Mark handout for 21 Sep class
Beginning class on Sunday, 21 September we’ll briefly discuss the “homework assignment” about Mark 1:41: Jesus angry or Jesus compassionate.
Below is our MARK handout for Sunday, 21 September 2025. My intent was/is to do our reading/commentary in four Sunday morning one hour sessions, four chapters per session. It may be ambitious, we’ll see. Maybe having this ahead of Time will help us move along in class Sunday.
Below are The Gospel according to Mark chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6. So you can experience both (and possibly perceive a preference), the odd-numbered chapters are New Revised Standard Version (UE), and the even-numbered chapters are New International Version. Before class on Sunday, 21 September, maybe you will have Time and take Time to read or at least scan the handout.
Based on our objective of getting to know both the man Mark the Evangelist who wrote this gospel story, as well as his writing “The Gospel according to Mark”, I have inserted [in brackets] questions and comments here and there for your thought and our possible discussion in class.
As well as publishing this handout on my +Time blog, I’m emailing it, "Bcc" to protect privacy, to everyone who gave me your email address at our first session, plus I’ll print copies to bring to class. You may want to print this email and already have your own copy to bring to class.
Mark 3 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
The Man with a Withered Hand
3 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 They were watching him to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” 4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
[The word “anger” in 3:5 above is the same Greek word orgistheis that’s translated “indignant” at 1:41 in the NIV, from ancient sources]
[Note that physical touch is not necessary in order for Jesus to heal]
A Multitude at the Seaside
7 Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; 8 hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. 9 He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him, 10 for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. 11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” 12 But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.
[Mark’s literary device the Markan Secret or Messianic Secret shows up again. INSIDE the story Jesus says “don’t tell” - - why? We aren’t sure, Mark does not say - - maybe because Jesus is not ready to reveal himself, maybe because he’s being overwhelmed by needy folks who want healing; OUTSIDE the story for you the reader, Mark is having Jesus himself, by shushing the spirits, affirm what the unclean spirits’ are saying, that Jesus is the Son of God.
Jesus Appoints the Twelve
13 He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve[a] to be with him and to be sent out to preach 15 and to have authority to cast out demons. 16 So he appointed the twelve:[b] Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), 17 James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder), 18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who handed him over.
[In the other canonical gospels you may notice different names for the Twelve; don’t let it bother you, no two writers write exactly the same things!]
Jesus and Beelzebul
20 Then he went home, and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. 21 When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” 23 And he called them to him and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.
28 “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
[What is “the unforgivable sin”? Scholars have argued the point for centuries. In this story (3:20-30), Jesus has been casting out demons by the power of God, and by saying Jesus is satanic, the scribes have blasphemed God himself. By “the Holy Spirit” Mark means God. Don’t make it complicated by bringing in “the Holy Spirit” as Trinitarian theology, which did not come into the picture until it was argued and settled by bishops at the 325 AD Council of Nicaea and the 381 AD Council of Constantinople. Mark was not a Trinitarian, but his words have been called nascent to later Trinitarian development and doctrine]
The True Kindred of Jesus
31 Then his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers[c] are outside asking for you.” 33 And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
[Jesus is not, as some writers have suggested, starting to kick out the Jews as God’s chosen people. His words are straightforward: he embraces as kin everyone who does the will of God. What does Mark/Jesus mean by “the will of God”?]
Footnotes
3.14 Other ancient authorities add whom he also named apostles
3.16 Other ancient authorities lack So he appointed the twelve
3.32 Other ancient authorities add and sisters
Mark 4 New International Version (NIV)
The Parable of the Sower
4 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
[Without explanation, Mark leaves us (and the disciples) bewildered as to the point or reason for telling this parable to the large crowd. Only below (verse 10f) is it revealed that the parable relates to the kingdom of God]
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”
[Verse 4:12, the quote is taken from the call of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9f) and does not fit our idea of Jesus welcoming everyone, does it!! Some scholars have suggested that the secrecy issue either is part of Mark’s agenda of the disciples not understanding Jesus, or is the later church’s editing addition to make church members insiders who know the secrets of the kingdom of God over against outsiders who do not - - which begins to sound “Gnostic”. What do you think? BTW, get used to the idea that some things in the canonical gospels were not the evangelist author’s work but were added later by editors and the Church]
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
[So the parable is meant to show that not everyone who hears the word about the kingdom of God will stick with it, people will drop out for many reasons; but those who do hang in there will cause the word to be spread widely.]
A Lamp on a Stand
21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”
24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”
33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
Jesus Calms the Storm
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
[throughout Mark’s gospel the disciples and others closest to Jesus fail to recognize and realize who he is. It’s part of Mark’s agenda to frustrate you, his readers, and ultimately to drive you to rush out and proclaim Jesus yourself]
Footnotes
Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10
Mark 5 (NRSV UE)
Jesus Heals a Man Possessed by Demons
5 They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes.[a] 2 And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. 3 He lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain, 4 for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces, and no one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him, 7 and he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 Then Jesus[b] asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region. 11 Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding, 12 and the unclean spirits[c] begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, stampeded down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea.
14 The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 They came to Jesus and saw the man possessed by demons sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion, and they became frightened. 16 Those who had seen what had happened to the man possessed by demons and to the swine reported it. 17 Then they began to beg Jesus[d] to leave their neighborhood. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 But Jesus[e] refused and said to him, “Go home to your own people, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and what mercy he has shown you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.
[Mark’s story of the Gerasene demoniac is a case when Jesus does not shush the demons who recognize him; any speculation as to why this might be? And the Legion and filthy swine have been characterized by many scholars as subtle humor alluding to the despised occupying legion of unclean gentile Roman soldiers. Mark has Jesus tell the demoniac to tell how much kyrie, the Lord, has done for him and the man tells how much Jesus has done for him: is there any theological symbol here, does Mark intend for Jesus to mean himself as Lord? Interestingly, Matthew telling the same story has Jesus tell the demoniac to tell how much God has done for him, and he still tells how much Jesus has done for him, possibly a theological hint of developing Christology by the Time of Matthew's writing - - c.a. 90 or 95 AD?, or maybe not, considering Matthew's Jewishness and his Jewish Christian audience?]
A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed
21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat[f] to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him, and he was by the sea. 22 Then one of the leaders of the synagogue, named Jairus, came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23 and pleaded with him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” 24 So he went with him.
And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years. 26 She had endured much under many physicians and had spent all that she had, and she was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 for she said, “If I but touch his cloak, I will be made well.” 29 Immediately her flow of blood stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my cloak?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 He looked all around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
35 While he was still speaking, some people came from the synagogue leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” 36 But overhearing[g] what they said, Jesus said to the synagogue leader, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” 37 He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38 When they came to the synagogue leader’s house, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. 41 Taking her by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” 42 And immediately the girl stood up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. 43 He strictly ordered them that no one should know this and told them to give her something to eat.
[Mark here uses “intercalation,” a literary device of inserting one story inside another story. Mark’s purpose here is to frustrate those inside the story that Jesus is wasting Time getting to a dying girl; but to show those outside the story (us, Mark’s readers), that Time, even death itself, is no obstacle to Jesus’ power. Do not get caught up in the absurd suggestion that the little girl was not really dead: this is a story and it’s purpose is that she was dead and Jesus brought her back to real life; further, she was not just a spirit or ghost: she needs something to eat, ghosts don’t eat. Also in this story Jesus takes with him his three closest and most trusted disciples, Peter, James and John, whom he probably has known all their lives together in Capernaum. Why is Peter’s brother Andrew not included?]
Footnotes
5.1 Other ancient authorities read Gergesenes or Gadarenes
5.9 Gk he
5.12 Gk they
5.17 Gk him
5.19 Gk he
5.21 Other ancient authorities lack in the boat
5.36 Or ignoring; other ancient authorities read hearing
Mark 6 (NIV)
A Prophet Without Honor
6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,[a] Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.
[It’s human nature that we fail to see, in a hometown person whom we watched grow up - - we know him and his family, he’s an ordinary person, nothing special. (This also may relate to why Jesus’ disciples never realize who he is?) Why can’t Jesus do any miracles there? Evidently because a miracle requires the faith of whoever receives it?]
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.
8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
[Jesus’ purpose in coming is to proclaim the kingdom of God, that God is present and in charge. Does it seem strange that Mark remembers Jesus sending the Twelve out to heal and not to proclaim the kingdom of God?]
John the Baptist Beheaded
14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying,[b] “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
15 Others said, “He is Elijah.”
And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”
17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled[c]; yet he liked to listen to him.
21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of[d] Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
[the gruesome story of John’s beheading is horrific and appalling, including that someone (Herod) would feel more bound to his oath to his stepdaughter, and saving face with his dinner guests, than to any principle against the evil of murder, but evidently the value of a human life was not a major consideration in that Time and place. Still, it shows Herod as morally pathetic]
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages[e]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.
[This is a “feeding miracle” showing Jesus’ power, when compassionate Jesus meets a human need. It also shows that Jesus expects us, his followers, to look after people in need. In the synoptic gospels, every Time Jesus feeds, he does what we call the four eucharistic actions, Taking, Blessing, Breaking, Giving, that we still observe today as we consecrate the Bread/Wine for Holy Communion. A little later in Mark’s story we will see that the disciples who were with Jesus at the Feeding of the Five Thousand totally failed to “get it” about who and what Jesus is/was. It’s part of Mark’s agenda about their apparent obtuseness. Again, do not fall into the trap of reasoning that Jesus simply just released the crowd’s kindness to share the food they already had with them, which would entirely miss the point of the story. This story is offered and intended as a miracle, showing Jesus’ power to bring something great (lots of food) out of little or nothing]
Jesus Walks on the Water
45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, 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, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified.
Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
[This story shows Jesus’ power over nature, over creation itself. In Mark’s story, no matter what Jesus does, his disciples do not recognize/realize who and what he is - - Messiah, Son of God. Not only do they seem a bit dense, but they are too close to Jesus anyway. Furthermore, like all Israel, what these Jewish disciples are expecting in the Messiah is not a compassionate healer and miracle worker, but a military leader who will take over as king, reestablish the throne of David in Jerusalem, drive out the occupying Roman swine, and facilitate the Shekinah (the return of God’s abiding presence to the Temple in Jerusalem). Mark’s story shows that human expectations are not what God has in mind]
53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they 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.
[The crowds swarm to Jesus. And Jesus, compassionate, meets the needs of the people who come to him. Mark may mean the same message to be for us today, that we are to be compassionate, as Jesus is compassionate.]
Footnotes
Mark 6:3 Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph
Mark 6:14 Some early manuscripts He was saying
Mark 6:20 Some early manuscripts he did many things
Mark 6:22 Some early manuscripts When his daughter
Mark 6:37 Greek take two hundred denarii