Bible in 90 Days
57 The crowd that had arrested Jesus took Him to Caiaphas, the high priest. The scribes and elders had gathered at Caiaphas’s house and were waiting for Jesus to be delivered. 58 Peter followed Jesus (though at some distance so as not to be seen). He slipped into Caiaphas’s house and attached himself to a group of servants. And he sat watching, waiting to see how things would unfold.
59 The high priest and his council of advisors first produced false evidence against Jesus—false evidence meant to justify some charge and Jesus’ execution. 60 But even though many men were willing to lie, the council couldn’t come up with the evidence it wanted. Finally, two men stood up.
Two Men: 61 Look, He said, “I can destroy God’s temple and rebuild it in three days.” What more evidence do you need?
62 Then Caiaphas the high priest stood up and addressed Jesus.
Caiaphas: Aren’t You going to respond to these charges? What exactly are these two men accusing You of?
63 Jesus remained silent.
Caiaphas (to Jesus): Under a sacred oath before the living God, tell us plainly: are You the Anointed One, the Son of God?
Jesus: 64 So you seem to be saying. I will say this: beginning now, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God’s power and glory and coming on heavenly clouds.
65 The high priest tore his robes and screeched.
Caiaphas: Blasphemy! We don’t need any more witnesses—we’ve all just witnessed this most grievous blasphemy, right here and now. 66 So, gentlemen, what’s your verdict?
Gentlemen: He deserves to die.
67 Then they spat in His face and hit Him. Some of them smacked Him, slapped Him across the cheeks, 68 and jeered.
Some of the Men: Well, Anointed One, prophesy for us, if You can—who hit You? And who is about to hit You next?
69 As all this was going on in Caiaphas’s chamber, Peter was sitting in the courtyard with some servants. One of the servant girls came up to him.
Servant Girl: You were with Jesus the Galilean, weren’t you?
70 And just as Jesus had predicted, Peter denied it before everyone.
Peter: Not me! I don’t know what you’re talking about.
71 He went out to stand by the gate. And as he walked past, another servant girl recognized him.
Another Servant Girl (speaking to those standing around): That man over there—he was here with Jesus the Nazarene!
72 Again, just as Jesus had predicted, Peter denied it, swearing an oath.
Peter: I don’t know Him!
73 Peter then went to chat with a few of the servants. A little while later, some other servants approached him:
Other Servants: Look, we know that you must be one of Jesus’ followers. You speak like you are from the same area as His followers. You’ve got that tell-tale Galilean accent.
74 Cursing and swearing, Peter denied Him again.
Peter: I do not know Him!
As the exclamation left his mouth, a cock crowed. 75 And Peter remembered. He remembered that Jesus had looked at him with something like pity and said, “This very night, before the cock crows in the morning, you will deny Me three times.” And Peter went outside, sat down on the ground, and wept.
27 Eventually the chief priests and the elders looked around and saw that it was morning. They convened a council meeting whose sole purpose was to hand down Jesus’ death sentence. 2 They tied Jesus up, took Him away, and handed Him over to the governor of Judea, a man called Pilate.
3 Judas—the one who had betrayed Him with a kiss for 30 pieces of silver—saw that Jesus had been condemned, and suddenly Judas regretted what he had done. He took the silver back to the chief priests and elders and tried to return it to them.
Judas Iscariot: 4 I can’t keep this money! I’ve sinned! I’ve betrayed an innocent man! His blood will be on my hands.
The priests and elders want nothing to do with Judas, and they refuse to take his money.
Chief Priests and Elders: We’re through with you, friend. The state of your soul is really none of our affair.
5 Judas threw down the money in the temple, went off, and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests looked at the silver coins and picked them up.
Chief Priests and Elders: You know, according to the law, we can’t put blood money in the temple treasury.
7 After some deliberation, they took the money and bought a plot of land called Potter’s Field; they would use it to bury foreigners, suicides, and others who were unfit for a full Jewish burial. 8 (To this day, the field is called Blood Field, because it was bought with blood money.) 9 And when the priests bought Potter’s Field, they unwittingly fulfilled a prophecy made long ago by the prophet Jeremiah: “They took 30 pieces of silver, the price set on the head of the man by the children of Israel, 10 and they gave them for the Potter’s Field as the Eternal One instructed.”[a]
11 Jesus was standing before the governor, Pilate.
Pilate: Are You the King of the Jews?
Jesus: So you say.
12 The chief priests and the elders stood and poured out their accusations: that Jesus was a traitor, a seditious rebel, a crazy, a would-be Savior, and a would-be king. Jesus stood in the stream of accusations, but He did not respond.
Pilate: 13 Do You hear these accusations they are making against You?
14 Still Jesus said nothing, which Pilate found rather astounding—no protests, no defense, nothing.
15 Now the governor had a custom. During the great Jewish festival of Passover, he would allow the crowd to pick one of the condemned men, and he, Pilate, would set the man free. Just like that. Gratuitous, gracious freedom. 16 At this time, they had a notorious prisoner named Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd gathered, Pilate offered them a choice:
Pilate: Whom do you want me to free? Barabbas or Jesus, whom some call the Anointed One?
Pilate could call Him “Jesus of Nazareth” or “Jesus the Carpenter,” but he says, “whom some call the Anointed One.” It is significant that Pilate is in a position where he passes judgment. He determines who will live and who will die, and he is preparing to hold court.
18 Pilate knew the chief priests and elders hated Jesus and had delivered Him up because they envied Him.
19 Then Pilate sat down on his judgment seat, and he received a message from his wife: “Distance yourself utterly from the proceedings against this righteous man. I have had a dream about Him, a dream full of twisted sufferings—He is innocent, I know it, and we should have nothing to do with Him.”
20 But the chief priests and the elders convinced the crowd to demand that Barabbas, not Jesus, whom-some-call-the-Anointed-One, be freed and that Jesus be put to death.
Pilate (standing before the crowd): 21 Which of these men would you have me free?
Crowd (shouting): Barabbas!
Pilate: 22 What would you have me do with this Jesus, whom some call the Anointed One?
Crowd (shouting): Crucify Him!
Pilate: 23 Why? What crime has this man committed?
Crowd (responding with a shout): Crucify Him!
It is clear Pilate has laid his own trap. He realizes he has given the crowd a choice, but the crowd doesn’t choose as he expects them to.
24 Pilate saw that unless he wanted a riot on his hands, he now had to bow to their wishes. So he took a pitcher of water, stood before the crowd, and washed his hands.
Pilate: You will see to this crucifixion, for this man’s blood will be upon you and not upon me. I wash myself of it.
Crowd: 25 Indeed, let His blood be upon us—upon us and our children!
26 So Pilate released Barabbas, and he had Jesus flogged and handed over to be crucified.
27 The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into a great hall, gathered a great crowd, 28 and stripped Jesus of His clothes, draping Him in a bold scarlet cloak, the kind that soldiers sometimes wore. 29 They gathered some thorny vines, wove them into a crown, and perched that crown upon His head. They stuck a reed in His right hand, and then they knelt before Him, this inside-out, upside-down King. They mocked Him with catcalls.
Soldiers: Hail, the King of the Jews!
30 They spat on Him and whipped Him on the head with His scepter of reeds, 31 and when they had their fill, they pulled off the bold scarlet cloak, dressed Him in His own simple clothes, and led Him off to be crucified.
32 As they were walking, they found a man called Simon of Cyrene and forced him to carry the cross. 33 Eventually they came to a place called Golgotha, which means “Place of the Skull.” 34 There they gave Him a drink—wine mixed with bitter herbs. He tasted it but refused to drink it.
35 And so they had Him crucified. They divided the clothes off His back by drawing lots,[b] 36 and they sat on the ground and watched Him hang. 37 They placed a sign over His head: “This is Jesus, King of the Jews.” 38 And then they crucified two thieves next to Him, one at His right hand and one at His left hand.
39 Passersby shouted curses and blasphemies at Jesus. They wagged their heads at Him and hissed.
Passersby: 40 You’re going to destroy the temple and then rebuild it in three days? Why don’t You start with saving Yourself? Come down from the cross if You can, if You’re God’s Son.
Chief Priests, Scribes, and Elders (mocking Him): 41-42 He saved others, but He can’t save Himself. If He’s really the King of Israel, then let Him climb down from the cross—then we’ll believe Him. 43 He claimed communion with God—well, let God save Him, if He’s God’s beloved Son.
44 Even the thieves hanging to His right and left poured insults upon Him. 45 And then, starting at noon, the entire land became dark. It was dark for three hours. 46 In the middle of the dark afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice.
Jesus: Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani—My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?[c]
Bystanders: 47 He’s calling on Elijah.
48 One bystander grabbed a sponge, steeped it in vinegar, stuck it on a reed, and gave Jesus the vinegar to drink.
Others: 49 We’ll see—we’ll see if Elijah is going to come and rescue Him.
50 And then Jesus cried out once more, loudly, and then He breathed His last breath. 51 At that instant, the temple curtain was torn in half, from top to bottom. The earth shook; rocks split in two; 52 tombs burst open, and bodies of many sleeping holy women and men were raised up. 53 After Jesus’ resurrection, they came out of their tombs, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and showed themselves to people.
54 When the Centurion and soldiers who had been charged with guarding Jesus felt the earthquake and saw the rocks splitting and the tombs opening, they were, of course, terrified.
Soldiers: He really was God’s Son.
55 A number of women, who had been devoted to Jesus and followed Him from Galilee, were present, too, watching from a distance. 56 Mary Magdalene was there, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
57 At evening time, a rich man from Arimathea arrived. His name was Joseph, and he had become a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked to be given Jesus’ body; Pilate assented and ordered his servants to turn Jesus’ body over to Joseph. 59 So Joseph took the body, wrapped Jesus in a clean sheath of white linen, 60 and laid Jesus in his own new tomb, which he had carved from a rock. Then he rolled a great stone in front of the tomb’s opening, and he went away. 61 Mary Magdalene was there, and so was the other Mary. They sat across from the tomb, watching, remembering.
62 The next day, which is the day after the Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went together to Pilate. 63 They reminded him that when Jesus was alive He had claimed that He would be raised from the dead after three days.
Chief Priests and Pharisees: 64 So please order someone to secure the tomb for at least three days. Otherwise His disciples might sneak in and steal His body away, and then claim that He has been raised from the dead. If that happens, then we would have been better off just leaving Him alive.
Pilate: 65 You have a guard. Go and secure the grave.
66 So they went to the tomb, sealed the stone in its mouth, and left the guard to keep watch.
28 After the Sabbath, as the light of the next day, the first day of the week, crept over Palestine, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb to keep vigil. 2 Earlier there had been an earthquake. A messenger of the Lord had come down from heaven and had gone to the grave. He rolled away the stone and sat down on top of it. 3 He veritably glowed. He was vibrating with light. His clothes were light, white like transfiguration, like fresh snow. 4 The soldiers guarding the tomb were terrified. They froze like stone.
5 The messenger spoke to the women, to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary.
Messenger of the Lord: Don’t be afraid. I know you are here keeping watch for Jesus who was crucified. 6 But Jesus is not here. He was raised, just as He said He would be. Come over to the grave, and see for yourself. 7 And then go straight to His disciples, and tell them He’s been raised from the dead and has gone on to Galilee. You’ll find Him there. Listen carefully to what I am telling you.
8 The women were both terrified and thrilled, and they quickly left the tomb and went to find the disciples and give them this outstandingly good news. 9 But while they were on their way, they saw Jesus Himself.
Jesus (greeting the women): Rejoice.
The women fell down before Him, kissing His feet and worshiping Him.
Jesus: 10 Don’t be afraid. Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee. Tell them I will meet them there.
11 As the women were making their way to the disciples, some of the soldiers who had been standing guard by Jesus’ tomb recovered themselves, went to the city, and told the chief priests everything that had happened—the earthquake just after dawn, the heavenly messenger, and his commission to the Marys. 12 The chief priests gathered together all the elders, an emergency conference of sorts. They needed a plan. They decided the simplest course was bribery: they would pay off the guards 13 and order them to say that the disciples had come in the middle of the night and had stolen Jesus’ corpse while they slept. 14 The chief priests promised the soldiers they would run interference with the governor so that the soldiers wouldn’t be punished for falling asleep when they were supposed to be keeping watch. 15 The guards took the bribe and spread the story around town—and indeed, you can still find people today who will tell you that Jesus did not really rise from the dead, that it was a trick, some sort of sleight of hand.
16 The eleven disciples, having spoken to the Marys, headed to Galilee, to the mountain where they were to meet Jesus. 17 When the disciples saw Jesus there, many of them fell down and worshiped, as Mary and the other Mary had done. But a few hung back. They were not sure (and who can blame them?). 18 Jesus came forward and addressed His beloved disciples.
The disciples don’t know what to think or how to act. Nothing like this has ever happened before.
Jesus: I am here speaking with all the authority of God, who has commanded Me to give you this commission: 19 Go out and make disciples in all the nations. Ceremonially wash them through baptism in the name of the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 20 Then disciple them. Form them in the practices and postures that I have taught you, and show them how to follow the commands I have laid down for you. And I will be with you, day after day, to the end of the age.
When Mark writes in the first chapter about a mysterious man entering the scene, instantly the reader recognizes there’s something very different about Jesus. He comes into the picture not as a rock star but rather as someone humble, kind, and yet, still kingly. Mark describes the people who are drawn toward this man as regular people who have become affected by the character, passion, and light of this strange Galilean.
Maybe that’s why Mark jumps right into the action of Jesus’ story. He offers little by way of introduction. He writes nothing about Jesus’ family tree. Unlike Matthew and Luke, he doesn’t mention His birth. Mark’s retelling begins with Scripture and the preaching of John the Baptist who calls people to repent. Like all the greats of history, Jesus doesn’t just arrive—He is announced—and who better than John to do that? Right before Jesus makes His entrance into Mark’s narrative, John says, “I’ve washed you here with water, but when He gets here, He will wash you in the Spirit of God.”
1 This is the beginning of the good news of Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King, the Son of God.
2 Isaiah the prophet told us what would happen before He came:
Watch, I will send My messenger in front of You
to prepare Your way and make it clear and straight.[d]
3 You’ll hear him, a voice crying in the wilderness,
“Prepare the way of the Eternal One,
a straight way in the wandering desert, a highway for our God.”[e]
4 That messenger was John the Baptist,[f] who appeared in the desert near the Jordan River preaching that people should be ritually cleansed through baptism with water as a sign of both their changed hearts[g] and God’s forgiveness of their sins. 5 People from across the countryside of Judea and from the city of Jerusalem came to him and confessed that they were deeply flawed and needed help, so he cleansed[h] them with the waters of the Jordan. 6 John dressed as some of the Hebrew prophets had, in clothes made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. He made his meals in the desert from locusts and wild honey. 7 He preached a message in the wilderness.
John the Baptist: Someone is coming who is a lot more powerful than I am—One whose sandals I’m not worthy to bend down and untie. 8 I’ve washed you here through baptism[i] with water; but when He gets here, He will wash[j] you in the Spirit of God.
The Jordan River is the setting of some of the most memorable miracles in the Old Testament. On their journey through the wilderness to the promised land, the Israelites walked across the Jordan River on dry ground because God parted its waters. Elisha, one of the prophets of God, healed Naaman by telling him to bathe seven times in its waters. Partly because of miracles like these and partly because of a growing wilderness spirituality, many of the Jews in John’s day are out to hear him and be ritually baptized in the Jordan’s cool, cleansing waters. They are looking for God to intervene miraculously in their lives as He has done in the past. What they don’t know is that God is about to intervene, for at that time Jesus leaves Nazareth and heads south.
9 It was in those days that Jesus left Nazareth (a village in the region of Galilee) and came down to the Jordan, and John cleansed Him through baptism there in the same way all the others were ritually cleansed. 10 But as Jesus was coming out of the waters, He looked up and saw the sky split open. The Spirit of God descended upon Him like a dove, 11 and a voice echoed in the heavens.
Voice: You are My Son,[k] My beloved One, and I am very pleased with You.
12 After that the Spirit compelled Him to go into the wilderness, 13 and there in the desert He stayed for 40 days. He was tested by Satan himself and surrounded by wild animals; but through these trials, heavenly messengers cared for Him and ministered to Him.
14 After John was arrested by Herod, who ruled the Jewish lands on behalf of Roman interests, Jesus went back into the region of Galilee and began to proclaim the good news of God.
Jesus: 15 It’s time! The kingdom of God is near! Seek forgiveness, change your actions,[l] and believe this good news!
16 As Jesus walked along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He met the first of His disciples, two brothers, Simon and Andrew, both fishermen who were casting their fishing net into the shallow waters.
Jesus: 17 Come and follow Me, and I’ll send you to catch people instead of fish.
18 Simon and Andrew left their nets and followed Jesus at once.
19 When He had walked a little farther, He saw the sons of Zebedee, James and John, in their boat repairing their nets. 20 Right away He called to them, and they dropped what they were doing and left their father Zebedee and the hired men aboard the boat to follow Him as His disciples.
21 They came at last to the village of Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee; and on the Sabbath Day, Jesus went straight into a synagogue, sat down, and began to teach. 22 The people looked at each other, amazed, because this strange teacher acted as One authorized by God, and what He taught affected them in ways their own scribes’ teachings could not. 23 Just then a man in the gathering who was overcome by an unclean spirit shouted.
Unclean Spirit: 24 What are You doing here, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I can see who You are! You’re the Holy One of God.
Jesus (rebuking him): 25 Be quiet, and come out of him now!
26 The man’s body began to shake and shudder; and then, howling, the spirit flew out of the man. 27 The people couldn’t stop talking about what they had seen.
People: Who is this Jesus? This is a new teaching—and it has such authority! Even the unclean spirits obey His commands!
28 It wasn’t long before news of Jesus spread over the countryside of Galilee.
29 Right after they left the synagogue, Jesus went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 They told Him about Simon’s mother-in-law who was there in bed, sick and feverish. 31 Jesus went to her side, took her hand, and lifted her up. As soon as He touched her, the fever left her and she felt well again—strong enough to bustle around the house taking care of her visitors.
32 Just before night fell, others had gathered all the sick, diseased, and demon-infested people they could find. 33 It seemed as if the whole town had gathered at Simon and Andrew’s door. 34 Jesus was kept busy healing people of every sort of ailment and casting out unclean spirits. He was very careful not to let the demons speak because they knew Him and could reveal to the people who He really was.
35 Early in the morning, Jesus got up, left the house while it was still dark outside, and went to a deserted place to pray. 36 Simon and the others traveling with Jesus looked for Him. 37 They finally tracked Him down.
Whenever possible, Jesus seeks out solitude so He can pray and meditate. Jesus reveals His humanity. In these silent and reflective moments, He seems to refuel mentally, physically, and spiritually because Jesus hears His Father speak during His time alone. Throughout Jesus’ ministry on earth, hearing from His Father seems to help Him focus on the mission at hand: redemption.
People: Everybody wants to know where You are!
Jesus: 38 It’s time we went somewhere else—the next village, maybe—so I can tell more people the good news about the kingdom of God. After all, that’s the reason I’m here.
39 So He traveled to the next village and the one after that, throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and casting out unclean spirits.
Jesus is confronted with a man who has leprosy—a skin disease that makes him ritually unclean according to Jewish law. This creates a problem with the authorities.
40 A leper walked right up to Jesus, dropped to his knees, and begged Him for help.
Leper: If You want to, You can make me clean.
41 Jesus was powerfully moved. He reached out and actually touched the leper.
Jesus: I do want to. Be clean.
42 And at that very moment, the disease left him; the leper was cleansed and made whole once again. 43 Jesus sent him away, but first He warned him strongly.
Jesus: 44 Don’t tell anybody how this happened. Just go and show yourself to the priest so that he can certify you’re clean. Perform the ceremony prescribed by Moses as proof of your cleansing, and then you may return home.
45 The man talked everywhere about how Jesus had healed him, until Jesus could no longer come into a town openly without the risk of being mobbed. So He remained on the outskirts. Even so, people still sought Him out from far and wide.
2 1-2 Some days later when Jesus came back to Capernaum, people heard that Jesus was back in town and many gathered at the house where He was staying. Soon the crowd overflowed from the house into the streets, and still more people pressed forward to hear Jesus teaching the message of God’s kingdom. 3 Four men tried to bring a crippled friend to Him; 4 but since the crowd prevented their carrying him close enough to get Jesus’ attention, they climbed up onto the roof, opened a hole in it, and lowered the paralyzed man on his mat down to Jesus.
5 Jesus recognized the faith of these men.
Jesus (to the paralyzed man): Son, your sins are forgiven.
6-7 Some scribes were sitting in the crowd, and they didn’t like what they were hearing.
Scribes (reasoning to themselves): What does this Jesus think He is doing? This kind of talk is blasphemy, an offense against the Most High! Only God can forgive sins.
8 At once Jesus realized what they were thinking. He turned to them.
Jesus: Why do My words trouble you so? 9 Think about this: is it easier to tell this paralyzed man, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to tell him, “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk”? 10 Still, I want to show you that the Son of Man has been given the authority on earth to forgive sins. (to the paralytic) 11 Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.
12 The man rose to his feet, immediately rolled up his mat, and walked out into the streets. Everyone in the crowd was amazed. All they could do was shake their heads, thank God for this miracle, and say to each other, “We’ve never seen anything like that!”
To some who believe wholeheartedly in God’s laws, Jesus is a troublemaker, a mere man who has a bad habit of making statements that take away from the honor due to the one true God. The “scribes” who make these kinds of accusations against Jesus are usually connected to the Pharisees (a Jewish sect popular with the people, mostly middle class, and religiously strict when it comes to following God’s laws) or the Sadducees (a smaller Jewish sect made up of priests and aristocrats from Jerusalem). While the two groups often clash with each other politically and theologically, they do find common ground—and sometimes even work together—in opposing Jesus.
13 Another time Jesus was out walking alongside the Sea of Galilee teaching the gathering crowd as He went. 14 He saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the booth where he collected taxes.
Jesus (calling out to him): Follow Me.
Levi left the booth and went along with Him.
Jesus’ invitation to follow Him, like His invitations to all the disciples, involves a lot more than joining the caravan; Jesus’ invitation is for sinners to change their ways of life. Jesus makes it clear, despite the criticisms of some observers, that this invitation is indeed open to all—especially to the sinners who need it most. Jesus grants to those who choose Him not just companionship and forgiveness but the ability to truly receive a new identity and live a new life.
15 At Levi’s house, many tax collectors and other sinners—Jews who did not keep the strict purity laws of the Jewish holy texts—were dining with Jesus and His disciples. Jesus had attracted such a large following that all kinds of people surrounded Him. 16 When the Pharisees’ scribes saw who shared the table with Jesus, they were quick to criticize:
Scribes (to His disciples): If your master is such a righteous person, then why does He eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners, the worst among us?
17 Jesus heard them.
Jesus (to the scribes): People who have their health don’t need to see a doctor. Only those who are sick do. I’m not here to call those already in good standing with God; I’m here to call sinners to turn back to Him.[m]
18 The disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees made a practice of fasting.
Some Jews fast twice a week and pray three times daily, but Jesus has a different set of practices for His followers. Some of the pious are disturbed by this.
Some People (to Jesus): Why is it that John’s followers and the Pharisees’ followers fast, but Your disciples are eating and drinking like it was any other day?
Jesus: 19 Guests at the wedding can’t fast when the bridegroom is with them. It would be wrong to do anything but feast. 20 When the bridegroom is snatched away from them, then the time will come to fast and mourn.
21 These are new things I’m teaching, and they can’t be reconciled with old habits. Nobody would ever use a piece of new cloth to patch an old garment because when the patch shrinks, it pulls away and makes the tear even worse. 22 And nobody puts new, unfermented wine into old wineskins because if he does, the wine will burst the skins; they would lose both the wineskins and the wine. No, the only appropriate thing is to put new wine into new wineskins.
23 One Sabbath Jesus and His disciples were walking through a field of grain; as they walked, His disciples grew hungry. They began to pull from the stalks and eat.
24 The Pharisees confronted Him.
Pharisees: Did You see that? Why are Your disciples doing what our law forbids on the Sabbath?
Jesus (turning toward the Pharisees): 25 Do you remember the story about what King David and his followers did when they were hungry and had nothing to eat?
They said nothing, so He continued.
Jesus: 26 David went into the house of God, when Abiathar was the high priest, and ate the bread that was consecrated to God. Now our laws say no one but the priests can eat that holy bread; but when David was hungry, he ate and also shared the bread with those who followed him.[n]
27 The Sabbath was made for the needs of human beings, and not the other way around. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even over the Sabbath.
3 On the Sabbath, Jesus had come into a synagogue where He saw a man with a withered hand.
2 The Pharisees held their breath: would Jesus cure this man on the Sabbath, right there in front of everyone? If so, they could charge Him with breaking the Sabbath law. 3 Jesus knew their hearts. He called to the man with the withered hand.
Jesus: Come to Me.
4 Then He turned to the Pharisees with a question.
Jesus: Do our laws tell us to do good or evil on the Sabbath? To save life, or to snuff it out?
They remained silent.
5 Jesus was furious as He looked out over the crowd, and He was grieved by their hard hearts.
How can anyone care so much about the words of the law and so little about the spirit of it?
Jesus (to the man with the withered hand): So be it. Stretch out your hand.
The man stretched forth his hand; and as he did, it was completely healed. 6 The Pharisees went directly from the synagogue to consult with the supporters of Herod, the Romans’ puppet ruler, about how they could get rid of this dangerous dreamer.
7 Meanwhile Jesus and His followers traveled to the shore of the Sea of Galilee; as always, a huge crowd from Galilee and Judea gathered. 8 People had come from miles to see this man they were hearing so much about. They came from the big cities, including Jerusalem of Judea, Tyre and Sidon of Phoenicia, and from the region of Idumea, south of Judea. 9-10 Since Jesus had healed so many, the sick and the infirm pushed forward constantly to touch Him, to be healed, and to ask His blessing. The crowd pressed so closely around Jesus that He asked His disciples to get a boat He could board if the crush became too great.
11 Most wanted to be near Him, except for those possessed by unclean spirits. Those people fell down before Him.
Unclean Spirits: You are the Son of God.
12 But He ordered them not to reveal His true identity.
13 Jesus called together a select group of His followers and led them up onto a mountain. 14 There He commissioned them the twelve. [Later He calls them His emissaries.][o] He wanted them to be with Him. He sent them out to spread the good news 15 and to cast out evil spirits [and heal diseases].[p] 16 Here are the names of the original twelve: Simon (whom Jesus called Peter, meaning “the rock”), 17 James and John (the sons of Zebedee, whom Jesus called “the Sons of Thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew (the tax collector, also called Levi), Thomas, James (the son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon of Canaan (who was also called “the Zealot”), 19 and Judas Iscariot (who one day would betray Jesus to the authorities in Jerusalem so God’s purpose could be fulfilled).
20 Jesus and His disciples went into a house to eat, but so many people pressed in to see Jesus that they could not be served. 21 When Jesus’ family heard about this craziness, they went to drag Him out of that place.
Jesus’ Family (to one another): Jesus has lost His mind.
22 The scribes, for their part, came down from Jerusalem and spread the slander that Jesus was in league with the devil.
Scribes: That’s how He casts out demons. He’s casting them out by the power of Beelzebul—the ancient Philistine god—the prince of demons.
23 When Jesus heard this, He tried to reason with them using parables.
Jesus: Listen. How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 A kingdom that makes war against itself will collapse. 25 A household divided against itself cannot stand. 26 If Satan opposes himself, he cannot stand and is finished.
27 If you want to break into the house of a strong man and plunder it, you have to bind him first. Then you can do whatever you want with his possessions. 28 Listen, the truth is that people can be forgiven of almost anything. God has been known to forgive many things, even blasphemy. 29 But speaking evil of the Spirit of God is an unforgivable sin that will follow you into eternity.
30 He said this because the scribes were telling people that Jesus got His power from dark forces instead of from God.
Popularity is often a dangerous thing, particularly in a land occupied by Roman soldiers. As Jesus’ ministry grows, some of His friends and family start to get nervous: they wonder if He has “lost His mind” entirely. They just can’t understand what is happening and why He is so important. It doesn’t seem right—the boy next door from Nazareth receiving so much attention. In fact, they are so uncomfortable with it that they decide to intervene and take Him home.
But Jesus’ family isn’t the only group concerned about Him. The Pharisees are doing their best to spread doubt about His authority with the worst accusations possible: His power to heal comes from the devil himself. They are attacking Him publicly and questioning His identity as the Anointed One.
31 When Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived, they couldn’t break through the crowd, so they sent word in to Jesus that He should come out to them. 32 The crowd was pressed in tight around Him when He received the message, “Your mother and brothers [and sisters][q] are waiting outside for You.”
33 Jesus looked around.
Jesus (answering them): Who are My mother and brothers?
He called into the silence. No one spoke.
34 At last His gaze swept across those gathered close, and Jesus smiled.
Jesus: You, here, are My mother and My brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is My true family.
4 1-2 Jesus went out again to teach by the Sea of Galilee. When the crowd became unmanageable, He climbed aboard a boat and sat down to teach the people listening on the shore by telling them parables. One of His teachings went like this:
Jesus: 3 Listen! A farmer went out and sowed his seed. 4 As he scattered it, one seed fell along the hardened path, and a bird flapped down and snapped it up. 5 One seed fell onto rocky places where the soil was thin, so it sprang up quickly. 6 But when the hot sun scorched the fragile stems and leaves, the seedling withered because its roots didn’t go deep in the soil. 7 One of the seeds fell among the weeds and thorns, which crowded the seedling out of producing a crop. 8 And the rest of the seeds fell in good, rich soil. When they sprouted, the plants grew and produced a crop 30, 60, even 100 times larger than expected for every seed that the farmer had sown.
9 All who have ears to hear, let them listen.
10 When they were alone, the twelve and others close to Him asked why He always taught in parables instead of explaining His teachings clearly.
Jesus: 11 God has let you in on the inside story regarding the workings of the Kingdom—the hidden meanings. But the crowds—I teach them in parables 12 as the prophet Isaiah predicted,
So that when they look, they see and yet do not understand.
When they hear, they listen and yet do not comprehend.
Otherwise, they might really turn and be forgiven.[r]
This makes the disciples scratch their heads. Why would He want to hide the truth from some people? His teachings are hard enough without putting them into parables.
13 Do you mean to say that you didn’t understand My parable of the sower? That was the key parable. If you don’t see what I was trying to teach there, how will you be able to understand any of the others?
14 The seed the farmer is sowing is the good news, God’s word. 15 Some people are the seed thrown onto the path, and the tempter snaps up the word before it can even take root. 16 Others are the seed thrown among the rocks. Those people hear the word and receive it immediately with joy and enthusiasm; 17 but without deep roots, doubt, trouble, or persecution instantly withers their faith. 18 Still others are the seed tossed among weeds and brambles. The word has reached them, 19 but the things of this life—the worries, the drive for more and more, the desire for other things—those things cluster around close and choke the life of God out of them until they cannot produce. 20 But those last seeds—those sown into good soil? Those people hear the word, accept it, meditate on it, act on it, and bear fruit—a crop 30, 60, or 100 times larger than the farmer dropped to earth.
Jesus’ teaching often includes parables: stories that explain the truth about the Kingdom with examples from everyday life. Considering that most of His listeners know about farming, it’s no wonder most of Jesus’ parables are based on agricultural realities.
Parables like this force Jesus’ listeners to think about the kingdom of God differently. He challenges their ideas, and He also knows they are unlikely to forget it. When they see farmers broadcasting their seeds, they will remember this parable and ponder the mysteries of the Kingdom. It never seems to bother Him that people are confused by His teaching. He doesn’t expect them to understand everything; He wants them to wrestle with His teachings so His words will sit in their hearts and germinate—much like the seed sitting in good soil that eventually grows to bear fruit.
Jesus: 21 When you bring a lamp into the house, do you put it under a box or stuff it under your bed? Or do you set it on top of a table or chest? 22 Those things that are hidden are meant to be revealed, and what is concealed is meant to be brought out where its light can shine.
23 All who have ears to hear, let them listen.
24 So consider carefully the things you’re hearing. If you put it to use, you’ll be given more to wrestle with—much more. 25 Those who have listened will receive more, but those who don’t hear will forget even the little they’ve failed to understand.
26 Here is what the kingdom of God is like: a man who throws seeds onto the earth. 27 Day and night, as he works and as he sleeps, the seeds sprout and climb out into the light, even though he doesn’t understand how it works. 28 It’s as though the soil itself produced the grain somehow—from a sprouted stalk to ripened fruit. 29 But however it happens, when he sees that the grain has grown and ripened, he gets his sickle and begins to cut it because the harvest has come.
30 What else is the kingdom of God like? What earthly thing can we compare it to? 31 The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, the tiniest seed you can sow. 32 But after that seed is planted, it grows into the largest plant in the garden, a plant so big that birds can build their nests in the shade of its branches.
33 Jesus spoke many parables like these to the people who followed Him. 34 This was the only way He taught them, although when He was alone with His chosen few, He interpreted all the stories so the disciples truly understood.
35 The same evening, Jesus suggested they cross over to the other side of the lake. 36 With Jesus already in the boat, they left the crowd behind and set sail along with a few other boats that followed. 37 As they sailed, a storm formed. The winds whipped up huge waves that broke over the bow, filling the boat with so much water that even the experienced sailors among them were sure they were going to sink.
38 Jesus was back in the stern of the boat, sound asleep on a cushion, when the disciples shook Him awake.
Disciples (shouting over the storm): Jesus, Master, don’t You care that we’re going to die?
39 He got up, shouted words into the wind, and commanded the waves.
Jesus: That’s enough! Be still!
And immediately the wind died down to nothing, the waves stopped.
Jesus: 40 How can you be so afraid? After all you’ve seen, where is your faith?
41 The disciples were still afraid, slowly coming to grips with what they had seen.
Disciples (to one another): Who is this Jesus? How can it be that He has power over even the wind and the waves?
For most of Jesus’ miracles, the disciples are observers: they watch Him healing the sick, raising dead bodies, and casting demons out of strangers. This time, however, it is the disciples—and even Jesus Himself—who are in danger. Maybe that’s why they are having such a hard time trusting that His power is greater than their situation.
They have seen Him cast out demons. They know He has powers that are not of natural origin. But they have never seen—or even heard of—anything like this. It’s one thing to heal human sickness or even to order demons around. But to order the waves and the wind? To command the sea and the storm? That’s a miracle of an entirely different order.
5 They traveled across the sea to the land of Gerasa[s] in Galilee. 2-3 When Jesus came ashore there, He was immediately met by a man who was tortured by an evil spirit. This man lived in the cemeteries, and no one could control him—not even those who tried to tie him up or chain him. 4 He had often been bound in chains, but his strength was so great that he could break the chains and tear the irons loose from his feet and hands. No one and nothing could subdue him. 5 Day and night, he lurked among the tombs or ran mad in the hills, and the darkness made him scream or cut himself with sharp-edged stones. 6 When this man saw Jesus coming in the distance, he ran to Him and fell to his knees in front of Him. 7-8 Jesus started commanding the unclean spirit.
Jesus: Come out of that man, you wicked spirit!
Unclean Spirit (shouting): What’s this all about, Jesus, Son of the Most High? In the name of God, I beg You—don’t torture me!
Jesus: 9 What is your name?
Unclean Spirit: They call me “Legion,” for there are thousands of us in this body.
10 And then Legion begged Jesus again to leave them alone, not to send them out of the country.
11 Since the Gerasenes were not Jews (who considered pigs to be unclean), there happened to be a large herd of swine, some 2,000 of them, feeding on the hill nearby.
Unclean Spirit (begging): 12 Send us into those pigs if You have to, so that we may enter into them.
13 Jesus granted the request. The darkness swept up out of the man and into the herd of pigs. And then they thundered down the hill into the water; and there they drowned, all 2,000 of them.
14 The swineherds ran away, telling everybody they met what had happened. Eventually a crowd of people came to see for themselves. 15 When they reached Jesus, they found the man Legion had afflicted sitting quietly, sane and fully clothed; when they saw this, they were overwhelmed with fear and wonder.
16 Those who had witnessed everything told the others what had happened: how Jesus had healed the man, how the pigs had rushed into the sea, and how they had destroyed themselves. 17 When they had heard the whole story, the Gerasenes turned to Jesus and begged Him to go away.
18 When Jesus climbed back into the boat, the cured demoniac asked if he could come and be with Him, but Jesus said no.
Jesus: 19 Stay here; I want you to go back home to your own people and let them see what the Lord has done—how He has had mercy on you.
20 So the man went away and began telling this news in the Ten Cities[t] region; wherever he went, people were amazed by what he told them.
This is the only time in the Gospels when Jesus seems to listen to the pleading of a demon or a demon-possessed person. The demons immediately acknowledge Jesus as all-powerful; the possessed man’s first reaction on seeing Jesus is to fall at His feet and call Him the “Son of the Most High.” Although we can’t know why Jesus listens to their pleading, the effect is clear: the people in that region see firsthand the power of evil and its ultimate destiny, namely, destruction.
Instead of being pleased that they are now free from the terror of the demon-possessed man, the people in the town ask Jesus to leave. After all, the local economy takes a pretty big hit when 2,000 of their choicest pigs rush into the sea.
21 After Jesus returned across the sea, a large crowd quickly found Him, so He stayed by the sea. 22 One of the leaders of the synagogue—a man named Jairus—came and fell at Jesus’ feet, 23 begging Him to heal his daughter.
Jairus: My daughter is dying, and she’s only 12 years old. Please come to my house. Just place Your hands on her. I know that if You do, she will live.
24 Jesus began traveling with Jairus toward his home.
In the crowd pressing around Jesus, 25 there was a woman who had suffered continuous bleeding for 12 years, bleeding that made her ritually unclean and an outcast according to the purity laws. 26 She had suffered greatly; and although she spent all her money on her medical care, she had only gotten worse. 27 She had heard of this Miracle-Man, Jesus, so she snuck up behind Him in the crowd and reached out her hand to touch His cloak.
Woman (to herself): 28 Even if all I touch are His clothes, I know I will be healed.
29 As soon as her fingers brushed His cloak, the bleeding stopped. She could feel that she was whole again.
30 Lots of people were pressed against Jesus at that moment, but He immediately felt her touch; He felt healing power flow out of Him.
He stopped. Everyone stopped. He looked around.
Jesus: Who just touched My robe?
31 His disciples broke the uneasy silence.
Disciples: Jesus, the crowd is so thick that everyone is touching You. Why do You ask, “Who touched Me?”
32 But Jesus waited. His gaze swept across the crowd to see who had done it. 33 At last, the woman—knowing He was talking about her—pushed forward and dropped to her knees. She was shaking with fear and amazement.
Woman: I touched You.
Then she told Him the reason why. 34 Jesus listened to her story.
Jesus: Daughter, you are well because you dared to believe. Go in peace, and stay well.
Jesus occasionally instigates His own miracles: He goes up to someone, such as a paralyzed man, and offers to heal him. More often, as in the case of Jairus’s daughter, people come to Jesus and ask for healings. But the woman in this story is unique because she receives her healing without asking for it—simply by touching Jesus in faith. He is surrounded by crowds pressing in on every side, but Jesus feels that one person’s touch is different, in a way that only He can perceive: one woman is touching Him deliberately, in hope and faith, knowing He has the power to heal her.
35 While He was speaking, some members of Jairus’s household pushed through the crowd.
Jairus’s Servants (to Jairus): Your daughter is dead. There’s no need to drag the Teacher any farther.
36 Jesus overheard their words. Then He turned to look at Jairus.
Jesus: It’s all right. Don’t be afraid; just believe.
37-38 Jesus asked everyone but Peter, James, and John (James’s brother) to remain outside when they reached Jairus’s home. Inside the synagogue leader’s house, the mourning had already begun; the weeping and wailing carried out into the street.
39 Jesus and His three disciples went inside.
Jesus: Why are you making all this sorrowful noise? The child isn’t dead. She’s just sleeping.
40 The mourners laughed a horrible, bitter laugh and went back to their wailing. Jesus cleared the house so that only His three disciples, Jairus, and Jairus’s wife were left inside with Him. They all went to where the child lay. 41 Then He took the child’s hand.
Jesus: Little girl, it’s time to wake up.
42 Immediately the 12-year-old girl opened her eyes, arose, and began to walk. Her parents could not believe their eyes.
Jesus (to the parents): 43 Don’t tell anybody what you’ve just seen. Why don’t you give her something to eat? I know she is hungry.
Jesus at last arrives at the miracle He was asked to perform: the healing of Jairus’s daughter. But He is too late—the girl is already dead. Although Jesus later raises other dead people back to life, up to this point He has not yet performed such a powerful miracle. No one has an inkling of His power over the forces of life and death. He allows only His closest disciples to see this first miracle of resurrection, and He urges everyone who sees it to keep it quiet. Nevertheless, it is this miracle that first demonstrates to those who see it that He does indeed have power over death itself.
6 Jesus went back into His own hometown where He had grown up, and His disciples followed Him there. 2 When the Sabbath came, He went into the synagogue in Nazareth and began to teach as He had done elsewhere, and many of those who heard Him were astonished.
Those in the Synagogue: Where did He gain this wisdom? And what are all these stories we’ve been hearing about the signs and healings He’s performed? Where did He get that kind of power? 3 Isn’t this Jesus, the little boy we used to see in Joseph’s carpenter shop? Didn’t He grow up to be a carpenter just like His father? Isn’t He the son of Mary over there and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, Simon, and their sisters? Who does He think He is?
And when they had thought about it that way, they became indignant and closed themselves to His message.
Jesus (seeing this): 4 A prophet can find honor anywhere except in his hometown, among his own people, and in his own household.
5 He could not do any of His great works among them except with a few of the sick, whom He healed by laying His hands upon them. 6 He was amazed by the stubbornness of their unbelief.
Jesus went out among the villages teaching, 7 and He called the twelve to Him and began to send them out in pairs. He gave them authority over unclean spirits 8 and instructed them to take nothing with them but a staff: no money, no bread, no bag, 9 nothing but the sandals on their feet and the coat[u] on their back.
Jesus: 10 When you go into a house, stay there until it is time for you to leave that town. 11 And if someone will not accept you and your message, when you leave, shake off the dust of that place from your feet as a judgment against it. [On the day of judgment, that city will wish for the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah.][v]
12 And so His disciples went out into the countryside, preaching the changed life[w] as Jesus had taught them, 13 casting out unclean spirits and anointing the sick with oil to heal them.
14 Jesus had become so well known that King Herod received reports of all that Jesus was doing. Some were saying[x] that John the Baptist[y] had been raised from the dead and that these mighty works were the fruits of his resurrection.
Others (disagreeing): 15 No, this Jesus is Elijah, returned to work on the earth.
And still others said He was another of the prophets.
Herod (to himself): 16 No, it is John, the prophet I beheaded, risen from the dead.
For the blood of John was on his hands. 17-18 Herod had imprisoned John in the days before Jesus began His teaching. John had preached to Herod that he should not have married his own brother’s wife, Herodias, for so it is written in the Hebrew Scriptures: “It is not lawful for one to marry his brother’s wife.”[z]
19 Herodias held a grudge against John and would have had him killed, but she couldn’t. 20 Herod feared John as a holy and righteous man and did what he could to protect him. John taught hard truths,[aa] and yet Herod found he usually liked hearing them.
So Herod had put John in prison instead of executing him; 21-22 and there John sat until Herod’s birthday, when the governor held a great state dinner. That night, Herod’s stepdaughter danced beautifully for the state officials; and the king proclaimed a solemn vow in the presence of his honored guests, military officers, and some of the leading men of Galilee.
Herod: Ask me whatever you wish, and I will grant it. 23 Whatever you want, I will give you—up to half my province.
24 She went out and consulted with her mother, Herodias, who had only one great desire and told her daughter what she must say.
Herod’s Stepdaughter (immediately, in response to Herod): 25 I want the head of John the Baptist[ab]—right now—delivered to me on a platter.
26 Herod was horrified, but he had sworn an oath and could not break his word in front of his invited guests. 27 So immediately he sent an executioner to the prison to behead John and bring them the head. 28 It was brought to the girl upon a platter, and she took it to her mother.
29 When John’s disciples were told of this, they came for his body and gave it a proper burial.
30 Now the twelve returned from their travels and told Him what they had done, whom they had seen, and how they had spread the news of God’s kingdom.
Jesus (to the disciples): 31 Let us go out into the wilderness for a while and rest ourselves.
The crowds gathered as always, and Jesus and the twelve couldn’t eat because so many people came and went. 32 They could get no peace until they boarded a boat and sailed toward a deserted place.
33 But the people would not be put off so easily. Those along the shore who recognized Jesus followed along the coast. People pushed out of all the cities and gathered ahead of Him 34 so that when Jesus came ashore and saw this crowd of people waiting for Him in a place that should have been relatively deserted, He was moved with compassion. They were like sheep without a shepherd.
He began to teach them many things 35 as the day passed; at last the disciples came to Jesus.
Disciples: It is getting late, and there is nothing around for miles. 36 Send these people to the surrounding villages so they can buy something to eat.
Jesus: 37 Why don’t you give them something to eat?
Disciples (looking at Him): What? It would cost a fortune[ac] to buy bread for these people!
Jesus: 38 Does anyone have any bread? Go and see.
Disciples (returning from the crowd): There are five pieces of flatbread and two fish, if that makes any difference.
Jesus: 39-40 Listen, tell them to gather in smaller groups and sit on that green patch of grass.
And so the disciples gathered the people in groups of 100 or of 50, and they sat down.
41 Jesus took the five pieces of flatbread and the two fish, looked up to heaven, thanked God for the food, and broke it. He gave the pieces to the disciples to distribute, 42 and all of the people ate until no one was hungry. 43 Then they gathered twelve baskets full of leftovers.
44 That day, 5,000 men ate their fill of the bread when Jesus fed the hungry crowd.
The disciples pull Jesus aside to point out the obvious: everyone needs to go and eat something.
But Jesus, as usual, isn’t about to be distracted by the obvious. His answer must irritate them even further: “Why don’t you give them something to eat?” Jesus is seeing a much bigger reality. He is deliberately creating a turning point in His ministry: He wants to make them a part of His miracles. From recorders and observers, they will become participants. And so the disciples, not Jesus, tell the people to sit down, pass out the food, and collect the leftovers after everyone has eaten until they are stuffed. The disciples must feel pretty sheepish as they experience how Jesus is making them a part of the miracle—despite their mundane concerns and their frustrations with Him.
45 Not long after, He sent His disciples out onto their boat to sail to Bethsaida on the other shore, and He sent the crowd away. 46 After everyone had gone, He slipped away to pray on a mountain overlooking the sea.
47 When evening came, the boat was out on the sea and He was alone on the land. 48 He saw that the disciples were making little progress because they were rowing against a stiff wind. Before daylight He came near them, walking on the water, and would have passed by them. 49 Some of them saw Him walking on the surface of the water, thought He was a ghost, and cried out. 50 When they all saw Him, they were terrified.
Jesus (immediately calling out): Don’t be frightened. Do you see? It is I.
51 He walked across the water to the boat; and as soon as He stepped aboard, the contrary wind ceased its blowing. They were greatly astonished; 52 although they had just witnessed the miracle of Jesus feeding 5,000 with bread and fish, and other signs besides, they didn’t understand what it all meant and their hearts remained hard.
How can the disciples still be in doubt about Jesus after having been part of so many miracles? Like the Israelites in the Old Testament, the disciples are discovering the truth that miracles don’t produce faith. As Jesus so often points out, the process works the other way around: it’s faith that produces miracles. Miracles are only signs—evidence of truth that you have to know before the miracle. As long as the disciples are still in doubt about who Jesus is, they find their faith constantly challenged and frequently wavering. It will not be until after the resurrection, the greatest miracle of all, that they will come to recognize and believe in Jesus for who He is; and then their hearts will at last open.
53 When they finished their journey, they landed the boat in Gennesaret. 54 People at once recognized Jesus as the Healer. 55 Immediately they hurried to collect the sick and infirm—bringing them to Him in beds if they had to— 56 laying them out in the markets of any village, city, or field where He might pass.
Gennesarites: Just let us touch the fringe of Your robe.
Even the people who touched only it were made whole again.
7 Then the Pharisees returned to talk with Jesus, and with them came some of the scribes and scholars from Jerusalem.
Scribes and Scholars (seeing the disciples eating): 2 Your disciples are eating bread with defiled, unwashed hands.
3 Now you need to know that the Pharisees, and all Jews for that matter, held the tradition of their ancestors that hands must be washed before eating to avoid being ritually unclean. 4 Likewise, they washed when they returned from the market and followed similar purity teachings as well, from the washing of their food to the washing of their bowls, cups, and kettles.
Scribes and Pharisees: 5 Why don’t Your disciples follow the traditions passed down to us? Why do they eat their bread with defiled hands?
Jesus: 6 Isaiah prophesied wisely about your religious pretensions when he wrote,
These people honor Me with words off their lips;
meanwhile their hearts are far from Me.
7 Their worship is empty, void of true devotion.
They teach a human commandment, memorized and practiced by rote.[ad]
8 When you cling blindly to your own traditions [such as washing utensils and cups],[ae] you completely miss God’s command. 9 Then, indeed, you have perfected setting aside God’s commands for the sake of your tradition. 10 Moses gave you God’s commandment: “Honor your father and your mother.”[af] And also, “If you curse your father or your mother, you will be put to death.”[ag] 11 But you say to your aged parents, “I’ve decided that the support you were expecting from me will now be the holy offering set aside for God.” 12 After that he is not allowed to do anything for his parents. 13 Do you think God wants you to honor your traditions that you have passed down? This is only one of many places where you are blind. 14 (to the crowd that had gathered) Listen, all of you, to this teaching. I want you to understand. 15 There is nothing outside someone that can corrupt him. Only the things that come out of a person can corrupt him. [16 All who have ears to hear, let them listen.][ah]
17 When they had come in from the road, His disciples asked Him what He meant by this teaching.
Jesus: 18 Do you mean you don’t understand this one either? Whatever goes into people from outside can’t defile them 19 because it doesn’t go into their hearts. Outside things go through their guts and back out, thus making all foods pure.[ai] 20 No, it’s what comes from within that corrupts. 21-22 It’s what grows out of the hearts of people that leads to corruption: evil thoughts, immoral sex, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wicked acts, treachery, sensuality, jealousy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All of these come from within, and these are the sins that truly corrupt a person.
Although Mark specifically states that Jesus is overriding the Old Testament dietary laws and declaring all foods pure, it will be a long time before the disciples are willing to act on that message. One of the biggest controversies in the early church will be the question of dietary restrictions and how the Old Testament laws ought to be observed by Jewish and non-Jewish Christian believers. However, Jesus makes it clear in this passage that His main concern has nothing to do with what people eat. Instead, He is concerned about the hearts of His followers.
24 From there Jesus and His followers traveled to the region of Tyre [and Sidon][aj] on the Mediterranean coast. He hoped to slip unnoticed into a house, but people discovered His presence. 25 Shortly after He arrived, a woman whose daughter was filled with an unclean spirit heard that He was there, so she came directly to Him and prostrated herself at His feet.
26 The woman was not a Jew, but a Syrophoenician (a Greek) by birth. All the same, she came to Jesus and begged Him to cast the unclean spirit out of her daughter.
Jesus (shaking His head): 27 I must feed the children first. It would do no good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.
Syrophoenician Woman: 28 Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table may eat of the children’s crumbs.
Jesus (smiling and nodding): 29 This is a wise saying. Go back home. Your daughter is free of the spirit that troubled her.
30 And when she returned to her house, she discovered that it was as Jesus had told her. Her daughter lay on her bed, in her right mind, whole and healthy.
Although Jesus at first answers the Greek woman harshly, He ultimately responds to her request. By healing her daughter, He demonstrates that God’s loving presence has come to all people and not just to Jews. It’s one of the first glimpses in this Gospel of the truth that will become clearer later—the truth that, through Jesus, God is making all people, and not just one chosen nation, clean and whole.
31 Jesus traveled on His way through Tyre and Sidon, eventually returning to the region of the Sea of Galilee. From there He pressed on to the area of the Ten Cities.[ak] 32 Among the sick who were brought to Him was a man who was deaf and could barely speak at all, and those who brought him begged Jesus to lay His hands on the man. 33 Jesus took him aside from the crowd, alone, and touched his ears with His fingers. Then after spitting on His fingers, Jesus touched the man’s tongue. 34 Looking heavenward to God, Jesus sighed and commanded,
Jesus: Open up[al] and let this man speak.
35 [Immediately][am] the man could hear, his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. 36 Jesus ordered those who had witnessed this to tell no one; but the more He insisted, the more zealously people spread the word.
People (astonished): 37 He does everything so well! He even returns sound to the deaf and mute.
8 Once again a huge crowd had followed them, and they had nothing to eat. So Jesus called His disciples together.
Jesus: 2 These people have been with Me for three days without food. They’re hungry, and I am concerned for them. 3 If I try to send them home now, they’ll faint along the way because many of them have come a long, long way to hear and see Me.
Disciples: 4 Where can we find enough bread for these people in this desolate place?
Jesus: 5 How much bread do we have left?
Disciples: Seven rounds of flatbread.
6 So, as before, He commanded the people to sit down; and He took the rounds of flatbread, gave thanks for them, and broke them. His disciples took what He gave them and fed the people. 7 They also had a few small fish, which, after He had spoken a blessing, He likewise gave His followers to pass to the people. 8 When all had eaten their fill and they had gathered up the food that remained, seven baskets were full.
9 On this occasion, there were about 4,000 people who had eaten the food that Jesus provided. Jesus sent the crowd home; 10 then, immediately, He got into a boat with His disciples and sailed away. Upon their arrival in Dalmanutha in the district of Magdala, 11 they were met by Pharisees—ready with their questions and tests—seeking some sign from heaven that His teaching was from God.
Jesus (sighing with disappointment): 12 Why does this generation ask for a sign before they will believe? Believe Me when I say that you will not see one.
13 He left the Pharisees and sailed across to the other shore.
14 The disciples had forgotten to buy provisions, so they had only one round of flatbread among them. 15 Jesus took this moment to warn them.
Jesus: Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.
The disciples didn’t understand what Jesus was talking about and discussed it among themselves.
Some Disciples: 16 What?
Other Disciples: He’s saying this because we have run out of bread.
Jesus (overhearing them): 17-19 Why are you focusing on bread? Don’t you see yet? Don’t you understand? You have eyes—why don’t you see? You have ears—why don’t you hear? Are you so hard-hearted?
Don’t you remember when I broke the five rounds of flatbread among the 5,000? Tell Me, how many baskets of scraps were left over?
Disciples: Twelve.
Jesus: 20 And how many were left when I fed the 4,000 with seven rounds?
Disciples: Seven.
Jesus: 21 And still you don’t understand?
22 When they came into Bethsaida, a group brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged Him to touch the man and heal him. 23 So Jesus guided the man out of the village, away from the crowd; and He spat on the man’s eyes and touched them.
Jesus: What do you see?
Blind Man (opening his eyes): 24 I see people, but they look like trees—walking trees.
25 Jesus touched his eyes again; and when the man looked up, he could see everything clearly.
26 Jesus sent him away to his house.
Jesus (to the healed man): Don’t go into town yet. [And don’t tell anybody in town what happened here.][an]
Bethsaida is the hometown of at least three of Jesus’ emissaries—Peter, Andrew, and Philip—and possibly James and John as well. Jesus performs many miracles there, most notably the feeding of the 5,000. However, this miracle—the healing of the blind man—is the only miracle in all the Gospels that is done in stages instead of instantly.
Of course, there’s no way to know for sure why Jesus chooses to heal this man partly before He heals him entirely. Jesus frequently links faith, or lack of faith, with the healings. Bethsaida is a town He criticizes for its lack of faith (Matthew 11:21–22). So it’s likely He wants to demonstrate to His disciples that their inability to see His purpose can be healed, too, even if it takes time.
27 As He traveled with His disciples into the villages of Caesarea Philippi, He posed an important question to them.
Jesus: Who do the people say that I am?
28 They told Him about the great speculation concerning His identity.
Disciples: Some of them say You are John the Baptist,[ao] others say Elijah, while others say one of the prophets of old.
Jesus (pressing the question): 29 And who do you say that I am?
Peter: You are God’s Anointed, the Liberating King.
Jesus: 30 Don’t tell anyone. It is not yet time.
31 And He went on to teach them many things about Himself: how the Son of Man would suffer; how He would be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes; how He would be killed; and how, after three days, God would raise Him from the dead.
32 He said all these things in front of them all, but Peter took Jesus aside to rebuke Him.
Peter represents the best and worst in humanity. One day, Peter drops everything to become a follower of Jesus; the next, he’s busy putting his foot in his mouth. Peter is always responding to Jesus, frequently making mistakes, but never drifting far from Jesus’ side. In this passage, Peter verbalizes God’s word and Satan’s temptation—almost in the same breath. Peter thinks he understands who Jesus is, but he still has a lot to learn about what Jesus has come to do.
Jesus (seeing His disciples surrounding them): 33 Get behind Me, you tempter! You’re thinking only of human things, not of the things God has planned.
34 He gathered the crowd and His disciples alike.
Jesus: If any one of you wants to follow Me, you will have to give yourself up to God’s plan, take up your cross, and do as I do. 35 For any one of you who wants to be rescued will lose your life, but any one of you who loses your life for My sake and for the sake of this good news will be liberated. 36 Really, what profit is there for you to gain the whole world and lose yourself in the process? 37 What can you give in exchange for your life? 38 If you are ashamed of Me and of what I came to teach to this adulterous and sinful generation, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when He comes in the glory of His Father along with the holy messengers at the final judgment.
9 Jesus: Truly, some of you who are here now will not experience death before you see the kingdom of God coming in glory and power.
2 Six days after saying this, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up onto a high mountaintop by themselves. There He was transformed 3 so that His clothing became intensely white, brighter than any earthly cleaner could bleach them. 4 Elijah and Moses appeared to them and talked with Jesus.
Peter (to Jesus): 5 Teacher, it’s a great thing that we’re here. We should build three shelters here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
6 He was babbling and did not know what he was saying because they were terrified by what they were witnessing.
7 Then a cloud surrounded them, and they heard a voice within that cloud.
Voice: This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him.
8 All of a sudden, they looked about and all they had seen was gone. They stood alone on the mountain with Jesus.
9 On their way back down, He urged them not to tell anyone what they had witnessed until the Son of Man had risen from the dead, 10 so they kept it all to themselves.
Mark doesn’t usually record events with much attention to chronology; but in this case, he mentions that the transfiguration took place six days after Peter’s confession of Jesus’ identity. In a dramatic confirmation of the truth Peter has spoken, the three disciples see that Jesus is indeed the Anointed One of God. The veil of Jesus’ human nature is pulled away, and the glory of His divinity shines through.
The appearance of Moses and Elijah shows that Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and the answer to all the promises of the prophets. The disciples hear God’s own voice commanding them to listen to Jesus as His beloved Son. What an incredible confirmation of the truth that Peter spoke in faith only six days before!
Disciples (to one another): What does He mean, “Until the Son of Man is risen”? 11 (to Jesus) Master, why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?
Jesus (thinking of John the Baptist): 12 Elijah does come first to restore all things. They have it right. But there is something else written in the Scriptures about the Son of Man: He will have to suffer and be rejected. 13 Here’s the truth: Elijah has come; his enemies treated him with contempt and did what they wanted to him, just as it was written.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.