Mark 4:1-9, The Parable of the Sower (The Study of Mark)

     1 And he began to teach again along side of the sea1. And an extremely large crowd gathered towards him, so that he got into a boat to sit in the sea, and the whole crowd was by the sea on the shore2. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables3, and in his teaching, he said4 to them, 3 “Listen!5 Behold, the sower6 went out to sow seed. 4 And it came to pass7 as he was sowing, one seed, on the one hand8, fell along side of the road, and birds came and ate it up. 5 And another seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil9, and it immediately sprang up because it didn’t have soil depth, 6 and when the sun rose, it was scorched and withered10 because it didn’t have a root. 7 And another seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it didn’t produce11 a crop12. 8 And other seeds fell on good ground, and while growing up and increasing, the plants were producing crops13; one was bearing thirty times, one sixty times, and one a hundred times. 9 And he was saying14 , “The one who has ears to hear, listen!"  Mark 4:1-9

Introduction

This is the start of some of the teaching that Jesus did.  Up until now, Mark has not indicated to the reader much of Jesus' teaching, but Chapter 4 will pretty much be dedicated to the teachings.  The translation was difficult in certain places, but I believe that I've produced the intent of the author in the original Greek.  Of course, I may have to revisit this in the future. :)

1 The Sea of Galilee

2 ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς (on the shore) 

Greek: “on the ground” or “on the earth”.

3 ἐν παραβολαῖς (in parables)

Parables can mean “figures of speech”, but they can also be “proverbs” or “riddles”. When it comes to the parables that Jesus taught, my thoughts are that they were “figures of speech” and “riddles” in that he had to explain to his disciples what they really meant. The Parable of the Sower is a great example of both.

4 ἔλεγεν (said)

Greek: “was saying”. ἔλεγεν is in the imperfect which carries a continual action aspect. In this case, the translation of a simple Aorist (undefined aspect) is in order here.

5 Ἀκούετε (Listen!) 

Greek: “You (plural) hear!”  This is also found at the end of verse 9.

6 ὁ σπείρων (the sower)

Greek: “the one who sows”. In this case, the article ὁ becomes very important. It indicates “the sower” and not “a sower”. In other words, “the sower” in this text is to be taken as a “special” or “one of a kind” person. This is like “the mightier one” in 1:7. See my blog on Mark 1:13.  In this case, the sower is “the one who sows the Word of God”.

7 καὶ ἐγένετο (and it came to pass) 

Greek: “and it became”.

8 ὃ μὲν (one seed, on the one hand)

Some translations render this as “some”, but that really doesn’t fit here as this text is referring to one seed. ὃ μὲν is really used to introduce a series of events. In this case, ‘one seed’ is introduced in verse 4, and then in verses 5 and 7, “another seed” is introduced. Verse 8 concludes the series as “other seeds”.

9 γῆν (soil) 

Greek: “earth”.

10ἐξηράνθη (withered) 

Greek: “was dried up”.

11 οὐκ ἔδωκεν (didn’t produce) 

Greek: “didn’t give”.

12 καρπὸν (a crop) 

or “fruit”.

13 ἐδίδου καρπὸν (were producing crops) 

Greek: “were giving fruit”. The verb indicates a continual aspect. In 

other words, the plants were continually producing crops.

14 καὶ ἔλεγεν (and he was saying)

I’m breaking with the scholars on this one. Many scholars believe that this should be translated as a simple aorist, “and he said”, but I believe Jesus would have continually said the phrase “The one who has ears to hear, listen!” as he was teaching to reinforce the idea that everyone should be listening to the teaching.

The Greek

Μάρκον 4·1 Καὶ πάλιν ἤρξατο διδάσκειν παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν· καὶ συνάγεται πρὸς αὐτὸν ὄχλος πλεῖστος, ὥστε αὐτὸν εἰς πλοῖον ἐμβάντα καθῆσθαι ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ, καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἦσαν. 2 καὶ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς ἐν παραβολαῖς πολλὰ καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς ἐν τῇ διδαχῇ αὐτοῦ·

Μάρκον 4·3 Ἀκούετε. ἰδοὺ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων σπεῖραι. 4 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ σπείρειν ὃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ ἦλθεν τὰ πετεινὰ καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτό. 5 καὶ ἄλλο ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὸ πετρῶδες ὅπου οὐκ εἶχεν γῆν πολλήν, καὶ εὐθὺς ἐξανέτειλεν διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν βάθος γῆς· 6 καὶ ὅτε ἀνέτειλεν ὁ ἥλιος ἐκαυματίσθη καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ῥίζαν ἐξηράνθη. 7 καὶ ἄλλο ἔπεσεν εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας, καὶ ἀνέβησαν αἱ ἄκανθαι καὶ συνέπνιξαν αὐτό, καὶ καρπὸν οὐκ ἔδωκεν. 8 καὶ ἄλλα ἔπεσεν εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν καλὴν καὶ ἐδίδου καρπὸν ἀναβαίνοντα καὶ αὐξανόμενα καὶ ἔφερεν ἓν τριάκοντα καὶ ἓν ἑξήκοντα καὶ ἓν ἑκατόν. 9 καὶ ἔλεγεν· ὃς ἔχει ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω.

Mark 3:31-35, The Mother and Brothers of Jesus (The Study of Mark)

     31 And his mother and his brothers came, and while standing outside, they sent a message to him1 , summoning2 him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they say to him, “Behold3, your mother, your brothers, [and your sisters4] are outside seeking you. 33 And he answers them and says, “Who are my mother and my brothers? 34 And after looking around at those sitting around him in a circle, he says, “Behold, my mother and my brothers. 35 For whoever does the will of God5, this one is my brother, sister, and mother.  Mark 3:31-35

1 ἀπέστειλαν πρὸς αὐτὸν (they sent a message to him)

Greek: “they sent to him”. “a message” has been included to provide some clarity. The passage doesn’t make clear what the family sent him, but it is clear that something was sent in order to summon Jesus.

2 καλοῦντες (summoning) 

or “calling”.

3 ἰδοὺ (Behold)

This is the equivalent to the english expression “Look!”. It is used to draw attention to what is about to be said or stated. In other words, “Pay attention!”

4 [and your sisters] is a variant reading and probably not original to the text. The biggest clue, other than it doesn’t appear in some important Greek manuscripts, occurs in verse 33 when Jesus doesn’t mention “sisters” in his response.

5 ὃς [γὰρ] ἂν ποιήσῃ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ (for whoever does the will of God)

This is a conditional statement. The Greeks used grammar in order to indicate conditional statements. In this passage, the verb ποιήσῃ (does) is in the subjunctive mood along with the particle ἂν (an untranslatable, conditional particle). In other words, becoming Jesus’ brothers, sisters, or mother is contingent upon doing the will of God. This might be questioned in English grammar, but it is not questioned in Greek grammar.

The Greek

Μάρκον 3·31 Καὶ ἔρχεται ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔξω στήκοντες ἀπέστειλαν πρὸς αὐτὸν καλοῦντες αὐτόν. 32 καὶ ἐκάθητο περὶ αὐτὸν ὄχλος, καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· ἰδοὺ ἡ μήτηρ σου καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοί σου [καὶ αἱ ἀδελφαί σου] ἔξω ζητοῦσίν σε. 33 καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς αὐτοῖς λέγει· τίς ἐστιν ἡ μήτηρ μου καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοί [μου]; 34 καὶ περιβλεψάμενος τοὺς περὶ αὐτὸν κύκλῳ καθημένους λέγει· ἴδε ἡ μήτηρ μου καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοί μου. 35 ὃς [γὰρ] ἂν ποιήσῃ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ, οὗτος ἀδελφός μου καὶ ἀδελφὴ καὶ μήτηρ ἐστίν.

Mark 3:20-30, Jesus and Beelzebul (The Study of Mark)

     20 And he goes into a house1, and the crowd gathers2 again, so that they3 were not able to eat a meal4. 21 And after hearing about what was going on, his family5 went out to seize him, for they6 were saying7, “He is out of his mind!” 22 And the Scribes, the ones from Jerusalem, after coming down to Capernaum, were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul8 ” and “He is casting out demons by the ruler of the demons.” 23 And calling them to himself, he spoke to them in parables, “How is Satan able to cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom may be divided from itself, that kingdom is not able to stand. 25 If a house may be divided from itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 If Satan has risen, as you say9, and has been divided from himself, he is not able to stand, and he is finished10. 27 But no one is able to enter into a strong man’s house to plunder his property, if he doesn’t first tie up11 the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. 28 Truly I am saying to you, that all sins will be forgiven of humanity12 and blasphemies will be forgiven, as many as may be spoken13. 29 But whoever may blaspheme14 against the Holy Spirit, never has forgiveness15, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” 30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit”. Mark 3:20-30

Introduction

There is much in this passage and translating it has really opened my eyes to what this passage really means.  This passage is really set around three things, 1. What Jesus' family thinks of him, what the Jerusalem Scribes think of him, and what Jesus thinks of the Jerusalem Scribes and what they are saying about him.  Although I have my opinions as to what verses 27-30 really mean, I will leave the interpretation up to you as readers.

1 εἰς οἶκον (into a house)

It is possible that the house belonged to Jesus. More than likely, it belonged to Peter. With that said, the passage could be translated “And he goes home”.

2 συνέρχεται (gathers)

Greek: “comes together”.

3 ”They” were probably Jesus and his disciples.

4 ἄρτον φαγεῖν (to eat a meal)

Greek: “to eat bread”.

5 οἱ παρ ̓ αὐτοῦ (his family)

Greek: “they who are from him”. Although this can mean many things, Jesus’ family is the most appropriate conclusion as they will also come into view in 3:31-35.

6 “They” are not Jesus’ family. Jesus’ family are not the ones who were saying that Jesus was out of his mind. Jesus' family came to get him because they had heard what others were saying about Jesus.

7 ἔλεγον γὰρ (For they were saying)

This carries a “continual” aspect, which indicates that what was being said about Jesus was being continually spoken.

8 Βεελζεβοὺλ ἔχει (He is possessed by Beelzebul)

Greek: “He has Beelzebul”. A round-about way to say that Jesus was under the influence of Beelzebul. Beelzebul is an alternate name for Satan.

9 εἰ ὁ σατανᾶς ἀνέστη (If Satan has risen, as you say)

Jesus is referring to himself as the Jerusalem Scribes see him, as Satan (Beelzebul) himself. “as you say” has been added to provide clarity to what Jesus is saying.

10 ἀλλὰ τέλος ἔχει (and he is finished)

Greek: “but he has an end”. In other words, if Satan and his demon are against themselves, Satan’s kingdom can’t go on and it will come to an end. Jesus is speaking in a figurative way in this passage.

11 δήσῃ (tie up) 

or “bind”.

12 τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων (humanity) 

Greek: “the sons of men”.

13 ὅσα ἐὰν βλασφημήσωσιν (as many as may be spoken) 

Greek: “As many as may blaspheme”.

14 βλασφημήσῃ (may blaspheme)

To blaspheme means to speak against someone that would tarnish their reputation or cause harm to them. This can be aimed at other people or even God.

15 οὐκ ἔχει ἄφεσιν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα (never has forgiveness) 

Greek: “doesn’t have forgiveness into the ages”.

The Greek

Μάρκον 3·20 Καὶ ἔρχεται εἰς οἶκον· καὶ συνέρχεται πάλιν [ὁ] ὄχλος, ὥστε μὴ δύνασθαι αὐτοὺς μηδὲ ἄρτον φαγεῖν. 21 καὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ παρ ̓ αὐτοῦ ἐξῆλθον κρατῆσαι αὐτόν· ἔλεγον γὰρ ὅτι ἐξέστη. Μάρκον 3·22 Καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς οἱ ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων καταβάντες ἔλεγον ὅτι Βεελζεβοὺλ ἔχει καὶ ὅτι ἐν τῷ ἄρχοντι τῶν δαιμονίων ἐκβάλλει τὰ δαιμόνια.

Μάρκον 3·23 Καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος αὐτοὺς ἐν παραβολαῖς ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· πῶς δύναται σατανᾶς σατανᾶν ἐκβάλλειν; 24 καὶ ἐὰν βασιλεία ἐφ ̓ ἑαυτὴν μερισθῇ, οὐ δύναται σταθῆναι ἡ βασιλεία ἐκείνη· 25 καὶ ἐὰν οἰκία ἐφ ̓ ἑαυτὴν μερισθῇ, οὐ δυνήσεται ἡ οἰκία ἐκείνη σταθῆναι. 26 καὶ εἰ ὁ σατανᾶς ἀνέστη ἐφ ̓ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἐμερίσθη, οὐ δύναται στῆναι ἀλλὰ τέλος ἔχει. 27 ἀλλ ̓ οὐ δύναται οὐδεὶς εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ εἰσελθὼν τὰ σκεύη αὐτοῦ διαρπάσαι, ἐὰν μὴ πρῶτον τὸν ἰσχυρὸν δήσῃ, καὶ τότε τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ διαρπάσει.

Μάρκον 3·28 Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πάντα ἀφεθήσεται τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὰ ἁμαρτήματα καὶ αἱ βλασφημίαι ὅσα ἐὰν βλασφημήσωσιν· 29 ὃς δ ̓ ἂν βλασφημήσῃ εἰς τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, οὐκ ἔχει ἄφεσιν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ἀλλὰ ἔνοχός ἐστιν αἰωνίου ἁμαρτήματος. 30 ὅτι ἔλεγον· πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον ἔχει.

Mark 3:13-19, The Choosing of the Twelve (The Study of Mark)

     13 And he goes up into the mountain1 and he calls to himself those whom he wanted and they came2 to him. 14 And he appoints3 twelve, who he also named apostles4, so that they might be with him, and that he might send them to proclaim the message given to them5, 15 and to have the authority to cast out demons. 16 And he appointed the twelve6: Simon, who he gave the name Peter7, 17 James, the son of Zebedee, and John, James’ brother (he gave them the name Boanerges, which is “Sons of Thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew8, Thomas, James, the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananaean9 , 19 and Judas Iscariot10, who also betrayed11 him. Mark 3:13-19

1 εἰς τὸ ὄρος (into the mountain) 

Not necessarily a specific mountain. It possibly means “into the 

mountains or hills”

2 ἀπῆλθον (came) 

Literally, “they came away from”. This could show a separation of the 

“special” followers from the “general” followers.

3 ἐποίησεν (appoints) 

or “makes”.

4 ἀποστόλους (apostles) 

An apostle is “one who is sent with a message” or “a messenger who is

sent”

5 the message given to them 

This is not original, but has been added to bring clarity to what

apostles are suppose to do.

6 τοὺς δώδεκα (the twelve) 

The inclusion of the article τοὺς may indicate that “the twelve” has 

become the official title of Jesus’ disciples.

7 καὶ ἐπέθηκεν ὄνομα τῷ Σίμωνι Πέτρον (Simon, who he gave the name Peter)

The literal Greek is “and he gave the name Peter to Simon”. This is a somewhat crude way to start naming the twelve, so the sentence has been reconstructed to show the the beginning of the list of disciples properly in the english language.

8 Matthew or Levi as indicated in 2:13-14.

9 Σίμωνα τὸν Καναναῖον (Simon the Cananaean)

Or Simon the Zealot. Simon’s zeal may have been religious, but was more likely to a “patriotic” zeal. In other words, Simon may not have been a fan of the Roman Empire.

10 Ἰσκαριώθ (Iscariot)

“A man from Kerioth” If this is the true meaning of Iscariot, it indicates that Judas Iscariot was the only disciple that was not from the Galilee as Kerioth was in Judea.

11 παρέδωκεν (betrayed) 

Literally, “handed over”.

The Greek

Μάρκον 3·13 Καὶ ἀναβαίνει εἰς τὸ ὄρος καὶ προσκαλεῖται οὓς ἤθελεν αὐτός, καὶ ἀπῆλθον πρὸς αὐτόν. 14 καὶ ἐποίησεν δώδεκα [οὓς καὶ ἀποστόλους ὠνόμασεν] ἵνα ὦσιν μετ ̓ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἵνα ἀποστέλλῃ αὐτοὺς κηρύσσειν 15 καὶ ἔχειν ἐξουσίαν ἐκβάλλειν τὰ δαιμόνια· 16 [καὶ ἐποίησεν τοὺς δώδεκα,] καὶ ἐπέθηκεν ὄνομα τῷ Σίμωνι Πέτρον, 17 καὶ Ἰάκωβον τὸν τοῦ Ζεβεδαίου καὶ Ἰωάννην τὸν ἀδελφὸν τοῦ Ἰακώβου καὶ ἐπέθηκεν αὐτοῖς ὀνόμα[τα] βοανηργές, ὅ ἐστιν υἱοὶ βροντῆς· 18 Καὶ Ἀνδρέαν καὶ Φίλιππον καὶ Βαρθολομαῖον καὶ Μαθθαῖον καὶ Θωμᾶν καὶ Ἰάκωβον τὸν τοῦ Ἁλφαίου καὶ Θαδδαῖον καὶ Σίμωνα τὸν Καναναῖον 19 καὶ Ἰούδαν Ἰσκαριώθ, ὃς καὶ παρέδωκεν αὐτόν.

Mark 3:7-12, A Multitude at the Seaside (The Study of Mark)

     7 And Jesus withdrew to the sea1 with his disciples, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him. And a great multitude, hearing about the great things he was doing,2 also came to him from Judea, 8 Jerusalem, Idumea, the other side of the Jordan river, and around Tyre and Sidon3 . 9 And he spoke to his disciples that a boat should be ready4 for him because of the crowd, that they would not crush5 him. 10 For he healed many, therefore, as many as were having illnesses6 crowded around him in order to touch him. 11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, were falling down before him and were crying out saying, “You are the Son of God7!” 12 And he was strongly8 warning9 them to not tell who he was10. Mark 3:7-12

The Sea of Galilee at sunset

1 Sea of Galilee

2 ἀκούοντες ὅσα ἐποίει (hearing about the great things he was doing)

This could also be translated, “hearing how great he was doing”. A very interesting “gloss”, but that’s not why the crowd was coming. The were coming because of the things he was doing.

3 Verse Separations

If you consult other translations, you may find that the translators tried to stay within the confines of verse separation that Stephanus did to the New Testament in 1555. Verses 7 and 8 represent how those divisions are sometimes not a good idea. The the people in the Galilee followed Jesus and people in the the other regions came to Jesus. One final personal note on verse separations; although verses make it easier to find passages in the Bible, they also provide the ability for people to take those same verses out of the context from the overall passage.

4 προσκαρτερῇ (should be ready) 

Greek: “should be close at hand”.

5 θλίβωσιν (crush) 

Greek: “crowd” or “press”

6 μάστιγας (illnesses)

μάστιξ: to beat severely with a whip — ‘to whip, to beat with a whip, whipping, flogging.’ This gives a clear picture of what 1st century Jews thought of sicknesses.

7 “You are the Son of God”

This is the first time that “Son of God” is used in Mark, save the variant reading in 1:1. It is interesting that the unclean spirits are the first to acknowledge it.

8 πολλὰ (strongly) 

Greek: “much”

9 ἐπετίμα (was warning)

or “was rebuking”.

10 ἵνα μὴ αὐτὸν φανερὸν ποιήσωσιν (to not tell who he was) 

Greek: “to not make him known” or “to not make him revealed”

The Greek

Μάρκον 3·7 Καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ ἀνεχώρησεν πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν, καὶ πολὺ πλῆθος ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας [ἠκολούθησεν], καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰουδαίας 8 καὶ ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰδουμαίας καὶ πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου καὶ περὶ Τύρον καὶ Σιδῶνα πλῆθος πολὺ ἀκούοντες ὅσα ἐποίει ἦλθον πρὸς αὐτόν. 9 καὶ εἶπεν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ἵνα πλοιάριον προσκαρτερῇ αὐτῷ διὰ τὸν ὄχλον ἵνα μὴ θλίβωσιν αὐτόν· 10 πολλοὺς γὰρ ἐθεράπευσεν, ὥστε ἐπιπίπτειν αὐτῷ ἵνα αὐτοῦ ἅψωνται ὅσοι εἶχον μάστιγας. 11 καὶ τὰ πνεύματα τὰ ἀκάθαρτα, ὅταν αὐτὸν ἐθεώρουν, προσέπιπτον αὐτῷ καὶ ἔκραζον λέγοντες ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ. 12 καὶ πολλὰ ἐπετίμα αὐτοῖς ἵνα μὴ αὐτὸν φανερὸν ποιήσωσιν.

Mark 3:1-6, The Man with a Withered Hand (The Study of Mark)

     1 And he went into the Synagogue again. And a man was there having a withered1 hand. 2 And they2 were watching him closely3 to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he says to the man who has the withered hand, “Get up among the midst of them4.” 4 And he says to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath, to save life5, or to kill life?” But they were silent. 5 And looking around at them with anger, feeling sorry for the stubbornness6 of their hearts, he says to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out and his hand was healed7. 6 And the Pharisees went out and immediately began making plans8 with the Herodians against him; how they might destroy him.

Introduction

This is the second of two events that happened on the same Sabbath.  The first event was the picking of grain on the Sabbath.

1 ἐξηραμμένην (withered) Dried up from paralysis or withered like a tree branch cut from the tree.

2 ”They” are the Pharisees. They had just witnessed the “plucking of the grain” on the Sabbath, so they were very happy with Jesus already. It may have been that the “plucking the grain” incident happened as they were on their way to the Synagogue.

3 παρετήρουν αὐτὸν (watching him closely) or “observed him closely”.

4 ἔγειρε εἰς τὸ μέσον (Get up among the midst of them) 

Greek: “Rise up into the middle”. Jesus wanted to make sure that everyone was going to see what he was going to do.

5 ψυχὴν (life) This is also used for “soul”.

6 πωρώσει (stubbornness) 

Greek: “hardness”. From BDAG, “State or condition of complete lack of understanding.”

7 ἀπεκατεστάθη (was healed) 

Greek: “was restored”

8 συμβούλιον ἐδίδουν (making plans)

Greek: “giving council” The Pharisees (religious leaders) decided to form an alliance with the Herodians (Government). The Government would have been the only ones who would have had the authority to put Jesus to death.

The Greek

     Μάρκον 3·1 Καὶ εἰσῆλθεν πάλιν εἰς τὴν συναγωγήν. καὶ ἦν ἐκεῖ ἄνθρωπος ἐξηραμμένην ἔχων τὴν χεῖρα. 2 καὶ παρετήρουν αὐτὸν εἰ τοῖς σάββασιν θεραπεύσει αὐτόν, ἵνα κατηγορήσωσιν αὐτοῦ. 3 καὶ λέγει τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ τὴν ξηρὰν χεῖρα ἔχοντι· ἔγειρε εἰς τὸ μέσον. 4 καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἔξεστιν τοῖς σάββασιν ἀγαθὸν ποιῆσαι ἢ κακοποιῆσαι, ψυχὴν σῶσαι ἢ ἀποκτεῖναι; οἱ δὲ ἐσιώπων. 5 καὶ περιβλεψάμενος αὐτοὺς μετ ̓ ὀργῆς, συλλυπούμενος ἐπὶ τῇ πωρώσει τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν λέγει τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ· ἔκτεινον τὴν χεῖρα. καὶ ἐξέτεινεν καὶ ἀπεκατεστάθη ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ. 6 καὶ ἐξελθόντες οἱ Φαρισαῖοι εὐθὺς μετὰ τῶν Ἡρῳδιανῶν συμβούλιον ἐδίδουν κατ ̓ αὐτοῦ ὅπως αὐτὸν ἀπολέσωσιν.

1 John 4:1-6, (The Spirit of Misleading)

     1 Beloved, don’t believe2 every spirit, but examine3 the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false-prophets have gone out into the world. 2 In this way, you will know the Spirit of God: Every Spirit who professes4 that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh5 is from God. 3 And every spirit that doesn’t profess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of antichrist6, which you have heard that is coming and is now in the world already. 4 You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them7 , because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world, for this reason, they speak from the world’s perspective8 and the world listens9 them. 6 We are from God; the one who knows God listens to us, but whoever is not from God doesn’t listen to us10. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of misleading11.

Introduction

I must admit, I have not reviewed this text in a long time and I can honestly say to you that this text doesn't speak to me the way that it once did.  I've done much studying on early Christianity and one of the biggest problems that early christians had was the belief that Jesus was not a man and was pure spirit.  Early christianity had many beliefs.  One of those beliefs gave rise to a group of people that came to be known as Gnostics.  Gnostics believed that they had received "special" knowledge from God about Jesus and about salvation.  One of the main ideas that they had was the thought that there was no way for God to die in sin to become an ultimate sacrifice for people's sin.  This gave way to the idea that Jesus didn't die at all, which gave way to Jesus was not a man, but a spirit that could not die.  This is an over-simplification of one view that the Gnostics had, but I believe that idea is why John wrote this passage in today's Blog.  I would encourage you to study early Christianity and all of the different beliefs that were floating around at the time.  It will help you to understand the New Testament much better and why things were written like they were.

1 ψευδοπροφῆται (false-prophets)

“pseudo-prophets”. pseudo means phony, artificial, fake, or deceptive. False-prophets teach false teachings. John is identifying how the “wrong” spirit has gotten distributed among the people of the world.

2 πιστεύετε (believe) 

or “have faith in”

3 δοκιμάζετε (examine) 

“Test”. Make sure the spirit is genuine.

4 ὁμολογεῖ (professes) 

Or “confesses”.

5 Jesus Christ has come in the flesh

This is a somewhat strange test as a spirit could tell a lie. It’s possible that this passage is directed toward the Gnostics of the day. During the first and second centuries, most Gnostics didn’t believe that Jesus was a man and that he didn’t have a real body. They believed that Jesus only seemed to have a real body because they didn’t think that God could die in sin as it was portrayed that Jesus did for mankind.  So, it you asked them if "Jesus came in the flesh?", then they would have to say "no".

6 τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου (of antichrist)

Antichrist is the complete opposite of Christ. In other words, if you didn’t believe that Christ came as a man, then you believed the opposite of what Jesus was.

7 νενικήκατε αὐτούς (you have conquered them) 

In other words, the true believers of God didn’t fall victim to the heresies of other teachings.

8 ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου λαλοῦσιν (they speak from the world’s perspective)

Greek: “they speak from the world”. "Perspective" has been added for clarity. In other words, they speak from what the world believes or how the world sees it and not how God sees it.

9 ἀκούει (listens) 

Greek: “hears”

10 doesn’t listen to us

Greek: “doesn’t hear us”. In other words, they didn’t believe the truth about Jesus, so they are not from God. They don’t hear because they don’t believe what we believe.

11 τῆς πλάνης (of misleading)

Most translations render this “of deception”. The word is the noun form of the greek verb πλανάω, which means “to lead astray” or “to lead off the path”.  It is interesting how John uses the idea that a "spirit" is to blame for the mis-teaching.  It adds to the validity of what John says is true and what he says is not true.  To be influenced by a "spirit" would have really driven the idea home for the early christians.

The Greek

Ἰωάννου α 4·1 Ἀγαπητοί, μὴ παντὶ πνεύματι πιστεύετε ἀλλὰ δοκιμάζετε τὰ πνεύματα εἰ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν, ὅτι πολλοὶ 1 ἐξεληλύθασιν εἰς τὸν κόσμον. 2 ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκετε τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ· πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ ὁμολογεῖ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν, 3 καὶ πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν· καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου, ὃ ἀκηκόατε ὅτι ἔρχεται, καὶ νῦν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἐστὶν ἤδη. Ἰωάννου α 4·4 ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστε, τεκνία, καὶ νενικήκατε αὐτούς, ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ. 5 αὐτοὶ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου εἰσίν, διὰ τοῦτο ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου λαλοῦσιν καὶ ὁ κόσμος αὐτῶν ἀκούει. 6 ἡμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐσμεν, ὁ γινώσκων τὸν θεὸν ἀκούει ἡμῶν, ὃς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἀκούει ἡμῶν. ἐκ τούτου γινώσκομεν τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πλάνης.