu m) and c alled
together the w hole compa ny of sold iers.
17They put a purple robe on him, then twist
ed together a c rown of t horns and set it on
him. 18And they began to call out to him,
Hail, king of the Jews! 19Again and a gain
they s truck him on the head with a s taff and
spit on him. Falling on their k nees, they
paid homage to him. 20And when they had
mocked him, they took off the purple robe
and put his own c lothes on him. Then they
led him out to crucif y him.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

21A cert ain man from Cyrene, Simon, the
father of Ale xa nder and Rufus, was pass
ing by on his way in from the count ry, and
they forced him to carr y the c ross. 22They
brought Jesus to the p
lace c alled Golgo
tha (which m
eans the p
lace of the skull).
23Then they offered him wine m ixed with
myrrh, but he did not take it. 24And they cru
cif ied him. Div idi ng up his c lothes, they cast
lots to see what each w
ould get.
25It was nine in the morni ng when they
cruc i f ied him. 26The written not ice of the
charge against him read: the king of the
jews.
27They crucif ied two rebels with him, one
on his r ight and one on his left. [28]d 29Those
who p
assed by h
urled insults at him, shaking

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. d28 Some manuscripts
include here words similar to Luke22:37.

1255

Mark 15:30

their h
eads and saying, So! You who are go
ing to destroy the temple and b
uild it in t hree
days, 30come down from the cross and save
riests
yourself! 31In the same way the c hief p
and the teachers of the law m
ocked him
a mong themselves. 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 believe.
Those crucif ied with him also heaped insults
on him.

The Death of Jesus

33At

noon, darkness came over the w

hole
land unt il t hree in the afternoon. 34And at
t hree in the afternoon Jesus c ried out in a
loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?
(which m
eans My God, my God, why have
you forsaken me?). a
35When some of
t hose standing near
heard this, they said, Listen, hes calling
Elijah.
36Someone ran, f illed a s
ponge with wine
vinegar, put it on a s taff, and offered it to
Jesus to d
rink. Now leave him a lone. L ets
see if Elijah c omes to take him down, he
said.
37With a loud cry, J esus b
reathed his last.
38The curt ain of the temple was torn in
two from top to bottom. 39And when the cen
tur ion, who s tood t here in f ront of J esus, saw
how he died,b he said, Surely this man was
the Son of God!
40Some women were watchi ng from a dis
tance. A
mong them were Mary Magdalene,
Mary the mother of James the younger and
of Joseph, c and Sa lome. 41In Gal i lee t hese
women had followed him and cared for his
needs. Many other women who had come up
with him to Jer usalem were also there.

The Burial of Jesus

42It was Prep
a ration Day (that is, the
day before the Sabbath). So as even ing ap
proached, 43Joseph of Ar i mat hea, a prom i
nent member of the Council, who was him
self waiting for the kingdom of God, went
boldly to Pilate and a sked for Jesus body.
44Pilate was surprised to hear that he was
a34Psalm 22:1 b39

Mark 16:11

1255

al r eady dead. Sum mon i ng the cent u r i

on, he a sked him if J esus had already died.
45When he learned from the cent ur ion 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 p
laced
it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled
a s tone against the entrance of the tomb.
47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of
Joseph saw w
here he was laid.

Jesus Has Risen

16

When the Sabbath was over, Mary

Mag
d a
lene, Mary the moth
e r of
James, and Salome b
ought spices so that they
might go to anoint J esus body. 2Very early on
the f irst day of the week, just after sunr ise,
they were on t heir way to the tomb 3and they
asked each other, Who will roll the s tone
away from the ent rance of the tomb?
4But when they looked up, they saw that
the s tone, w
hich was very large, had been
rolled away. 5As they entered the tomb,
they saw a y oung man d ressed in a w hite
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
cruc if ied. He has risen! He is not here. See
the place where they laid him. 7But go, tell
his disciples and Peter, He is goi ng a head of
you into Gali lee. T here you will see him, just
as he told you.
8Trem
bling and bew ildered, the wom
en went out and fled from the tomb. They
said nothi ng to anyone, because they were
afraid.d

[The earliest manuscripts and some other

ancient witnesses do not have verses 920.]
9When Jesus rose early on the first day of the
week, he appeared f irst to Mary Magdalene, out of
whom he had driven seven demons. 10She went and
told those who had been with him and who were
eard that
mourning and weeping. 11When they h
Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did
not believeit.

Some manuscripts saw that he died with such a cry c40Greek Joses, a variant
of Joseph; also in verse47 d8 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.

NOT A SECRET
FOLLOWER
READ: MARK 15:46

growing in

FAITH
HOPE
LOVE

esus died by one of

the cruelest forms of
execution ever devised,
but physical pain was only a fraction of
his spiritual agony.
Jesus went to the cross carrying every sinevery wrongdoing ever
committed in every time and place. Like the Old Testament foretold, the Lord
has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6). Our sin caused J esus to be
cut off from his absolutely holy Father, a separation heard in the cry, My God,
my God, why have you forsaken me? (Mark 15:34).
Not long after that mournful scream, J esus died. His death marks the
darkest moment in human history.
But dont miss an intriguing event that happens in the shadows. Joseph
of Arimathea was a prominent leader of the Jewish ruling council. He was so
fearful of his peers that he followed J esus secretly (John 19:38). Yet now he
boldly asks for the Lords body, carefully placing it in a stone tomb carved for a
rich man. Along with Joseph comes Nicodemus (v.39), another leader who had
slipped in to speak with J esus under cover of darkness (3:2).
You might begin as a secret follower of J esus, but you can become like
Joseph and Nicodemus. Look hard at what the Lord did for you on the cross as
he suffered agony beyond imagination. Maybe thats the nudge you need to let
everyone know you follow the Lord.

1256

Mary Magdalene

$%

When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he

appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven
seven demons.
Mark 16:9
HER NAME MEANS: rebellion, bitterness
READ HER STORY: Luke 8:13; 24:112; Matthew 27:55
28:10; Mark 15:4016:11; John 20:1118

women

OF THE BIBLE

any cultures in the world consider women and

girls as lower-class citizens. Not J esus! In every
account recorded in the Gospels where J esus
interacted with women, he treated them with kindness and
respect.
When Jesus rose from the dead, it was no accident that
he appeared first to Mary Magdalene. He chose to give this
highest honor to a woman. Women also were the first ones
who had the glorious opportunity to share the good news. It
was Mary Magdalene and the other women who hurried to
the disciples to tell them J esus was alive. (See Luke 24:110.)
The Bible affirms that, There is neither Jew nor Gentile,
neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you
are all one in Christ J esus (Galatians 3:28). Every person is
valuable to God. Young or old, rich or poor, girl or boy, J esus
gave his life for every single person so that we can live forever
in eternity with him.
You are his special treasure. He delights in you! You have
no sin or darkness in your life that lowers your worth in his
eyes. Mary Magdalene had seven demons before J esus healed
her. In J esus, you are forgiven, restored to righteousness, and
made new. You are cherished and highly esteemed. You are
his beloved. He loves you.

1257

1258

Mark 16:12

12Afterward J esus appeared in a different form to

two of them while they were walking in the count ry.
13These ret urned and reported it to the rest; but they
did not believe them either.
14Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were
eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and
their stubborn ref usal to believe t hose who had seen
him after he had risen.
15He said to them, Go into all the w
orld and
preach the gospel to all creation. 16Whoever be
lieves and is bapt ized will be saved, but whoever
does not believe will be cond emned. 17And these

Mark 16:20

1258

signs will acc omp any those who believe: In my

name they will d
rive out demons; they will s peak 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 r ight
hand of God. 20Then the disciples went out and
preached everywhere, and the Lord w
orked with
them and conf irmed his word by the signs that ac
companiedit.