This is one of my favorite passages. The Greek isn't any more difficult than the previous chapter, but it's teaching on discipleship is central to who we are. Please be sure to spend time in class talking about what discipleship is and how it should affect you and your relationship with God and others.
Mark 8:27 – 8:30
Mark 8:31 – 9:1
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| Mark 8:31 | Other than some long words that are hard to pronounce, the verse is straight forward. |
| Mark 8:32 | A good example of how sometimes the subject of the indicative verb gets placed inside a participial phrase. |
| Mark 8:33 | This verse shows how a Greek word can tie a discussion together even when it is not visible in English. There is also an interesting construction with the article. |
| Mark 8:34 | The single most important verse on discipleship in the Bible. |
| Mark 8:35 | The trick in verse 35 is to identify the two indicative verbs, and then the subject of each. There's also a couple of interesting textual variants in this verse. |
| Mark 8:36 | Except for one word, the verse is pretty easy but there are some interesting textual variants. |
| Mark 8:37 | Here is your first deliberative subjunctive. |
| Mark 8:38 | Jesus has been talking about living a crucified life, of giving up your life for him and his kingdom. Now comes the warning. |
| Mark 9:1 | The challenge of this verse is not how to translate it but what the prophecy means. |
Mark 9:2–8
| Mark 9:2 | No real issues here. |
| Mark 9:3 | While the grammar of this verse is pretty straightforward, the vocabulary is a bit challenging. |
| Mark 9:4 | After verse 3, this verse is a welcomed relief and is pretty easy to translate. |
| Mark 9:5 | Sometimes you need to rearrange the Greek words in order to understand the Greek grammar. |
| Mark 9:6 | Even though the verse is short, it does have quite a few interesting things to learn from. |
| Mark 9:7 | No real surprises with this famous verse. |
| Mark 9:8 | Nothing very challenging here. |