Notes (NET Translation) 31 Then Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and after three days rise again. This verse marks a key turn in the narrative, as Jesus begins to explicitly … Continue reading Commentary on Mark 8:31-33

Notes (NET Translation) 27 Then Jesus and his disciples went to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" Caesarea Philippi (previously called Panias/Panion; modern Banias) was about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee and east of the city of Tyre. It … Continue reading Commentary on Mark 8:27-30

Notes (NET Translation) 22 Then they came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to Jesus and asked him to touch him. Jesus and the disciples arrive in Bethsaida, the hometown of Peter, Andrew, and Philip (John 1:44; 12:21). The "they" in question is not identified. The theme of blindness from 8:18 is picked up … Continue reading Commentary on Mark 8:22-26

Notes (NET Translation) 14 Now they had forgotten to take bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. This scene takes place in the boat on the Sea of Galilee (8:13). One loaf of bread could have provided dinner for one person, but not for all the disciples. The lack of … Continue reading Commentary on Mark 8:14-21

Notes (NET Translation) 11 Then the Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, asking for a sign from heaven to test him. A sign (sēmeion) is not just any miracle but something that authenticates Jesus as a prophet. "Heaven" is a circumlocution for God. Thus, the phrase "from heaven" indicates the sign should be … Continue reading Commentary on Mark 8:11-13

Notes (NET Translation) 1 In those days there was another large crowd with nothing to eat. So Jesus called his disciples and said to them, The phrase "in those days" leads us to believe that Jesus is still in the region of the Decapolis (7:31), on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. If … Continue reading Commentary on Mark 8:1-10

Notes (NET Translation) 31 Then Jesus went out again from the region of Tyre and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee in the region of the Decapolis. Jesus is depicted as first traveling north from the region of Tyre to Sidon, then southeast to the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee in … Continue reading Commentary on Mark 7:31-37

Notes (NET Translation) 24 After Jesus left there, he went to the region of Tyre. When he went into a house, he did not want anyone to know, but he was not able to escape notice. After the discussion of what is ritually clean and unclean (7:1-23), Jesus enters an "unclean" Gentile region (Tyre), has … Continue reading Commentary on Mark 7:24-30

Notes (NET Translation) 1 Now the Pharisees and some of the experts in the law who came from Jerusalem gathered around him. As in 3:22, where experts in the law (scribes) from Jerusalem accuse Jesus of being possessed by Beelzebul, a delegation of scribes comes from Jerusalem to investigate Jesus. The Pharisees may be local … Continue reading Commentary on Mark 7:1-23