Mark 16

⁵² It is interesting that the seven baskets used on this occasion were different from the twelve baskets mentioned in Mark 6:43. A different Greek word for “basket” is used in this section. The baskets used here were a larger type of basket; thus fewer were needed.

⁵³ According to Matthew 16:6,11-12, Jesus also mentioned on this occasion the evil and hypocrisy of the Sadducees. The Sadducees were another Jewish sect like the Pharisees (see Mark 12:18; Acts 23:6-8 and comments).

⁵⁴ Mark uses two different Greek words for “basket” in verses 19-20. For further discussion, see footnote to comment on verses 1-10.

⁵⁵ Christ is the Greek word meaning “anointed one.” “Messiah” is the Hebrew word meaning the same thing.

⁵⁶ Mark wrote his Gospel mainly according to what Peter told him about the life of Christ (see Mark: Introduction). However, out of humility, Peter did not mention to Mark the blessing he received on this occasion; this is described only in Matthew 16:17-19.

⁵⁷ In place of son of Jonah, some translations of the Bible say “Bar-Jona,” which means the same thing (see John 1:42).

⁵⁸ To bind and loose means to set up rules of conduct for daily life.

⁵⁹ The Greek word for soul that Mark uses here and in verse 37 is the same word that he used in verse 35, where it is translated life. The same Greek word can mean both “soul” and “life.” In verses 36 and 37, the meaning is soul. In verse 35, Jesus is talking mainly about life in this world; in verses 36-37, He is talking mainly about man’s eternal soul.

⁶⁰  Peter, James, and John would later see Christ in trouble and distress (Mark 14:33). But now they saw Him in glory.

⁶¹ John the Baptist was not a reincarnation of Elijah. He merely fulfilled Malachi’s prophecy concerning Elijah.

⁶² According to Matthew 17:20, Jesus told the disciples that if they had faith as small as a mustard seed, they could move mountains (see Mark 11:22-23 and comment). A small seed of true faith will grow into strong, effective faith, by which impossible things can be accomplished.

⁶³  In verse 29, instead of the single word prayer, some ancient manuscripts have the words “prayer and fasting.” In the corresponding verse in Matthew 17:21, the words “prayer and fasting” are also present.

⁶⁴ “Worldly men” are those men who love the world and the things in it more than they love God.

⁶⁵ To work in [Jesus’] name means to work for Jesus’ sake. It means to work in a way that brings honor to Jesus. It means to work for Him sincerely, from the heart. There are false Christians who say they are working in Jesus’ name, but their work does not glorify Jesus. Such people are not on Jesus’ side.

⁶⁶ However, it is all right to marry a divorced person if that person’s former spouse is living in adultery with someone else. For further discussion of the subject of divorce and remarriage, see General Article: Christian Marriage.

⁶⁷ According to Matthew 19:17, Jesus, in order to test the young man, said to him, “If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” Jesus was, in effect, saying, “If you can obey them perfectly, you will inherit eternal life.”

⁶⁸ In the Bible, the Gentiles usually refer to any non-Jewish people. But here in this verse, Mark is specifically referring to the Roman Gentiles who crucified Christ. For further discussion, see Word List: Gentile.

⁶⁹ The city of Jericho is also mentioned in Joshua 6:1-21.

⁷⁰ Instead of the words on a donkey, on a colt, the original Hebrew text says, “on a donkey and on a colt.” This gives the idea that Jesus rode on two animals. But the “and” in this verse is a Hebrew idiom, and means “that is.” Thus the prophecy of Zechariah is only talking about Jesus riding on one animal.

⁷¹ Hosanna is a Hebrew word meaning “save.” It was used as an expression of praise, like “Hallelujah.”

⁷² Here Mark describes the second time Jesus cleared the temple in Jerusalem. According to John 2:12-17, Jesus also came to the temple in the beginning of His public ministry and drove out the money changers and dove sellers.

⁷³ Son of David was one of the names of the Messiah, or Christ. For further discussion, see footnote to comment on Mark 3:22.

⁷⁴ In some versions of the Bible, the word praise in Psalm 8:2 is translated “strength.”

⁷⁵ In his Gospel, Matthew joins together the two parts of the account of the fig tree into one section and places it after his description of Jesus in the temple (Matthew 21:18-22).

⁷⁶ Telling a mountain to throw itself into the sea was a Jewish proverbial saying used to describe any impossible request.

⁷⁷ Not all ancient manuscripts of Mark contain verse 26. A similar verse is found in Matthew 6:15.

⁷⁸ The Old Testament prophets spoke with God’s authority, of course, and they were not considered blasphemers. But the Jewish leaders did not consider Jesus to be a prophet. Thus, in their eyes, for Jesus to claim God’s authority was indeed blasphemy.

⁷⁹ The Herodians are mentioned in Mark 3:6 and comment.

⁸⁰ The Roman Empire was established in 27 B.C., and lasted for four hundred years. Its capital was Rome, which today is the capital of the modern country of Italy. The Roman Empire included most of the nations of southern Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa. For further discussion, see World List: Roman Empire.

⁸¹ Caesar means “emperor.” All Roman emperors were called “Caesar.”

⁸² According to the Jewish law, if a man died leaving no heir, a younger unmarried brother was required to marry his widow so that he would not remain without descendants (Deuteronomy 25:5-10).

⁸³ In these verses in Luke, Jesus is talking about the resurrection of believers in heaven. There will also be a resurrection of unbelievers on the day of judgment (see John 5:28-29 and comment).

⁸⁴ The Old Testament is often called the Law and the Prophets. The first five books of the Old Testament are called the “Law.”

⁸⁵ This does not mean that believers should despise themselves. To cease loving self does not mean we must have a poor self-image. We are members of God’s family; we are made in His image. Our worth is derived from Him.

⁸⁶ In place of the word mercy in this verse, some versions of the Bible say “steadfast love.”

⁸⁷ Any priest or religious teacher who grows rich at the expense of those whom he is serving is a false priest and a false teacher.

⁸⁸ It should be mentioned that this entire chapter is difficult to understand. Bible scholars have different opinions about the meaning of certain verses. This commentary attempts to present the most common interpretations.

⁸⁹ It is not certain whether all nations means every single small tribe in the world, or whether it means “people throughout the world” in a general sense (see Romans 1:5,8; 10:17-18; Colossians 1:6,23).

Some Bible scholars believe that by saying all nations, Jesus meant all known nations at the time of the Roman Empire. If this is so, then the prophecy of Matthew 24:14 was fulfilled before the destruction of Jerusalem. In this case, the word end in Matthew 24:14 would refer to the “end” of Jerusalem, not the end of the world.

However, it’s possible that Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew refers both to the destruction of Jerusalem and to the end of the world, in which case it can be interpreted on two levels. On one level, the prophecy was partially fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem; on another level, the prophecy will be completely fulfilled at the end of the world.

⁹⁰ For further discussion of this subject, see General Article: Can We Lose Our Salvation?

⁹¹ The name abomination that causes desolation comes from Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11. Its meaning in the Old Testament is any idol or evil person by which the Jewish temple was desecrated.

⁹² Judea is the southern province of Israel, in which Jerusalem is located.

⁹³ The times of the Gentiles is the period during which the Gentiles dominated Jerusalem. That period started in 70 A.D. and lasted until 1948, when the modern nation of Israel was established. The Jews regained full control of all Jerusalem in 1966. This is one reason that many Christians today believe that the last days of the world have drawn near.

⁹⁴ Some Bible scholars believe that false Christs and false prophets never perform true supernatural miracles, but only magical tricks that appear to be miraculous. They say that only through the power of Christ can the laws of nature be set aside. However, others believe that Satan and his servants also can perform true miracles. For example, the Egyptian sorcerers caused their wooden staffs to become real snakes (Exodus 7:10-12). The important point, however, is that we cannot distinguish miracles performed by Satan and his servants from those performed by Christians by looking at the miracles alone. We must look to see if the miracle brings glory to Christ; that is the test.

⁹⁵ In place of the word vultures, some translations of the Bible say “eagles.”

⁹⁶ The sign or standard of the Roman army was an eagle.

⁹⁷ On the Jews’ last night of bondage in Egypt, God killed all of the firstborn of Egypt, both men and animals. Moses had instructed the Jews to sacrifice a lamb and sprinkle its blood on the doorframes of their houses. By means of this sign, the destroyer—that is, the destroying angel—was able to identify the houses of the Jews and thus bypass or “pass over” their houses and spare their firstborn. When Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, saw the terrible calamity that God had brought upon his land on account of the Jews, he decided to let the Jews go free that very night (Exodus 12:1-14,21-36). The word Passover, therefore, means the “passing over” or the sparing of the firstborn in the Jewish homes. It also signifies the deliverance of the Jews from bondage in Egypt.

⁹⁸ Mark writes about Jesus’ anointing after his description of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, but, in fact, the anointing came beforehand. Mark does not tell us on what day the anointing took place; we learn that from John’s Gospel.

⁹⁹ According to Exodus 21:32, thirty shekels of silver was the value of a slave.

¹⁰⁰ Some Bible scholars say that, according to John 18:28 and 19:14,31,42, Jesus’ death took place on the Passover day. If this is so, then the last supper had to have taken place on the day before the Passover, not on the Passover, as Matthew, Mark, and Luke have written.

Why does John seem not to agree with Matthew, Mark, and Luke? On this question, Bible scholars have different opinions. Some say that among the Jews at that time there were two different calendars in use, and that Jesus and His disciples followed one calendar and the Jewish leaders followed another. According to this explanation, John wrote according to the calendar used by the Jewish leaders, while Matthew, Mark, and Luke wrote according to the other calendar.

A second explanation is that the word Passover used in John 18:28 does not mean the actual Passover day, but is a general word meaning “any meal” during the week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (the Passover week). The scholars who hold this opinion also say that the expression day of Preparation mentioned in John 19:14,31,42 does not mean the day before the Passover but rather the “Friday” of Passover week, which happened to fall on Passover day that year. (The day of Preparation is a Jewish term meaning the day before the Sabbath; thus it always falls on Friday.)

If either of these two explanations are correct, then there is no disagreement between John and the other three Gospel writers. (There are other explanations also.) It is the opinion of this commentary that the second explanation above is most likely the correct one. We believe that all four Gospel writers agree that the Lord’s last supper occurred on Thursday evening, which was the beginning of Passover day that year. (The Jews reckoned the day to begin at 6 P.M.) As Matthew, Mark, and Luke clearly state, this was the main Passover meal (Matthew 26:17-19; Mark 14:12; Luke 22:7-8). Then He was crucified the next day on Friday, the “day of Preparation” (see John 18:28 and comment).

¹⁰¹ In place of the words, Yes, it is you, some versions of the Bible say, “You yourself have said it,” which is a literal translation of the Greek. The expression “You yourself have said it” is a Jewish idiom meaning, “Yes, it is you.”

¹⁰² Bread is the main food of Middle Eastern countries. In the New Testament, the word “bread” is often used to mean any kind of food.

¹⁰³ Jesus did not mean that people will eat and drink ordinary food in the kingdom of heaven. Our “food” there will be spiritual food.

¹⁰⁴  However, Jesus was not totally deserted. Some of the women who had followed Him came and watched His crucifixion from a distance (Mark 15:40-41). The Apostle John was also there (John 19:25-27).

¹⁰⁵ Abba was an Aramaic word which meant “father” (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6).

¹⁰⁶ For further discussion of this subject, see General Article: Resisting Evil.

¹⁰⁷ The same expression is found in Matthew 26:25 (see Mark 14:21 and comment).

¹⁰⁸ Pontius Pilate was governor of the province of Judea from 26-36 A.D. Usually he resided at Caesarea, but during Passover each year he came to Jerusalem to ensure that there was no rioting among the Jews, because during Passover week Jewish nationalistic feelings ran high.

¹⁰⁹ In place of the words, Yes, it is as you say, some versions of the Bible say, “You have said so,” which is a literal translation of the Greek text. The expression, “You have said so,” is a Jewish idiom meaning “Yes” (see Matthew 26:25,64; Mark 14:62 and comment).

¹¹⁰ The Roman method of executing condemned criminals was to hang them on a cross (see Mark 8:34 and comment). It was a shameful and painful method of execution. For further discussion, see Word List: Cross.

¹¹¹ In God’s sight, of course, Pilate was not innocent. He was a sharer in the Jews’ crime. He could have released Christ, but he chose not to in order to save his own position. But he tried to shift the blame for killing Jesus onto the Jews. He said, “I am innocent. … It is your responsibility” (Matthew 27:24). However, it is not possible to transfer guilt in this way. Those who consent to the sins of others share in those same sins.

¹¹² Cyrene was a region of northern Africa where modern Libya is now located.

¹¹³ Simon’s son Rufus may be the same Rufus mentioned in Romans 16:13, who was a member of the church at Rome.

¹¹⁴ According to Matthew 27:34, others gave Jesus wine mixed with gall to drink. Gall is very bitter. It is possible that the soldiers did this in order to mock Jesus. Later one of the soldiers gave Jesus wine vinegar to drink (verse 36), a cheap wine commonly drunk by soldiers (Matthew 27:48; Luke 23:36).

¹¹⁵ There are other explanations for the difference between Mark and John. It is not certain which explanation is correct.

¹¹⁶ Not all ancient manuscripts of Mark contain verse 28. A similar verse is found in Luke 22:37.

¹¹⁷  Ordinary solar eclipses occur when the moon comes between the earth and sun; but during the full moon this is impossible.

¹¹⁸ Among the disciples only John is recorded as being present at the cross (John 19:26).

¹¹⁹ Usually the Romans did not allow crucified criminals to be buried; they left their bodies hanging on the cross for the birds to eat. (They did this as a warning to others.) But according to Jewish law, it was necessary to bury the body of a person on the day he died (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). This is the reason Joseph asked Pilate for permission to bury Jesus’ body.

¹²⁰ Nicodemus is mentioned also in John 3:1-5.

¹²¹ The Jews considered that the Sabbath began at 6 P.M. on Friday and ended at 6 P.M. on Saturday.

¹²² Not all ancient manuscripts of Mark contain verses 9-20.