Excerpts from The Gospel of Mark New Revised Standard Version translation

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Excerpts from The Gospel of Mark New Revised Standard Version translation

The Gospel of Mark is the second gospel in the New Testament, but probably the earliest

gospel in terms of the date of its composition. Scholars came to the conclusion that the Gospel of

Mark was written in the early 70s of the first century (about 40 years after Jesus’s death), and

that the authors of the gospels of Matthew and Luke actually used it when they wrote their

gospels. None of the authors of the gospels actually knew Jesus (who lived approximately

between 4 BCE and 33 CE) personally. What they wrote was based on stories that circulated

among disciples of Jesus decades later. The gospels (like the rest of the books in the New

Testament) were written in Greek.

The word gospel is a translation of the Greek word evangelion which means “good news.” The

gospels were meant to spread the “good news” of Jesus’s arrival and the salvation he made

available for humankind to as many people and possible. The Gospel of Mark, and likewise the

gospels of Matthew and Luke, are essentially biographies of Jesus: they describe his activities

while alive (preaching, healing, performing miracles, assembling disciples), his trial and death

by crucifixion, and his appearance to his disciples after his death (=his resurrection). The Gospel

of Mark is the shortest gospel, and you will notice that we are not told anything about Jesus’s

family origins or birth in this gospel. Jesus’s first appearance is as an adult who is baptized by a

mysterious prophet-like person named John the Baptizer (or Baptist).

The Gospel of Mark is unique because it has three different endings. In the earliest manuscript

of the New Testament the gospel ends with the women seeing Jesus’s tomb empty (Mark 16:8),

and this was probably the original ending. Later on, two alternative endings were composed,

one short and one long, and different Bibles have different versions.

The events described in the gospels all take place in Judea, a Roman province on the eastern

shore of the Mediterranean (modern day Israel/Palestine), whose population was mostly Jewish

(including Jesus himself and all his disciples). Most of Jesus’s activity took place in the Galilee

(the northern part of the country, see map), but his trial and death took place in Jerusalem, the

capital city in which the Jewish temple was located.

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Mark 1

The Proclamation of John the Baptist

1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way; 3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight,’” 4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the

forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of

Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their

sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate

locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after

me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you

with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the

Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the

Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the

Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus 12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness

forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and

saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the

good news.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples 16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net

into the sea—for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make

you fish for people.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a

little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat

mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat

with the hired men, and followed him.

The Man with an Unclean Spirit

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21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and

taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and

not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and

he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I

know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and

come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came

out of him. 27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new

teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 At

once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many at Simon’s House 29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James

and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at

once. 31 He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she

began to serve them. 32 That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with

demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered around the door. 34 And he cured many who were

sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to

speak, because they knew him.

A Preaching Tour in Galilee 35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and

there he prayed. 36 And Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37 When they found him,

they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” 38 He answered, “Let us go on to the

neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to

do.” 39 And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and

casting out demons.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper 40 A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, “If you choose, you can make

me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I

do choose. Be made clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 After

sternly warning him he sent him away at once, 44 saying to him, “See that you say nothing to

anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses

commanded, as a testimony to them.” 45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to

spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the

country; and people came to him from every quarter.

Mark 2

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 So

many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door;

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and he was speaking the word to them. 3 Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed

man, carried by four of them. 4 And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the

crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the

mat on which the paralytic lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your

sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their

hearts, 7 “Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but

God alone?” 8 At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions

among themselves; and he said to them, “Why do you raise such questions in your

hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and

take your mat and walk’? 10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on

earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go

to your home.” 12 And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of

them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything

like this!”

Jesus Calls Levi 13 Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught

them. 14 As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he

said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. 15 And as he sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with

Jesus and his disciples—for there were many who followed him. 16 When the scribes of the

Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples,

“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 When Jesus heard this, he said to them,

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not

the righteous but sinners.”

The Question about Fasting 18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, “Why

do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not

fast?” 19 Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them,

can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will

come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. 21 “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from

it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old

wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins;

but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

Pronouncement about the Sabbath 23 One sabbath he was going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples

began to pluck heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is

not lawful on the sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when

he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? 26 He entered the house of God, when

Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but

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the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.” 27 Then he said to them, “The sabbath

was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; 28 so the Son of Man is lord even

of the sabbath.”

Mark 3

The Man with a Withered Hand

3 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 They

watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse

him. 3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” 4 Then he said to

them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they

were silent. 5 He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart

and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was

restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him,

how to destroy him.

A Multitude at the Seaside 7 Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed

him; 8 hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem,

Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. 9 He told his disciples to

have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; 10 for he had

cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. 11 Whenever the

unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, “You are the Son of

God!” 12 But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.

Jesus Appoints the Twelve 13 He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to

him. 14 And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent

out to proclaim the message, 15 and to have authority to cast out demons. 16 So he appointed the

twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James son of Zebedee and John the brother

of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 and Andrew, and

Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and

Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus and Beelzebul

Then he went home; 20 and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even

eat. 21 When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has

gone out of his mind.” 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has

Beelzebul (=a name for the devil) in him, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out

demons.” 23 And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out

Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is

divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against

himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. 27 But no one can enter a strong

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man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the

house can be plundered. 28 “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they

utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is

guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

The True Kindred of Jesus 31 Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called

him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers

and sisters are outside, asking for you.” 33 And he replied, “Who are my mother and my

brothers?” 34 And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my

brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

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Mark 7

The Tradition of the Elders

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered

around him, 2 they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is,

without washing them. 3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly

wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; 4 and they do not eat anything from

the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the

washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles. 5 So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do

your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 He

said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,

‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me,

teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ 8 You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” 9 Then he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to

keep your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever

speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say that if anyone tells father or

mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is Korban’ (that is, an offering to

God)— 12 then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother, 13 thus making void

the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like

this.” 14 Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and

understand: 15 there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that

come out are what defile.” 17 When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the

parable. 18 He said to them, “Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever

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goes into a person from outside cannot defile, 19 since it enters, not the heart but the stomach,

and goes out into the sewer?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “It is what

comes out of a person that defiles. 21 For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil

intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, 22 adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit,

licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they

defile a person.”

The Phoenician Woman’s Faith 24 From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not

want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little

daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down

at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile (=non-Jew), of Phoenician origin. She begged him to

cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not

fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Sir, even the

dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then he said to her, “For saying that, you

may go—the demon has left your daughter.” 30 So she went home, found the child lying on the

bed, and the demon gone.

Jesus Cures a Deaf Man 31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of

Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 They brought to him a deaf man who had an

impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 He took him aside in

private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his

tongue. 34 Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be

opened.” 35 And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke

plainly. 36 Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more

zealously they proclaimed it. 37 They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done

everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

Mark 8

Feeding the Four Thousand

In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his

disciples and said to them, 2 “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me

now for three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them away hungry to their homes, they

will faint on the way—and some of them have come from a great distance.” 4 His disciples

replied, “How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?” 5 He asked them, “How

many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” 6 Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the

ground; and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to

his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them to the crowd. 7 They had also a few small

fish; and after blessing them, he ordered that these too should be distributed. 8 They ate and

were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 Now there were

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about four thousand people. And he sent them away. 10 And immediately he got into the boat

with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

The Demand for a Sign 11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test

him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign?

Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 And he left them, and getting into

the boat again, he went across to the other side.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod 14 Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in

the boat. 15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees

and the yeast of Herod.”[c] 16 They said to one another, “It is because we have no bread.” 17 And

becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you

still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes, and fail to see?

Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves

for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” They said to

him, “Twelve.” 20 “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces

did you collect?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 Then he said to them, “Do you not yet

understand?”

Jesus Cures a Blind Man at Bethsaida 22 They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch

him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put

saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Can you see anything?” 24 And the

man looked up and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus laid

his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw

everything clearly. 26 Then he sent him away to his home, saying, “Do not even go into the

village.”

Peter’s Declaration about Jesus 27 Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked

his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and

others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 He asked them, “But who do you say that

I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” 30 And he sternly ordered them not to tell

anyone about him.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection 31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be

rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise

again. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But

turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you

are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

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34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my

followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who

want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of

the gospel, will save it. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their

life? 37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38 Those who are ashamed of me and of

my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be

ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

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Mark 10

Teaching about Divorce

He left that place and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan. And crowds again

gathered around him; and, as was his custom, he again taught them. 2 Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his

wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a

man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.” 5 But Jesus said to them, “Because of

your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you