Mark 10:40-45
When Jesus refers to the Gentile rulers and the way they liked to lord it over the people, He was likely referring to the insensitivity and brutality of the Romans. Our responsibility as followers of Jesus is not to act like the Romans.
Mark 10:46-52
The Aramaic prefix, "Bar-", meant “son of”. Thus, Bartimeus meant “son of Timeus.” In like manner, the Hebrew, use of Ben- also means, “son of”. Thus, Benjamin literally means, “Son of Jamin.”
In the Holy Scriptures, in some English translations, the term “master” can often mean “teacher”. The English term “master” comes from the Latin term, "magister” which also means “teacher.”
Erratum: An incorrect assertion that "Son of David" was a way of saying "Fellow Jew" has been removed from the current version of this episode.
Mark 11:1-11
It appears arrangements had already been made for Jesus to borrow the donkey on which He would later ride. Horses were used by the Roman army and nobility, whereas donkeys tended to be owned mostly by the poorer, lower classes of people.
In Mark 10: 9, 10 the implication is that Jesus was bringing a religious kingdom, and not a political kingdom.
Mark 11:12-14
Because the fig tree did not have any buds, it would likely have been fruitless that year. Figs can be a symbol for Israel. Thus, the lack of fig buds was a symbol of Israel’s unfruitfulness.
Mark 11:15-19
The chief priests got a “cut” of the money exchanged in the Temple.
An interesting feature of Mark 11:15-19 is that it occurs toward the very end of Jesus’ ministry. But, in John (2:12-25) a very similar occurrence happens, but it is in the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It is likely placed early in John to show the need of having a clean temple. However, it appears later in Mark to likely show that Jesus’ turning over the tables of the money changers was seen by the priests and scribes as His performing a revolutionary and seditious act . . . thus, the “last straw”.
The term used in Holy Scripture to describe the two men crucified on either side of Jesus is often poorly translated as robbers, bandits or thieves, when it would be better translated as “insurrectionists.” Ordinarily, robbers were not executed by crucifixion However, crucifixion was often used for those accused of insurrection against the Romans.
Mark 11:20-25
Referring back to the now withered fig tree of Mark 11:12-14 shows how Jesus is letting the people know that if they have confidence in God, they can trust Him to work . . . if their desire is in alignment with God’s will. The withered fig tree is a symbol of Israel's lack of confidence in God to do His will. Therefore, they had abandoned Him as trustworthy and thus had become fruitless for Him.
Mark 11:25 communicates a very similar concept to Matthew 6:9-12 (the portion commonly referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer”) except in Mark 11:25, the word is paraptōmata “sins”. In Matthew 6, the word is apheilēmata “debts”: because we have sinned against God, we now have a moral obligation ("debt" in a moral sense) to him, as understood by Jews of that time.
Host's notes:
Bar- - indicates “son of” in Aramaic.
Ben- – indicates “son of” in Hebrew.
Hē pistis sou sesōken se - Your faith has healed you. Your trus
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