Before I begin sharing these Greek/English text comparisons on Mark's gospel, I want to point out that there are several words we see in Mark such as "Straightway," "Forthwith," and "Anon." These are all one Greek word that means immediately. The translators could have saved us some time looking up these words by translating the Greek word EUTHEOS as immediately.
Mark 1:1 - The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
I want to share a technical point in Verse 1. The term "the beginning" in this verse is not in the original language. There is no word "the" in the Greek text. It's just beginning of the gospel. It is the word ARCHAE, but it is different than what is used in John 1:1 which says, "in beginning."
Here in Mark, he just says "beginning," and that is it. It is just a noun, a word. It is not the same as John 1:1, but actually ARCHAE represents this Hebrew word TECHILA. TECHILA means the first stage. So, when he says the beginning of the gospel, he is saying I'm presenting to you the first stage. I am not going to talk about His birth or anything else. I'm going to begin the gospel of Jesus Christ at this point.
Mark 7:31 - And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.
Again, Decapolis is referring to the 10 Greek cities around the Sea of Galilee.
Mark 8:2 - I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat:
The word compassion in Greek is the word SPLUNKNOSE, which is the Greek word for the intestines, the viscera. And what the Greeks would do in order to show a deep love, or a deep passion for something, they would use the inner organs of the body.
That's where we got term heart from, like "evil comes out of the heart." It is not talking about the muscle that pumps blood, it is talking about the spirit of man. And so, the Greeks would use the internal organs to identify, and SPLUNKNOSE, the viscera, or intestines had to do with genuine compassion.
Mark 8:8 - So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.
Now here is something you're not going to catch in any English bible about this word "basket." In Mark Chapter 6, when He fed the 5000, they took up baskets, KHOPHANOS. The KHOPHANOS, taking up 12 baskets, it was like a carrying bag. And it is what people would take on trips to carry food in.
But here in Mark 8:8, we have a different word for baskets. It is the word SPURIDAS, and they are like the hamper baskets. These are huge things, so the disciples definitely are not taking these baskets. And we know from Mark 8:14 that they didn't take anything with them because they said "Hey, we don't have any bread. We forgot to take bread!" So obviously the multitudes got this food for their migration home.
Mark 7:3 - For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
So, they are holding the tradition, the HALACH, of the elders.
Mark 7:6 - He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Now we always think hypocrites is like a bad word, you know, like "You hypocrite!" But it is from the Greek word that means an actor. And what Jesus is doing is He is calling them for exactly what they are. This is what religion is. Religion is working on "acting" like you are supposed to. Whatever the laws, the rules, and traditions are, everything is from the outside, and you are disciplining yourself to act in a very religious way. So, He says actors! In other words, you are just playing the part.
The word hypocrite comes from the Greek word HUPOCRISIS, and it is a word that means to answer according to the script. And some people take the bible, and they work very hard at trying to act out the script. Jesus says Hypocrites, as it is written, and this is from Isaiah 29:13, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Mark 7:9 - And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Again, this would be the HALACH.
Mark 7:26 - The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
So, the woman was a Greek. Now it doesn't mean that she was a Greek person. There were only two groups of people in the world at that time, Jew or Greek. A Greek was a heathen. So, she was a Greek (heathen), a Syrophenician by nation.
Mark 6:37 - He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?
This is something else that we might not catch from our English text. The word pennyworth is the word DENARI in the Greek. A DENARI is one-day's wage. Now just so you know, 200 pennyworth (DENARI) is two hundred days wages. Today, if you walked into a candy store and asked for 200 pennyworth of candy, they are probably going to give you two-dollars' worth of candy.
Mark 6:42 - And they did all eat, and were filled.
The word filled means satisfied in the Greek.
Mark 6:43 - And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.
The word for baskets is KOPHANOS. It is translated in our English bible as "basket," but it's actually a large carrying bag, not a basket. And there were 12 carrying bags full of food left over. How many disciples are there? Twelve, it's for them! They are going to fill their travel bags up with all this leftover food, and they are going to be touring the country, and they are going to be eating this food for themselves. And every time they take food out of that carrying bag, they are going to remember where it came from.
Mark 7:2 - And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
This is not one of those wash your hands before dinner things like they had dirty hands when they were eating. What they're saying is that they did not ceremonially wash their hands before they ate.
The reference is not to anything in the scriptures, nothing in the bible, or nothing in the law. It is called the HALACH. Every Jewish person knows what the HALACH is. It is the traditions of man. This book contains the traditions that Jews are to live by in light of the scriptures. Most of them you will not find in the Old Testament at all. It is just tradition.
Mark 5:17 - And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.
And they began to "pray him," that is, appeal to Jesus to depart from out of their coasts.
Mark 5:20 - And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.
The term Decapolis (DEKAPOLEI) means 10 cities. These are the 10 Gentile cities that surround the Sea of Galilee. This man who was once demon possessed went into all 10 cities, and told how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel. This is something we might not get without the help of the Greek text. The way this is written in our English Bibles looks like this man went to a place called Decapolis.
Mark 6:3 - Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
The word carpenter is the Greek word TEKTON where we get our English word technician from. It is literally translated a craftsman. The chances of Jesus being a carpenter or working in His dad's carpenter shop are slim to none.
The Jews to this day still hold that He was a stone mason because they didn't have much wood in those days. They claim that He was a stone mason, He and His father. Is not this the craftsman, the son of Mary? It didn't say son of Joseph, so Joseph probably is not alive at this time.
Mark 6:8 - And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:
Just some general information you may already know. This word staff means walking stick. Today, if someone says I brought my staff with me, we might take that to mean those who work for that person.
Mark 4:20 - And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
I just want to point out that these are Present Tense verbs, showing continuous action. Such as hear the word, continually hearing, and receive it, continually receiving it, and are continually bringing forth fruit, some thirty times, some sixty times, and some a hundred.
Mark 4:21 - And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?
The word candle in the King James comes from the word LAMPROS. It is literally the word lamp.
Mark 4:40 - And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
Can you imagine such a big storm like that and all Jesus says is "Stop and be quiet!" Everything is like nothing happened! So, Jesus asks them two questions. First, why are ye so fearful? Now if it was me, I would be like "Fearful? You got to be kidding! We were in the biggest storm of our life. What do you mean fearful?"
But this particular word fearful in Greek is the word DEILOS, and in Greek, it literally means cowardly. Not fearful like PHOBOS. Jesus was saying, why were you cowards? How is it that you have no faith? That is not a challenge. He is saying take inventory. Why don't you have faith?
Mark 5:1 - And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
Some of our English texts might say Gergesenes instead of Gadarenes. Actually, these are two cites. And these two areas are close together on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee.
Mark 5:9 - And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
A legion is 6,000 soldiers. This man had 6,000 demons. I'd say that's beyond human ability!
Mark 3:22 - And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
This word Beelzebub, the Philistines had insects as their gods. Beelzebub is the "lord of the flies," and the Jews used to make fun of people. If they came across somebody's religion, they would say "Oh, you are worshipping flies today, are you?" It was because they worshipped the true and living God. So, the Jews would make fun of others.
Some texts say Beelzebul, not Beelzebub. Beelzebul is "lord of the dunghill." So, they say he has Beelzebub, lord the flies, and he casts out demons by the prince of the demons.
Mark 4:9 - And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
That is a very important phrase. I shared this during Matthew's Study, but I will share it again. When Jesus commands for something to happen, it has to happen. This is not an invitation as it might sound. He is saying the one who already has ears to hear, and then the text says, hear. It is a command! So only those people that have a spiritual ear to hear are going to hear it. That is all He told them about the story.
Mark 4:11 - And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
The term "Them that are without" means those that are without Christ, those who do not have a spiritual ear to hear.
Mark 4:18 - And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
In the Greek text it says they keep hearing it. It is a habit of life. They don't just hear it once. They are continually hearing the word.
Mark 2:22 - And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.
Literally it is wineskins. Here's what He is saying:
When you put wine into these wine skins for fermentation, when the gases began to escape from the grape, the wine skins expand with the wine. When it is through expanding, the skins are in one place, and the skins harden, they stay just in one place. You take it and you and pour it out.
So, if you take an already used wine skin that has already stretched to its maximum and is already hardened, and if you put new wine in it, when the new wine begins to expand, it is going to crack and break and your wine is gone. You put new wine in new wine skins. So, He says the problem here is that I didn't come to pour new wine (the Spirit of God), into an old religious system. It doesn't work!
That is why John the Baptist told the Jewish people that they must repent and turn to Messiah for their salvation, and that they could no longer depend upon Judaism because Jesus didn't come to breathe new life into an old system. He called people to follow Him. As a matter of fact, He didn't breathe life into any system. He came to call people to follow Him!
Mark 3:3 - And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.
Jesus tells this man with the withered hand, He says "Stand out here, in the middle." That would be the literal translation.
Mark 3:14 - And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
That little phrase "send them forth" is the verb form of apostle, APOSTELLO. Jesus sent them out with the commission to preach. That's what an apostle is, someone who has been appointed by God and has been sent out on a commission to proclaim God's word.
Mark 1:21 - And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.
Here is the literal translation of this verse:
"And they went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and was teaching." The literal translation is in the Imperfect Tense in the Greek which shows habit.
Mark 1:42 - And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.
So, Jesus touched this leper. You can just hear the crowd gasping, you know? He touched him! And Jesus says to him, I will; that is, I am willing, be thou clean.
And as soon as he had spoken, guess what happened? Immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. I emphasize this to you because it is important that everything happen immediately with Jesus because if it just clears up gradually over a couple days, people can say "Well, he got healed somewhere else!" Immediately the leprosy left him!
Mark 2:5 - When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
Again, "sick of the palsy" is one Greek word that means paralyzed.
Mark 2:14 - And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
So as Jesus passed by, he saw Levi. This is Matthew. He is also called Levi. He was sitting at the "receipt of custom," which means that he was a tax collector. But not just any ordinary tax collector because he was Jewish, and he was working for the Roman government to collect taxes from his own people. His own people considered him a traitor. He didn't care because he got rich. He taxed the people what the Roman government wanted, and then he taxed them for what he wanted. And they hated him.
Mark 1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
Please notice the prepositional phrase "in those days." The King James translation retains it, but some of the others change it. But it is actually a phrase that is making reference to Jewish feast days. So, when you see the phrase "in those days," it is referring to a Jewish feast day.
In Luke Chapter 2, it says "In those days," a decree went out for all to be taxed. So that's a clue to us that when Jesus was born, He was born during a Jewish feast. The town was crowded not because the people had to come and register, but because they were in town for the feast of Tabernacles. And Bethlehem was a staging area where people would stay as they would come and go in and out of Jerusalem.
I am sharing this because it adds more importance and meaning, even to the birth of Christ that He would come, because in the midst of the feast of Tabernacles, they would celebrate God dwelling with us, and that is when Jesus was born. So, "In those days," because we are in the days of TESHUVA, but it says that in those days, Jesus came down from Nazareth, and He was baptized by John in the Jordan.
Mark 1:17 - And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
The term "after me" is literally behind me. It is the word OPISO in Greek. This verse literally reads "Come ye behind me." Jesus points this out later that the proper position in following Christ is behind Him.
But notice what He says, two things:
He says first of all, "I will make you." Jesus is the one who makes us to be what He wants us to be. "I will make you to become." This shows a process. These are important words. Jesus says, "I will make you to become fishers of men." This is a play on words. You are fishermen, but I'm going to make you fishers of men.
Mark (Part 1):
Before I begin sharing these Greek/English text comparisons on Mark's gospel, I want to point out that there are several words we see in Mark such as "Straightway," "Forthwith," and "Anon." These are all one Greek word that means immediately. The translators could have saved us some time looking up these words by translating the Greek word EUTHEOS as immediately.
Mark 1:1 - The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
I want to share a technical point in Verse 1. The term "the beginning" in this verse is not in the original language. There is no word "the" in the Greek text. It's just beginning of the gospel. It is the word ARCHAE, but it is different than what is used in John 1:1 which says, "in beginning."
Here in Mark, he just says "beginning," and that is it. It is just a noun, a word. It is not the same as John 1:1, but actually ARCHAE represents this Hebrew word TECHILA. TECHILA means the first stage. So, when he says the beginning of the gospel, he is saying I'm presenting to you the first stage. I am not going to talk about His birth or anything else. I'm going to begin the gospel of Jesus Christ at this point.
Mark 7:31 - And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.
Again, Decapolis is referring to the 10 Greek cities around the Sea of Galilee.
Mark 8:2 - I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat:
The word compassion in Greek is the word SPLUNKNOSE, which is the Greek word for the intestines, the viscera. And what the Greeks would do in order to show a deep love, or a deep passion for something, they would use the inner organs of the body.
That's where we got term heart from, like "evil comes out of the heart." It is not talking about the muscle that pumps blood, it is talking about the spirit of man. And so, the Greeks would use the internal organs to identify, and SPLUNKNOSE, the viscera, or intestines had to do with genuine compassion.
Mark 8:8 - So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.
Now here is something you're not going to catch in any English bible about this word "basket." In Mark Chapter 6, when He fed the 5000, they took up baskets, KHOPHANOS. The KHOPHANOS, taking up 12 baskets, it was like a carrying bag. And it is what people would take on trips to carry food in.
But here in Mark 8:8, we have a different word for baskets. It is the word SPURIDAS, and they are like the hamper baskets. These are huge things, so the disciples definitely are not taking these baskets. And we know from Mark 8:14 that they didn't take anything with them because they said "Hey, we don't have any bread. We forgot to take bread!" So obviously the multitudes got this food for their migration home.
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God Bless!!!
Mark 7:3 - For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
So, they are holding the tradition, the HALACH, of the elders.
Mark 7:6 - He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Now we always think hypocrites is like a bad word, you know, like "You hypocrite!" But it is from the Greek word that means an actor. And what Jesus is doing is He is calling them for exactly what they are. This is what religion is. Religion is working on "acting" like you are supposed to. Whatever the laws, the rules, and traditions are, everything is from the outside, and you are disciplining yourself to act in a very religious way. So, He says actors! In other words, you are just playing the part.
The word hypocrite comes from the Greek word HUPOCRISIS, and it is a word that means to answer according to the script. And some people take the bible, and they work very hard at trying to act out the script. Jesus says Hypocrites, as it is written, and this is from Isaiah 29:13, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Mark 7:9 - And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Again, this would be the HALACH.
Mark 7:26 - The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
So, the woman was a Greek. Now it doesn't mean that she was a Greek person. There were only two groups of people in the world at that time, Jew or Greek. A Greek was a heathen. So, she was a Greek (heathen), a Syrophenician by nation.
Mark 6:37 - He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?
This is something else that we might not catch from our English text. The word pennyworth is the word DENARI in the Greek. A DENARI is one-day's wage. Now just so you know, 200 pennyworth (DENARI) is two hundred days wages. Today, if you walked into a candy store and asked for 200 pennyworth of candy, they are probably going to give you two-dollars' worth of candy.
Mark 6:42 - And they did all eat, and were filled.
The word filled means satisfied in the Greek.
Mark 6:43 - And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.
The word for baskets is KOPHANOS. It is translated in our English bible as "basket," but it's actually a large carrying bag, not a basket. And there were 12 carrying bags full of food left over. How many disciples are there? Twelve, it's for them! They are going to fill their travel bags up with all this leftover food, and they are going to be touring the country, and they are going to be eating this food for themselves. And every time they take food out of that carrying bag, they are going to remember where it came from.
Mark 7:2 - And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
This is not one of those wash your hands before dinner things like they had dirty hands when they were eating. What they're saying is that they did not ceremonially wash their hands before they ate.
The reference is not to anything in the scriptures, nothing in the bible, or nothing in the law. It is called the HALACH. Every Jewish person knows what the HALACH is. It is the traditions of man. This book contains the traditions that Jews are to live by in light of the scriptures. Most of them you will not find in the Old Testament at all. It is just tradition.
Mark 5:17 - And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.
And they began to "pray him," that is, appeal to Jesus to depart from out of their coasts.
Mark 5:20 - And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.
The term Decapolis (DEKAPOLEI) means 10 cities. These are the 10 Gentile cities that surround the Sea of Galilee. This man who was once demon possessed went into all 10 cities, and told how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel. This is something we might not get without the help of the Greek text. The way this is written in our English Bibles looks like this man went to a place called Decapolis.
Mark 6:3 - Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
The word carpenter is the Greek word TEKTON where we get our English word technician from. It is literally translated a craftsman. The chances of Jesus being a carpenter or working in His dad's carpenter shop are slim to none.
The Jews to this day still hold that He was a stone mason because they didn't have much wood in those days. They claim that He was a stone mason, He and His father. Is not this the craftsman, the son of Mary? It didn't say son of Joseph, so Joseph probably is not alive at this time.
Mark 6:8 - And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:
Just some general information you may already know. This word staff means walking stick. Today, if someone says I brought my staff with me, we might take that to mean those who work for that person.
Mark 4:20 - And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
I just want to point out that these are Present Tense verbs, showing continuous action. Such as hear the word, continually hearing, and receive it, continually receiving it, and are continually bringing forth fruit, some thirty times, some sixty times, and some a hundred.
Mark 4:21 - And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?
The word candle in the King James comes from the word LAMPROS. It is literally the word lamp.
Mark 4:40 - And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
Can you imagine such a big storm like that and all Jesus says is "Stop and be quiet!" Everything is like nothing happened! So, Jesus asks them two questions. First, why are ye so fearful? Now if it was me, I would be like "Fearful? You got to be kidding! We were in the biggest storm of our life. What do you mean fearful?"
But this particular word fearful in Greek is the word DEILOS, and in Greek, it literally means cowardly. Not fearful like PHOBOS. Jesus was saying, why were you cowards? How is it that you have no faith? That is not a challenge. He is saying take inventory. Why don't you have faith?
Mark 5:1 - And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
Some of our English texts might say Gergesenes instead of Gadarenes. Actually, these are two cites. And these two areas are close together on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee.
Mark 5:9 - And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
A legion is 6,000 soldiers. This man had 6,000 demons. I'd say that's beyond human ability!
Mark 3:22 - And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
This word Beelzebub, the Philistines had insects as their gods. Beelzebub is the "lord of the flies," and the Jews used to make fun of people. If they came across somebody's religion, they would say "Oh, you are worshipping flies today, are you?" It was because they worshipped the true and living God. So, the Jews would make fun of others.
Some texts say Beelzebul, not Beelzebub. Beelzebul is "lord of the dunghill." So, they say he has Beelzebub, lord the flies, and he casts out demons by the prince of the demons.
Mark 4:9 - And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
That is a very important phrase. I shared this during Matthew's Study, but I will share it again. When Jesus commands for something to happen, it has to happen. This is not an invitation as it might sound. He is saying the one who already has ears to hear, and then the text says, hear. It is a command! So only those people that have a spiritual ear to hear are going to hear it. That is all He told them about the story.
Mark 4:11 - And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
The term "Them that are without" means those that are without Christ, those who do not have a spiritual ear to hear.
Mark 4:18 - And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
In the Greek text it says they keep hearing it. It is a habit of life. They don't just hear it once. They are continually hearing the word.
Mark 2:22 - And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.
Literally it is wineskins. Here's what He is saying:
When you put wine into these wine skins for fermentation, when the gases began to escape from the grape, the wine skins expand with the wine. When it is through expanding, the skins are in one place, and the skins harden, they stay just in one place. You take it and you and pour it out.
So, if you take an already used wine skin that has already stretched to its maximum and is already hardened, and if you put new wine in it, when the new wine begins to expand, it is going to crack and break and your wine is gone. You put new wine in new wine skins. So, He says the problem here is that I didn't come to pour new wine (the Spirit of God), into an old religious system. It doesn't work!
That is why John the Baptist told the Jewish people that they must repent and turn to Messiah for their salvation, and that they could no longer depend upon Judaism because Jesus didn't come to breathe new life into an old system. He called people to follow Him. As a matter of fact, He didn't breathe life into any system. He came to call people to follow Him!
Mark 3:3 - And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.
Jesus tells this man with the withered hand, He says "Stand out here, in the middle." That would be the literal translation.
Mark 3:14 - And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
That little phrase "send them forth" is the verb form of apostle, APOSTELLO. Jesus sent them out with the commission to preach. That's what an apostle is, someone who has been appointed by God and has been sent out on a commission to proclaim God's word.
Mark 1:21 - And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.
Here is the literal translation of this verse:
"And they went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and was teaching." The literal translation is in the Imperfect Tense in the Greek which shows habit.
Mark 1:42 - And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.
So, Jesus touched this leper. You can just hear the crowd gasping, you know? He touched him! And Jesus says to him, I will; that is, I am willing, be thou clean.
And as soon as he had spoken, guess what happened? Immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. I emphasize this to you because it is important that everything happen immediately with Jesus because if it just clears up gradually over a couple days, people can say "Well, he got healed somewhere else!" Immediately the leprosy left him!
Mark 2:5 - When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
Again, "sick of the palsy" is one Greek word that means paralyzed.
Mark 2:14 - And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
So as Jesus passed by, he saw Levi. This is Matthew. He is also called Levi. He was sitting at the "receipt of custom," which means that he was a tax collector. But not just any ordinary tax collector because he was Jewish, and he was working for the Roman government to collect taxes from his own people. His own people considered him a traitor. He didn't care because he got rich. He taxed the people what the Roman government wanted, and then he taxed them for what he wanted. And they hated him.
Mark 1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
Please notice the prepositional phrase "in those days." The King James translation retains it, but some of the others change it. But it is actually a phrase that is making reference to Jewish feast days. So, when you see the phrase "in those days," it is referring to a Jewish feast day.
In Luke Chapter 2, it says "In those days," a decree went out for all to be taxed. So that's a clue to us that when Jesus was born, He was born during a Jewish feast. The town was crowded not because the people had to come and register, but because they were in town for the feast of Tabernacles. And Bethlehem was a staging area where people would stay as they would come and go in and out of Jerusalem.
I am sharing this because it adds more importance and meaning, even to the birth of Christ that He would come, because in the midst of the feast of Tabernacles, they would celebrate God dwelling with us, and that is when Jesus was born. So, "In those days," because we are in the days of TESHUVA, but it says that in those days, Jesus came down from Nazareth, and He was baptized by John in the Jordan.
Mark 1:17 - And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
The term "after me" is literally behind me. It is the word OPISO in Greek. This verse literally reads "Come ye behind me." Jesus points this out later that the proper position in following Christ is behind Him.
But notice what He says, two things:
He says first of all, "I will make you." Jesus is the one who makes us to be what He wants us to be. "I will make you to become." This shows a process. These are important words. Jesus says, "I will make you to become fishers of men." This is a play on words. You are fishermen, but I'm going to make you fishers of men.
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