0 Mark : Interpretation
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Woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 13:17

Trivia: In Mark 16, what five signs did Jesus say would identify his followers?

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Mark : Interpretation (22)

  1. The phrase "as it is written in the prophets" is not found in the oldest and best Greek manuscripts which say, rather, "as it is written in Isaiah." Scribes made the change to correct the mistake of attributing the quotation to Isaiah, since the first part of the quote (v.2) is not from Isaiah, but from Ex 23:20 and Mal 3:1. 1:2
  2. The first pope was married. 1:30
  3. "Jesus, moved with compassion"
    Some of the earliest manuscripts of Mark say that Jesus was moved with anger, not compassion. Bart Ehrman in Misquoting Jesus (p.133-138) argues that the original text probably said that Jesus reacted with wrath rather than compassion, and was later changed by scribes to make the verse less problematic. 1:41
  4. "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?"
    This is the only verse in the New Testament where Jesus is referred to as a carpenter. And in the earliest manuscript of Mark, the verse says, "Is not this the son of the carpenter?" Apparently it wasn't in any of the Gospels at the time of Origen, who said that "in none of the Gospels current in the Churches is Jesus himself ever described as being a carpenter." 6:3
  5. "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?"
    Jesus had at least six siblings, four brothers and at least two sisters. Yet it is a doctine of the Catholic church that Mary was always a virgin. 6:3
  6. Jehovah's Witnesses and birthdays 6:21
  7. Does Hell exist? 9:43-48 (1)
  8. "Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery."
    If divorced people are adulterers, and the punishment for adultery is death (Lev 20:10), should we kill those who get a divorce? 10:11-12
  9. Is polygamy OK? 10:11
  10. Strange Flesh: The nearly loveless Jesus 10:21
  11. Does God approve of slavery? 10:42-43
  12. Did Jesus sin? 1:4, 11:2
  13. Pay your taxes. Keep state and church separate. 12:14-17
  14. Do angels have sex? 12:25
  15. "Beware of the scribes, which ... make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation." 12:38-40
  16. From his comments on the widow's mites, it appears that Jesus favored progressive taxation. 12:41-43
  17. Will Jesus's second coming be visible to all? 13:26
  18. One of the followers of Jesus was a young, nearly naked man who dropped his linen cloth and "fled from them naked" when the priests came to arrest Jesus. 14:51-52
  19. "And Pilate marveled if he were already dead." Maybe he wasn't! 15:44
  20. The mysterious naked follower of Jesus 14:51-52
  21. Verses 9-20 were are not found in the earlier manuscripts and are therefore considered later additions. So the gospel of Mark ended without anyone seeing the resurrected Jesus or any of the cool stuff about snake handling, drinking poison, or damned non-believers. 16:9-20
  22. Is Jesus God? 2:3-12, 10:18, 15:34, 16:19

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