The NIrV Adventure Bible for Early Readers, Revised

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1/23/14 3:16 PM

Mark
Who wrote this book?

A young man named John Mark worked with

Peter. Peter told him things about Jesus. John Mark
wrote these things down in this book.

Why was this book written?

This book shows people who Jesus is. Mark tells

what Jesus did so that people can know Jesus
better.

For whom was this book written?

Mark wrote this book for people in the Roman

Empire. These people did not understand how the
Jews lived, so sometimes Mark explained things.

What happens in this book?

Jesus shows his power by doing wonderful things

that help people. He teaches his followers too.

Who is important in this book?

Jesus is the most important person in this book.

When did this happen?

The events in this book happened when Jesus was

an adult on earth.

Where did this happen?

Most of the things in Mark 19 happened in

Galilee. Most of the things in Mark 1016 took
place in or near Jerusalem.

What are some of the stories in this

book?
Jesus heals a man who cant walk.......... Mark 2:112
Jesus calms a storm............................... Mark 4:3541
Jesus raises a dead girl.......................... Mark 5:2143
Jesus walks on the water...................... Mark 6:4556
Jesus feeds 4,000 people......................... Mark 8:110
Jesus heals a young boy........................ Mark 9:1432
Jesus and his followers eat the
Lords Supper................................... Mark 14:1226
Jesus dies and is buried....................... Mark 15:2147
Jesus rises from the dead........................ Mark 16:18

Mark 1

1208

John theBaptist Prepares

theWay

This is the beginning of the good news

a bout J esus the Messia h, the Son of
God. 2Long ago Isaiah the prophe t
w rote,

I will send my messenger ahead of

you.
He will prepare your way.

(Malachi3:1)
3 A messenger is calling out in the
desert,
Prepare the way for the Lord.
Make straight paths for him.

(Isaiah40:3)

the Jordan River. 10Jesus was coming up

out of the water. Just then he saw heaven
being torn open. J esus saw the Holy
Spirit comi ng down on him like a dove.
11A voice spoke to him from heaven. It
said, You are my Son, and I love you. I
am very pleased with you.
12At once the Holy Spirit sent Jesus
out into the desert. 13He was in the des
ert 40 days. T here Sat an tempted him.
The wild animals didnt harm J esus. An
gels took care of him.

Jesus Preaches theGood News

14After John was put in prison, Jesus

went into Galilee. He preached the good
news of God. 15The time has come,
he said. The kingdom of God has come
near. Turn away from your sins and
believe the good news!

Jesus Chooses His First Disciples

John the Baptist

John the Baptist spoke Gods words. He

told the people that Jesus was coming.
John baptized many people in the river.
He told them to ask God to forgive them
for their sins. John the Baptist also
baptized Jesus.

4And so John the Bapt ist app eared in

the desert. He p
reached that peop le
should be bapt ized and turn away from
their sins. Then God w
ould forg ive
them. 5All the people from the coun
trys ide of Judea went out to him. All
the peop le from Jer us alem went too.
When they adm itt ed they had sinned,
John bapt ized them in the Jordan Riv
er. 6John wore clothes made out of cam
els hair. He had a leather belt a round
his w aist. And he ate loc usts and wild
honey. 7Here is what John was preach
ing. After me, t here is someone coming
who is more powerf ul than I am. Im not
good enough to bend down and unt ie his
sandals. 8I bapt ize you with water. But
he will bapt ize you with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Is Baptized and Tempted

9At that time J

esus came from Naz
areth in Galilee. John bapt ized J esus in

16One day Jesus was walki ng beside

the Sea of Galilee. T here he saw Simon
and his brothe r And rew. They were
throwing a net into the lake. They were
fishe rmen. 17Come and follow me,
Jesus said. I will send you out to fish for
people. 18At once they left t heir nets
and followed him.
19Then J
esus w
alked a litt le fart her.
As he did, he saw James, the son of Zeb
edee, and his brother John. They were
in a boat preparing t heir nets. 20R ight
away he c alled out to them. They left
their father Zebedee in the boat with the
hired men. Then they followed Jesus.

Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit

21Jesus and t hose with him went to

Cap er n au m. When the Sabb ath day
came, he went into the syna g ogue.
T here he began to teach. 22The people
were a mazed at his teaching. T hats be
cause he t aught them like one who had
authorit y. He did not talk like the teach
ers of the law. 23Just then a man in their
synagogue cried out. He was cont rolled
by an evil spirit. He said, 24What do you
want with us, J esus of Naza reth? Have
you come to destroy us? I know who you
are. You are the Holy One of God!
25Be quiet! said Jesus firmly. Come
out of him! 26The evil spirit shook the
man wildly. Then it came out of him with
a scream.
27All the people were a mazed. So they

1209
a sked each other, What is this? A new
teachi ng! And with so much aut horit y!
He even g
ives orders to evil spirits, and
they obey him. 28News about Jesus
spread quickly all over Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many People

29Jesus and t hose with him left the

synagogue. R ight away they went with
James and John to the home of Simon
and And rew. 30Simons mother-in-law
was lyi ng in bed with a fever. They told
Jesus a bout her r ight away. 31So he went
to her. He took her hand and helped her
up. The fever left her. Then she began to
serve them.
32That even ing after sunset, the peo
ple brought to Jesus all who were sick.
They also brought all who were con
trolled by dem ons. 33All the peop le
in town gathered at the door. 34Jesus
healed many of them. They had all k
inds
of sicknesses. He also d rove out many
demons. But he w
ould not let the demons
speak, because they knew who he was.

Jesus Prays ina Quiet Place

35It was very early in the morni ng and

s till dark. Jesus got up and left the house.
He went to a p
lace where he c ould be
alone. T here he prayed. 36Simon and his
f riends went to look for J esus. 37When
they f ound him, they c alled out, Every
one is looking for you!
38Jesus replied, L ets go somewhere
else. I want to go to the nearby towns.
I must p
reach t here also. That is why I
have come. 39So he traveled all a round

Mark 12

Gal il ee. He p reached in t heir syna

gogues. He also drove out demons.

Jesus Heals a Man Who Had

a SkinDisease

40A man who had a skin disease came

to J esus. On his k
nees he b
egged J esus.
He said, If you are willi ng to make me
clean, you can do it.
41Jesus bec ame ang ry. He r eached
out his hand and touched the man. I am
willing to do it, J esus said. Be clean!
42R ight away the dise ase left the man,
and he was clean.
43Jesus sent him away at once. He
gave the man a s trong warning. 44Dont
tell this to anyone, he said. Go and
show yourself to the priest. Offer the sac
ri f ices that Moses com manded. It will
be a witness to the priest and the people
that you are clean. 45But the man went
out and started talking r ight away. He
spread the news to everyone. So Jesus
could no longer enter a town openly. He
stayed outside in lonely places. But peo
ple still came to him from everywhere.

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Man

Who Could Not Walk

A few days late r, Jesus entered

Cap er n au m a gain. T he peop le
heard that he had come home. 2So many
people gathered that there was no room
left. T
here was not even room outside
the door. And J esus p
reached the word
to them. 3Four of t hose who came were
carr ying a man who could not walk. 4But
they c ould not get him c lose to J esus be

Fishing
When Jesus was
living on earth,
fishermen in boats
worked on the Sea
of Galilee. The fish
they caught in their
nets were salted or dried and then sold all
through the Holy Land. Jesus told his first
disciples to fish for people instead of fish
(Mark 1:1618).

Mark 2

1210

cause of the c rowd. So they made a hole

by digging through the roof above Jesus.
Then they lowered the man through it on
a mat. 5Jesus saw their faith. So he said
to the man, Son, your sins are forgiven.
6Some teache rs of the law were sit
ting t here. They were thinking, 7Why
is this fellow talking like that? Hes say
ing a very evil t hing! Only God can for
give sins!
8R ight away Jesus knew what they
were thinking. So he said to them, Why
are you thinking t hese t hings? 9Is it
easie r to say to this man, Your sins
are forg ive n? Or to say, Get up, take
your mat and walk? 10But I want you
to know that the Son of Man has aut hor
it y on e arth to forg ive sins. So J esus
s poke to the man who c ould not walk.
11I tell you, he said, get up. Take your
mat and go home. 12The man got up
and took his mat. Then he w
alked away
while everyone watched. All the people
were a mazed. They p raised God and
said, We have neve r seen anything
like this!

Jesus Chooses Levi and Eats With

Sinners

13Once a
gain J esus went out beside
the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd came
to him. He began to t each them. 14As he
walked along he saw Levi, the son of Al
phaeus. Levi was sitt ing at the tax collec
tors booth. Follow me, Jesus told him.
Levi got up and followed him.
15Late r Jesus was havi ng dinner at
Lev is h
ouse. Many tax collect ors and

sinners were eating with him and his

disc iples. They were part of the large
c rowd follow i ng Jesus. 16Some teach
ers of the law who were Pharisees were
t here. They saw Jesus eati ng with sin
ners and tax collect ors. So they a sked
his disciples, Why does he eat with tax
col lectors and sinners?
17Jesus heard that. So he said to them,
T hose who are healthy dont need a doc
tor. Sick people do. I have not come to get
those who t hink they are r ight with God
to follow me. I have come to get sinners
to follow me.

Jesus Is Asked About Fasting

18Johns dis c iples and the Phar is ees

were going without eating. Some people
came to Jesus. They said to him, Johns
disciples are fasting. The disciples of the
Pharisees are also fasting. But your dis
ciples are not. Why a rent they?
19
Jesus ans wered, How can the
g uests of the g
room go without eating
while he is with them? They will not fast
as long as he is with them. 20But the
time will come when the g room will be
taken away from them. On that day they
will go without eating.
21No one sews a p atch of new cloth
on old clothes. Otherw ise, the new piece
will pull away from the old. That will
make the tear worse. 22No one p ours
new wine into old wines kins. Othe r
wise, the wine will b
urst the s kins. Then
the wine and the wineskins will both be
destroyed. No, people pour new wine
into new wineskins.

Reach Out to Others

Mark 1:4042

Read Mark 1:4042. It tells about a man who had a terrible

skin disease. A person with this skin disease couldnt be
anywhere near other people. And no one would come near him.
But Jesus did. He reached out and touched the man. The man
was healed.
Do you know any children who might feel lonely? Kids that
no one wants to be around? You can show them that you care
about them just like Jesus does. Smile at them. Talk to them.
Maybe they will ask you why you are the only person being nice
to them. Then you can tell them that Jesus loves them too.

1211
Jesus Is Lord ofthe
Sabbath Day

23One Sabbath day J

esus was walk
ing with his disciples t hrough the grain
fields. The disciples began to break off
some h
eads of g
rain. 24The Pharisees
said to J esus, Look! It is a gainst the Law
to do this on the Sabbath day. Why are
your disciples doing it?
25He ans wered, H avent you ever
read about what Dav id did? He and his
men were hung ry. They needed food.
26It was when Abiat har was high p
riest.
Dav id entered the house of God and
ate the holy bread. Only p riests were
allowed to eat it. Dav id also gave some
to his men.
27Then Jesus said to them, The Sab
bath day was made for man. Man was not
made for the Sabbath day. 28So the Son
of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.

Jesus Heals on theSabbath Day

Another time Jesus went into the

synagogue. A man with a weak and
twisted hand was t here. 2Some Phar i
sees were trying to find fault with Jesus.
They w
atched him closely. They wanted
to see if he would heal the man on the
Sabbath day. 3Jesus s poke to the man
with the weak and twisted hand. Stand
up in f ront of everyone, he said.
4Then J
esus a sked them, What does
the Law say we should do on the Sabbath
day? Should we do good? Or should we
do evil? S
hould we save life? Or s hould
we kill? But no one answered.
5Jesus looked a
round at them in anger.

Mark 23

He was very upset because t heir h

earts
were stubborn. Then he said to the man,
Stretch out your hand. He stretched it
out, and his hand had become as good as
new. 6Then the Pharisees went out and
began to make p
lans with the Herodians.
They wanted to kill J esus.

Crowds Follow Jesus

7Jesus went off to the Sea of Gali lee

with his disc iples. A large c rowd from
Galilee followed. 8People heard about all
that Jesus was doing. And many came to
him. They came from Judea, Jer usalem
and Idumea. They came from the lands
east of the Jordan River. And they came
from the area a round Tyre and Sidon.
9Bec ause of the c rowd, Jesus told his
disc iples to get a small boat ready for
him. This w
ould keep the people from
crowding him. 10Jesus had healed many
people. So those who were sick were
pushing forward to t ouch him. 11When
people cont rolled by evil spirits saw him,
they fell down in f ront of him. The spirits
shouted, You are the Son of God! 12But
Jesus ordered them not to tell people
about him.

Jesus Appoints theTwelve

Disciples

13Jesus went up on a mount ains ide.

He called for cert ain people to come to
him, and they came. 14He appointed 12
of them so that they w
ould be with him.
He w
ould also send them out to p
reach.
15And he gave them aut horit y to d
rive
out demons. 16So Jesus app ointed the

House Roofs
House roofs in
New Testament
times were made
by laying branches
over wood. Mud
was packed over
the branches. The friends who carried a
sick man to Jesus dug through the mud
roof of a house and lowered the man into
the room where Jesus was teaching.

Mark 34

1212

12 disc iples. Simon was one of them.

Jesus gave him the name Peter. 17T here
were J ames, son of Zebe dee, and his
brother John. J esus gave them the name
Boa nerges. Boa nerges means Sons of
Thunder. 18T here were also And rew,
Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas,
and James, son of Alphaeus. And t here
were Thaddaeus and Simon the Zealot.
19Judas Isc ariot was one of them too. He
was the one who was later going to hand
Jesus over to his enemies.

Jesus Is Accused by Teachers

oftheLaw

20
Jesus entered a h
ouse. A
gain a
c rowd gathe red. It was so large that
Jesus and his disc iples were not even
able to eat. 21His fam il y heard about
this. So they went to take c harge of him.
They said, He is out of his mind.
22Some teach
e rs of the law were
t here. They had come down from Jer u
salem. They said, He is cont rolled by
Beelzebul! He is driving out demons by
the power of the p
rince of demons.
23So J
esus c alled them over to him.
He began to speak to them using stor ies.
He said, How can Sat an d
rive out Sat an?
24If a king
dom fights a gainst its elf,
it c ant stand. 25If a fam ily is div ided,
it c ant s tand. 26And if Satan fights
a gainst hims elf, and his helpe rs are
div ided, he c ant s tand. That is the end
of him. 27In fact, none of you can enter
a strong m
ans house unless you tie him
up f irst. Then you can steal things from
his house. 28What Im about to tell you
is true. Everyones sins and evil words

a gainst God will be forgiven. 29But who

ever s peaks evil things a gainst the Holy
Spirit will never be forg iven. T heir g uilt
will last forever.
30Jesus said this because the teachers
of the law were sayi ng, He has an evil
spirit.

Jesus Mother and Brothers

31Jesus mothe r and brothe rs came

and s tood outside. They sent someone in
to get him. 32A crowd was sitt ing around
Jesus. They told him, Your mother and
your brothers are outside. They are look
ing for you.
33Who is my mother? Who are my
brothers? he asked.
34Then J
esus looked at the people
sitt ing in a circle a round him. He said,
Here is my mother! Here are my broth
ers! 35Anyone who does what God wants
is my brother or sister or mother.

TheStory oftheFarmer

A gain Jesus began to teach by the

Sea of Galilee. The crowd that gath
ered a round him was very large. So he
got into a boat. He sat down in it out on
the lake. All the people were a long the
shore at the wat ers edge. 2He t aught
them many t hings usi ng stor ies. In his
teaching he said, 3List en! A farme r
went out to p
lant his seed. 4He scattered
the seed on the g
round. Some fell on a
path. B
irds came and ate it up. 5Some
seed fell on rocky places, where t here
w asnt much soil. The plants came up
quickly, bec ause the soil w
asnt deep.
6When the sun came up, it b
urned the

Planting Seeds
Farmers in Jesus time didnt
use machines to plant, or
sow, their fields with seed.
They took handfuls of seeds
and threw them on the
ground they had plowed. A
skillful farmer could spread
grain seeds very evenly.

1213
lants. They dried up because they had
p
no roots. 7Other seed fell among t horns.
The t horns grew up and crowded out the
plants. So the plants did not bear g rain.
8Still other seed fell on good soil. It grew
up and produced a crop 30, 60, or even
100 t imes more than the farmer planted.
9Then Jesus said, Whoever has ears
should listen.
10Later J
esus was a lone. The 12 disci
ples a sked him about the stor ies. So did
the others a round him. 11He told them,
The secret of G
ods kingdom has been
given to you. But to outsiders everything
is told using stor ies. 12In that way,
They will see but never know what
they are seeing.
They will hear but never
understand.
Otherwise they might turn and be
(Isaiah6:9,10)
forgiven! 
13Then Jesus said to them, Dont you
understand this stor y? Then how will
you understand any stor ies of this kind?
14The seed the farmer plants is G
ods
message. 15What is seed scattered on
a path like? The mess age is plante d.
The peop le hear the mess age. Then
Sat an comes. He t akes away the mes
sage that was planted in them. 16And
what is seed scattered on rocky places
like? The people hear the message. At
once they receive it with joy. 17But they
have no r oots. So they last only a s hort
time. They quickly fall away from the
f aith when trouble or suf fer i ng comes
because of the message. 18And what is
seed scattered a mong t horns like? The
people hear the message. 19But then the
worr ies of this life come to them. Wealth
comes with its false promises. The peo
ple also long for other t hings. All of these
are the k inds of t hings that c rowd out
the message. They keep it from produc
ing f ruit. 20And what is seed scattered
on good soil like? The people hear the
message. They accept it. They produce a
good crop 30, 60, or even 100 t imes more
than the farmer planted.

A Lamp on a Stand

21Jesus said to them, Do you b

ring
in a lamp to put it under a large bowl
or a bed? Dont you put it on its stand?
22What is hidden is m
eant to be seen.
And what is put out of s ight is m
eant to

Mark 4

be brought out into the open. 23Whoever

has ears s hould listen.
24 T hink caref ul l y a bout what you
hear, he said. As you give, so you will
rec eive. In fact, you will rec eive even
more. 25Whoever has somet hing will
be given more. Whoever has nothing,
even what they have will be taken away
from them.

TheStory oftheGrowing Seed

26Jesus also said, Here is what G

ods
kingdom is like. A farmer scatters seed
on the g round. 27N ight and day the
seed comes up and g
rows. It happ ens
whether the farmer s leeps or gets up.
He doesnt know how it happens. 28All
by itself the soil produces grain. First the
stalk c omes up. Then the head appears.
Fin ally, the full g
rain app ears in the
head. 29Before long the g
rain ripens. So
the farmer cuts it down, because the har
vest is ready.

TheStory oftheMustard Seed

30A gain J
esus said, What can we say
ods kingdom is like? What stor y can
G
we use to explain it? 31It is like a must ard
seed, w
hich is the smallest of all s eeds
on earth. 32But when you p
lant the seed,
it g
rows. It becomes the largest of all gar
den p
lants. Its branches are so big that
birds can rest in its shade.
33Using many stor ies like t hese, Jesus
spoke the word to them. He told them as
much as they c ould understand. 34He
did not say anyt hing to them without
using a stor y. But when he was a lone
with his disc iples, he explained every
thing.

Jesus Calms theStorm

35When even ing came, J

esus said to
his disciples, L ets go over to the other
side of the lake. 36They left the c rowd
beh ind. And they took him a long in a
boat, just as he was. T
here were also
other b
oats with him. 37A wild storm
came up. W
aves c rashed over the boat.
It was about to sink. 38Jesus was in the
back, sleepi ng on a cushion. The disci
ples woke him up. They said, Teacher!
Dont you care if we d
rown?
39He got up and ordered the wind to
stop. He said to the waves, Quiet! Be
still! Then the wind died down. And it
was completely calm.

Mark 45

1214

40He said to his disc iples, Why are

you so a fraid? D
ont you have any f aith
at all yet?
41They were terr if ied. They a
sked
each other, Who is this? Even the wind
and the waves obey him!

Jesus Heals a Man Controlled

by Demons

They went a cross the Sea of Galilee

to the area of the Gerasenes. 2Jesus
got out of the boat. A man cont rolled by
an evil spirit came from the tombs to
meet him. 3The man l ived in the tombs.
No one c ould keep him tied up anymore.
Not even a c hain c ould hold him. 4His
hands and feet had often been chained.
But he tore the chains a part. And he
broke the iron c uffs on his ank les. No
one was strong enough to cont rol him.
5Night and day he s
creamed a mong the
t ombs and in the h
ills. He cut himself
with stones.
6When he saw J
esus a long way off, he
ran to him. He fell on his k
nees in f ront of
him. 7He shouted at the top of his voice,
Jesus, Son of the Most High God, what
do you want with me? Swear to God that
you w
ont hurt me! 8This was because
Jesus had said to him, Come out of this
man, you evil spirit!
9Then Jesus asked the demon, What
is your name?
My name is Leg ion, he rep lied.
T here are many of us. 10A nd he
b egged Jesus a gain and a gain not to
send them out of the area.
11A large herd of pigs was feeding
on the nearby hillside. 12The demons
begged J esus, Send us a mong the pigs.
Let us go into them. 13Jesus allowed
it. The evil spirits came out of the man
and went into the pigs. T here were about
2,000 pigs in the herd. The w
hole herd
r ushed down the s teep bank. They ran
into the lake and d
rowned.
14T hose who were tending the pigs
ran off. They told the people in the town
and countrys ide what had happ ened.
The people went out to see for them
selves. 15Then they came to Jesus. They
saw the man who had been cont rolled by
many demons. He was sitt ing t here. He
was now d
ressed and thinking clearly.
All this made the people a fraid. 16T hose
who had seen it told them what had hap
pened to the man. They told about the

pigs as well. 17Then the people began to

beg Jesus to l eave t heir area.
18Jesus was gett ing into the boat. The
man who had been cont rolled by demons
begged to go with him. 19Jesus did not
let him. He said, Go home to your own
people. Tell them how much the Lord
has done for you. Tell them how kind
he has been to you. 20So the man went
away. In the area k nown as the Ten Cit
ies, he began to tell how much Jesus had
done for him. And all the people were
a mazed.

Did You Know?

Can demons
really control
people?

5:18 Demons are

evil spirits. They are

real. They can make
people do evil things. You
should not have anything to do with
demons. Movies with pretend
demons are not good. The movies
leave out one important thing. They
dont tell you that Jesus is more
powerful than demons. When Jesus
is our Savior, he protects us from
demons.

Jesus Heals a Dead Girl and

a Suffering Woman

21Jesus went a cross the Sea of Gali

lee in a boat. It landed at the other side.
T here a l arge c rowd gathered a round
him. 22Then a man n
amed Jair us came.
He was a syna g ogue leade r. W hen
he saw J esus, he fell at his feet. 23He
begged Jesus, P lease come. My litt le
daughter is dyi ng. P
lace your h
ands on
her to heal her. Then she will live. 24So
Jesus went with him.
A l arge g
roup of people followed. They
crowded a round him. 25A woma n was
there who had a sickness that made her
bleed. It had lasted for 12 y ears. 26She
had suffered a g reat deal, even t hough
she had gone to many doctors. She had
s pent all the money she had. But she
was gett ing worse, not bett er. 27Then
she h
eard a bout J esus. She came up

1215
behind him in the crowd and touched his
clothes. 28She t hought, I just need to
touch his c lothes. Then I will be h
ealed.
29R ight away her bleedi ng s
topped. She
felt in her body that her suffering was
over.
30At once Jesus knew that power had
gone out from him. He t urned a round in
the crowd. He a sked, Who t ouched my
clothes?
31You see the people, his disc iples
answered. They are crowdi ng against
you. And you s till ask, Who touched
me?
32But Jesus kept looki ng a round. He
wante d to see who had touched him.
33Then the woma n came and fell at his
feet. She knew what had happ ened to
her. She was shaking with fear. But she
told him the w
hole t ruth. 34He said to
her, Dear woma n, your faith has healed
you. Go in p
eace. You are free from your
suf fering.
35W hile Jesus was s till speak i ng,
some people came from the house of Jai
rus. He was the synagogue leader. Your
daughter is dead, they said. Why both
er the teacher anymore?
36Jesus heard what they were sayi ng.
He told the synagogue leader, Dont be
a fraid. Just believe.
37He let only Peter, J
ames, and John,
the brother of J ames, follow him. 38They
came to the home of the syna gogue
leader. T here Jesus saw a lot of conf u
sion. People were crying and sobbing
loudly. 39He went inside. Then he said

Mark 56

to them, Why all this conf usion and sob

bing? The child is not dead. She is only
sleeping. 40But they l aughed at him.
He made them all go outside. He took
only the c hilds fat her and mother and
the disciples who were with him. And he
went in w
here the c hild was. 41He took
her by the hand. Then he said to her,
Talitha koum! This m
eans, Little girl,
I say to you, get up! 42The girl was 12
years old. R ight away she stood up and
began to walk a round. They were tot ally
a mazed at this. 43Jesus gave s trict
orders not to let anyone know what had
happened. And he told them to give her
something to eat.

A Prophet Without Honor

Jesus left there and went to his

hometown of Naza r eth. His dis
ciples went with him. 2When the Sab
bath day came, he began to teach in the
synagogue. Many who h
eard him were
a mazed.
W here did this man get these
t hings? they asked. W hats this wis
dom that has been given to him? What
are t hese rem arka ble mirac les he is
doi ng? 3Isnt this the car p ent er? Isnt
this Marys son? I snt this the brother of
James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? A rent
his sisters here with us? They were not
pleased with him at all.
4Jesus said to them, A prophet is hon
ored everywhere except in his own town.
He doesnt receive any honor a mong his
relat ives or in his own home. 5Jesus

Parents Who Pray

Read Mark 5:2124,3543. This story tells about a man who
begged Jesus to heal his daughter. She was dying. The man
believed that Jesus could heal her.
Ask your parents to tell you about a time that they prayed for
you. Why did they pray? What did they say in their prayer? How
did God answer their prayer? Do they still pray for you every
day?

Mark 5:2124,3543

Mark 6

1216

placed his h
ands on a few sick people
and healed them. But he could not do any
other miracles t here. 6He was a mazed
because they had no faith.

Jesus Sends Out theTwelve

Disciples

Jesus went a round teaching from vil

lage to village. 7He c alled the 12 disci
ples to him. Then he began to send them
out two by two. He gave them aut horit y
to drive out evil spirits.
8Here is what he told them to do.
Take only a walking stick for your trip.
Do not take bread or a bag. Take no mon
ey in your b
elts. 9Wear sandals. But do
not take ext ra c lothes. 10When you are
inv ited into a h
ouse, stay t here unt il you
leave town. 11Some places may not wel
come you or listen to you. If they d
ont,
leave that place and shake the dust off
your feet. That will be a witness against
the people living there.
12They went out. And they preached
that people should turn away from their
sins. 13They d rove out many demons.
They poured olive oil on many sick peo
ple and healed them.

John theBaptists Head Is Cut Off

14King Herod h
eard a bout this. J esus
name had bec ome well k nown. Some
were saying, John the Bapt ist has been
raised from the dead! That is why he has
the power to do miracles.
15Others said, He is Elijah.
Still others c laimed, He is a prophet.
He is like one of the prophets of long
ago.
16But when Herod heard this, he said,
I had J ohns head cut off. And now he
has been r aised from the dead!
17In fact, it was Herod hims elf who
had given orders to arrest John. He had
him tied up and put in prison. He did this
because of Herodias. She was the wife
of Herods brother Philip. But now Her
od was married to her. 18John had been
saying to Herod, It is a gainst the Law for
you to be married to your brothers wife.
19Herodias couldnt forgive John for say
ing that. She wanted to kill him. But she
could not, 20because Herod was afraid of
John. So he kept John safe. Herod knew
John was a holy man who did what was
r ight. When Herod heard him, he was
very puzzled. But he liked to listen to John.

21Fin ally the r

ight time came. Her
od gave a banquet on his birthday. He
inv ite d his high of f ic ials and mil it ary
leaders. He also inv ited the most impor
tant men in Galilee. 22Then the daugh
ter of Herodias came in and danced. She
pleased Herod and his dinner g
uests.
The king said to the girl, Ask me for
anyt hing you want. Ill give it to you.
23And he gave her his promise. He said
to her, Anyt hing you ask for I will give
you. Ill give you up to half my kingdom.
24She went out and said to her mother,
What s hould I ask for?
The head of John the Bapt ist, she
answered.
25At once the girl hurr ied to ask the
king. She said, I want you to give me the
head of John the Bapt ist on a big p
late
r ight now.
26The king was very ups et. But he
t hought about his promise and his din
ner g uests. So he did not want to say no
to the girl. 27He sent a man r ight away
to bring J ohns head. The man went to
the prison and cut off Johns head. 28He
brought it back on a big plate. He gave it
to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.
29Johns dis c iples heard about this. So
they came and took his body. Then they
placed it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

30The apost les gathe red a round

Jesus. They told him all they had done

Did You Know?

Why did Herod

kill John the
Baptist?
6:26 King Herod

made a foolish
promise. He said he
would give a dancing girl
anything she wanted. She asked for
the head of John the Baptist. The
king knew it was wrong to kill John.
But he worried about what his
friends would think if he broke his
promise. The king did not want his
friends to laugh at him. So he did
this terrible thing.

1217
and t aught. 31But many people were
coming and going. So they did not even
have a c hance to eat. Then J esus said to
his apost les, Come with me by your
selves to a quiet place. You need to get
some rest.
32So they went away by themselves in
a boat to a quiet p
lace. 33But many peo
ple who saw them leaving recogn ized
them. They ran from all the towns and
got t here a head of them. 34When Jesus
came a shore, he saw a large c rowd. He
felt deep concern for them. They were
like s heep without a shepherd. So he
began teaching them many things.
35By that time it was late in the day.
His disc iples came to him. T here is
nothing here, they said. Its already
very late. 36Send the people away. Then
they can go to the nearby count ryside
and villages to buy something to eat.
37But J
esus answered, You give them
something to eat.
They said to him, That would take
more than half a years pay! Should we
go and s pend that much on bread? Are
we supposed to feed them?
38How many loaves do you have?
Jesus asked. Go and see.
When they f ound out, they said, Five
loaves and two fish.
39Then Jesus directed them to have
all the peop le sit down in g roups on
the g reen g rass. 40So they sat down in
g roups of 100s and 50s. 41Jesus took the
five loaves and the two fish. He looked
up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke
the loaves into piece s. Then he gave
them to his disciples to pass a round to
the people. He also div ided the two fish
a mong them all. 42All of them ate and

Mark 6

were sat isf ied. 43The disc iples picked

up 12 baskets of broken pieces of b
read
and fish. 44The number of men who had
eaten was 5,000.

Jesus Walks on theWater

45R ight away Jesus made his disc i

ples get into the boat. He had them go on
ahead of him to Bethsaida. Then he sent
the c rowd away. 46Af ter leav i ng them,
he went up on a mount ainside to pray.
47Later that night, the boat was in the
middle of the Sea of Galilee. J esus was
alone on land. 48He saw the disciples pull
ing hard on the oars. The wind was blow
ing a gainst them. Shortly before dawn,
he went out to them. He walked on the
lake. When he was a bout to pass by them,
49they saw him walking on the lake. They
thought he was a ghost, so they cried out.
50They all saw him and were terr if ied.
R ight away Jesus said to them, Be
brave! It is I. Dont be a fraid. 51Then he
climbed into the boat with them. The wind
died down. And they were completely
a mazed. 52They had not understood
about the loaves. They were stubborn.
53They went
a cross the lake and
landed at Gennesa ret. T here they tied
up the boat. 54As soon as Jesus and his
disciples got out, people recognized him.
55They ran t hrough that whole area to
bring to him t hose who were sick. They
carr ied them on mats to w
here they
heard he was. 56He went into the vil
lages, the t owns and the count ryside.
Everywhere he went, the people b
rought
the sick to the market areas. T
hose who
were sick begged him to let them touch
just the edge of his clothes. And all who
touched his c lothes were h
ealed.

Baking Bread
Women used clay ovens to
bake bread. First they built
a fire inside. When the
oven was hot, they put
pancake-shaped bread
on the outside to
cook. Or they scraped the ashes out of the
oven and put small loaves of bread inside.

Mark 7

1218

What Makes People Unclean?

The Phar is ees gathe red a round

Jesus. So did some of the teachers
of the law. All of them had come from
Jer usalem. 2They saw some of his dis
ciples eating food with unclean hands.
That means they were not washed. 3The
Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat un
less they wash t heir h
ands to make them
clean. T hats what the elders teach.
4When they come from the market, they
do not eat unless they wash. And they fol
low many other teachings. For exa mple,
they wash cups, pitchers, and kett les in
a special way.
5So the Pharis ees and the teache rs
of the law quest ioned Jesus. Why dont
your disc iples live by what the elders
t each? they a sked. Why do they eat
their food with unclean h
ands?

Did You Know?

Why was Jesus

angry with the
Pharisees?

7:5 The Pharisees

thought that all their
rules were very
important. They thought
their rules were more important
than Gods Word. Jesus said the
Pharisees were wrong. Rules made
up by people are never as important
as Gods Word.

6He rep lied, Isaiah was r ight. He

prophesied about you people who pre
tend to be good. He said,

These people honor me by what

they say.
But their hearts are far away
fromme.
7 Their worship doesnt mean anything
tome.
They teach nothing but human
rules. 
(Isaiah29:13)
8You have let go of G ods comm ands.
And you are holding on to teachings that
people have made up.
9Jesus cont inued speaki ng, You have
a fine way of sett ing a side G
ods com

mands! You do this so you can follow

your own teachings. 10Moses said, Hon
or your father and mother. (Exodus 20:12;
Deuteronomy 5:16) He also said, Anyone
who asks for bad t hings to happ en to
t heir fat her or mother must be put to
death. (Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9) 11But
you allow people to say that what m ight
have been used to help t heir parents is
Corban. Corban means A Gift Set A
part
for God. 12So you no longer let them do
anyt hing for t heir parents. 13You make
the word of God useless by putt ing your
own teachings in its place. And you do
many t hings like this.
14
A gain Jesus c alled the c rowd to
him. He said, Listen to me, everyone.
Understand this. 15-16Nothi ng outside
of a person can make them unclean by
going into them. It is what comes out of
them that m
akes them unclean.
17Then he left the c rowd and entered
the h
ouse. His disciples asked him about
this teaching. 18Dont you understand?
Jesus a sked. Dont you see? Nothing
that enters a person from the outside can
make them unclean. 19It doesnt go into
t heir heart. It goes into t heir stomach.
Then it goes out of the body. In saying
this, J esus was calling all foods clean.
20He went on to say, What c
omes out
of a person is what makes them unclean.
21Evil t houghts come from the ins ide,
from a persons heart. So do sexual sins,
stealing and murder. 22Adultery, g reed,
hate and cheating come from a persons
heart too. So do desires that are not pure,
and wanting what belongs to others. And
so do telling lies a bout others and being
proud and being foolish. 23All these evil
t hings come from inside a person and
make them unclean.

Jesus Honors a Greek Womans

Faith

24Jesus went from t here to a p lace

near Tyre. He entered a h
ouse. He did
not want anyo ne to know w
here he
was. But he c ould not keep it a sec ret.
25Soon a woma n h
eard a bout him. An
evil spirit cont rolled her litt le daughter.
The woma n came to Jesus and fell at his
feet. 26She was a Greek, born in Syria n
Phoenicia. She b
egged J esus to d
rive the
demon out of her daughter.
27F irst let the child ren eat all they
want, he told her. It is not r ight to take

1219
the childrens bread and t hrow it to the
dogs.
28L ord, she re
p lied, even the
dogs under the table eat the child rens
crumbs.
29Then he told her, That was a good
reply. You may go. The demon has left
your daughter.
30So she went home and found her
child lying on the bed. And the demon
was gone.

Jesus Heals a Man Who Could Not

Hear or Speak

31Then J
esus left the area of Tyre
and went t hrough Sidon. He went down
to the Sea of Galilee and into the area
k nown as the Ten Cities. 32T here some
people brought a man to J esus. The man
was deaf and could hardly speak. They
begged Jesus to place his hand on the
man.
33
Jesus took the man to one side,
away from the c rowd. He put his fin
gers into the mans ears. Then he spit
and touched the m
ans tongue. 34Jesus
looked up to heaven. With a deep sigh,
he said to the man, Ephphatha! That
means Be opened! 35The mans ears
were opened. His t ongue was f reed up,
and he began to s peak clearly.
36Jesus ordered the people not to tell
anyone. But the more he did so, the more
they kept talking a bout it. 37People were
really a mazed. He has done everything
well, they said. He even makes deaf
people able to hear. And he makes t hose
who c ant s peak able to talk.

Jesus Feeds theFour Thousand

Dur i ng t hose days anothe r l arge

c rowd gathered. They had nothing
to eat. So J esus c alled for his disciples
to come to him. He said, 2I feel deep
conc ern for these people. They have
already been with me t hree days. They
dont have anyt hing to eat. 3If I send
them away hung ry, they will become too
weak on t heir way home. Some of them
have come from far away.
4His disciples answered him. T here
is nothing here, they said. W here can
anyone get enough bread to feed them?
5How many loaves do you have?
Jesus asked.
Seven, they replied.
6He told the c rowd to sit down on the

Mark 78

round. He took the seven loaves and

g
gave thanks to God. Then he broke them
and gave them to his disc iples. They
passed the pieces of bread a round to the
people. 7The disc iples also had a few
small fish. Jesus gave t hanks for them
too. He told the disc iples to pass them
a round. 8The people ate and were satis
fied. After that, the disciples p
icked up
seven baskets of leftover pieces. 9About
4,000 people were there. After J esus sent
them away, 10he got into a boat with his
disciples. He went to the area of Dalma
nutha.
11The Pharis ees came and began to
ask J esus quest ions. They wanted to test
him. So they a sked him for a sign from
heaven. 12He sighed deeply. He said,
Why do you people ask for a sign? What
Im a bout to tell you is true. No sign will
be given to you. 13Then he left them. He
got back into the boat and crossed to the
other side of the lake.

TheYeast ofthePharisees and

Herod

14The disciples had forgotten to bring

read. They had only one loaf with them
b
in the boat. 15Be caref ul, Jesus warned
them. Watch out for the yeast of the
Pharisees. And w
atch out for the y east
of Herod.
16They t alked a
bout this with each
other. They said, He must be saying this
because we dont have any b
read.
17Jesus knew what they were sayi ng.
So he a sked them, Why are you talking
about having no bread? Why c ant you
see or understand? Are you stubborn?
18Do you have eyes and s
till d
ont see?
Do you have ears and s till d
ont hear?
And dont you rem emb er? 19Earl ie r
Ib
roke five loaves for the 5,000. How
many baskets of pieces did you pick up?
Twelve, they replied.
20Later I broke seven loaves for the
4,000. How many baskets of pieces did
you pick up?
Seven, they answered.
21He said to them, Cant you under
stand yet?

Jesus Heals a Blind Man

at Bethsaida

22
Jesus and his disc ip les came to
Beths a id a. Some peop le b rought a
blind man to him. They b
egged J esus to

Mark 89

1220

t ouch him. 23He took the b

lind man by
the hand. Then he led him outside the
village. He spit on the mans eyes and
placed his h
ands on him. Do you see
anything? Jesus asked.
24The man looked up. He said, I see
people. They look like trees walking
a round.
25Once more J
esus put his h
ands
on the m
ans eyes. Then his eyes were
opened so that he c ould see a gain. He
saw everything clearly. 26Jesus sent him
home. He told him, Dont even go into
the village.

Peter Says That Jesus Is

theMessiah

27Jesus and his disc iples went on to

the vil lages a round Caesa rea Phil ippi.
On the way he a sked them, Who do
people say I am?
28They replied, Some say John the
Bapt ist. Others say Elijah. S till others
say one of the prophets.
29But what a
bout you? he a sked.
Who do you say I am?
Peter ans wered, You are the Mes
siah.
30Jesus w arned them not to tell any
one about him.

k illed and aft er t hree days rise a gain.

32He spoke clearly about this. Peter took
Jesus to one side and began to s cold him.
33Jesus t urned and looked at his dis
ciples. He scolded Pet er. Get beh ind
me, Sat an! he said. You are not think
ing a bout the t hings God c ares a bout.
Instead, you are thinking only a bout the
things humans care about.

You Must Pick Up Your Cross

34Jesus c alled the c

rowd to him a long
with his disc iples. He said, Whoever
wants to be my disciple must say no to
thems elves. They must pick up their
cross and follow me. 35Whoever wants
to save t heir life will lose it. But who
ever loses t heir life for me and for the
good news will save it. 36What good is
it if someone gains the whole world but
loses t heir soul? 37Or what can anyone
t rade for t heir soul? 38Suppose anyone
is a shamed of me and my w
ords a mong
these adulterous and sinf ul people. Then
the Son of Man will be a shamed of them
when he c omes in his Fathers glor y with
the holy angels.
Jesus said to them, What Im about
to tell you is true. Some who are
standing here will not die before they
see that G ods kingdom has come with
power.

Jesus Appearance Is Changed

Jesus

Jesus is the Son of God. God chose him

to be the Christ. He is the Savior of his
people. God called Jesus my Son
(Mark 9:7). That means that Jesus is
God. The Bible also calls him the Son
of Man (Mark 8:31). That tells us that
Jesus was also a real human being.

Jesus Tells About His Coming

Death

31Jesus then began to t each his disci

ples. He t aught them that the Son of Man
must suffer many things. He t aught them
that the elders would not accept him. The
chief priests and the teachers of the law
would not accept him either. He must be

2A f
t er six days Jesus took Peter,
J ames and John with him. He led them
up a high mount ain. They were all a lone.
T here in f ront of them his app eara nce
was changed. 3His clothes bec ame so
white they shone. They were whiter than
anyone in the world could b
leach them.
4Elijah and Mos es app eared in f ront of
Jesus and his disciples. The two of them
were talking with J esus.
5Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good
for us to be here. Let us put up t hree shel
ters. One will be for you, one for Moses,
and one for Elijah. 6Peter didnt really
know what to say, because they were so
a fraid.
7Then a cloud app eared and covered
them. A voice came from the cloud. It
said, This is my Son, and I love him.
Listen to him!
8They looked a round. Suddenly they
no longer saw anyone with them except
Jesus.

1221
9They came down the mount ain. On
the way down, J esus ordered them not
to tell anyone what they had seen. He
told them to wait unt il the Son of Man
had risen from the dead. 10So they kept
the matter to themselves. But they asked
each other what risi ng from the dead
meant.

Mark 9:7

This is my Son,
and I love
him. Listen to
him!

11Then they asked Jesus, Why do the

teachers of the law say that Elijah has to
come f irst?
12Jesus replied, T hats r ight. Elijah
does come first. He m akes all things
new again. So why is it written that the
Son of Man must suffer much and not be
accepted? 13I tell you, Elijah has come.
They have done to him everyt hing they
wanted to do. They did it just as it is writ
ten about him.

Jesus Heals a Boy Who Is

Controlled by an Evil Spirit

14When Jesus and t hose who were

with him came to the other disc iples,
they saw a large c rowd a round them.
The teachers of the law were arg uing
with them. 15When all the people saw
Jesus, they were f illed with wonder. And
they ran to g reet him.
16What are you arg ui ng with them
about? Jesus asked.
17A man in the
c rowd ans wered.
Teacher, he said, I brought you my
son. He is cont rolled by an evil spirit.
Bec ause of this, my son c ant s peak
any more. 18When the spirit t akes hold
of him, it t hrows him to the g round. He
foams at the mouth. He g
rinds his teeth.
And his body becomes stiff. I asked your
disciples to drive out the spirit. But they
couldnt do it.
19You unbel ievi ng people! Jesus re
plied. How long do I have to stay with

Mark 9

you? How long do I have to put up with

you? B
ring the boy to me.
20So they brought him. As soon as
the spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boy
into a fit. He fell to the g round. He rolled
a round and f oamed at the m
outh.
21Jesus a
sked the b
oys fat her, How
long has he been like this?
Since he was a child, he answered.
22The spirit has often t hrown him into
fire or water to kill him. But if you can
do anything, take pity on us. P
lease help
us.
23If you can? said Jesus. Every
thing is poss ib le for the one who
believes.
24R ight away the b oys fat her c ried
out, I do believe! Help me overcome my
unbelief!
25Jesus saw that a crowd was runn ing
over to see what was happ ening. Then
he ordered the evil spirit to leave the
boy. You spirit that makes him unable
to hear and s peak! he said. I command
you, come out of him. Never enter him
again.
26The spirit s creamed. It shook the
boy wildly. Then it came out of him. The
boy looked so lifeless that many people
said, Hes dead. 27But Jesus took him
by the hand. He lifted the boy to his feet,
and the boy stoodup.
28Jesus went indoors. Then his disci
ples a sked him in private, Why c ouldnt
we drive out the evil spirit?
29He replied, This kind can come out
only by prayer.

Jesus Speaks a Second Time

About His Coming Death

30They left that

p lace and p assed
t hrough Galilee. J esus did not want any
one to know where they were. 31That
was because he was teachi ng his disci
ples. He said to them, The Son of Man
is going to be handed over to men. They
will kill him. After three days he will rise
from the dead.
32But they d
idnt understand what he
meant. And they were a fraid to ask him
aboutit.

Who Is theMost Important Person?

33Jesus and his disc iples came to a

house in Cap er nau m. T here he a sked
them, What were you arg uing a bout on
the road? 34But they kept quiet. On the

Mark 910

1222

way, they had arg ued a bout w

hich one
of them was the most import ant person.
35Jesus sat down and c
alled for the 12
disciples to come to him. Then he said,
Anyone who w
ants to be f irst must be
the very last. They must be the servant
of everyone.
36Jesus took a litt le child and had the
child stand a mong them. Then he took
the c hild in his arms. He said to them,
37Anyone who welcomes one of t hese
little children in my name welcomes me.
And anyone who welcomes me also wel
comes the one who sent me.

Anyone Who Is Not Against Us Is

for Us

38Teacher, said John, we saw some

one driving out demons in your name.
We told him to stop, because he was not
one of us.
39Do not stop him, J
esus said. For
no one who does a miracle in my name
can in the next moment say anything bad
about me. 40Anyone who is not against
us is for us. 41What Im about to tell you
is true. Suppose someone gives you a cup
of water in my name because you belong
to the Mess ia h. That pers on will cer
tainly not go without a reward.

Mark 9:41

Suppose someone gives you a

cup of water in my name
because you
belong to the
Messiah. That
person will
certainly not
go without a
reward.

Leading People toSin

42What if someone l eads one of t hese

litt le ones who believe in me to sin? If
they do, it would be better if a large mill
stone were hung a round t heir neck and
they were t hrown into the sea. 43-44If
your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It w
ould be better for you to enter G
ods
kingdom with only one hand than to go

into hell with two h

ands. In hell the fire
never goes out. 45-46If your foot causes
you to sin, cut it off. It would be better to
enter G
ods kingdom with only one foot
than to have two feet and be t hrown into
hell. 47If your eye causes you to sin, poke
it out. It would be better for you to enter
G ods kingdom with only one eye than
to have two eyes and be t hrown into hell.
48In hell,
The worms that eat them do not
die.
The fire is not put out.
(Isaiah66:24)

49Everyone

will be salted with fire.

is good. But suppose it loses
its saltiness. How can you make it s alty
again? Have salt a mong yourselves. And
be at p
eace with each other.
50Salt

Jesus Teaches About Divorce

10

Jesus left that p

lace and went into
the area of Judea and a cross the
Jordan River. A gain c rowds of people
came to him. As usual, he t aught them.
2Some Pharisees came to test J
esus.
They asked, Does the Law allow a man
to divorce his wife?
3What did Moses command you? he
replied.
4They said, Mos es allowed a man
to w
rite a letter of divorce and send her
away.
5You were stub
b orn. T
hats why
Moses w rote you this law, Jesus replied.
6But at the beg inn ing of creat ion, God
made them male and female. (Gene s is
1:27) 7T hats why a man will leave his
fat her and mother and be joined to his
wife. 8The two of them will become one.
(Genesis 2:24) They are no longer two, but
one. 9So no one s hould sepa r ate what
God has joined together.
10When they were in the h
ouse a gain,
the disc iples a sked Jesus a bout this.
11He answered, What if a man divorces
his wife and gets marr ied to anothe r
woma n? He com m its adult ery a gainst
her. 12And what if she divorces her hus
band and gets marr ied to another man?
She commits adultery.

Little Children Are Brought

toJesus

13People were bringi ng litt le child ren

to Jesus. They wanted him to place his

1223
ands on them to bless them. But the dis
h
ciples told them to stop. 14When Jesus
saw this, he was ang ry. He said to his
disciples, Let the litt le child ren come
to me. D ont keep them away. G ods
kingdom belongs to people like them.
15What Im a bout to tell you is true.
Anyone who will not receive Gods king
dom like a litt le child will never ent er
it. 16Then he took the child ren in his
arms. He placed his hands on them to
bless them.

Rich People and theKingdom

ofGod

17As Jesus started on his way, a man

ran up to him. He fell on his k nees before
Jesus. Good teacher, he said, what
must I do to receive eternal life?
18Why do you call me good? Jesus
answered. No one is good except God.
19You know what the comm andments
say. Do not murder. Do not comm it
adultery. Do not steal. Do not be a false
witness. Do not cheat. Honor your father
and mother. (Exodus 20:1216; Deuteron

omy 5:1620)

20Teacher, he said, I have obeyed

all t hose commandments since I was a
boy.
21Jesus looked at him and loved him.
You are missing one t hing, he said.
Go and sell everyt hing you have. Give
the money to t hose who are poor. You
will have treasure in heaven. Then come
and follow me.
22The m
ans face fell. He went away
sad, because he was very rich.
23Jesus looked a
round. He said to his
disciples, How hard it is for rich people
to enter Gods kingdom!
24The disc iples were a
mazed at his
words. But Jesus said again, Children,
how hard it is to enter G
ods kingdom!
25Is it hard for a camel to go t hrough
the eye of a needle? It is even harder for
someone who is rich to enter Gods king
dom!
26The dis
c ip les were even more
a mazed. They said to each other, Then
who can be s aved?
27
Jesus looked at them and said,
With people, this is impossible. But not
with God. All t hings are possible with
God.
28Then Peter s
poke up, We have left
everything to follow you!

Mark 10

29What Im about to tell you is true,

J esus replied. Has anyone left home
or family or f ields for me and the good
news? 30They will rec eive 100 times
as much in this world. They will have
homes and famil ies and f ields. But they
will also be treated badly by others. In
the w
orld to come they will live forever.
31But many who are f irst will be last.
And the last will be f irst.

Jesus Speaks a Third Time About

His Coming Death

32They were on t heir way up to Jer u

salem. Jesus was leading the way. The
disciples were a mazed. T hose who fol
lowed were a fraid. A gain Jesus took the
12 disc iples to one side. He told them
what was going to happen to him. 33We
are going up to Jer usalem, he said. The
Son of Man will be handed over to the
chief p
riests and the teachers of the law.
They will sentence him to d
eath. Then
they will hand him over to the Gent iles.
34They will make fun of him and spit on
him. They will whip him and kill him.
T hree days later he will rise from the
dead!

James and John Ask Jesus

for a Favor

35James and John came to Jesus. They

were the sons of Zebe dee. Teacher,
they said, we would like to ask you for
a favor.
36What do you want me to do for
you? he a sked.
37They replied, Let one of us sit at
your r ight hand in your glor ious king
dom. Let the other one sit at your left
hand.
38You dont know what y
oure ask
ing for, Jesus said. Can you drink the
cup of sufferi ng I d
rink? Or can you go
through the bapt ism of suffering I must
go through?
39We can, they answered.
Jesus said to them, You will drink the
cup I d
rink. And you will go t hrough the
bapt ism I go t hrough. 40But it is not for
me to say who will sit at my r ight or left
hand. T hese places belong to those they
are prepared for.
41The other ten disciples heard about
it. They bec ame ang ry at J ames and
John. 42Jesus called them together. He
said, You know a bout t hose who are rul

Mark 1011

1224

ers of the Gent iles. They hold power over

t heir people. T heir high of f icials order
them a round. 43Dont be like that. In
stead, anyone who wants to be import ant
a mong you must be your servant. 44And
anyone who w
ants to be f irst must be
the slave of everyone. 45Even the Son of
Man did not come to be served. Instead,
he came to serve others. He came to give
his life as the price for sett ing many peo
ple free.

Blind Bartimaeus Receives His

Sight

46Jesus and his disciples came to Jer

icho. They were leaving the city. A large
crowd was with them. A blind man was
sitt ing by the side of the road begg ing.
His name was Bart imaeus. Bart imaeus
means Son of Timaeus. 47He h
eard that
Jesus of Naza reth was passing by. So he
beg an to shout, Jesus! Son of Dav id!
Have mercy on me!
48Many people comm ande d him to
stop. They told him to be quiet. But he
shouted even louder, Son of Dav id! Have
mercy on me!

49Jesus s topped and said, Call for

him.
So they c alled out to the b
lind man,
Cheer up! Get up on your feet! Jesus is
calli ng for you. 50He t hrew his coat to
one side. Then he j umped to his feet and
came to J esus.
51What do you want me to do for
you? J esus asked him.
The b
lind man said, Rabbi, I want to
be able to see.
52Go, said Jesus. Your faith has
healed you. R
ight away he c ould see.
And he followed Jesus along the road.

Jesus Comes toJerusalem

asKing

11

As they all approached Jer usa lem,

they came to Bethphage and Beth
any at the M
ount of Olives. Jesus sent out
two of his disciples. 2He said to them,
Go to the village a head of you. Just as
you enter it, you will find a donkeys
colt tied t here. No one has ever ridden
it. Unt ie it and bring it here. 3Someone
may ask you, Why are you doi ng this?

Being an Important Person

Mark 10:3545

Do you know how to be really important? Read Mark 10:35

45. Jesus said that serving others is the way to be important. Here
are two lists of things children may do. One tells about a child
who serves. The other tells about one who is bossy. Can you tell
which is which?
List #1
Always wants to be the leader in games
Brags about high grades
Wants only the best players on his or her team
Always insists Im right
Never listens to others ideas
List #2
Takes turns being leader
Helps others with homework
Wants friends on the team even if theyre not the best
players
Gives in to others sometimes
Listens to others and shares ideas
Its easy to pick the servants list, isnt it? You can be like Jesus
if you serve others.

1225
If so, say, The Lord n
eeds it. But he will
send it back here soon.
4So they left. They found a colt out
in the street. It was tied at a doorway.
They untied it. 5Some people stand
ing t here asked, What are you doing?
Why are you unt yi ng that colt? 6They
answered as Jesus had told them to. So
the people let them go. 7They brought
the colt to J esus. They t hrew t heir c oats
over it. Then he sat on it. 8Many people
spread t heir c oats on the road. Others
s pread branche s they had cut in the
f ields. 9T hose in f ront and those in back
shouted,
Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes
in the name of the Lord!
(Psalm118:25,26)

10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of
our father David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!
11Jesus ent ered Jer us alem and went
into the temple courtyard. He looked
a round at everything. But it was already
late. So he went out to Betha ny with the
12 disciples.

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree and

Clears Out theTemple Courtyard

12The next day as Jesus and his dis

ciples were leavi ng Betha ny, they were
hung ry. 13Not too far away, he saw a fig
tree. It was covered with leaves. He went
to find out if it had any f ruit. When he
reached it, he found nothing but leaves.

Mark 11

It was not the season for figs. 14Then

Jesus said to the tree, May no one ever
eat f ruit from you a gain! And his disci
ples h
eard him sayit.
15When Jesus reached Jer usalem, he
entered the temple courtyard. He began
to d
rive out t hose who were buying and
selling t here. He t urned over the tables
of the peop le who were exc hanging
money. He also t urned over the benches
of t hose who were selling doves. 16He
would not allow anyone to carr y items
for sale t hrough the temple courtyard.
17Then he t aught them. He told them, It
is written that the Lord said, My house
will be c alled a h
ouse w
here people from
all nat ions can pray. (Isaiah 56:7) But you
have made it a den for robbers. (Jere
miah 7:11)

18The c
hief priests and the teachers
of the law h
eard a bout this. They began
looking for a way to kill Jesus. They were
a fraid of him, because the w
hole c rowd
was a mazed at his teaching.
19When even ing came, J
esus and his
disciples left the city.

TheDried-Up Fig Tree

20In the morning as J

esus and his
disciples walked a long, they saw the fig
tree. It was dried up all the way down to
the roots. 21Peter remembered. He said
to J esus, Rabbi, look! The fig tree you
put a curse on has d
ried up!
22Have faith in God, J
esus said.
23What Im a
bout to tell you is true.
Supp ose someone says to this moun
tain, Go and throw yourself into the sea.
They must not d
oubt in t heir h
eart. They

Clearing the Temple

The great temple in
Jerusalem had several
courtyards, which were
like patios inside
fences. In the outer
courtyard people often
bought or sold animals to sacrifice. Jesus was
angry about this. Gods temple was for prayer,
not for doing business.

Mark 1112

1226

must believe that what they say will hap

pen. Then it will be done for them. 24So
I tell you, when you pray for somet hing,
believe that you have already received it.
Then it will be yours. 25-26And when you
stand praying, forg ive anyone you have
anyt hing a gainst. Then your Fat her in
heaven will forg ive your sins.

TheAuthority ofJesus Is
Questioned

27J esus and his dis c ip les ar r ived

a gain in Jer usalem. He was walking in
the temple courtyard. Then the chief
priests came to him. The teachers of the
law and the elders came too. 28By what
aut hor it y are you doi ng t hese t hings?
they asked. Who gave you aut horit y to
do this?
29Jesus replied, I will ask you one
question. Ans wer me, and I will tell
you by what aut horit y I am doing t hese
t hings. 30Was Johns baptism from
heave n? Or did it come from hum an
authorit y? Tell me!
31They t alked to each other a
bout it.
They said, If we say, From heaven, he
will ask, Then why d
idnt you believe
him? 32But what if we say, From human
authorit y? They were a fraid of the peo
ple. Everyone bel ieved that John really
was a prophet.
33So they answered Jesus, We dont
know.
Jesus said, Then I w
ont tell you by
what aut horit y I am doi ng t hese t hings
either.

TheStory oftheRenters

12

Jesus began to speak to the peo

ple using stor ies. He said, A man
planted a vineyard. He put a wall a round
it. He dug a pit for a winepress. He also
built a lookout tower. He rented the vine
yard out to some farmers. Then he went
to another place. 2At harvest time he
sent a servant to the renters. He told the
servant to collect from them some of the
rabbed
f ruit of the vineyard. 3But they g
the servant and beat him up. Then they
sent him away with nothing. 4So the
man sent another servant to the renters.
They hit this one on the head and treated
him badly. 5The man sent s till another
serv ant. The rente rs k
illed him. The
man sent many others. The renters beat
up some of them. They k illed the others.

6The man had one per

s on left to
send. It was his son, and he loved him.
He sent him last of all. He said, They will
respect my son.

Did You Know?

Why did Jesus

tell stories?

12:1 Jesus stories

teach lessons. The

things in his stories
stand for other things.
When we know what the
things in a story stand for, we can
understand what the story is saying.
Each person in the story in Mark 12
stands for someone. The man who
planted the vineyard is God. The
farmers are the religious leaders. The
servants are Gods prophets. The son
is Jesus. This story is about how God
sent Jesus to save us from our sins.

7But the renters said to each other,

This is the one who will receive all the
owners proper t y someday. Come, lets
kill him. Then everyt hing will be ours.
8So they took him and k
illed him. They
threw him out of the vineyard.
9What will the owner of the vineyard
do then? He will come and kill those rent
ers. He will give the vineyard to others.
10
H avent you read what this part of
Script ure says,

The stone the builders didnt accept

has become the most important
stone of all.
11 The Lord has doneit.
It is wonderful in our eyes?

(Psalm118:22,23)
12Then the chief priests, the teachers
of the law and the elders l ooked for a way
to arrest J esus. They knew he had told
the stor y a gainst them. But they were
a fraid of the c rowd. So they left him and
went away.

Is It Right toPay theRoyal Tax

toCaesar?

13Lat e r the rel ig ious leade rs sent

some of the Phar is ees and Herod ia ns

1227
to Jesus. They wanted to trap him with
his own words. 14They came to him and
said, Teacher, we know that you are a
man of honor. You dont let other peo
ple tell you what to do or say. You d
ont
care how imp ort ant they are. But you
teach the way of God truthf ully. Is it
r ight to pay the roya l tax to Caes ar or
not? 15Should we pay or shouldnt we?
But J esus knew what they were trying
to do. So he a sked, Why are you trying
to trap me? Bring me a silver coin. Let
me look at it. 16They brought the coin.
He asked them, W hose pict ure is this?
And whose words?
Caesars, they replied.
17Then J
esus said to them, Give
back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.
And give back to God what belongs to
God.
They were a mazed at him.

Mark 12

TheMost Important
Commandment

28One of the teachers of the law came

and heard the Sadducees arg ui ng. He
not iced that J esus had given the Saddu
cees a good answer. So he a sked him,
W hich is the most import ant of all the
commandments?
29Jesus answered, Here is the most
import ant one. Moses said, Israel, listen
to me. The Lord is our God. The Lord is
one. 30Love the Lord your God with all
your h
eart and with all your soul. Love
him with all your mind and with all your
strength. (Deuteronomy 6:4,5) 31And here
is the second one. Love your neighbor as
you love yourself. (Leviticus 19:18) T here
is no com m andment more imp or t ant
than these.

Marriage When theDead Rise

18The Sadducees came to J

esus with
a quest ion. They do not believe that peo
ple rise from the dead. 19Teacher, they
said, Moses w rote for us a bout a man
who died and didnt have any child ren.
But he did leave a wife beh ind. That
mans brother must get marr ied to the
widow. He must prov ide children to car
ry on his dead brothers name. 20T here
were seven brothers. The f irst one got
marr ied. He died without leaving any
child ren. 21The second one got mar
ried to the widow. He also died and left
no c hild. It was the same with the t hird
one. 22In fact, none of the seven left any
children. Last of all, the woma n died too.
23When the dead rise, whose wife will
she be? All seven of them were marr ied
to her.
24Jesus rep lied, You are mist ake n
bec ause you do not know the Scrip
tures. And you do not know the power of
God. 25When the dead rise, they wont
get marr ied. And t heir pare nts wont
give them to be marr ied. They will be
like the angels in heaven. 26What about
the dead risi ng? Havent you read in the
Book of Moses the stor y of the burni ng
bush? God said to Moses, I am the God
of Abraham. I am the God of I saac. And
I am the God of Jacob. (Exodus 3:6) 27He
is not the God of the dead. He is the God
of the livi ng. You have made a big mis
take!

Mark 12:3031

Love the Lord your God with

all your heart and with all
your soul. Love him with all
your mind and with all your
strength . . . Love your
neighbor as you
love yourself.
There is no
commandment
more
important
than these.

32You have spoken well, teacher, the

man replied. You are r ight in saying that
God is one. T here is no other God but
him. 33To love God with all your h
eart
and mind and strength is very imp or
tant. So is loving your neighbor as you
love yours elf. T hese t hings are more
impor t ant than all burnt of fer i ngs and
sacr if ices.
34
J esus saw that the man had
answered wisely. He said to him, You
are not far from G ods kingdom. From
then on, no one d
ared to ask J esus any
more quest ions.

Whose Son Is theMessiah?

35Jesus

was teaching in the temple

Mark 1213

1228

courtyard. He a sked, Why do the teach

ers of the law say that the Messiah is the
son of Dav id? 36The Holy Spirit spoke
through Dav id himself. Dav id said,
The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your control.  (Psalm110:1)
37Dav id himself c
alls him Lord. So how
can he be Dav ids son?
The l arge crowd listened to Jesus with
delight.

Warning Against theTeachers

oftheLaw

38As he t aught, he said, Watch out

for the teachers of the law. They like to
walk a round in long robes. They like to
be greeted with respect in the market.
39They love to have the most import ant
seats in the synagogues. They also love
to have the places of honor at dinners.
40They take over the houses of widows.
They say long prayers to show off. God
will punish t hese men very much.

TheWidows Offering

41
Jesus sat down a cross from the
p lace w here peop le put t heir temp le
offerings. He w atched the c rowd put
ting their money into the offering boxes.
Many rich people t hrew large a mounts
into them. 42But a poor widow came and
put in two very s mall copper c oins. They
were worth only a few pennies.
43Jesus a
sked his disciples to come to
him. He said, What Im a bout to tell you
is true. That poor widow has put more
into the offering box than all the oth
ers. 44They all gave a lot bec ause they
are rich. But she gave even t hough she
is poor. She put in everyt hing she had.
That was all she had to live on.

When theTemple Will Be

Destroyed and theSigns
oftheEnd

13

Jesus was leaving the temple. One

of his disciples said to him, Look,
Teacher! What huge s tones! What won
derf ul buildings!
2Do you see t hese huge buildi ngs?
Jesus asked. Not one stone here will be
left on top of another. Every stone will be
thrown down.
3Jesus was sitt ing on the Mount of

Olives, a cross from the temple. Pet er,

James, John and And rew a sked him a
quest ion in private. 4Tell us, they said.
When will t hese t hings happ en? And
what will be the sign that they are all
about to come true?
5Jesus said to them, Keep watch! Be
caref ul that no one fools you. 6Many will
come in my name. They will claim, I am
he. They will fool many people. 7You
will hear about wars. You will also hear
people talking about fut ure wars. Dont
be a larmed. T hese things must happen.
But the end s till isnt here. 8Nat ion will
f ight against nat ion. Kingdom will f ight
a gainst kingdom. T here will be earth
quakes in many places. People will go
hung ry. All t hese t hings are the beg in
ning of birth pains.
9Watch out! You will be handed over
to the local courts. You will be whipped
in the synagogues. You will s tand in f ront
of governors and k ings because of me. In
that way you will be witnesses to them.
10The good news has to be preached to
all nat ions before the end c omes. 11You
will be arrested and b
rought to trial. But
dont worr y ahead of time a bout what you
will say. Just say what God b
rings to your
mind at the time. It is not you speaking,
but the Holy Spirit.
12Brothers will hand over brothers
to be k illed. Fathers will hand over t heir
child ren. Child ren will rise up a gainst
their parents and have them put to d
eath.
13Everyone will hate you bec ause of me.
But the one who remains strong in the
faith will be s aved.
14You will see the hated t hing that
des troys. (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) It
will stand w
here it does not belong. The
reade r should unders tand this. Then
t hose who are in Judea should esc ape
to the mount ains. 15No one on the roof
should go down into the house to take
any t hing out. 16No one in the field
should go back to get t heir coat. 17How
awf ul it will be in those days for pregnant
women! How awf ul for nursing mothers!
18Pray that this will not happ en in win
ter. 19T hose days will be worse than any
others from the time God created the
world unt il now. And there will never be
any like them a gain.
20If the Lord had not cut the time
short, no one would live. But because of
G ods chosen people, he has shortened

1229
it. 21At that time someone may say to
you, Look! Here is the Mess ia h! Or,
Look! T
here he is! Do not believe it.
22False messiahs and false prophets will
appear. They will do signs and miracles.
They will try to fool Gods chosen people
if possible. 23Keep w
atch! I have told you
everything ahead of time.
24So in t hose days t here will be terr i
ble suffering. After that, Script ure says,
The sun will be darkened.
The moon will not shine.
25 The stars will fall from the sky.
The heavenly bodies will be
shaken. (Isaiah13:10; 34:4)
26At that time peop le will see the
Son of Man coming in clouds. He will
come with g reat power and glor y. 27He
will send his angels. He will gather his
chosen people from all four direct ions.
He will b
ring them from the ends of the
earth to the ends of the heavens.

Mark 13:26

People will see

the Son of Man
coming in
clouds. He will
come with
great power
and glory.

28L earn a lesson from the fig tree. As

soon as its t wigs get tender and its l eaves
come out, you know that summer is near.
29In the same way, when you see t hese
things happening, you know that the end
is near. It is r ight at the door. 30What Im
about to tell you is true. The people living
now will cert ainly not pass away unt il all
t hose t hings have happened. 31Heaven
and earth will pass away. But my words
will never pass away.

TheDay and Hour Are Not Known

32But no one k
nows a bout that day
or hour. Not even the angels in heaven
know. The Son does not know. Only
the Fat her k nows. 33Keep w
atch! Stay
awake! You do not know when that time

Mark 1314

will come. 34Its like a man going away.

He leaves his h
ouse and puts his ser
vants in charge. Each one is given a task
to do. He tells the one at the door to keep
watch.
35So keep w
atch! You do not know
when the owner of the h
ouse will come
back. It may be in the even ing or at mid
night. It may be when the rooster c rows
or at dawn. 36He may come suddenly.
So do not let him find you sleeping.
37What I say to you, I say to everyone.
Watch!

A Woman Pours Perfume on Jesus

at Bethany

14

The Passover and the Feast of

Unl eave ned B read were only
two days away. The c hief p riests and
the teachers of the law were plott ing to
ar rest Jesus sec ret l y. They wante d to
kill him. 2But not during the feast,
they said. The people may stir up trou
ble.
3Jesus was in Betha ny. He was at the
table in the home of Simon, who had a
skin disease. A woma n came with a spe
cial s ealed jar. It cont ained very expen
sive perf ume made out of pure nard. She
broke the jar open and p
oured the per
fume on J esus head.
4Some of the peop le t here bec ame
ang ry. They said to one another, Why
w aste this per f ume? 5It c ould have
been sold for more than a years pay.
The mone y c ould have been give n to
poor people. So they found f ault with
the woma n.
6L eave her a
lone, J esus said. Why
are you bothering her? She has done a
beaut if ul t hing to me. 7You will always
have poor people with you. You can help
them any time you want to. But you will
not always have me. 8She did what she
could. She poured perf ume on my body
to prepare me to be buried. 9What Im
about to tell you is true. What she has
done will be told anyw here the good
news is preached all over the world. It
will be told in memor y of her.
10Judas Isc ariot was one of the 12 dis
ciples. He went to the chief p riests to
hand J esus over to them. 11They were
del ighted to hear that he w
ould do this.
They promised to give Judas money. So
he w
atched for the r ight time to hand
Jesus over to them.

Mark 14

1230

TheLast Supper
12It

was the f irst day of the F

east of
Unleavened B
read. That was the time to
sacr if ice the Passover lamb. Jesus dis
ciples a sked him, W here do you want
us to go and prepare for you to eat the
Passover meal?
13So he sent out two of his disc iples.
He told them, Go into the city. A man
carr ying a jar of water will meet you. Fol
low him. 14He will enter a h
ouse. Say to
its owner, The Teacher asks, W here
is my g uest room? W
here can I eat the
Passover meal with my disciples? 15He
will show you a large upstairs room. It
will have furnit ure and will be r eady. Pre
pare for us to eat t here.
16The disciples left and went into the
city. They f ound t hings just as J esus had
told them. So they prepared the Passover
meal.
17When even ing came, Jesus arr ived
with the 12 disciples. 18W hile they were
at the table eating, J esus said, What Im
about to tell you is true. One of you who
is eating with me will hand me over to
my enemies.
19The disc iples bec ame sad. One by
one they said to him, Surely you d
ont
mean me?
20It is one of you, J
esus replied. It
is the one who dips b
read into the bowl
with me. 21The Son of Man will go just
as it is written about him. But how terr i
ble it will be for the one who hands over
the Son of Man! It would be bett er for
him if he had not been born.
22W hile they were eati ng, J
esus took
bread. He gave t hanks and broke it. He
handed it to his disciples and said, Take
it. This is my body.
23Then he took a cup. He gave t hanks
and handed it to them. All of them d
rank
fromit.
24This is my blood of the covenant,
he said to them. It is p oured out for
many. 25What Im about to tell you is
true. I w
ont d
rink wine with you a gain
unt il the day I d rink it in G ods king
dom.
26Then they sang a hymn and went
out to the M
ount of Olives.

Jesus Says That theDisciples Will

Turn Away
27You

will all turn away, J esus told

the disciples. It is written,

I will strike the shepherd down.

Then the sheep will be scattered.
(Zechariah13:7)

28But after I rise from the dead, I will go
ahead of you into Galilee.
29Peter said, All the others may turn
away. But I will not.
30What Im a
bout to tell you is true,
Jesus answered. It will happ en today,
in fact tonight. Before the rooster crows
t wice, you yourself will say t hree t imes
that you dont know me.
31But Peter would not give in. He said,
I may have to die with you. But I will
never say I dont know you. And all the
others said the same t hing.

Jesus Prays inGethsemane

32Jesus and his disc ip les went to a

lace called Gethsema ne. Jesus said to
p
them, Sit here w
hile I pray. 33He took
Peter, J ames and John a long with him.
He began to be very upset and troubled.
34My soul is very sad. I feel close to
death, he said to them. Stay here. Keep
watch.
35He went a litt le fart her. Then he
fell to the g
round. He p
rayed that, if
possible, the hour m
ight pass by him.
36Abba, Fat her he said, everyt hing is
possible for you. Take this cup of suffer
ing away from me. But let what you want
be done, not what I want.
37Then he ret urned to his disc iples
and found them sleeping. Simon, he
said to Peter, are you asleep? Couldnt
you keep w
atch for one hour? 38Watch
and pray. Then you wont fall into sin
when you are tempted. The spirit is will
ing, but the body is weak.
39Once more Jesus went away and
prayed the same thing. 40Then he came
back. A gain he found them sleeping.
They c ouldnt keep their eyes open.
They did not know what to say to him.
41Jesus ret urned the t hird time. He
said to them, Are you still sleeping and
resting? Enough! The hour has come.
Look! The Son of Man is about to be
handed over to sinners. 42Get up! Let us
go! Here comes the one who is handing
me over to them!

Jesus Is Arrested

43Just as J
esus was speaking, Judas
appeared. He was one of the 12 disciples.

1231
A crowd was with him. They were carr y
ing swords and clubs. The chief priests,
the teachers of the law, and the elders
had sent them.
44Judas, who was goi ng to hand J
esus
over, had arranged a signal with them.
The one I kiss is the man, he said.
Arrest him and have the g uards lead
him away. 45So Jud as went to Jesus
at once. Jud as said, Rabbi! And he
k issed Jesus. 46The men g rabbed J esus
and ar rested him. 47Then one of t hose
standing nearby pulled his sword out. He
struck the servant of the high p
riest and
cut off his ear.
48Am I leadi ng a band of a
rmed men
against you? a sked Jesus. Do you have
to come out with swords and clubs to cap
ture me? 49Every day I was with you. I
t aught in the temple courtyard, and you
didnt arrest me. But the Script ures must
come true. 50Then everyone left him
and ran away.
51A young man was followi ng Jesus.
The man was wearing nothing but a
p iece of linen c loth. When the c rowd
g rabbed him, 52he ran away naked. He
left his clothing behind.

Jesus Is Taken totheSanhedrin

53The c rowd took Jesus to the high

riest. All the chief p
p
riests, the elders,
and the teachers of the law came togeth
er. 54Not too far away, Pet er followed
Jesus. He went r ight into the courtyard
of the high p
riest. T
here he sat with the
g uards. He w
armed himself at the fire.
55The
c hief p riests and the w hole
Sanhedrin were look i ng for somet hing
to use against Jesus. They wanted to put
him to death. But they did not find any
proof. 56Many witnesses lied about him.
But t heir stor ies did not agree.
57Then some of them s
tood up. Here
is what t hose false witnesses said a bout
him. 58We h
eard him say, I will destroy
this temple made by human hands. In
t hree days I will build another temple,
not made by human hands. 59But what
they said did not agree.
60Then the high p riest s tood up in
f ront of them. He asked Jesus, A rent
you going to ans wer? What are t hese
charges t hese men are bringing against
you? 61But J esus remained silent. He
gave no answer.
A gain the high p
riest asked him, Are

Mark 1415

you the Messiah? Are you the Son of the

Blessed One?
62I am, said Jesus. And you will see
the Son of Man sitt ing at the r ight hand
of the Mighty One. You will see the Son
of Man coming on the c louds of heaven.
63The high p riest tore his c lothes.
Why do we need any more witnesses?
he asked. 64You have h
eard him say a
very evil thing against God. What do you
think?
They all f ound him g uilty and said he
must die. 65Then some began to spit at
him. They blindfolded him. They hit him
with t heir f ists. They said, Prophesy!
And the g uards took him and beat him.

Peter Says He Does Not Know

Jesus

66Pet er was below in the courtyard.

One of the high priests female servants
came by. 67When she saw Peter warm
ing himself, she l ooked closely at him.
You also were with Jesus, that Naza
rene, she said.
68But Peter said he had not been with
him. I dont know or understand what
youre talki ng about, he said. He went
out to the ent rance to the courtyard.
69The servant saw him t here. She said
a gain to t hose standing a round, This
fellow is one of them. 70A gain he said
he was not.
Af t er a lit t le while, t hose standi ng
nearby said to Peter, You must be one
of them. You are from Galilee.
71Then Peter began to c urse. He said
to them, I d
ont know this man y oure
talking about!
72R ight away the rooster c
rowed the
second time. Then Peter remembered
what J esus had spoken to him. The
rooster will crow t wice, he had said.
Before it does, you will say three t imes
that you d
ont know me. Peter b
roke
down and c ried.

Jesus Is Brought toPilate

15

It was very early in the morni ng.

The c hief p
riests, with the elders,
the teachers of the law, and the whole
Sanhed rin, made t heir p
lans. So they
tied J esus up and led him away. Then
they handed him over to Pilate.
2Are you the king of the Jews? asked
Pilate.
You have said so, J esus replied.

Mark 15

1232

3The
c hief p riests b rought many
charges against him. 4So Pilate asked
him a gain, A rent you going to answer?
See how many t hings they c harge you
with.
5But Jesus s
till did not reply. Pilate
was a mazed.
6It was the usua l pract ice at the Pass
over F
east to let one prisoner go free.
The people could choose the one they
wanted. 7A man named Barabbas was
in prison. He was t here with some other
people who had f ought a gainst the coun
trys rulers. They had comm itted mur
der w
hile they were fighting a gainst the
rulers. 8The crowd came up and asked
Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9Do you want me to let the king of the
Jews go free? a sked Pilate. 10He knew
that the chief priests had handed Jesus
over to him because they wanted to get
t heir own way. 11But the c hief priests
stirred up the crowd. So the crowd asked
Pilate to let Barabbas go free instead.
12Then what s hould I do with the
one you call the king of the Jews? Pilate
asked them.
13Crucif y him! the c rowd shouted.
14Why? What w rong has he done?
asked Pilate.
But they shouted even louder, Cru
cif y him!
15Pilate wanted to satisf y the c rowd.
So he let Barabbas go free. He ordered
that J esus be w
hipped. Then he handed
him over to be n
ailed to a c ross.

TheSoldiers Make Fun ofJesus

16The sold iers led J

esus away into
the palace. It was called the Praetor ium.
They called together the whole company

of soldiers. 17The soldiers put a purple

robe on J esus. Then they twisted thorns
together to make a crown. They p
laced it
on his head. 18They began to call out to
him, We honor you, king of the Jews!
19A gain and a gain they hit him on the
head with a s tick. They spit on him. They
fell on t heir k
nees and pretended to hon
or him. 20Aft er they had made fun of
him, they took off the purple robe. They
put his own c lothes back on him. Then
they led him out to nail him to a c ross.

Simon

Simon was a man from Cyrene. He was

walking by when Jesus was taken out to
be killed. Jesus enemies forced Simon
to carry Jesus cross. Simon took the
cross to Golgotha. Jesus died on the
cross there.

Jesus Is Nailed toa Cross

21A man n amed Simon was passing

by. He was from Cyrene. He was the
fat her of Alexa nder and Ru f us. Simon
was on his way in from the count ry. The
sold iers forced him to carr y the c ross.
22They brought Jesus to the place called
Golgotha. The word Golgotha means the
Place of the S
kull. 23Then they gave him
wine m
ixed with spices. But he did not

Whipping
Before Roman prisoners were
crucified, they were beaten
with a leather whip. This whip
had sharp pieces of metal or
bone near the ends. This kind of
whip made the prisoners backs
bleed so much that sometimes
they died.

1233
take it. 24They nailed him to the c ross.
Then they div ided up his clothes. They
cast lots to see what each of them w
ould
get.
25It was nine oclock in the morni ng
when they crucif ied him. 26They w rote
out the c harge a gainst him. It read, the
king of the jews .
27-28They crucif ied with him two reb
els against Rome. One was on his r ight
and one was on his left. 29T hose who
p assed by shouted at Jesus and made
fun of him. They shook t heir h
eads and
said, So you are going to destroy the
temple and b
uild it a gain in t hree days?
30Then come down from the c
ross! Save
yourself! 31In the same way the c hief
priests and the teachers of the law made
fun of him a mong themselves. He s aved
others, they said. But he c ant save
himself! 32Let this Messiah, this king of
Israel, come down now from the c ross!
When we see that, we will believe.
T hose who were being cruc if ied with
Jesus also made fun of him.

Mark 1516

women were also there. They had come

up with him to Jer usalem.

Jesus Is Buried

42It was the day before the Sabbath.

That day was c alled Prepa r at ion Day.
As evening approached, 43Joseph went
boldly to Pilate and a sked for J esus
body. Joseph was from the town of Ari
mathea. He was a leading member of the
Jewish Council. He was waiting for Gods
kingdom. 44Pilate was surprised to hear
that Jesus was already dead. So he called
for the Rom an comm ander. He a sked
him if Jesus had already died. 45The
commander said it was true. So Pilate
gave the body to Joseph. 46Then Joseph
bought some linen cloth. He took down
the body and w rapped it in the linen. He
put it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he
rolled a stone against the ent rance to the
tomb. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the
mother of Joseph saw w
here J esus body
had been p
laced.

Jesus Dies

33At noon, dark

n ess cove red the
hole land. It lasted t hree hours. 34At
w
t hree o clock in the af t er noon Jesus
cried out in a loud v oice, Eloi, Eloi, lema
sabachthani? This means My God, my
God, why have you deserted me? (Psalm

Joseph of Arimathea

22:1)

35Some

of those standing nearb y

heard Jesus cry out. They said, Listen!
Hes calling for Elijah.
36Someone ran and f illed a s
ponge
with wine vinegar. He put it on a stick.
He offered it to Jesus to d rink. L eave
him a lone, he said. L ets see if Elijah
comes to take him down.
37With a loud cry, Jesus took his last
breath.
38The temple curt ain was torn in two
from top to bottom. 39A Rom an com
mander was standing t here in f ront of
Jesus. He saw how Jesus died. Then he
said, This man was surely the Son of
God!
40Not very far away, some wom
en
were watching. Mary Magdalene was
a mong them. Mary, the mother of the
younger J ames and of Joseph, was also
t here. So was Sa l om e. 41In Galil ee
t hese women had followed Jesus. They
had taken care of his needs. Many other

Joseph of Arimathea was a rich Jewish

leader. He believed in Jesus. But he did
not tell anyone. He was afraid of Jesus
enemies. When Jesus died, Joseph asked
Pilate if he could have Jesus body. Then
Joseph buried Jesus in Josephs own
tomb.

Jesus Rises From theDead

16

The Sabb ath day ende d. Mary

Magdalene, Mary the mother of
James, and Salome bought spices. They
were going to use them for Jesus body.
2Very early on the f irst day of the week,
they were on t heir way to the tomb. It
was just after sunr ise. 3They a sked each
other, Who will roll the stone away from
the ent rance to the tomb?
4Then they looked up and saw that
the s tone had been rolled away. The
stone was very l arge. 5They entered the

Mark 16

1234

tomb. As they did, they saw a y oung man

dressed in a w
hite robe. He was sitt ing
on the r ight side. They were a larmed.
6D ont be a larmed, he said. You
are looking for J esus the Naza rene, who
was crucif ied. But he has risen! He is not
here! See the place where they had put
him. 7Go! Tell his disc iples and Peter,
He is going a head of you into Galilee.
T here you will see him. It will be just as
he told you.
8The women were shaki ng and con
fused. They went out and ran away from
the tomb. They said nothing to anyone,
because they were a fraid.
9Jesus rose from the dead early on the
f irst day of the week. He appeared f irst to
Mary Magdalene. He had driven seven
demons out of her. 10She went and told
those who had been with him. She found
them crying. They were very sad. 11They
heard that J esus was a live and that she
had seen him. But they did not believeit.
12Aft er that, J
esus appeared in a dif
ferent form to two of them. This hap
pened while they were walking out in
the count ry. 13The two ret urned and

told the others about it. But the others

did not believe them either.
14Later J
esus appeared to the 11 disci
ples as they were eating. He spoke firmly
to them because they had no f aith. They
would not believe t hose who had seen
him after he rose from the dead.
15He said to them, Go into all the
world. P reach the good news to every
one. 16Anyone who bel ieves and is bap
tized will be s aved. But anyone who does
not believe will be punished. 17Here are
the mi r ac ulous s igns that t hose who
believe will do. In my name they will
d rive out demons. They will s peak in
lang uages they had not k nown before.
18They will pick up s
nakes with t heir
hands. And when they drink deadly poi
son, it will not hurt them at all. They will
place t heir h
ands on sick people. And the
people will get well.
19W hen the Lord
J esus finished
speaking to them, he was taken up into
heaven. He sat down at the r ight hand of
God. 20Then the disciples went out and
preached everywhere. The Lord worked
with them. And he backed up his word by
the signs that went withit.