Faithgirlz! NIV Bible Sample Book of Mark

7/26/2019 Faithgirlz! NIV Bible Sample Book of Mark

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Mark

Marks gospel is way shorterthan Matthews because Markdoesnt give us details about whenJesus was born and how he grew

up. He cuts to the chase, to the partwhere Jesus says that God is herefor us and he wants us to reallylive, forever! He wants to help uswhen we really need it. He wantsus to count on him for everything.He wants us to know how much heloves us.

Fasten your seat belt, Mark seems tosay, because here we go.

Who wrote it:Mark

When it was written:Probably between AD 55and 65

Where it takes place:Probably Rome

Cool characters youllmeet:Jesus, the disciples,blind Bartimaeus, Simonof Cyrene, and Joseph ofArimathea

Bad guys to watch for:Satan and Pilate

The point:Actions speaklouder than words couldbe the motto of Marksgospel. This book shows

Jesus power through hismiracles and covers themost important events ofhis ministry, death and

resurrection. Mark waswritten for Gentiles (peoplewho were not Jews) andreminds us that the salvation

Jesus offers was for allpeople everywhere.

How it connects:Mark,also called John Mark, was

the cousin of Barnabas, whoministered with Paul. Markreceived the informationfor his gospel from thedisciple Peter. Mark wroteabout Jesus life in a waythat showed who Jesus wasthrough what he did Even


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MARK 1 1139

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1The beginning of the good newsabout Jesus the Messiah,a the Sonof God,b2as it is written in Isaiah

the prophet:

I will send my messenger aheadof you,

who will prepare yourwayc

3a voice of one calling in thewilderness,

Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for

him. d

4And so John the Baptist appeared in the

wilderness, preaching a baptism of re-pentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5Thewhole Judean countryside and all the peo-ple of Jerusalem went out to him. Confess-ing their sins, they were baptized by himin the Jordan River. 6John wore clothingmade of camels hair, with a leather beltaround his waist, and he ate locusts and

wild honey. 7 And this was his message:After me comes the one more powerfulthan I, the straps of whose sandals I amnot worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 Ibaptize you withewater, but he will bap-tize you withethe Holy Spirit.

The Baptism and Testing of Jesus

9At that time Jesus came from Naza-reth in Galilee and was baptized by Johnin the Jordan. 10Just as Jesus was comingup out of the water, he saw heaven beingtorn open and the Spirit descending onhim like a dove. 11And a voice came fromheaven: You are my Son, whom I love;with you I am well pleased.

12

At once the Spirit sent him out intothe wilderness, 13and he was in the wil-derness forty days, being temptedfby Sa-tan. He was with the wild animals, andangels attended him.

Jesus Announces the Good News

Jesus Calls His First Disciples16As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Gal-

ilee, he saw Simon and his brother An-drew casting a net into the lake, for theywere fishermen. 17 Come, follow me,Jesus said, and I will send you out to fishfor people. 18At once they left their netsand followed him.

19When he had gone a little farther, hesaw James son of Zebedee and his broth-er John in a boat, preparing their nets.20Without delay he called them, and theyleft their father Zebedee in the boat withthe hired men and followed him.

Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit21They went to Capernaum, and when

h S bb h J h

oh,i get it!Was that really God talkingwhen Jesus got baptized?

It wasnt John the Baptist saying, This is Godsson and hes pleased with him.

It wasnt Jesus himself saying, Im Gods son andhe loves me and is proud of me.

It was God himself saying, You are my Son,whom I love; with you I am well pleased.

That made it pretty clear, right from the start.Now Jesus could start his ministry without a doubtin anyones mind.

MARK 1:9 13


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1140 MARK 1

had various diseases. He also drove outmany demons, but he would not let thedemons speak because they knew who hewas.

Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place35 Very early in the morning, while it

was still dark, Jesus got up, left the houseand went off to a solitary place, where heprayed. 36Simon and his companions wentto look for him, 37 and when they foundhim, they exclaimed: Everyone is look-ing for you!

38Jesus replied, Let us go somewhereelse to the nearby villages so I canpreach there also. That is why I have

come. 39So he traveled throughout Gal-ilee, preaching in their synagogues anddriving out demons.

synagogue and began to teach. 22The peo-ple were amazed at his teaching, becausehe taught them as one who had author-ity, not as the teachers of the law. 23 Justthen a man in their synagogue who waspossessed by an impure spirit cried out,24 What do you want with us, Jesus ofNazareth? Have you come to destroy us?I know who you are the Holy One ofGod!

25Be quiet! said Jesus sternly. Comeout of him! 26The impure spirit shook theman violently and came out of him witha shriek.

27 The people were all so amazed that

they asked each other, What is this?A new teaching and with authority!He even gives orders to impure spiritsand they obey him. 28 News about himspread quickly over the whole region ofGalilee.

Jesus Heals Many

29 As soon as they left the synagogue,they went with James and John to thehome of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simonsmother-in-law was in bed with a fever,and they immediately told Jesus abouther. 31So he went to her, took her hand andhelped her up. The fever lef t her and she

oh,i get it!Why didnt Jesus wantthe leper to tell anybody

he had healed him?

Jesus had good reasons:

He didnt want people coming to himjust

to be physically healed; he wanted themto come to be changed in their hearts andactions, too.

If his enemies knew about him too soon,Jesus might be crucified before hed finishedspreading his message.

The priests would know that a real healing had

happened when the leper came to make his sacri-fice. Pretty smart guy, that Jesus.

MARK 1:40 45

easuris!

Come, follow me,

Jesus said, and I willsend you out to fish

for people.MARK 1:17


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MARK 2 1141

Jesus Forgives and Healsa Paralyzed Man

2A few days later, when Jesus againentered Capernaum, the peo-ple heard that he had come home.

2 They gathered in such large numbersthat there was no room left, not even out-

side the door, and he preached the word tothem. 3Some men came, bringing to hima paralyzed man, carried by four of them.4Since they could not get him to Jesus be-cause of the crowd, they made an openingin the roof above Jesus by digging throughit and then lowered the mat the man waslying on. 5When Jesus saw their faith, hesaid to the paralyzed man, Son, your sins

are forgiven.

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy40A man with leprosyacame to him and

begged him on his knees, If you are will-ing, you can make me clean.

41 Jesus was indignant.b He reachedout his hand and touched the man. I amwilling, he said. Be clean! 42 Imme-diately the leprosy left him and he wascleansed.

43 Jesus sent him away at once with astrong warning: 44 See that you donttell this to anyone. But go, show yourselfto the priest and offer the sacrifices thatMoses commanded for your cleansing, asa testimony to them. 45 Instead he wentout and began to talk freely, spreading the

news. As a result, Jesus could no longerenter a town openly but stayed outside inlonely places. Yet the people still came tohim from everywhere.

a40 The Greek word traditional ly translated leprosywasused for various diseases affecting the skin.b41 Many manuscriptsJesus was fi lled with compa ssion

wo

rds

inyo

urown

Four Friends Bring Their Buddy to JesusRead Mark 2:1 4.Heres a recap:

1.Jesus was speaking at a house in Capernaum (say it likekuh-PURR-num).

2.Four guys brought their paralyzed friend to be healed by Jesus,but the house was so crowded, they couldnt get through, whichwas a bummer.

3.The friends went up on the roof and cut a hole to lower theirfriend (who was lying on a mat) down to Jesus. Those are someGOOD friends.

Now read the rest of the story in Mark 2:5 12.

Write a recap:

4.

5.

6.


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1142 MARK 2

them? They cannot, so long as they havehim with them. 20But the time will comewhen the bridegroom will be taken fromthem, and on that day they will fast.

21 No one sews a patch of unshrunkcloth on an old garment. Otherwise,the new piece will pull away from theold, making the tear worse. 22 And no

one pours new wine into old wineskins.Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins,and both the wine and the wineskins willbe ruined. No, they pour new wine intonew wineskins.

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath23One Sabbath Jesus was going through

the grainfields, and as his disciples walkedalong, they began to pick some heads ofgrain. 24The Pharisees said to him, Look,why are they doing what is unlawful onthe Sabbath?

25 He answered, Have you never readwhat David did when he and his com-panions were hungry and in need? 26 In

the days of Abiathar the high priest, heentered the house of God and ate the con-secrated bread, which is lawful only forpriests to eat. And he also gave some to hiscompanions.

27Then he said to them, The Sabbathwas made for man, not man for the Sab-bath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord even of

the Sabbath.

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

3Another time Jesus went into thesynagogue, and a man with a shriv-eled hand was there. 2Some of them

were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus,so they watched him closely to see if he

would heal him on the Sabbath.3

Jesussaid to the man with the shriveled hand,Stand up in front of everyone.

4Then Jesus asked them, Which is law-ful on the Sabbath: to do good or to doevil, to save life or to kill? But they re-mained silent.

6Now some teachers of the law were sit-ting there, thinking to themselves, 7Whydoes this fellow talk like that? Hes blas-pheming! Who can forgive sins but Godalone?

8Immediately Jesus knew in his spiritthat this was what they were thinking intheir hearts, and he said to them, Why

are you thinking these things? 9Which iseasier: to say to this paralyzed man, Yoursins are forgiven, or to say, Get up, takeyour mat and walk? 10But I want you toknow that the Son of Man has authorityon earth to forgive sins. So he said to theman, 11 I tell you, get up, take your matand go home. 12He got up, took his mat

and walked out in full view of them all.This amazed everyone and they praisedGod, saying, We have never seen any-thing like this!

Jesus Calls Levi and EatsWith Sinners

13 Once again Jesus went out beside

the lake. A large crowd came to him, andhe began to teach them. 14As he walkedalong, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sittingat the tax collectors booth. Follow me,Jesus told him, and Levi got up and fol-lowed him.

15While Jesus was having dinner at Le-vi s house, many tax collectors and sin-

ners were eating with him and his disci-ples, for there were many who followedhim. 16When the teachers of the law whowere Pharisees saw him eating with thesinners and tax collectors, they asked hisdisciples: Why does he eat with tax col-lectors and sinners?

17On hearing this, Jesus said to them,

It is not the healthy who need a doctor,but the sick. I have not come to call therighteous, but sinners.

Jesus Questioned About Fasting18 Now Johns disciples and the Phari-

sees were fasting. Some people came and


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MARK 4 1143

dom is divided against itself, that king-dom cannot stand. 25If a house is dividedagainst itself, that house cannot stand.26And if Satan opposes himself and is di-

vided, he cannot stand; his end has come.27In fact, no one can enter a strong manshouse without first tying him up. Thenhe can plunder the strong mans house.28Truly I tell you, people can be forgivenall their sins and every slander they ut-ter, 29but whoever blasphemes against theHoly Spirit will never be forgiven; they areguilty of an eternal sin.

30He said this because they were saying,He has an impure spirit.

31Then Jesus mother and brothers ar-

rived. Standing outside, they sent some-one in to call him. 32A crowd was sittingaround him, and they told him, Yourmother and brothers are outside lookingfor you.

33Who are my mother and my broth-ers? he asked.

34 Then he looked at those seated in

a circle around him and said, Here aremy mother and my brothers! 35Whoeverdoes Gods will is my brother and sisterand mother.

The Parable of the Sower

4

Again Jesus began to teach by thelake. The crowd that gathered

around him was so large that hegot into a boat and sat in it out on thelake, while all the people were along theshore at the waters edge. 2 He taughtthem many things by parables, and in histeaching said: 3 Listen! A farmer wentout to sow his seed. 4 As he was scatter-ing the seed, some fell along the path, and

the birds came and ate it up.5

Some fell onrocky places, where it did not have muchsoil. It sprang up quickly, because the soilwas shallow. 6But when the sun came up,the plants were scorched, and they with-ered because they had no root. 7 Otherseed fell among thorns, which grew up

isees went out and began to plot with theHerodians how they might kil l Jesus.

Crowds Follow Jesus7Jesus withdrew with his disciples to

the lake, and a large crowd from Gali-lee followed. 8When they heard about allhe was doing, many people came to himfrom Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and theregions across the Jordan and around Tyreand Sidon. 9Because of the crowd he toldhis disciples to have a small boat ready forhim, to keep the people from crowdinghim. 10 For he had healed many, so thatthose with diseases were pushing forwardto touch him. 11 Whenever the impure

spirits saw him, they fell down before himand cried out, You are the Son of God.12But he gave them strict orders not to tellothers about him.

Jesus Appoints the Twelve13Jesus went up on a mountainside and

called to him those he wanted, and they

came to him. 14He appointed twelveathatthey might be with him and that he mightsend them out to preach 15and to have au-thority to drive out demons. 16These arethe twelve he appointed: Simon (to whomhe gave the name Peter), 17 James son ofZebedee and his brother John (to them hegave the name Boanerges, which means

sons of thunder),18

Andrew, Philip, Bar-tholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James sonof Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zeal-ot 19and Ju das Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Accused by His Family andby Teachers of the Law

20Then Jesus entered a house, and again

a crowd gathered, so that he and his disci-ples were not even able to eat. 21When hisfamilybheard about this, they went to takecharge of him, for they said, He is out ofhis mind.

22And the teachers of the law who camedown from Jerusalem said, He is pos-


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ing it unfruitful. 20Others, like seed sownon good soil, hear the word, accept it, andproduce a crop some thirty, some sixty,some a hundred times what was sown.

A Lamp on a Stand21He said to them, Do you bring in a

lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? In-

stead, dont you put it on its stand? 22Forwhatever is hidden is meant to be dis-closed, and whatever is concealed is meantto be brought out into the open. 23If any-one has ears to hear, let them hear.

24 Consider carefully what you hear,he continued. With the measure you use,it will be measured to you and even

more. 25Whoever has will be given more;whoever does not have, even what theyhave will be taken from them.

The Parable of the Growing Seed26He also said, This is what the king-

dom of God is like. A man scatters seedon the ground. 27Night and day, whether

he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts andgrows, though he does not know how.28 All by itself the soil produces grain first the stalk, then the head, then the fullkernel in the head. 29As soon as the grainis ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because theharvest has come.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed30 Again he said, What shall we say

the kingdom of God is like, or what par-able shall we use to describe it? 31It is likea mustard seed, which is the smallest ofall seeds on earth. 32Yet when planted, itgrows and becomes the largest of all gar-den plants, with such big branches thatthe birds can perch in its shade.

33 With many similar parables Jesusspoke the word to them, as much as theycould understand. 34He did not say any-thing to them without using a parable. Butwhen he was alone with his own disciples,he explained everything.

a crop, some multiplying thirty, some six-ty, some a hundred times.

9Then Jesus said, Whoever has ears tohear, let them hear.

10When he was alone, the Twelve andthe others around him asked him aboutthe parables. 11He told them, The secretof the kingdom of God has been given toyou. But to those on the outside every-thing is said in parables 12so that,

they may be ever seeing but neverperceiving,

and ever hearing but never

understanding; otherwise they might turn and beforgiven!a

13Then Jesus said to them, Dont youunderstand this parable? How then willyou understand any parable? 14The farm-er sows the word. 15Some people are likeseed along the path, where the word is

sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comesand takes away the word that was sown inthem. 16Others, like seed sown on rockyplaces, hear the word and at once receiveit with joy. 17But since they have no root,they last only a short time. When troubleor persecution comes because of the word,

QBring

it on!

I get distracted fromGod by:

A.What everybody else isdoing.

B.My problems.C. Trying to get stuff I

want.


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MARK 5 1145

and the impure spirits came out and wentinto the pigs. The herd, about two thou-sand in number, rushed down the steepbank into the lake and were drowned.

14Those tending the pigs ran off and re-ported this in the town and countryside,and the people went out to see what hadhappened. 15 When they came to Jesus,

they saw the man who had been possessedby the legion of demons, sitting there,dressed and in his right mind; and theywere afraid. 16Those who had seen it toldthe people what had happened to the de-mon-possessed man and told about thepigs as well. 17Then the people began toplead with Jesus to leave their region.

18

As Jesus was getting into the boat,the man who had been demon-possessedbegged to go with him. 19Jesus did not lethim, but said, Go home to your own peo-ple and tell them how much the Lord hasdone for you, and how he has had mercyon you. 20So the man went away and be-gan to tell in the Decapolisb how muchJesus had done for him. And all the peo-

ple were amazed.

Jesus Raises a Dead Girl andHeals a Sick Woman

21When Jesus had again crossed over byboat to the other side of the lake, a largecrowd gathered around him while he was

er side. 36Leaving the crowd behind, theytook him along, just as he was, in the boat.There were also other boats with him. 37Afurious squall came up, and the wavesbroke over the boat, so that it was nearlyswamped. 38Jesus was in the stern, sleep-ing on a cushion. The disciples woke himand said to him, Teacher, dont you care

if we drown?39He got up, rebuked the wind and said

to the waves, Quiet! Be still! Then thewind died down and it was completelycalm.

40He said to his disciples, Why are youso afraid? Do you still have no faith?

41 They were terrified and asked each

other, Who is this? Even the wind andthe waves obey him!

Jesus Restores a Demon-PossessedMan

5They went across the lake to theregion of the Gerasenes.a 2 WhenJesus got out of the boat, a man with

an impure spirit came from the tombs tomeet him. 3This man lived in the tombs,and no one could bind him anymore, noteven with a chain. 4For he had often beenchained hand and foot, but he tore thechains apart and broke the irons on hisfeet. No one was strong enough to subduehim. 5 Night and day among the tombs

and in the hills he would cry out and cuthimself with stones.

6When he saw Jesus from a distance,he ran and fell on his knees in front ofhim. 7He shouted at the top of his voice,What do you want with me, Jesus, Sonof the Most High God? In Gods namedont torture me! 8For Jesus had said to

him, Come out of this man, you impurespirit!9Then Jesus asked him, What is your

name?My name is Legion, he replied, for

we are many. 10 And he begged Jesusagain and again not to send them out of

a1 Some manuscripts Gadarenes; other manuscripts

Gergesenes b20 That is, the Ten Cities

AIf you answered. . .

A.Go to Romans 12:2.B.Go to Matthew

11:28 30.

C.Go to Ecclesiastes2:1 11.


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childs father and mother and the discipleswho were with him, and went in where thechild was. 41He took her by the hand andsaid to her, Talitha koum!(which meansLittle girl, I say to you, get up!). 42Im-mediately the girl stood up and began towalk around (she was twelve years old).At this they were completely astonished.

43 He gave strict orders not to let anyoneknow about this, and told them to give hersomething to eat.

A Prophet Without Honor

6Jesus left there and went to hishometown, accompanied by hisdisciples. 2When the Sabbath came,

he began to teach in the synagogue, andmany who heard him were amazed.

Where did this man get these things?they asked. Whats this wisdom that hasbeen given him? What are these remark-able miracles he is performing? 3Isnt thisthe carpenter? Isnt this Marys son andthe brother of James, Joseph,bJudas and

Simon? Arent his sisters here with us?And they took offense at him.4Jesus said to them, A prophet is not

without honor except in his own town,among his relatives and in his own home.5He could not do any miracles there, ex-cept lay his hands on a few sick people andheal them. 6He was amazed at their lackof faith.

Jesus Sends Out the TwelveThen Jesus went around teaching from

village to village. 7Calling the Twelve tohim, he began to send them out two bytwo and gave them authority over impurespirits.

8 These were his instructions: Takenothing for the journey except a staff no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt.10Whenever you enter a house, stay thereuntil you leave that town. 11 And if anyplace will not welcome you or listen to

l th t l d h k th d t

by the lake. 22Then one of the synagogueleaders, named Jairus, came, and when hesaw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He plead-ed earnestly with him, My little daughteris dying. Please come and put your handson her so that she will be healed and live.24So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed

around him. 25 And a woman was therewho had been subject to bleeding fortwelve years. 26 She had suffered a greatdeal under the care of many doctors andhad spent all she had, yet instead of get-ting better she grew worse. 27 When sheheard about Jesus, she came up behindhim in the crowd and touched his cloak,28

because she thought, If I just touch hisclothes, I will be healed. 29 Immediatelyher bleeding stopped and she felt in herbody that she was freed from her suffer-ing.

30At once Jesus realized that power hadgone out from him. He turned around inthe crowd and asked, Who touched myclothes?

31You see the people crowding againstyou, his disciples answered, and yet youcan ask, Who touched me?

32 But Jesus kept looking around tosee who had done it. 33Then the woman,knowing what had happened to her, cameand fell at his feet and, trembling withfear, told him the whole truth. 34He said

to her, Daughter, your faith has healedyou. Go in peace and be freed from yoursuffering.

35While Jesus was still speaking, somepeople came from the house of Jairus,the synagogue leader. Your daughter isdead, they said. Why bother the teacheranymore?

36

Overhearinga

what they said, Jesustold him, Dont be afraid; just believe.37He did not let anyone follow him ex-

cept Peter, James and John the brother ofJames. 38When they came to the home ofthe synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commo-tion, with people crying and wailing loud-


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MARK 6 1147

to bring Johns head. The man went, be-headed John in the prison, 28and broughtback his head on a platter. He presented itto the girl, and she gave it to her mother.29On hearing of this, Johns disciples cameand took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand30 The apostles gathered around Jesus

and reported to him all they had done andtaught. 31 Then, because so many peoplewere coming and going that they did noteven have a chance to eat, he said to them,Come with me by yourselves to a quietplace and get some rest.

32So they went away by themselves in a

boat to a solitary place. 33 But many whosaw them leaving recognized them andran on foot from all the towns and gotthere ahead of them. 34When Jesus landedand saw a large crowd, he had compassionon them, because they were like sheepwithout a shepherd. So he began teachingthem many things.

35

By this time it was late in the day, sohis disciples came to him. This is a re-mote place, they said, and its already

very late. 36Send the people away so thatthey can go to the surrounding coun-tryside and villages and buy themselvessomething to eat.

37 But he answered, You give themsomething to eat.

They said to him, That would takemore than half a years wagesd! Are we togo and spend that much on bread and giveit to them to eat?

38How many loaves do you have? heasked. Go and see.

When they found out, they said,Five and two fish.

39 Then Jesus directed them to haveall the people sit down in groups on thegreen grass. 40So they sat down in groupsof hundreds and fifties. 41Taking the fiveloaves and the two fish and looking upto heaven, he gave thanks and broke theloaves Then he gave them to his disciples

demons and anointed many sick peoplewith oil and healed them.

John the Baptist Beheaded14 King Herod heard about this, for

Jesus name had become well known.Some were saying,aJohn the Baptist hasbeen raised from the dead, and that is why

miraculous powers are at work in him.15Others said, He is Elijah.And still others claimed, He is a proph-

et, like one of the prophets of long ago.16But when Herod heard this, he said,

John, whom I beheaded, has been raisedfrom the dead!

17For Herod himself had given orders to

have John arrested, and he had him boundand put in prison. He did this because ofHerodias, his brother Philips wife, whomhe had married. 18For John had been say-ing to Herod, It is not lawful for you tohave your brothers wife. 19 So Herodiasnursed a grudge against John and wantedto kill him. But she was not able to, 20be-cause Herod feared John and protectedhim, knowing him to be a righteous andholy man. When Herod heard John, hewas greatly puzzledb; yet he liked to lis-ten to him.

21Finally the opportune time came. Onhis birthday Herod gave a banquet for hishigh officials and military commandersand the leading men of Galilee. 22When

the daughter of c Herodias came in anddanced, she pleased Herod and his dinnerguests.

The king said to the girl, Ask me foranything you want, and Ill give it to you.23 And he promised her with an oath,Whatever you ask I will give you, up tohalf my kingdom.

24

She went out and said to her mother,What shall I ask for?The head of John the Baptist, she an-

swered.25At once the girl hurried in to the king

with the request: I want you to give meright now the head of John the Baptist on


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1148 MARK 6

many other traditions, such as the wash-ing of cups, pitchers and kettles.a)

5So the Pharisees and teachers of thelaw asked Jesus, Why dont your discipleslive according to the tradition of the eldersinstead of eating their food with defiledhands?

6He replied, Isaiah was right when he

prophesied about you hypocrites; as it iswritten:

These people honor me with theirlips,

but their hearts are far from me. 7They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human

rules.b

8You have let go of the commands of Godand are holding on to human traditions.

9And he continued, You have a fineway of setting aside the commands of Godin order to observecyour own traditions!10For Moses said, Honor your father andmother,dand, Anyone who curses their

father or mother is to be put to death.e

11But you say that if anyone declares thatwhat might have been used to help theirfather or mother is Corban (that is, de-

voted to God) 12then you no longer letthem do anything for their father or moth-er. 13 Thus you nullify the word of Godby your tradition that you have handeddown. And you do many things like that.

14Again Jesus called the crowd to himand said, Listen to me, everyone, and un-derstand this. 15Nothing outside a personcan defile them by going into them. Rath-er, it is what comes out of a person thatdefiles them. [16]f

17 After he had left the crowd and en-tered the house, his disciples asked him

about this parable. 18 Are you so dull?he asked. Dont you see that nothing thatenters a person from the outside can defilethem? 19For it doesnt go into their heartbut into their stomach, and then out of thebody. (In saying this, Jesus declared allf d l )

the two fish among them all. 42 They allate and were satisfied, 43and the disciplespicked up twelve basketfuls of brokenpieces of bread and fish. 44The number ofthe men who had eaten was five thousand.

Jesus Walks on the Water45 Immediately Jesus made his disci-

ples get into the boat and go on ahead ofhim to Bethsaida, while he dismissed thecrowd. 46 After leaving them, he went upon a mountainside to pray.

47Later that night, the boat was in themiddle of the lake, and he was alone onland. 48 He saw the disciples straining atthe oars, because the wind was against

them. Shortly before dawn he went out tothem, walking on the lake. He was aboutto pass by them, 49but when they saw himwalking on the lake, they thought he wasa ghost. They cried out, 50because they allsaw him and were terrified.

Immediately he spoke to them and said,Take courage! It is I. Dont be afraid.51 Then he climbed into the boat withthem, and the wind died down. They werecompletely amazed, 52 for they had notunderstood about the loaves; their heartswere hardened.

53 When they had crossed over, theylanded at Gennesaret and anchored there.54As soon as they got out of the boat, peo-ple recognized Jesus. 55They ran through-

out that whole region and carried the sickon mats to wherever they heard he was.56 And wherever he went into vil lages,towns or countryside they placed thesick in the marketplaces. They beggedhim to let them touch even the edge of hiscloak, and all who touched it were healed.

That Which Defiles

7The Pharisees and some of theteachers of the law who had comefrom Jerusalem gathered around

Jesus 2and saw some of his disciples eat-ing food with hands that were defiled,that is, unwashed. 3(The Pharisees and all


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MARK 7 1149

After filling your jar at the well, someone tellsyou, Hurry! Jesus is teaching! You quicklyleave the jar, sloshing water on the ground,

and run to join the crowd that has gatheredjust as it always does when the teacher speaks.

Maybe hell give a blind person her sight today, you think

as you squeeze through a crowd of elbows and knees.There doesnt seem to be any good thing this Jesus cantdo, and you want to be in the front to see. Just watchinghis kind eyes fills you with a sunny kind of hope. But thereis nothing sunny about the scene you burst upon, andnothing kind about Jesus at this moment. Isaiah was rightwhen he prophesied about you hypocrites, he barks out.As you follow his angry gaze to the Pharisees, you knowwhat hypocrites are. Youve seen that one Pharisee withthe longest tassels ever on his garments. Those tassels aresupposed to remind him to obey Gods commandments,but youve seen his parents begging for food. He must bemissing the Honor your father and your mother tassel.You have let go of the commands of God, Jesus shouts,and are holding onto the traditions of men. Severalpeople gasp. No one talks to these important Jews thisway. But a look of distress wrinkles your forehead. Wow!I wonder what traditions Im holding onto that disagreewith Gods commands. You hurry back to the well to fetch

your jar for your mother, who is waiting for it.


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1150 MARK 7

they kept talking about it. 37 People wereoverwhelmed with amazement. He hasdone everything well, they said. He evenmakes the deaf hear and the mute speak.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

8

During those days another largecrowd gathered. Since they had

nothing to eat, Jesus called his dis-ciples to him and said, 2I have compas-sion for these people; they have alreadybeen with me three days and have nothingto eat. 3If I send them home hungry, theywill collapse on the way, because some ofthem have come a long distance.

4His disciples answered, But where in

this remote place can anyone get enoughbread to feed them?

5How many loaves do you have? Jesusasked.

Seven, they replied.6He told the crowd to sit down on the

ground. When he had taken the sevenloaves and given thanks, he broke them

and gave them to his disciples to distrib-ute to the people, and they did so. 7Theyhad a few small fish as well; he gave thanksfor them also and told the disciples to dis-tribute them. 8 The people ate and weresatisfied. Afterward the disciples pickedup seven basketfuls of bro ken pieces thatwere left over. 9About four thousand werepresent. After he had sent them away, 10hegot into the boat with his disciples andwent to the region of Dalmanutha.

11 The Pharisees came and began toquestion Jesus. To test him, they askedhim for a sign from heaven. 12He sigheddeeply and said, Why does this genera-tion ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no signwill be given to it. 13Then he left them,

got back into the boat and crossed to theother side.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod14The disciples had forgotten to bring

bread, except for one loaf they had with

20 He went on: What comes out of aperson is what defiles them. 21 For it isfrom within, out of a persons heart, thatevil thoughts come sexual immorality,theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice,deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arroganceand folly. 23All these evils come from in-side and defile a person.

Jesus Honors a SyrophoenicianWomans Faith

24Jesus left that place and went to the vi-cinity of Tyre.aHe entered a house and didnot want anyone to know it; yet he couldnot keep his presence secret. 25In fact, assoon as she heard about him, a woman

whose little daughter was possessed byan impure spirit came and fell at his feet.26The woman was a Greek, born in SyrianPhoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive thedemon out of her daughter.

27 First let the children eat all theywant, he told her, for it is not right totake the childrens bread and toss it to the

dogs.28 Lord, she replied, even the dogsunder the table eat the childrens crumbs.

29 Then he told her, For such a re-ply, you may go; the demon has left yourdaughter.

30She went home and found her childlying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre

and went through Sidon, down to the Seaof Galilee and into the region of the De-capolis.b32There some people brought tohim a man who was deaf and could hard-ly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his

hand on him.33 After he took him aside, away fromthe crowd, Jesus put his fingers into themans ears. Then he spit and touched themans tongue. 34He looked up to heavenand with a deep sigh said to him, Eph-

phatha! (which means Be opened!).


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MARK 9 1151

be rejected by the elders, the chief priestsand the teachers of the law, and that hemust be killed and after three days riseagain. 32He spoke plainly about this, andPeter took him aside and began to rebukehim.

33But when Jesus turned and looked athis disciples, he rebuked Peter. Get be-

hind me, Satan! he said. You do not havein mind the concerns of God, but merelyhuman concerns.

The Way of the Cross34Then he called the crowd to him along

with his disciples and said: Whoeverwants to be my disciple must deny them-

selves and take up their cross and followme. 35For whoever wants to save their lifebwill lose it, but whoever loses their life forme and for the gospel will save it. 36Whatgood is it for someone to gain the wholeworld, yet forfeit their soul? 37Or what cananyone give in exchange for their soul?38 If anyone is ashamed of me and mywords in this adulterous and sinful gener-ation, the Son of Man will be ashamed ofthem when he comes in his Fathers glorywith the holy angels.

9And he said to them, Truly I tellyou, some who are standing herewill not taste death before they see

that the kingdom of God has come withpower.

The Transfiguration2After six days Jesus took Peter, James

and John with him and led them up ahigh mountain, where they were all alone.There he was transfigured before them.3His clothes became dazzling white, whit-er than anyone in the world could bleach

them.4

And there appeared before themElijah and Moses, who were talking withJesus.

5Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is goodfor us to be here. Let us put up three shel-ters one for you, one for Moses and onefor Elijah. 6(He did not know what to say,

16They discussed this with one anotherand said, It is because we have no bread.

17Aware of their discussion, Jesus askedthem: Why are you talking about havingno bread? Do you still not see or under-stand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Doyou have eyes but fail to see, and ears butfail to hear? And dont you remember?

19When I broke the five loaves for the fivethousand, how many basketfuls of piecesdid you pick up?

Twelve, they replied.20 And when I broke the seven loaves

for the four thousand, how many basket-fuls of pieces did you pick up?

They answered, Seven.21

He said to them, Do you still not un-derstand?

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida22 They came to Bethsaida, and some

people brought a blind man and beggedJesus to touch him. 23 He took the blindman by the hand and led him outside the

village. When he had spit on the manseyes and put his hands on him, Jesusasked, Do you see anything?

24He looked up and said, I see people;they look like trees walking around.

25Once more Jesus put his hands on themans eyes. Then his eyes were opened, hissight was restored, and he saw everythingclearly. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying,

Dont even go intoathe village.

Peter Declares That Jesus Isthe Messiah

27Jesus and his disciples went on to thevil lages around Caesarea Philippi. On theway he asked them, Who do people sayI am?

28

They replied, Some say John theBaptist; others say Elijah; and still others,one of the prophets.

29 But what about you? he asked.Who do you say I am?

Peter answered, You are the Messiah.30Jesus warned them not to tell anyone


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1152 MARK 9

suffer much and be rejected? 13But I tellyou, Elijah has come, and they have doneto him everything they wished, just as it iswritten about him.

Jesus Heals a Boy Possessedby an Impure Spirit

14 When they came to the other disci-ples, they saw a large crowd around themand the teachers of the law arguing withthem. 15 As soon as all the people sawJesus, they were overwhelmed with won-der and ran to greet him.

16 What are you arguing with themabout? he asked.

17 A man in the crowd answered,

Teacher, I brought you my son, who ispossessed by a spirit that has robbed himof speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, itthrows him to the ground. He foams atthe mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomesrigid. I asked your disciples to drive outthe spirit, but they could not.

19 You unbelieving generation, Jesus

replied, how long shall I stay with you?How long shall I put up with you? Bringthe boy to me.

20So they brought him. When the spir-it saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boyinto a convulsion. He fell to the groundand rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

21 Jesus asked the boys father, How

long has he been like this?From childhood, he answered. 22 Ithas often thrown him into fire or water tokill him. But if you can do anything, takepity on us and help us.

23 If you can? said Jesus. Everythingis possible for one who believes.

24 Immediately the boys father ex-claimed, I do believe; help me overcomemy unbelief !

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd wasrunning to the scene, he rebuked the im-pure spirit. You deaf and mute spirit, hesaid, I command you, come out of himand never enter him again.

them, and a voice came from the cloud:This is my Son, whom I love. Listen tohim!

8Suddenly, when they looked around,they no longer saw anyone with them ex-cept Jesus.

9As they were coming down the moun-tain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell

anyone what they had seen until the Sonof Man had risen from the dead. 10Theykept the matter to themselves, discussingwhat rising from the dead meant.

11 And they asked him, Why do theteachers of the law say that Elijah mustcome first?

12Jesus replied, To be sure, Elijah does

come first, and restores all things. Whythen is it written that the Son of Man must

oh,i get it!What exactly did the disciples

see at the transfiguration?(And whats a transfiguration?!)

One day, when Jesus was up on a mountain withPeter, James and John, his clothes and body be-came dazzling white. Suddenly, Jesus disciplessaw him for who he really was God in human

form. Imagine their wonder when Moses andElijah, the two greatest prophets who ever lived,showed up and talked to Jesus.

Moses and Elijah had been Gods obedient ser-vants, but their missions were complete. NowJesus would do what they couldnt save peoplefrom their own sins. This event made such an im-

pression on Peter (ya think?) that he was stilltalking about it years later (2 Peter 1:17 18).

MARK 9:2 9


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MARK 10 1153

stumble, it would be better for them if alarge millstone were hung around theirneck and they were thrown into the sea.43If your hand causes you to stumble, cut itoff. It is better for you to enter life maimedthan with two hands to go into hell, wherethe fire never goes out. [44] b45And if yourfoot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is

better for you to enter life crippled than tohave two feet and be thrown into hell. [46] b47And if your eye causes you to stumble,pluck it out. It is better for you to enter thekingdom of God with one eye than to havetwo eyes and be thrown into hell, 48where

the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.c

49Everyone will be salted with fire.50 Salt is good, but if it loses its salti-

ness, how can you make it salty again?Have salt among yourselves, and be atpeace with each other.

Divorce

10Jesus then left that place andwent into the region of Judeaand across the Jordan. Again

crowds of people came to him, and as washis custom, he taught them.

2Some Pharisees came and tested himby asking, Is it lawful for a man to di-

vorce his wife?3What did Moses command you? he

replied.4They said, Moses permitted a man to

write a certificate of divorce and send heraway.

5It was because your hearts were hardthat Moses wrote you this law, Jesus re-plied. 6 But at the beginning of creationGod made them male and female.d7 For

this reason a man will leave his father andmother and be united to his wife,e8andthe two will become one flesh.fSo theyare no longer two, but one flesh. 9There-fore what God has joined together, let noone separate.

10Wh h h h

28After Jesus had gone indoors, his dis-ciples asked him privately, Why couldntwe drive it out?

29He replied, This kind can come outonly by prayer.a

Jesus Predicts His Deatha Second Time

30 They left that place and passedthrough Galilee. Jesus did not want any-one to know where they were, 31becausehe was teaching his disciples. He said tothem, The Son of Man is going to be de-livered into the hands of men. They willkill him, and after three days he will rise.32 But they did not understand what he

meant and were afraid to ask him about it.33They came to Capernaum. When he

was in the house, he asked them, Whatwere you arguing about on the road?34But they kept quiet because on the waythey had argued about who was the great-est.

35Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve

and said, Anyone who wants to be firstmust be the very last, and the servant ofall.

36He took a little child whom he placedamong them. Taking the child in hisarms, he said to them, 37Whoever wel-comes one of these little children in myname welcomes me; and whoever wel-comes me does not welcome me but theone who sent me.

Whoever Is Not Against Us Is for Us38Teacher, said John, we saw some-

one driving out demons in your name andwe told him to stop, because he was notone of us.

39Do not stop him, Jesus said. For noone who does a miracle in my name can inthe next moment say anything bad aboutme, 40 for whoever is not against us is forus. 41 Truly I tell you, anyone who givesyou a cup of water in my name becauseyou belong to the Messiah will certainly


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1154 MARK 10

20 Teacher, he declared, all these Ihave kept since I was a boy.

21 Jesus looked at him and loved him.One thing you lack, he said. Go, selleverything you have and give to the poor,and you will have treasure in heaven.Then come, follow me.

22 At this the mans face fell. He went

away sad, because he had great wealth.23 Jesus looked around and said to his

disciples, How hard it is for the rich toenter the kingdom of God!

24 The disciples were amazed at hiswords. But Jesus said again, Children,how hard it is b to enter the kingdomof God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go

through the eye of a needle than for some-one who is rich to enter the kingdom ofGod.

26The disciples were even more amazed,and said to each other, Who then can besaved?

27Jesus looked at them and said, Withman this is impossible, but not with God;

all things are possible with God.28 Then Peter spoke up, We have lefteverything to follow you!

29 Truly I tell you, Jesus replied, noone who has left home or brothers or sis-ters or mother or father or children orfields for me and the gospel 30will fail toreceive a hundred times as much in thispresent age: homes, brothers, sisters,mothers, children and fields along withpersecutions and in the age to comeeternal life. 31But many who are first willbe last, and the last first.

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time32 They were on their way up to Jerusa-

lem, with Jesus leading the way, and thedisciples were astonished, while thosewho followed were afraid. Again he tookthe Twelve aside and told them what wasgoing to happen to him. 33 We are goingup to Jerusalem, he said, and the Sonof Man will be delivered over to the chief

the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11Heanswered, Anyone who divorces his wifeand marries another woman commitsadultery against her. 12And if she divorcesher husband and marries another man,she commits adultery.

The Little Children and Jesus13People were bringing little children to

Jesus for him to place his hands on them,but the disciples rebuked them. 14 WhenJesus saw this, he was indignant. He saidto them, Let the little children come tome, and do not hinder them, for the king-dom of God belongs to such as these.15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not

receive the kingdom of God like a littlechild will never enter it. 16 And he tookthe children in his arms, placed his handson them and blessed them.

easuri

s!

He said to them,Let the little childrencome to me, and do not

hinder them, for thekingdom of God belongs

to such as these.MARK 10:14

The Rich and the Kingdom of God17 As Jesus started on his way, a man

ran up to him and fell on his knees be-fore him. Good teacher, he asked, whatmust I do to inherit eternal life?

18 Why do you call me good? Jesusanswered. No one is good except God


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MARK 11 1155

So they called to the blind man, Cheerup! On your feet! Hes calling you.50Throw-ing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet andcame to Jesus.

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

The blind man said, Rabbi, I want tosee.

52Go, said Jesus, your faith has healedyou. Immediately he received his sightand followed Jesus along the road.

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

11As they approached Jerusa-lem and came to Bethphageand Bethany at the Mount of

Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2say-ing to them, Go to the village ahead ofyou, and just as you enter it, you will finda colt tied there, which no one has ever rid-den. Untie it and bring it here. 3If anyoneasks you, Why are you doing this? say,The Lord needs it and will send it backhere shortly.

4

They went and found a colt outside inthe street, tied at a doorway. As they un-tied it, 5some people standing there asked,What are you doing, untying that colt?6They answered as Jesus had told them to,and the people let them go. 7When theybrought the colt to Jesus and threw theircloaks over it, he sat on it. 8Many peo-ple spread their cloaks on the road, whileothers spread branches they had cut in thefields. 9Those who went ahead and thosewho followed shouted,

Hosanna!a

Blessed is he who comes in thename of the Lord!b

10

Blessed is the coming kingdom ofour father David!

Hosanna in the highestheaven!

11Jesus entered Jerusalem and went intothe temple courts. He looked around at

will mock him and spit on him, flog himand kill him. Three days later he willrise.

The Request of James and John35 Then James and John, the sons of

Zebedee, came to him. Teacher, theysaid, we want you to do for us whatever

we ask.36What do you want me to do for you?

he asked.37They replied, Let one of us sit at your

right and the other at your left in yourglory.

38 You dont know what you are ask-ing, Jesus said. Can you drink the cup

I drink or be baptized with the baptism Iam baptized with?

39We can, they answered.Jesus said to them, You will drink the

cup I drink and be baptized with the bap-tism I am baptized with, 40but to sit at myright or left is not for me to grant. Theseplaces belong to those for whom they have

been prepared.41When the ten heard about this, theybecame indignant with James and John.42 Jesus called them together and said,You know that those who are regardedas rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,and their high officials exercise authori-ty over them. 43Not so with you. Instead,whoever wants to become great amongyou must be your servant, 44and whoeverwants to be first must be slave of all. 45Foreven the Son of Man did not come to beserved, but to serve, and to give his life asa ransom for many.

Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight46Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus

and his disciples, together with a largecrowd, were leaving the city, a blind man,Bartimaeus (which means son of Timae-us), was sitting by the roadside begging.47When he heard that it was Jesus of Naz-areth, he began to shout, Jesus, Son of


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1156 MARK 11

19 When evening came, Jesus and hisdisciplescwent out of the city.

20In the morning, as they went along,they saw the fig tree withered from theroots. 21 Peter remembered and said toJesus, Rabbi, look! The fig tree youcursed has withered!

22Have faith in God, Jesus answered.23TrulydI tell you, if anyone says to thismountain, Go, throw yourself into thesea, and does not doubt in their heart butbelieves that what they say will happen, itwill be done for them. 24 Therefore I tellyou, whatever you ask for in prayer, be-lieve that you have received it, and it willbe yours. 25And when you stand praying,

if you hold anything against anyone, for-give them, so that your Father in heavenmay forgive you your sins. [26] e

The Authority of Jesus Questioned27 They arrived again in Jerusalem,d h l J lk h

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree andClears the Temple Courts

12 The next day as they were leavingBethany, Jesus was hungry. 13Seeing in thedistance a fig tree in leaf, he went to findout if it had any fruit. When he reachedit, he found nothing but leaves, because

it was not the season for figs. 14Then hesaid to the tree, May no one ever eat fruitfrom you again. And his disciples heardhim say it.

15On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus enteredthe temple courts and began driving outthose who were buying and selling there.He overturned the tables of the money

changers and the benches of those sell-ing doves, 16and would not allow anyoneto carry merchandise through the templecourts. 17And as he taught them, he said,Is it not written: My house will be calleda house of prayer for all nationsa? But youhave made it a den of robbers.b

Consider why you might have joined the crowd:

To see if this Jesus was as great as everyonesaid.

Just to be part of the excitement.

Because you believed he was the Son of God andyou wanted to honor him.

Read on and see how these same people acted lessthan a week later.

MARK 11:1 11

Is

Therea

Little

Palm Wave In You?


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MARK 12 1157

11the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyesa?

12 Then the chief priests, the teachersof the law and the elders looked for a wayto arrest him because they knew he hadspoken the parable against them. But theywere afraid of the crowd; so they left himand went away.

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar13Later they sent some of the Pharisees

and Herodians to Jesus to catch him inhis words. 14They came to him and said,Teach er, we know that you are a man ofintegrity. You arent swayed by others, be-cause you pay no attention to who they

are; but you teach the way of God in accor-dance with the truth. Is it right to pay theimperial taxbto Caesar or not? 15Shouldwe pay or shouldnt we?

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. Whyare you trying to trap me? he asked.Bring me a denarius and let me look atit. 16They brought the coin, and he asked

them, Whose image is this? And whoseinscription?

Caesars, they replied.17Then Jesus said to them, Give back to

Caesar what is Caesars and to God whatis Gods.

And they were amazed at him.

Marriage at the Resurrection18 Then the Sadducees, who say thereis no resurrection, came to him with aquestion. 19 Teacher, they said, Moseswrote for us that if a mans brother diesand leaves a wife but no children, the manmust marry the widow and raise up off-spring for his brother. 20Now there were

seven brothers. The first one married anddied without leaving any children. 21Thesecond one married the widow, but he alsodied, leaving no child. It was the samewith the third. 22In fact, none of the sev-en left any children. Last of all, the wom-an died too. 23At the resurrectionc whose

ple courts, the chief priests, the teachersof the law and the elders came to him.28By what authority are you doing thesethings? they asked. And who gave youauthority to do this?

29Jesus replied, I will ask you one ques-tion. Answer me, and I will tell you bywhat authority I am doing these things.30

Johns baptism was it from heaven, orof human origin? Tell me!31They discussed it among themselves

and said, If we say, From heaven, he willask, Then why didnt you believe him?32 But if we say, Of human origin . . .(They feared the people, for everyone heldthat John really was a prophet.)

33 So they answered Jesus, We dontknow.

Jesus said, Neither will I tell you bywhat authority I am doing these things.

The Parable of the Tenants

12Jesus then began to speakto them in parables: A manplanted a vineyard. He put a

wall around it, dug a pit for the winepressand built a watchtower. Then he rentedthe vineyard to some farmers and movedto another place. 2At harvest time he senta servant to the tenants to collect fromthem some of the fruit of the vineyard.3But they seized him, beat him and senthim away empty-handed. 4Then he sent

another servant to them; they struck thisman on the head and treated him shame-fully. 5He sent still another, and that onethey killed. He sent many others; some ofthem they beat, others they killed.

6He had one left to send, a son, whomhe loved. He sent him last of all, saying,They will respect my son.

7But the tenants said to one another,

This is the heir. Come, lets kill him, andthe inheritance will be ours. 8So they tookhim and killed him, and threw him out ofthe vineyard.

9 What then will the owner of thevineyard do? He will come and kill those

d i h i d h


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1158 MARK 12

37 David himself calls him Lord. Howthen can he be his son?

The large crowd listened to him withdelight.

Warning Against the Teachersof the Law

38 As he taught, Jesus said, Watch

out for the teachers of the law. They liketo walk around in flowing robes and begreeted with respect in the marketplaces,39 and have the most important seatsin the synagogues and the places of hon-or at banquets. 40 They devour widowshouses and for a show make lengthyprayers. These men will be punished most

severely.

The Widows Offering41 Jesus sat down opposite the place

where the offerings were put and watchedthe crowd putting their money into thetemple treasury. Many rich people threwin large amounts. 42 But a poor widow

came and put in two very small coppercoins, worth only a few cents.43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus

said, Truly I tell you, this poor widowhas put more into the treasury than all theothers. 44They all gave out of their wealth;but she, out of her poverty, put in every-thing all she had to live on.

The Destruction of the Temple andSigns of the End Times

13As Jesus was leaving the tem-ple, one of his disciples saidto him, Look, Teacher! What

massive stones! What magnificent build-ings!

2Do you see all these great buildings?replied Jesus. Not one stone here will beleft on another; every one will be throwndown.

3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount ofOlives opposite the temple, Peter, James,John and Andrew asked him privately,

24 Jesus replied, Are you not in errorbecause you do not know the Scripturesor the power of God? 25 When the deadrise, they will neither marry nor be givenin marriage; they will be like the angelsin heaven. 26Now about the dead rising have you not read in the Book of Moses, inthe account of the burning bush, how God

said to him, I am the God of Abraham,the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacoba?27He is not the God of the dead, but of theliving. You are badly mistaken!

The Greatest Commandment28One of the teachers of the law came

and heard them debating. Noticing that

Jesus had given them a good answer, heasked him, Of all the commandments,which is the most important?

29The most important one, answeredJesus, is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lordour God, the Lord is one. b 30 Love theLord your God with all your heart andwith all your soul and with all your mindand with all your strength.c31The secondis this: Love your neighbor as yourself.dThere is no commandment greater thanthese.

32Well said, teacher, the man replied.You are right in saying that God is oneand there is no other but him. 33 To lovehim with all your heart, with all your un-derstanding and with all your strength,

and to love your neighbor as yourself ismore important than all burnt offeringsand sacrifices.

34When Jesus saw that he had answeredwisely, he said to him, You are not farfrom the kingdom of God. And fromthen on no one dared ask him any morequestions.

Whose Son Is the Messiah?35While Jesus was teaching in the tem-

ple courts, he asked, Why do the teachersof the law say that the Messiah is the sonof David? 36 David himself, speaking byth H l S i it d l d


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MARK 14 1159

24But in those days, following that dis-tress,

the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;25the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be

shaken.c

26

At that time people will see the Sonof Man coming in clouds with great powerand glory. 27And he will send his angelsand gather his elect from the four winds,from the ends of the earth to the ends ofthe heavens.

28 Now learn this lesson from the figtree: As soon as its twigs get tender and itsleaves come out, you know that summer isnear. 29Even so, when you see these thingshappening, you know that itbis near, rightat the door. 30Truly I tell you, this genera-tion will certainly not pass away until allthese things have happened. 31Heaven andearth will pass away, but my words willnever pass away.

The Day and Hour Unknown32 But about that day or hour no one

knows, not even the angels in heaven,nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Be onguard! Be alertd! You do not know whenthat time will come. 34Its like a man goingaway: He leaves his house and puts his ser-

vants in charge, each with their assigned

task, and tells the one at the door to keepwatch.

35 Therefore keep watch because youdo not know when the owner of the housewil l come back whether in the evening,or at midnight, or when the rooster crows,or at dawn. 36If he comes suddenly, do notlet him find you sleeping. 37What I say to

you, I say to everyone: Watch! Jesus Anointed at Bethany

14Now the Passover and theFestival of Unleavened Breadwere only two days away, and

the chief priests and the teachers of the

5Jesus said to them: Watch out that noone deceives you. 6Many will come in myname, claiming, I am he, and will de-ceive many. 7When you hear of wars andrumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Suchthings must happen, but the end is stillto come. 8Nation will rise against nation,and kingdom against kingdom. There

will be earthquakes in various places, andfamines. These are the beginning of birthpains.

9You must be on your guard. You willbe handed over to the local councils andflogged in the synagogues. On account ofme you will stand before governors andkings as witnesses to them. 10And the gos-pel must first be preached to all nations.11Whenever you are arrested and broughtto trial, do not worry beforehand aboutwhat to say. Just say whatever is given youat the time, for it is not you speaking, butthe Holy Spirit.

12Brother will betray brother to death,and a father his child. Children will rebelagainst their parents and have them put

to death. 13Everyone will hate you becauseof me, but the one who stands firm to theend will be saved.

14When you see the abomination thatcauses desolationastanding where itbdoesnot belong let the reader understand then let those who are in Judea flee to themountains. 15Let no one on the housetop

go down or enter the house to take any-thing out. 16Let no one in the field go backto get their cloak. 17 How dreadful it willbe in those days for pregnant women andnursing mothers! 18Pray that this will nottake place in winter, 19because those willbe days of distress unequaled from the be-ginning, when God created the world, un-til now and never to be equaled again.

20If the Lord had not cut short thosedays, no one would survive. But for thesake of the elect, whom he has chosen, hehas shortened them. 21At that time if any-one says to you, Look, here is the Messi-ah! or, Look, there he is! do not believe


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10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of theTwelve, went to the chief priests to betrayJesus to them. 11 They were delighted tohear this and promised to give him mon-ey. So he watched for an opportunity tohand him over.

The Last Supper12On the first day of the Festival of Un-

leavened Bread, when it was customary tosacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus disci-ples asked him, Where do you want us togo and make preparations for you to eatthe Passover?

13So he sent two of his disciples, tellingthem, Go into the city, and a man car-

rying a jar of water will meet you. Followhim. 14 Say to the owner of the house heenters, The Teacher asks: Where is myguest room, where I may eat the Passoverwith my disciples? 15He will show you alarge room upstairs, furnished and ready.Make preparations for us there.

16The disciples left, went into the city

and found things just as Jesus had toldthem. So they prepared the Passover.17 When evening came, Jesus arrived

with the Twelve. 18While they were reclin-ing at the table eating, he said, Truly I tellyou, one of you will betray me one whois eating with me.

19They were saddened, and one by onethey said to him, Surely you dont meanme?

20It is one of the Twelve, he replied,one who dips bread into the bowl withme. 21The Son of Man will go just as it iswritten about him. But woe to that manwho betrays the Son of Man! It would bebetter for him if he had not been born.

22 While they were eating, Jesus took

bread, and when he had given thanks, hebroke it and gave it to his disciples, saying,Take it; this is my body.

23Then he took a cup, and when he hadgiven thanks, he gave it to them, and theyall drank from it.

festival, they said, or the people mayriot.

3While he was in Bethany, reclining atthe table in the home of Simon the Lep-er, a woman came with an alabaster jarof very expensive perfume, made of purenard. She broke the jar and poured theperfume on his head.

4

Some of those present were saying in-dignantly to one another, Why this wasteof perfume? 5It could have been sold formore than a years wagesaand the moneygiven to the poor. And they rebuked herharshly.

6Leave her alone, said Jesus. Why areyou bothering her? She has done a beau-tiful thing to me. 7The poor you will al-ways have with you, b and you can helpthem any time you want. But you will notalways have me. 8She did what she could.She poured perfume on my body before-hand to prepare for my burial. 9 Truly Itell you, wherever the gospel is preachedthroughout the world, what she has donewill also be told, in memory of her.

oh,i get it!Who wants a bottle of perfume

dumped on their head?

The perfume was in an alabaster jar that had tobe broken to get the perfume out. Talk about dra-matic! But anointing someones head with oil wasa common custom, messy though it was, to showthat the person was being given power by God orhad a holy purpose.

Looks like our perfume lady knew something therest of the dinner guests didnt.

MARK 14:1 9


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MARK 14 1161

Enough! The hour has come. Look, theSon of Man is delivered into the hands ofsinners. 42Rise! Let us go! Here comes mybetrayer!

Jesus Arrested43 Just as he was speaking, Judas, one

of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a

crowd armed with swords and clubs, sentfrom the chief priests, the teachers of thelaw, and the elders.

44 Now the betrayer had arranged asignal with them: The one I kiss is theman; arrest him and lead him away un-der guard. 45Going at once to Jesus, Judassaid, Rabbi! and kissed him. 46The men

seized Jesus and arrested him.47

Then oneof those standing near drew his sword andstruck the servant of the high priest, cut-ting off his ear.

48Am I leading a rebellion, said Jesus,that you have come out with swords andclubs to capture me? 49 Every day I waswith you, teaching in the temple courts,

and you did not arrest me. But the Scrip-tures must be fulfilled. 50Then everyonedeserted him and fled.

51A young man, wearing nothing but alinen garment, was following Jesus. Whenthey seized him, 52he fled naked, leavinghis garment behind.

Jesus Before the Sanhedrin53 They took Jesus to the high priest,

and all the chief priests, the elders and theteachers of the law came together. 54Peterfollowed him at a distance, right into thecourtyard of the high priest. There he satwith the guards and warmed himself atthe fire.

55The chief priests and the whole San-

hedrin were looking for evidence againstJesus so that they could put him to death,but they did not find any. 56Many testifiedfalsely against him, but their statementsdid not agree.

57 Then some stood up and gave this

again from the fruit of the vine until thatday when I drink it new in the kingdomof God.

26 When they had sung a hymn, theywent out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus Predicts Peters Denial27 You will all fall away, Jesus told

them, for it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.a

28But after I have risen, I will go ahead ofyou into Galilee.

29Peter declared, Even if all fall away,I will not.

30 Truly I tell you, Jesus answered,today yes, tonight before the roostercrows twicebyou yourself will disown methree times.

31But Peter insisted emphatically, Evenif I have to die with you, I will never dis-own you. And all the others said thesame.

Gethsemane32They went to a place called Gethsem-

ane, and Jesus said to his disciples, Sithere while I pray. 33He took Peter, Jamesand John along with him, and he began tobe deeply distressed and troubled. 34Mysoul is overwhelmed with sorrow to thepoint of death, he said to them. Stay here

and keep watch.35 Going a little farther, he fell to theground and prayed that if possible thehour might pass from him. 36Abba,cFa-ther, he said, everything is possible foryou. Take this cup from me. Yet not whatI will, but what you will.

37Then he returned to his disciples andfound them sleeping. Simon, he said toPeter, are you asleep? Couldnt you keepwatch for one hour? 38Watch and pray sothat you will not fall into temptation. Thespirit is willing, but the f lesh is weak.

39Once more he went away and prayedthe same thing. 40When he came back, he


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Dream GilYou never thought it would turn out like this.Youve followed Jesus since his baptism.Youve seen him heal the unhealable and

forgive the unforgivable. Youve changedbecause of him. If he can change selfish, frightened

you, think what he could do for the whole world! You hadsuch high hopes. But now, from your miserable, curled-upplace in the garden, you can see Jesus hunched on theground in despair. Youre sure hes talking to God, but fromthe slump of his shoulders you know he isnt getting theanswers he wants. Fear, the kind you havent felt since youmet Jesus, wraps its ugly fingers around your heart. Jesussaid he was going to be put to death. Is he going to leave

you after all, when you have come to depend on him for

everything? Your hopelessness is suddenly so heavy youcant hold your head up or keep your eyes open. Suddenly

you are sharply awakened by Jesus voice. Are you stillsleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Whathour? you wonder sleepily. And then you know. Thesoldiers torches jar the night. You can hear their roughvoices, smell their sweat and their cruelty. Here comes my

betrayer! Jesus says. You feel a chill. Perhaps they arecoming to kill you, too. You search Jesus face for somesign that he will use his power to strike them down andprotect you. But he does nothing. Judas steps intothe garden, his face distorted by the shadows.Y bl f d


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Jesus Before Pilate

15Very early in the morning, thechief priests, with the elders,the teachers of the law and the

whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. Sothey bound Jesus led him away and hand-

build another, not made with hands. 59 Yet even then their testimony did notagree.

60 Then the high priest stood up be-fore them and asked Jesus, Are you notgoing to answer? What is this testimonythat these men are bringing against you?61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no

answer.Again the high priest asked him, Areyou the Messiah, the Son of the BlessedOne?

62I am, said Jesus. And you will seethe Son of Man sitting at the right hand ofthe Mighty One and coming on the cloudsof heaven.

63The high priest tore his clothes. Whydo we need any more witnesses? heasked. 64You have heard the blasphemy.What do you think?

They all condemned him as worthy ofdeath. 65Then some began to spit at him;they blindfolded him, struck him withtheir fists, and said, Prophesy! And theguards took him and beat him.

Peter Disowns Jesus66While Peter was below in the court-

yard, one of the servant girls of the highpriest came by. 67 When she saw Peterwarming himself, she looked closely athim.

You also were with that Nazarene,

Jesus, she said.68But he denied it. I dont know or un-derstand what youre talking about, hesaid, and went out into the entryway.a

69When the servant girl saw him there,she said again to those standing around,This fellow is one of them. 70 Again hedenied it.

After a little while, those standing nearsaid to Peter, Surely you are one of them,for you are a Galilean.

71 He began to call down curses, andhe swore to them, I dont know this manyoure talking about.

72 Immediately the rooster crowed the

oh,i get it!Okay, so who were the

Sadducees and Pharisees?

The Sadducees and Pharisees were the big-timereligious leaders of Israel. The two groups were alot alike, but not totally:

Sadducees wealthy, powerful men whowere more interested in politics than religion.They believed only Scripture was inspired byGod, (so forget anything teachers like Jesus

had to say) and they didnt believe in an af-terlife or resurrection. When you were dead,you were done.

Pharisees middle-class businessmen whobasically told the common people what to dowhen it came to religion. They believed bothScripture and the words of famous rabbiswere inspired by God. They also believed in an

afterlife where people would be rewarded orpunished based on their good works.

You can see why neither group was that excitedabout Jesus.

MARK 14:53


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passing by on his way in from the coun-try, and they forced him to carry the cross.22They brought Jesus to the place calledGolgotha (which means the place of theskull). 23Then they offered him wine mixedwith myrrh, but he did not take it. 24Andthey crucified him. Dividing up his clothes,they cast lots to see what each would get.

25

It was nine in the morning when theycrucified him. 26The written notice of thecharge against him read: .

27They crucified two rebels with him,one on his right and one on his left. [28]a29 Those who passed by hurled insults athim, shaking their heads and saying, So!You who are going to destroy the templeand build it in three days, 30come downfrom the cross and save yourself ! 31In thesame way the chief priests and the teach-ers of the law mocked him among them-selves. He saved others, they said, buthe cant save himself ! 32Let this Messiah,this king of Israel, come down now fromthe cross, that we may see and believe.

Those crucified with him also heaped in-sults on him.

The Death of Jesus33 At noon, darkness came over the

whole land until three in the afternoon.34And at three in the afternoon Jesus criedout in a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lema sa-

bachthani? (which means My God, myGod, why have you forsaken me?).b35 When some of those standing near

heard this, they said, Listen, hes callingElijah.

36 Someone ran, filled a sponge withwine vinegar, put it on a staff, and of-fered it to Jesus to drink. Now leave himalone. Lets see if Elijah comes to take himdown, he said.

37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed hislast.

38 The curtain of the temple was tornin two from top to bottom. 39 And whenthe centurion, who stood there in front of

2Are you the king of the Jews? askedPilate.

You have said so, Jesus replied.3The chief priests accused him of many

things. 4So again Pilate asked him, Arentyou going to answer? See how many thingsthey are accusing you of.

5But Jesus still made no reply, and Pi-

late was amazed.6Now it was the custom at the festivalto release a prisoner whom the people re-quested. 7A man called Barabbas was inprison with the insurrectionists who hadcommitted murder in the uprising. 8Thecrowd came up and asked Pilate to do forthem what he usually did.

9Do you want me to release to you theking of the Jews? asked Pilate, 10 know-ing it was out of self-interest that the chiefpriests had handed Jesus over to him.11But the chief priests stirred up the crowdto have Pilate release Barabbas instead.

12What shall I do, then, with the oneyou call the king of the Jews? Pilate askedthem.

13Crucify him! they shouted.14 Why? What crime has he commit-

ted? asked Pilate.But they shouted all the louder, Cru-

cify him!15Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate

released Barabbas to them. He had Jesusflogged, and handed him over to be cru-

cified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus16The soldiers led Jesus away into the

palace (that is, the Praetorium) and calledtogether the whole company of soldiers.17 They put a purple robe on him, thentwist ed together a crown of thorns and setit on him. 18And they began to call out tohim, Hail, king of the Jews! 19Again andagain they struck him on the head witha staff and spit on him. Falling on theirknees, they paid homage to him. 20Andwhen they had mocked him, they took offthe purple robe and put his own clothes on


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40 Some women were watching from adistance. Among them were Mary Mag-dalene, Mary the mother of James theyounger and of Joseph,aand Salome. 41InGalilee these women had followed himand cared for his needs. Many other wom-en who had come up with him to Jerusa-

lem were also there.

The Burial of Jesus42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the

day before the Sabbath). So as eveningapproached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, aprominent member of the Council, whowas himself waiting for the kingdom of

God, went boldly to Pilate and asked forJesus body. 44Pilate was surprised to hearthat he was already dead. Summoning thecenturion, he asked him if Jesus had al-ready died. 45 When he learned from thecenturion that it was so, he gave the bodyto Joseph. 46So Joseph bought some linencloth, took down the body, wrapped it inthe linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out

of rock. Then he rolled a stone against theentrance of the tomb. 47Mary Magdaleneand Mary the mother of Joseph saw wherehe was laid.

Jesus Has Risen

easur

is!

You are looking for

Jesus the Nazarene, whowas crucified. He hasrisen! He is not here.

MARK 16:6

first day of the week, just after sunrise,they were on their way to the tomb 3andthey asked each other, Who will rollthe stone away from the entrance of thetomb?

4But when they looked up, they saw thatthe stone, which was very large, had beenrolled away. 5As they entered the tomb,

they saw a young man dressed in a whiterobe sitting on the right side, and theywere alarmed.

6Dont be alarmed, he said. You arelooking for Jesus the Nazarene, who wascrucified. He has risen! He is not here. Seethe place where they laid him. 7But go, tellhis disciples and Peter, He is going aheadof you into Galilee. There you will see

him, just as he told you. 8Trembling and bewildered, the wom-

en went out and fled from the tomb. Theysaid nothing to anyone, because they wereafraid.b

[The earliest manuscripts and some otherancient witnesses do not have verses 920.]

9When Jesus rose early on the first day of theweek, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene,

a40 GreekJoses ,a variant ofJoseph; also in verse 47b8 Some manuscripts have the following ending between

verses 8 a nd 9, and one manuscript has it af ter verse 8(omitting verses 9-20): Then they quickly reported all theseinstructions to those around Peter. After this, Jesus himself

also sent out through them from east to west the sacred andimperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. Amen.

easuris!

Go into all the worldand preach thegood news toall creation.


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lieves and is baptized will be saved, but who-ever does not believe will be condemned.17Andthese signswill accompany those who believe:In my name they will drive out demons; theywill speak in new tongues;18they will pick upsnakeswith their hands; and when they drinkdeadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; theywill place their hands onsick people, and theywill get well.

19

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, hewas taken up into heavenand he sat at the righthand of God.20Then the disciples went out and

preached everywhere, and the Lord worked withthem and confirmed his word by the signsthataccompanied it.

out of whom he had driven seven demons.10Shewent and told those who had been with him andwho were mourning and weeping.11When theyheard that Jesus was alive and that she had seenhim, they did not believe it.

12Afterward Jesus appeared in a differentform to two of them while they were walking inthe country. 13These returned and reported itto the rest; but they did not believe them either.

14

Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as theywere eating; he rebuked them for their lack offaith and their stubborn refusal to believe thosewho had seen him after he had risen.

15He said to them, Go into all the world andpreach the gospel to all creation.16Whoever be-


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Faithgirlz! NIV Bible Sample Book of Mark

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