Questions on Mark
1. Was Peter married (Mark 1:30)? Answer
2. What is especially remarkable about Jesus' healing of a paraplegic (Mark 2:1 - 5)? Answer
3. Why didn't those in a synagogue, asked by Jesus whether it was lawful to do good or evil on the Sabbath, answer his question (Mark 3:4 - 5)? Answer
4. Who were the Herodians who were asked, by the Pharisees, to work with them on destroying Jesus (Mark 3:6)? Answer
5. Why did those living in the Gadarenes region ask Jesus to leave after he performed a spectacular miracle (Mark 4:1 - 17)? Answer
6. What did Jesus say when he resurrected Jairus' daughter from the dead (Mark 5:22 - 23, 35 - 43)? Answer
7. Why didn't Jesus do many miracles in his hometown of Nazareth (Mark 6:5)? Answer
8. Why did Jesus condemn the practice of Corban (Mark 7:11)? Answer
9. What amazing paradox did Jesus give in Mark 8? Answer
10. What is the symbolism behind Moses and Elijah appearing with Jesus (Mark 9:4)? Answer
11. What makes the rich young ruler who approached Jesus special (Mark 10:17 - 22)? Answer
12. When did Jesus make his triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Mark 11:1 - 10)? Answer
13. When did Jesus have his final showdown with the Jewish religious leaders (Mark 11)? Answer
14. What stark statement does Jesus make regarding forgiveness in Mark 11? Answer
15. What is utterly contradictory about the Pharisees and Herodians approaching Jesus to ask him a question in Mark 12? Answer
16. What was the conclusion of the efforts of the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians and Scribes to tempt Jesus (Mark 12)? Answer
17. What is one of the most permanent things in the universe (Mark 13)? Answer
18. Some religious leaders, as Jesus was being crucified, mocked him by stating he didn't have the power to save himself (Mark 15:31). Is that true? Answer
19. Why was Joseph of Arimathea's request for Jesus' body, even though he was a Sanhedrin member, called bold (Mark 15:43)? Answer
20. Does Jesus' promise of serpents not hurting the apostles mean that any Christian can safely handle poisonous snakes (Mark 16:18)? Answer
Answers on Mark
1. Peter was married when he was called to be a disciple. We know this because Jesus healed his mother-in-law (Mark 1:30 - 31). The Apostle Paul would later state he had the right to a wife just like Peter (1Corinthians 9:5).
[Who Were Jesus' First Disciples?]
2. The house was overcrowded and the four men carrying the paraplegic on a stretcher couldn't get close enough to Jesus. They decided to climb up on the roof and, after digging a hole through its grass and clay composition, lowered the man using ropes right in front of the Lord!
3. Jesus asked the following straightforward question directed squarely at the self-righteous Pharisees who were looking to accuse him of wrong.
Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? (Mark 3:4).
The lack of a response from the religious leaders, especially for such a simple question, generated the only time the KJV states Jesus was angry!
The Pharisees believed God's law, especially the Sabbath, was an end of itself and not a means to an end (see Mark 2:27). They were also well known for giving politically expedient, but not necessarily truthful, answers to questions.
Their silence was based on a simple human calculation. If they answered "yes" to what Jesus asked they would be affirming a ministry they wanted destroyed. If they answered "no" they feared the rejection of all the others attending synagogue services.
4. The Herodians were supporters of the policies and government of the Herodian (Herod) family. They were a political rather than religious party and were known for their sensuality and corrupt living.
[Conspiracies of the Herodians!]
5. The Bible states Jesus allowed a large group of demons cast out of a man to possess a huge herd of pigs. The newly possessed swine then immediately ran off a cliff and killed themselves! The response of local people to this event was rather unexpected.
And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done . . .
And they (those in the Gadarenes) began to pray him to depart out of their coasts (Mark 5:14, 17).
[Where Was the Gadarenes Located?]
Why did the people ask Jesus to leave their area? They didn't want the Lord to cause them more economic losses above what they had already suffered when the pigs killed themselves!
6. Jesus said the following to the dead little girl he raised from the dead.
And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose . . . (Mark 5:41 - 42).
"Talitha cumi" were Aramaic words. Most of those living in Galilee, like Jesus, spoke Aramaic and also Greek (the lingua franca of the Greco-Roman world). He almost certainly also spoke Hebrew.
[Why Was New Testament Written in Greek?]
7. Nazareth, where Jesus spent the first thirty years of his life, was still the home of his mother and half-siblings during his ministry. The people knew him and his family quite well. That said, when he taught in the city, those who knew him best were both astonished and offended!
And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him . . .
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him (Mark 6:2 - 3).
Jesus performed a few, but not many, miracles in the city. The people not only lacked faith in him, they openly resented him. In such an atmosphere the performance of miracles would have been counterproductive.
8. God's law plainly states that a person ought to take care of the needs of their parents (Exodus 20:12). It even commands the death penalty for those who curse them (21:17).
The practice of Corban elevated a Jewish tradition as being more important than God's law (Mark 7:6 - 7, 9)! It allowed a person to use money that should have been used to support their parents to instead be given to the temple.
Corban, encouraged by Jewish religious leaders, gave people a way to avoid their Biblical responsibilities. Jesus roundly rejected the use of Corban and other such traditions!
Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition (Mark 7:9).
9. A paradox is a statement that contains parts which seem to be incapable of being true at the same time, but which are. Jesus' simple but profound paradox in Mark 8 is the following.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it (Mark 8:35).
Jesus is saying that those who think they are "saving" their life by pursuing a self-centered, self-willed existence are actually pursuing a path leading to death. Those, however, who "lose" their life through selfless service and loving others, along with doing God's will and not their own, are pursuing a path that leads to being saved for eternity.
10. Moses represents God's laws and Elijah represents God's prophets in Jesus' Transfiguration vision. Both men will be resurrected from the dead at Jesus' Second Coming and help him rule mankind in the millennium.
11. Jesus offered the rich young ruler a chance to be one of his disciples if he would stop making wealth his god and give his riches to the poor. This is the only known example in the gospels of Jesus, at the spur of the moment, offering someone the opportunity to be one of his close disciples.
In the case of calling the original twelve apostles, Jesus prayed all night to the Father before selecting the men who would be his witnesses (see Luke 6:12).
12. Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on March 30 in 30 A.D. which was a Thursday.
[Timeline of Jesus' Last Days]
13. Jesus' final verbal showdown with the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians and Scribes took place on Sunday, April 2 in 30 A.D. His crucifixion took place on Wednesday, April 5.
14. Jesus ties God's forgiveness of our sins with our forgiveness of others!
But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses (Mark 11:26).
15. With the intent of trying to entrap him in his words, the Jewish religious leaders attempt to flatter Christ before asking their question about paying taxes to Caesar.
And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth . . . (Mark 12:14).
Their opening comments were insincerely stated for the sole purpose of hoping to get Jesus to let down his guard. If the Jewish leaders really believed what was said, they would not have tried to entrap the Lord for the purpose of having him condemned!
16. The failed attempts of the Jewish religious leaders to entrap Jesus led them to finally stop trying to trip him up with questions.
And no man after that durst ask him any question (Mark 12:34).
17. Jesus stated that even when the current heaven and earth pass away, his words and teachings will continue being true and remain unchanged (Mark 13:31).
[Will There Be Heaven on Earth?]
[When Will All Prophecy Be Fulfilled?]
18. Jesus could have avoided or escaped his arrest, torture and crucifixion many times if he wanted, but doing so would have been a sin. He told Peter, during his arrest, he had the power to ask his Father to send twelve legions of angels to save him (Matthew 26:53).
The Lord was fully capable of avoiding all that happened to him, but instead chose to fulfill God's will for him to be our perfect Savior.
19. Joseph's requests for Jesus' body was bold, a description only found in Mark's gospel, for several reasons.
Many times the Romans would leave a victim's dead body exposed so that decay or being eaten by animals would occur as a warning to others. Rome was also under no obligation to have a Jewish criminal buried the same day as their death as God's law commands (Deuteronomy 21:23).
[What Did the Romans Write about Jesus?]
Additionally, Joseph made his request even though he was not a family member. His request was also made even though it was probable he would be denied since the Lord was executed for treason. Lastly, his request was bold since he risked ceremonial defilement by handling a dead body and his act showed his loyalty to someone the Sanhedrin condemned.
20. Jesus' promise in Mark 16:18 does not cover people who, even in his name, intentionally handle known poisonous snakes. Knowingly handling such snakes with the belief that God will back up or support such foolishly behavior is tantamount to tempting him.
[Can Christians Handle Poisonous Snakes?]
The devil tried to have Jesus knowingly fall off a high tower in order to "prove" the Father loved him enough to save him (see Mark 1:12 - 13). Such an act would have been a sin!
Jesus' promise concerns an accidental run in with a poisonous snake like Paul encountered on the island of Malta (Acts 28:3 - 5). It can also be argued that, given their crucial role in spreading the gospel, the promise made only applied to the apostles.