He will be the voice of a man shouting out in the desert, [urging people] to make the road for the Lord ready [to travel on]; to make a straight pathway for him."

And just then there appeared in the synagogue a man dominated by an evil spirit. He shouted out,

And the evil spirit caused the man to have a convulsion, then shouted with a loud voice and came out of him.

But [instead] the man went out telling everyone about the miracle of healing and spreading the story widely, so that Jesus was not able to enter a town publicly but had to remain outside in deserted places. [So], people went to Him there from all over the region.

Then some people came, bringing a man afflicted with paralysis, who was being carried by four friends.

And when they were unable to get near Jesus, because of the [large] crowd, they removed [a section of] the roof [directly above Him]. [Note: The roof was a flat area, where people retired for rest, prayer, etc., and easily accessible from an outside stairway]. And when they had broken open [a sizable hole], they lowered the cot on which the paralyzed man was lying.

When Jesus saw [the evidence of] their faith, He said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

"Why does this man talk this way? He is speaking against God. Who can forgive sins except one, that is, God?"

Which is easier, to say to the paralyzed man, 'your sins are forgiven,' or to say 'get up, pick up your cot and walk'?

But, so you will know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins (He then said to the paralyzed man),

And He replied to them, "Did you never read what King David did when he and his men were hungry and needed something to eat? [See I Sam. 21:6].

And Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath day was made for man's [benefit], and not man for the Sabbath [day's benefit].

So, the Son of man is lord [i.e., has authority] even over the Sabbath day."

And Jesus entered the synagogue again and there He met a man with a deformed hand.

And the Pharisees were watching Him to see if He would heal the man on the Sabbath day, so that they could [find a reason to] accuse Him.

And He said to the man whose hand was deformed, "Step forward."

And when He had looked around at them with righteous indignation, being grieved over their stubbornness, He said to the man, "Reach out your hand." And when he reached it out, his hand was restored [to normal use].

And the experts in the law of Moses who had come down from Jerusalem were saying [Note: This followed the incident of Jesus healing a man with an evil spirit. See Matt. 12:22-28], "He has Beelzebub [in him]," and "He is driving out evil spirits by [the power of] the chief of evil spirits."

But no one can enter a strong man's house and steal his belongings unless he first ties up the strong man. Only then will he be able to steal from his house.

Truly I tell you, all of mankind's sins and the abusive language that they use in speaking against God [and men] can be forgiven.

And they were extremely afraid, and said to one another, "Who can this man be that even the wind and water obey him?"

When Jesus left the boat, immediately a man with an evil spirit came from the graveyard to meet Him.

This man had been living in the graveyard and no one had been able to keep him tied up, not even with a chain.

For Jesus was saying to [the evil spirit in] him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit."

And He gave them permission to do it. So, the evil spirits went out of the man's body and entered the bodies of the [wild] hogs. The herd then rushed down the cliff into the lake. There were about two thousand that drowned in the lake.

And when people came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been dominated by 5,000 to 6,000 evil spirits sitting down with his clothes on and perfectly sane, and they were afraid.

Those who saw this told the people what had happened to the man dominated by the evil spirits and about the [wild] hogs.

As He entered the boat the man who had been dominated by evil spirits begged for permission to be allowed to go with Him.

But Jesus would not allow him, saying to the man, "Go home to your friends [and family?] and tell them about the great things the Lord has done for you and how He had pity on you."

But the man went away and began telling people throughout Decapolis about all of the great things Jesus had done for him. [Note: "Decapolis" means "ten cities" and was a region located east of the Jordan River].

About then a man named Jairus, one of the officials of the synagogue, came to Jesus and, upon seeing Him, fell to the ground at His feet.

So, Jesus went along with the man, and was being thronged by a large crowd that followed Him.

She had suffered much at the hands of many doctors [i.e., through treatments and medication that only increased her discomfort] and had spent all her money [on medical bills] and yet got worse instead of better.

And when the Sabbath day came, He began teaching in the synagogue and many who heard Him were amazed, and asked [such questions as], "Where did this man get these things [i.e., knowledge, miracles, etc.]?" and "What kind of wisdom has been given to him?" and "What do these supernatural powers he performs mean?

and ordered them not to take anything with them during their travels, except a walking stick. They were to take no food, no traveling bag [for personal belongings], and no money in their money belts,

It was because Herod was afraid of John, knowing he was a righteous and holy man, so he protected him. And Herod became very disturbed whenever he listened to John, yet he heard him gladly.

He said to them, "You men, leave here and go to a deserted place and rest for awhile." For there were so many people coming and going [i.e., to listen to preaching, receive healing, etc.], that they had no opportunity even to eat.

But He answered them, "You [men] give them something to eat." And they replied, "Should we go and buy a supply of bread to give them to eat?" [Note: The amount mentioned here indicates that it was two hundred days of a farm laborer's pay, or about $14,000 in 1994].

The number eating the loaves of bread was five thousand men. [Note: This was besides women and children. See Matt. 14:21].

They are worshiping me for nothing because they are teaching principles which are [merely] the requirements of men.'

You disregard the commandment of God and [yet] hang onto the traditions of men."

But when you people say, 'If someone says to his father or mother, [the money] I could have helped you with is Corban; in other words, [it is] given to God,'

And He said, "Whatever proceeds out of a man's life is what [spiritually] corrupts him.

All these evil things proceed from within [man's heart] and [spiritually] corrupt him."

And they brought to Him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and they begged Him to place His hand on him [for healing].

So, Jesus took him away from the crowd by himself and put His fingers into the man's ears. Then He spit and touched the man's tongue [i.e., with His saliva]

And [immediately] the man's hearing was restored, his speech impediment was removed and he began speaking clearly.

The number [who ate] was about four thousand men [besides women and children. See Matt. 15:38]. Then Jesus sent them away.

And when they came to Bethsaida some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged Him to touch him [i.e., for healing].

[So], He took hold of the blind man by his hand and brought him out of the village. When Jesus spit [and put His saliva] on his eyes [See 7:33 for a similar use of His saliva in healing] and placed His hands on him [for healing], He asked him, "Can you see anything?"

The man looked up and said, " [Yes], I see people, but they look like trees walking around."

Then Jesus again placed His hands on his eyes; the man stared intently, then his sight was [completely] restored and he was able to see everything clearly.

Jesus then began teaching them that the Son of man must suffer very much, be rejected by the [Jewish] elders, leading priests, and experts in the law of Moses and be killed, but rise again [from the dead] after three days.

But He turned around, and looking at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying to him, "Get away from me, Satan; for you are not thinking about God's things but about men's."

For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words in this [spiritually] unfaithful and sinful generation, the Son of man will also be ashamed of him when He returns in the splendor of His Father, accompanied by the holy angels."

And as they were coming down from the mountain Jesus ordered His disciples not to tell anyone what they had seen until [after] the Son of man was raised again from the dead.

Jesus answered them, "Elijah truly will come first and restore all things [i.e., to their proper perspective concerning the Messiah]. And it is [also] written [in the Scriptures] about the Son of man, that He would suffer very much and be rejected.

And Jesus said to him, "'If you can.' [Note: By repeating the man's words Jesus seems to be saying, "You mean, if YOU can believe"]. Everything is possible to the person who believes [it can happen]."

For He taught His disciples, saying to them, "The Son of man will be handed over to [evil] men and they will kill Him, and three days after He dies He will rise up again."

Some Pharisees [i.e., a strict sect of the Jewish religion] came to Him [and attempted] to test Him by asking, "Is it permissible by the law of Moses for a man to divorce his wife?"

For this reason [i.e., since he made one woman for one man] a man will leave [the home of] his father and mother and will cling to his wife

And if she herself divorces her husband and marries another [man], she commits sexual unfaithfulness [toward him]."

As Jesus was leaving to go on His way, a man ran to Him and kneeled down in front of Him and asked, "Good Teacher, what should I do in order to possess never ending life?"

And Jesus looked at him, and filled with love, said to him, "There is one thing you [still] lack. Go and sell your possessions and give [the money] to poor people; become my follower, then you will have treasure in heaven."

But the man had a sad look on his face when he heard these words, and went away sorrowful, for he had many possessions.

Jesus looked at them and said, "This would be impossible with men, but not with God, for everything is possible with God."

He said, "Look, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of man will be turned over to the leading priests and experts in the law of Moses. They will condemn Him to death and turn Him over to the [unconverted] Gentiles.

Jesus called them [i.e., probably all twelve apostles] to Him and said, "You are aware that those who are regarded as rulers among the [unconverted] Gentiles lord it over their own people, and their important men domineer over them [as well].

For the Son of man did not come to be served [by others] but to be the servant [of others], and to sacrifice His life as a ransom price for many people [i.e., to purchase them back from Satan]."

Many people spoke harshly to the blind man, telling him to be quiet. But he shouted all the more [loudly], "Son of David, have pity on me."

So, Jesus stopped and said, "Call that man [to me]." Then the crowd called the blind man, saying to him, "Cheer up, Jesus is calling you."

Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" And the blind man answered, "Rabboni [i.e., Teacher], I want to have my sight restored."

Was the immersion of John [authorized] from heaven or from men? Give me an answer."

But, should we say 'from men' [instead]?" Now they feared the people, for all of them considered John to be a true prophet.

or, to the people (See Luke 20:9)] by using parables. He said, "A man planted a vineyard and built a fence around it. He dug a place for constructing a grape squeezing device, built a [lookout] tower [near it], then leased it out to tenant farmers and went to another country.

"Teacher, Moses wrote to us [Deut. 25:5] that if a man's brother dies, leaving his widow behind without having had any children, his brother should marry his widow and father children by her. These children would then be considered his [dead] brother's.

For when people rise from the dead, men do not get married, and women are not given away in marriage, but [all] are like angels in heaven.

The second one is this, 'You must love your neighbor the same way that you love yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these [i.e., love for God and man]."

When Jesus saw that this man answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not [very] far from the kingdom of God." And after that, no one dared to ask Him any more questions.

Then Jesus sat down over near the [Temple] treasury and watched how the crowd was throwing money into the treasury [Note: This "treasury" was a large open-mouthed container used for receiving offerings for meeting expenses of Temple upkeep]. Many rich people were throwing in lots of money.

Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has thrown in more than all the rest who are throwing [money] into the treasury.

"But after those days of terrible trouble [i.e., the next major event on God's calendar will be], the sun will become dark, and [therefore] the moon will not [be able to] shed its [reflected] light,

And then they will see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and splendor.

It is like a man who left his house on a trip to another country. [Before leaving] he put his servants in charge of his affairs, giving each one a [particular] job to do, then he ordered the gatekeeper to stay alert [i.e., while he was gone].

And while Jesus was in Bethany [Note: This was a small village fewer than two miles east of Jerusalem], sitting at the dinner table in the house of Simon, the man with an infectious skin disease [Note: This man had probably been healed by now], a woman with an alabaster [i.e., stone] jar of very expensive perfume came to Him, broke the jar and poured the perfume on His head.

It might have been sold for a large sum of money and the money given to poor people. [Note: The amount indicated here was equivalent to days of a farm laborer's pay, or over $20,000 in 1994]. And they complained about her [doing this].

And when they [i.e., the leading priests] realized this, they were very pleased and promised to give him money. So, Judas began looking for a convenient way to turn Jesus over to these Jewish leaders.

So, He sent two of His disciples, saying to them, "Go into the city [of Jerusalem] and there a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him.

For the Son of man is going [to die], but it is too bad for that person who will turn me over to the Jewish leaders It would be better for that man if he had not been born."

And He came back a third time and said to them, "Go ahead and sleep now and get your rest. That is enough; the time has come. See, the Son of man is about to be turned over into the hands of sinners.

And a certain young man [Note: Some think this is a reference to Mark himself], who had a linen outer garment thrown over his scantily clad body, was following Jesus until they [i.e., the soldiers and officers] took hold of him. [Note: The wording here does not indicate total nakedness, but rather the wearing of underclothing only]

And Jesus answered, "Yes, I am; and you will see the Son of man sitting at the right side of Power [i.e., God, Himself], and coming on the clouds of the sky."

When the servant girl saw him [there], she again began saying to those nearby, "This man is one of them [i.e., a disciple of Jesus]."

Then Peter began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know this man you are talking about."

One prisoner, named Barabbas, was kept chained up in prison along with men who had committed murder during a rebellion.

It was nine o'clock in the morning and they crucified Him. [Note: John 19:14 indicates that the crucifixion took place about noon. This can be harmonized if we take Mark's account to mean when the entire process began].

And when the military officer in charge of one hundred men, who was standing in front of Jesus, saw Him die like that, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God."

As they were entering the cave, they were amazed when they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting at the right side of the entrance.

And these two men went and told about their encounter with Jesus to the rest of the disciples, but they did not believe them either.

Then He said to them, "You [men] go into the entire world and preach the good news to every person.