Markus 4:11

4:11 He said to them, “The secret ¹  of the kingdom of God has been given ²  to you. But to those outside, everything is in parables,

Markus 14:13

14:13 He sent two of his disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar ³  of water will meet you. Follow him.

Markus 14:27

The Prediction of Peter’s Denial

14:27 Then ⁴  Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written,

‘I will strike the shepherd,

and the sheep will be scattered.’ ⁵ 

[4:11]  ¹ tn Grk “the mystery.”

[4:11]  sn The key term secret (μυστήριον, musthrion) can mean either (1) a new revelation or (2) a revealing interpretation of existing revelation as in Dan 2:17-23, 27-30. Jesus seems to be explaining how current events develop old promises, since the NT consistently links the events of Jesus’ ministry and message with old promises (Rom 1:1-4; Heb 1:1-2). The traditional translation of this word, “mystery,” is misleading to the modern English reader because it suggests a secret which people have tried to uncover but which they have failed to understand (L&N 28.77).

[4:11]  ² tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

[14:13]  ³ sn Since women usually carried these jars, it would have been no problem for the two disciples (Luke 22:8 states that they were Peter and John) to recognize the man Jesus was referring to.

[14:27]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[14:27]  ⁵ sn A quotation from Zech 13:7.