Markus 1:38

1:38 He replied, ¹  “Let us go elsewhere, into the surrounding villages, so that I can preach there too. For that is what I came out here to do.” ² 

Markus 15:21

The Crucifixion

15:21 The soldiers ³  forced ⁴  a passerby to carry his cross, ⁵  Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country ⁶  (he was the father of Alexander and Rufus).

Markus 16:1

The Resurrection

16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic spices ⁷  so that they might go and anoint him.

[1:38]  ¹ tn Grk “And he said to them.”

[1:38]  ² tn Grk “Because for this purpose I have come forth.”

[15:21]  ³ tn Grk “They”; the referent (the soldiers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:21]  ⁴ tn Or “conscripted”; or “pressed into service.”

[15:21]  ⁵ sn Jesus was beaten severely with a whip before this (the prelude to crucifixion, known to the Romans as verberatio, mentioned in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1), so he would have been weak from trauma and loss of blood. Apparently he was unable to bear the cross himself, so Simon was conscripted to help (in all probability this was only the crossbeam, called in Latin the patibulum, since the upright beam usually remained in the ground at the place of execution). Cyrene was located in North Africa where Tripoli is today. Nothing more is known about this Simon.

[15:21]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps, “was coming in from his field” outside the city (BDAG 15-16 s.v. ἀγρός 1).

[16:1]  ⁷ tn On this term see BDAG 140 s.v. ἄρωμα. The Jews did not practice embalming, so these materials were used to cover the stench of decay and slow decomposition.

[16:1]  sn Spices were used not to preserve the body, but as an act of love, and to mask the growing stench of a corpse.