Our Sunday school reading for September 28, 2025, discussion of Mark the Evangelist and his Good News about Jesus, Session 3 of 4.

Below is our handout for today, five chapters. To recap, we are trying to explore “kata Markon” (according to Mark) from a literary perspective. It is an anonymous writing about Jesus’ ministry, death and resurrection, written about 70 AD, forty years after Good Friday and Easter. We do not know who “Mark” was or where he was when he wrote, or who his intended audience/readers were.

Mark’s literary agenda is to persuade his audience that, counter to the expectation of a conquering military Messiah (anointed king), Jesus was/is what God planned all along: Messiah, Son of God, a servant Messiah who would suffer, die and be resurrected, the Son of Man to rule the kingdom of God.

Mark uses both “sayings of Jesus” that he may embellish to create a scenario, and “pericopes” (complete short stories) about Jesus, to create his running narrative. Mark carries out his agenda with various literary devices including the Markan Secret or Messianic Secret in which Jesus himself participates to tell people inside the story to keep quiet about who/what Jesus is (Messiah, Son of God, Son of Man), thus telling everyone outside the story (us) that was said about him is true. Related is Mark’s casting Jesus’ contemporaries as obtuse folks who never really figure out who/what Jesus is/was no matter what they witness or what he tells them.

Sunday morning we’re picking up at chapter 7, hoping to complete chapter 11.

RSF&PTL

T90

Good News Translation

The Teaching of the Ancestors

7 Some Pharisees and teachers of the Law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus. 2 They noticed that some of his disciples were eating their food with hands that were ritually unclean—that is, they had not washed them in the way the Pharisees said people should.

(3 For the Pharisees, as well as the rest of the Jews, follow the teaching they received from their ancestors: they do not eat unless they wash their hands in the proper way; 4 nor do they eat anything that comes from the market unless they wash it first.[a] And they follow many other rules which they have received, such as the proper way to wash cups, pots, copper bowls, and beds.[b])

5 So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked Jesus, “Why is it that your disciples do not follow the teaching handed down by our ancestors, but instead eat with ritually unclean hands?”

6 Jesus answered them, “How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you! You are hypocrites, just as he wrote:

‘These people, says God, honor me with their words,
    but their heart is really far away from me.
7 It is no use for them to worship me,
    because they teach human rules
    as though they were my laws!’

8 “You put aside God's command and obey human teachings.”

9 And Jesus continued, “You have a clever way of rejecting God's law in order to uphold your own teaching. 10 For Moses commanded, ‘Respect your father and your mother,’ and, ‘If you curse your father or your mother, you are to be put to death.’ 11 But you teach that if people have something they could use to help their father or mother, but say, ‘This is Corban’ (which means, it belongs to God), 12 they are excused from helping their father or mother. 13 In this way the teaching you pass on to others cancels out the word of God. And there are many other things like this that you do.”

The Things That Make a Person Unclean

14 Then Jesus called the crowd to him once more and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand. 15 There is nothing that goes into you from the outside which can make you ritually unclean. Rather, it is what comes out of you that makes you unclean.” 16 [c]

17 When he left the crowd and went into the house, his disciples asked him to explain this saying. 18 “You are no more intelligent than the others,” Jesus said to them. “Don't you understand? Nothing that goes into you from the outside can really make you unclean, 19 because it does not go into your heart but into your stomach and then goes on out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared that all foods are fit to be eaten.)

20 And he went on to say, “It is what comes out of you that makes you unclean. 21 For from the inside, from your heart, come the evil ideas which lead you to do immoral things, to rob, kill, 22 commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride, and folly— 23 all these evil things come from inside you and make you unclean.”

A Woman's Faith

24 Then Jesus left and went away to the territory near the city of Tyre. He went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not stay hidden. 25 A woman, whose daughter had an evil spirit in her, heard about Jesus and came to him at once and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Gentile, born in the region of Phoenicia in Syria. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus answered, “Let us first feed the children. It isn't right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.”

28 “Sir,” she answered, “even the dogs under the table eat the children's leftovers!”

29 So Jesus said to her, “Because of that answer, go back home, where you will find that the demon has gone out of your daughter!”

30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed; the demon had indeed gone out of her.

Jesus Heals a Deaf-Mute

31 Jesus then left the neighborhood of Tyre and went on through Sidon to Lake Galilee, going by way of the territory of the Ten Towns. 32 Some people brought him a man who was deaf and could hardly speak, and they begged Jesus to place his hands on him. 33 So Jesus took him off alone, away from the crowd, put his fingers in the man's ears, spat, and touched the man's tongue. 34 Then Jesus looked up to heaven, gave a deep groan, and said to the man, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Open up!”

35 At once the man was able to hear, his speech impediment was removed, and he began to talk without any trouble. 36 Then Jesus ordered the people not to speak of it to anyone; but the more he ordered them not to, the more they told it. 37 And all who heard were completely amazed. “How well he does everything!” they exclaimed. “He even causes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak!”

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand People

8 Not long afterward another large crowd came together. When the people had nothing left to eat, Jesus called the disciples to him and said, 2 “I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with me for three days and now have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home without feeding them, they will faint as they go, because some of them have come a long way.”

4 His disciples asked him, “Where in this desert can anyone find enough food to feed all these people?”

5 “How much bread do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven loaves,” they answered.

6 He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, gave thanks to God, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the crowd; and the disciples did so. 7 They also had a few small fish. Jesus gave thanks for these and told the disciples to distribute them too. 8-9 Everybody ate and had enough—there were about four thousand people. Then the disciples took up seven baskets full of pieces left over. Jesus sent the people away 10 and at once got into a boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

The Pharisees Ask for a Miracle

11 Some Pharisees came to Jesus and started to argue with him. They wanted to trap him, so they asked him to perform a miracle to show that God approved of him. 12 But Jesus gave a deep groan and said, “Why do the people of this day ask for a miracle? No, I tell you! No such proof will be given to these people!”

13 He left them, got back into the boat, and started across to the other side of the lake.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod

14 The disciples had forgotten to bring enough bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 “Take care,” Jesus warned them, “and be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”

16 They started discussing among themselves: “He says this because we don't have any bread.”

17 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he asked them, “Why are you discussing about not having any bread? Don't you know or understand yet? Are your minds so dull? 18 You have eyes—can't you see? You have ears—can't you hear? Don't you remember 19 when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand people? How many baskets full of leftover pieces did you take up?”

“Twelve,” they answered.

20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand people,” asked Jesus, “how many baskets full of leftover pieces did you take up?”

“Seven,” they answered.

21 “And you still don't understand?” he asked them.

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

22 They came to Bethsaida, where some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch him. 23 Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. After spitting on the man's eyes, Jesus placed his hands on him and asked him, “Can you see anything?”

24 The man looked up and said, “Yes, I can see people, but they look like trees walking around.”

25 Jesus again placed his hands on the man's eyes. This time the man looked intently, his eyesight returned, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus then sent him home with the order, “Don't go back into the village.”

Peter's Declaration about Jesus

27 Then Jesus and his disciples went away to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Tell me, who do people say I am?”

28 “Some say that you are John the Baptist,” they answered; “others say that you are Elijah, while others say that you are one of the prophets.”

29 “What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

30 Then Jesus ordered them, “Do not tell anyone about me.”

Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death

31 Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will rise to life.” 32 He made this very clear to them. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But Jesus turned around, looked at his disciples, and rebuked Peter. “Get away from me, Satan,” he said. “Your thoughts don't come from God but from human nature!”

34 Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him. “If any of you want to come with me,” he told them, “you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. 35 For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for me and for the gospel, you will save it. 36 Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! 37 There is nothing you can give to regain your life. 38 If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching in this godless and wicked day, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

9 And he went on to say, “I tell you, there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power.”

The Transfiguration

2 Six days later Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain, where they were alone. As they looked on, a change came over Jesus, 3 and his clothes became shining white—whiter than anyone in the world could wash them. 4 Then the three disciples saw Elijah and Moses talking with Jesus. 5 Peter spoke up and said to Jesus, “Teacher, how good it is that we are here! We will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He and the others were so frightened that he did not know what to say.

7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them with its shadow, and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my own dear Son—listen to him!” 8 They took a quick look around but did not see anyone else; only Jesus was with them.

9 As they came down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has risen from death.”

10 They obeyed his order, but among themselves they started discussing the matter, “What does this ‘rising from death’ mean?” 11 And they asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah has to come first?”

12 His answer was, “Elijah is indeed coming first in order to get everything ready. Yet why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man will suffer much and be rejected? 13 I tell you, however, that Elijah has already come and that people treated him just as they pleased, as the Scriptures say about him.”

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Evil Spirit

14 When they joined the rest of the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and some teachers of the Law arguing with them. 15 When the people saw Jesus, they were greatly surprised, and ran to him and greeted him. 16 Jesus asked his disciples, “What are you arguing with them about?”

17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, because he has an evil spirit in him and cannot talk. 18 Whenever the spirit attacks him, it throws him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth, grits his teeth, and becomes stiff all over. I asked your disciples to drive the spirit out, but they could not.”

19 Jesus said to them, “How unbelieving you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy to me!” 20 They brought him to Jesus.

As soon as the spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boy into a fit, so that he fell on the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 “How long has he been like this?” Jesus asked the father.

“Ever since he was a child,” he replied. 22 “Many times the evil spirit has tried to kill him by throwing him in the fire and into water. Have pity on us and help us, if you possibly can!”

23 “Yes,” said Jesus, “if you yourself can! Everything is possible for the person who has faith.”

24 The father at once cried out, “I do have faith, but not enough. Help me have more!”

25 Jesus noticed that the crowd was closing in on them, so he gave a command to the evil spirit. “Deaf and dumb spirit,” he said, “I order you to come out of the boy and never go into him again!”

26 The spirit screamed, threw the boy into a bad fit, and came out. The boy looked like a corpse, and everyone said, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus took the boy by the hand and helped him rise, and he stood up.

28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn't we drive the spirit out?”

29 “Only prayer can drive this kind out,” answered Jesus; “nothing else can.”

Jesus Speaks Again about His Death

30 Jesus and his disciples left that place and went on through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where he was, 31 because he was teaching his disciples: “The Son of Man will be handed over to those who will kill him. Three days later, however, he will rise to life.”

32 But they did not understand what this teaching meant, and they were afraid to ask him.

Who Is the Greatest?

33 They came to Capernaum, and after going indoors Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you arguing about on the road?”

34 But they would not answer him, because on the road they had been arguing among themselves about who was the greatest. 35 Jesus sat down, called the twelve disciples, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must place himself last of all and be the servant of all.” 36 Then he took a child and had him stand in front of them. He put his arms around him and said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes in my name one of these children, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not only me but also the one who sent me.”

Whoever Is Not against Us Is for Us

38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw a man who was driving out demons in your name, and we told him to stop, because he doesn't belong to our group.”

39 “Do not try to stop him,” Jesus told them, “because no one who performs a miracle in my name will be able soon afterward to say evil things about me. 40 For whoever is not against us is for us. 41 I assure you that anyone who gives you a drink of water because you belong to me will certainly receive a reward.

Temptations to Sin

42 “If anyone should cause one of these little ones to lose faith in me, it would be better for that person to have a large millstone tied around the neck and be thrown into the sea. 43 So if your hand makes you lose your faith, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a hand than to keep both hands and go off to hell, to the fire that never goes out. 44 [d] 45 And if your foot makes you lose your faith, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a foot than to keep both feet and be thrown into hell. 46 [e] 47 And if your eye makes you lose your faith, take it out! It is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to keep both eyes and be thrown into hell. 48 There ‘the worms that eat them never die, and the fire that burns them is never put out.’

49 “Everyone will be purified by fire as a sacrifice is purified by salt.

50 “Salt is good; but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?

“Have the salt of friendship among yourselves, and live in peace with one another.”

Jesus Teaches about Divorce

10 Then Jesus left that place, went to the province of Judea, and crossed the Jordan River. Crowds came flocking to him again, and he taught them, as he always did.

2 Some Pharisees came to him and tried to trap him. “Tell us,” they asked, “does our Law allow a man to divorce his wife?”

3 Jesus answered with a question, “What law did Moses give you?”

4 Their answer was, “Moses gave permission for a man to write a divorce notice and send his wife away.”

5 Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you because you are so hard to teach. 6 But in the beginning, at the time of creation, ‘God made them male and female,’ as the scripture says. 7 ‘And for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife,[f] 8 and the two will become one.’ So they are no longer two, but one. 9 No human being must separate, then, what God has joined together.”

10 When they went back into the house, the disciples asked Jesus about this matter. 11 He said to them, “A man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against his wife. 12 In the same way, a woman who divorces her husband and marries another man commits adultery.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

13 Some people brought children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples scolded the people. 14 When Jesus noticed this, he was angry and said to his disciples, “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I assure you that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 16 Then he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on each of them, and blessed them.

The Rich Man

17 As Jesus was starting on his way again, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?”

18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely; do not cheat; respect your father and your mother.’”

20 “Teacher,” the man said, “ever since I was young, I have obeyed all these commandments.”

21 Jesus looked straight at him with love and said, “You need only one thing. Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me.” 22 When the man heard this, gloom spread over his face, and he went away sad, because he was very rich.

23 Jesus looked around at his disciples and said to them, “How hard it will be for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God!”

24 The disciples were shocked at these words, but Jesus went on to say, “My children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! 25 It is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.”

26 At this the disciples were completely amazed and asked one another, “Who, then, can be saved?”

27 Jesus looked straight at them and answered, “This is impossible for human beings but not for God; everything is possible for God.”

28 Then Peter spoke up, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”

29 “Yes,” Jesus said to them, “and I tell you that those who leave home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and for the gospel, 30 will receive much more in this present age. They will receive a hundred times more houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields—and persecutions as well; and in the age to come they will receive eternal life. 31 But many who are now first will be last, and many who are now last will be first.”

Jesus Speaks a Third Time about His Death

32 Jesus and his disciples were now on the road going up to Jerusalem. Jesus was going ahead of the disciples, who were filled with alarm; the people who followed behind were afraid. Once again Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and spoke of the things that were going to happen to him. 33 “Listen,” he told them, “we are going up to Jerusalem where the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. They will condemn him to death and then hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will make fun of him, spit on him, whip him, and kill him; but three days later he will rise to life.”

The Request of James and John

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus. “Teacher,” they said, “there is something we want you to do for us.”

36 “What is it?” Jesus asked them.

37 They answered, “When you sit on your throne in your glorious Kingdom, we want you to let us sit with you, one at your right and one at your left.”

38 Jesus said to them, “You don't know what you are asking for. Can you drink the cup of suffering that I must drink? Can you be baptized in the way I must be baptized?”

39 “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup I must drink and be baptized in the way I must be baptized. 40 But I do not have the right to choose who will sit at my right and my left. It is God who will give these places to those for whom he has prepared them.”

41 When the other ten disciples heard about it, they became angry with James and John. 42 So Jesus called them all together to him and said, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the heathen have power over them, and the leaders have complete authority. 43 This, however, is not the way it is among you. If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest; 44 and if one of you wants to be first, you must be the slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served; he came to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.”

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

46 They came to Jericho, and as Jesus was leaving with his disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was sitting by the road. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!”

48 Many of the people scolded him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called the blind man. “Cheer up!” they said. “Get up, he is calling you.”

50 So he threw off his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

“Teacher,” the blind man answered, “I want to see again.”

52 “Go,” Jesus told him, “your faith has made you well.”

At once he was able to see and followed Jesus on the road.

The Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem

11 As they approached Jerusalem, near the towns of Bethphage and Bethany, they came to the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of his disciples on ahead 2 with these instructions: “Go to the village there ahead of you. As soon as you get there, you will find a colt tied up that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 And if someone asks you why you are doing that, say that the Master[g] needs it and will send it back at once.”

4 So they went and found a colt out in the street, tied to the door of a house. As they were untying it, 5 some of the bystanders asked them, “What are you doing, untying that colt?”

6 They answered just as Jesus had told them, and the crowd let them go. 7 They brought the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks over the animal, and Jesus got on. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches in the field and spread them on the road. 9 The people who were in front and those who followed behind began to shout, “Praise God! God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 God bless the coming kingdom of King David, our father! Praise be to God!”

11 Jesus entered Jerusalem, went into the Temple, and looked around at everything. But since it was already late in the day, he went out to Bethany with the twelve disciples.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

12 The next day, as they were coming back from Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 He saw in the distance a fig tree covered with leaves, so he went to see if he could find any figs on it. But when he came to it, he found only leaves, because it was not the right time for figs. 14 Jesus said to the fig tree, “No one shall ever eat figs from you again!”

And his disciples heard him.

Jesus Goes to the Temple

15 When they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus went to the Temple and began to drive out all those who were buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the stools of those who sold pigeons, 16 and he would not let anyone carry anything through the Temple courtyards. 17 He then taught the people: “It is written in the Scriptures that God said, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations.’ But you have turned it into a hideout for thieves!”

18 The chief priests and the teachers of the Law heard of this, so they began looking for some way to kill Jesus. They were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

19 When evening came, Jesus and his disciples left the city.

The Lesson from the Fig Tree

20 Early next morning, as they walked along the road, they saw the fig tree. It was dead all the way down to its roots. 21 Peter remembered what had happened and said to Jesus, “Look, Teacher, the fig tree you cursed has died!”

22 Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 I assure you that whoever tells this hill to get up and throw itself in the sea and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 For this reason I tell you: When you pray and ask for something, believe that you have received it, and you will be given whatever you ask for. 25 And when you stand and pray, forgive anything you may have against anyone, so that your Father in heaven will forgive the wrongs you have done.” 26 [h]

The Question about Jesus' Authority

27 They arrived once again in Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking in the Temple, the chief priests, the teachers of the Law, and the elders came to him 28 and asked him, “What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you such right?”

29 Jesus answered them, “I will ask you just one question, and if you give me an answer, I will tell you what right I have to do these things. 30 Tell me, where did John's right to baptize come from: was it from God or from human beings?”

31 They started to argue among themselves: “What shall we say? If we answer, ‘From God,’ he will say, ‘Why, then, did you not believe John?’ 32 But if we say, ‘From human beings …’” (They were afraid of the people, because everyone was convinced that John had been a prophet.) 33 So their answer to Jesus was, “We don't know.”

Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you, then, by what right I do these things.”

Footnotes

Mark 7:4 anything that comes from the market unless they wash it first; or anything after they come from the market unless they wash themselves first.
Mark 7:4 Some manuscripts do not have and beds.
Mark 7:16 Some manuscripts add verse 16: Listen, then, if you have ears! (see 4.23).
Mark 9:44 Some manuscripts add verse 44: There ‘the worms that eat them never die, and the fire that burns them is never put out’ (see verse 48).
Mark 9:46 Some manuscripts add verse 46: There ‘the worms that eat them never die, and the fire that burns them is never put out’ (see verse 48).
Mark 10:7 Some manuscripts do not have and unite with his wife.
Mark 11:3 the Master; or its owner.
Mark 11:26 Some manuscripts add verse 26: If you do not forgive others, your Father in heaven will not forgive the wrongs you have done (see Mt 6.15).

Good News Translation (GNT)