Markus 4:7

4:7 Other seed fell among the thorns, ¹  and they grew up and choked it, ²  and it did not produce grain.

Markus 4:18

4:18 Others are the ones sown among thorns: They are those who hear the word,

Markus 4:27-28

4:27 He goes to sleep and gets up, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 4:28 By itself the soil produces a crop, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head.

Markus 8:24

8:24 Regaining his sight ³  he said, “I see people, but they look like trees walking.”

Markus 10:35

The Request of James and John

10:35 Then ⁴  James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

Markus 11:8

11:8 Many spread their cloaks on the road and others spread branches they had cut in the fields.

Markus 11:13-14

11:13 After noticing in the distance a fig tree with leaves, he went to see if he could find any fruit ⁵  on it. When he came to it he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 11:14 He said to it, ⁶  “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. ⁷ 

Markus 11:20-21

The Withered Fig Tree

11:20 In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 11:21 Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered.”

Markus 11:24

11:24 For this reason I tell you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Markus 12:1-2

The Parable of the Tenants

12:1 Then ⁸  he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. ⁹  He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then ¹⁰  he leased it to tenant farmers ¹¹  and went on a journey. 12:2 At harvest time he sent a slave ¹²  to the tenants to collect from them ¹³  his portion of the crop. ¹⁴ 

Markus 12:8-9

12:8 So ¹⁵  they seized him, ¹⁶  killed him, and threw his body ¹⁷  out of the vineyard. ¹⁸  12:9 What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy ¹⁹  those tenants and give the vineyard to others. ²⁰ 

Markus 13:28

The Parable of the Fig Tree

13:28 “Learn this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

Markus 14:25

14:25 I tell you the truth, ²¹  I will no longer drink of the fruit ²²  of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

[4:7]  ¹ sn Palestinian weeds like these thorns could grow up to six feet in height and have a major root system.

[4:7]  ² sn That is, crowded out the good plants.

[8:24]  ³ tn The verb ἀναβλέπω, though normally meaning “look up,” when used in conjunction with blindness means “regain sight.”

[10:35]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[11:13]  ⁵ tn Grk “anything.”

[11:14]  ⁶ tn Grk “And answering, he said to it.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

[11:14]  ⁷ sn Mark 11:12-14. The incident of the cursing of the fig tree occurs before he enters the temple for a third time (11:27ff) and is questioned at length by the religious leaders (11:27-12:40). It appears that Mark records the incident as a portent of what is going to happen to the leadership in Jerusalem who were supposed to have borne spiritual fruit but have been found by Messiah at his coming to be barren. The fact that the nation as a whole is indicted is made explicit in chapter 13:1-37 where Jesus speaks of Jerusalem’s destruction and his second coming.

[12:1]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ⁹ sn The vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT (Isa 5:1-7). The nation and its leaders are the tenants, so the vineyard here may well refer to the promise that resides within the nation. The imagery is like that in Rom 11:11-24.

[12:1]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ¹¹ sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.

[12:2]  ¹² tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.

[12:2]  sn This slave (along with the others) represent the prophets God sent to the nation, who were mistreated and rejected.

[12:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “from the tenants,” but this is redundant in English, so the pronoun (“them”) was used in the translation.

[12:2]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “from the fruits of the vineyard.”

[12:8]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[12:8]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “seizing him.” The participle λαβόντες (labontes) has been translated as attendant circumstance.

[12:8]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “him.”

[12:8]  ¹⁸ sn Throwing the heir’s body out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.

[12:9]  ¹⁹ sn The statement that the owner will come and destroy those tenants is a promise of judgment; see Luke 13:34-35; 19:41-44.

[12:9]  ²⁰ sn The warning that the owner would give the vineyard to others suggests that the care of the promise and the nation’s hope would be passed to others. This eventually looks to Gentile inclusion; see Eph 2:11-22.

[14:25]  ²¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[14:25]  ²² tn Grk “the produce” (“the produce of the vine” is a figurative expression for wine).