Mark 11:1-13:37

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Summary

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Discussion

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• Mark 11:2-6: Borrowing livestock. When Jesus asked the disciples to obtain the colt, he wasn't asking them to steal. According to the custom at the time, known as angaria, an important religious or political person could request the use of livestock if needed. See this Commentary that mentions the custom of angaria

• Mark 11:9-10: Hosanna. Hosanna is a word of Hebrew origin that means roughly "save us" or "deliver us." The word appears in the New Testament only in accounts of the last days of Jesus and could have been understood to have messianic overtones.

• Mark 11:26. Verse 26 is not included in many of the Greek manuscripts. Its essence, however, is implied by verse 25, and the same saying is present in Matthew 6:15.

• Mark 11:28: Authority. The Greek word (exousia) translated as "authority" in verse 28 is more often translated in the King James Version as "power." It can mean "authority" in the sense of having permission or jurisdiction, but it can also mean simply to have the strength or capability. The intepretation of exousia as referring to the first meaning is reasonable, especially considering that those asking the question were those who were responsible for granting religious authority.

• Mark 11:33: Authority. The Greek word (exousia) translated as "authority" in verse 33 is more often translated in the King James Version as "power." It can mean "authority" in the sense of having permission or jurisdiction, but it can also mean simply to have the strength or capability. The intepretation of exousia as referring to the first meaning is reasonable, especially considering that those asking the question were those who were responsible for granting religious authority.

• Mark 12:9. Verse 9 is likely an allusion to the doctrine that the Gospel is available for all people, not just the Jews. And while Jesus doesn't state so directly, it is also possible that the destruction promised in verse 9 refers to the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70.

• Mark 12:15: Penny. The coin translated in verse 15 as "penny" is a denarius, a silver coin worth about one day's pay for a common laborer. It had a picture of Caesar on it.

• Mark 12:25: Marriage after resurrection. In verse 25, Jesus does not say that people are not married after the resurrection. He affirms only that they do not become married after the resurrection.

• Mark 12:26-27: Scriptural knowledge. In much of Mark, Jesus' critics are fond of using scriptures to suggest that Jesus doesn't know what he's talking about. In verses 26-27, Jesus does the same for those who claimed that life ends at the grave.

• Mark 12:30: Love. The Greek word translated as "love" in verse 30, agapao, is the verb form of agape, which is often translated as "charity" in the King James Version. Verse 30 tells us that we should love God with the same type and extent of love that He has shown us.

• Mark 12:34: Discreetly. The Greek word translated as "discreetly" in verse 34, nounechos, means wisely, intelligently or thoughtfully.

• Mark 12:34: JST. The last sentence in verse 34 says this in the Joseph Smith Translation: "And no man after that durst ask him, saying, Who art thou?"

• Mark 12:40: Damnation. The Greek word translated as "damnation" in verse 40 is krima (a distant cousin of the English word "crime"). It is most often translated as "judgment" in the King James Version and can also mean "punishment." The word itself does not necessarily refer to eternal punishment.

• Mark 12:41, 43: Treasury. The word translated as "treasury" (gazofulakion) in verses 41 and 43 probably refers to a receptacle where monetary donations were received.

• Mark 12:42: Mite. The "mite" of verse 32 is a lepton, the least valuable coin in circulation at the time. It was made of bronze and was worth 1/128 of a denarius.

• Mark 13:2. Jesus' comments in verse 2 are possibly a prophecy of the destruction of the temple, which occurred in A.D. 70. However, Jesus' predictions in later verses do not make clear what time period he is talking about.

• Mark 13:2. Perhaps Jesus was referring in verse 2 to the final procedure for cleansing a leprous house, Lev 14:44-45.

• Mark 13:8: Sorrows. The Greek word translated as "sorrows" in verse 8, odin, refers to the pain of childbirth and in a broader sense refers to extreme anguish.

• Mark 13:13: Endure. The verb translated as "endure" in verse 13, hupomeno, has the primary meaning of staying behind or remaining, that is, not fleeing.

• Mark 13:33: Watch. The Greek verb translated as "watch," gregoreuo, suggests more action than the English verb might. Other possible translations include "actively watch," "be alert" and "pay attention."

Unanswered questions

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Prompts for life application

This section is for prompts that suggest ways in which a passage can influence a person's life. Prompts may be appropriate either for private self reflection or for a class discussion. Click the "edit" link to edit or add content to this section. →

• Mark 12:17. What belongs to Caesar, and what belongs to God?

Prompts for further study

This section is for prompts that invite us to think about a passage more deeply or in a new way. These are not necessarily questions that beg for answers, but rather prompts along the lines of "Have you ever thought about ..." Prompts are most helpful when they are developed individually, thoughtfully, and with enough background information to clearly indicate a particular direction for further study or thought. Click the "edit" link to edit or add content to this section. →

• Mark 11:23-24: Asking of God. How literally should verses 23 and 24 be understood? Is what Jesus said meant to apply only to those he was speaking to at the time, or does it apply to us today? If we fully believe, can we really have anything we ask for?

• Mark 13:30: This generation. What does Jesus mean by "this generation" in verse 30?

Resources

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• Mark 13:12. Book of Enoch 100:1-2

Notes

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.

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