A Lesson on Character

A LESSON ON CHARACTER

An Exposition of Mark 11:27-33

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date: June 27, 2021

Series: Mark: Knowing and Following God’s Son

Note: Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard   Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION

Good morning. I invite you to turn to Mark 11. Momentarily I'll be reading the end of the chapter (verses 27-33), but before I do that, let me share a brief introduction.

Character matters a great deal. That is somewhat of a truism, but it's very important to reckon with as we walk through this particular passage. The New Testament calls us to train ourselves for godliness (1 Timothy 4:7-8). God's intention, from the very beginning, is for human beings to reflect his character and thus to fill the earth with the light of his glory. And if any place should reflect the glory of the Lord, we would expect his temple to be that place. But as we looked at last week, we learned that the physical temple in Jerusalem is not at all reflecting the glory of the Lord.

Notice the emphasis on the temple in Chapter 11. In verse 11, Jesus “entered Jerusalem and went into the temple.” And then on the next day – in verse 15 – “they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple...” And then in today’s passage, which begins in verse 27: “And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple…”  So there is an emphasis on the temple.

We saw last week that Jesus pronounced judgment upon the physical temple because the people, particularly the leaders, had turned what was supposed to be “a house of prayer” into “a den of robbers”, as Jesus said in verse 17. Think about that. A place of prayer would be a place where you invite people to come into the presence of the Lord and seek his favor and his help. But what is a den of robbers? A den of robbers is a base of operations in order to steal that which belongs to other people. Ultimately, they are stealing the glory and honor that rightfully belongs to the Lord.

When Jesus issued a judgment on the temple, he was implying that the religious leadership was guilty of gross mismanagement. And the religious leaders were not happy about Jesus’ assessment (see v. 18).

All this is background to today's passage. After Jesus had turned over the tables (v. 15-16) and after he had reproved them (v. 17), what was going on at the temple? It says in verse 18: “And the chief priests and scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him…” These were the overseers – the guardians – of the temple. And in today's passage, we get an inside look at their character. What are these religious leaders like? What made them tick? Why were they so corrupt?

One of the things that we learn in the Bible, as well as in life experience, is that religion is no protection from the corruption of the human heart. In fact, often it is the case that religion serves as a cover for the corruption of the human heart. In verses 27-33, we get to see the heartbeat – and it is not a good one! – of the religious leaders of Israel. Let's pick it up in verse 27.

THE SCRIPTURAL TEXT

Holy Scripture says:

²⁷ And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him,²⁸ and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” ²⁹ Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” ³¹ And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ³² But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet.³³ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” (Mark 11:27-33)

This is God's holy word, and it is for our good. Let's pray.

Father, we need this passage. All Scripture, including this one, is breathed out by you for our good and for our sanctification and for our growth in our walk with you. And Father, we pray that the Holy Spirit would come and apply the truth and the weight and the power of this passage to our weak and needy hearts. Have your way with us this morning. In Jesus’ name, amen.

WALKING THROUGH THE PASSAGE

The Religious Leaders Question Jesus (v. 27-28)

Verse 27 tells us that “the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to” Jesus with a question. Now this grouping of people – the chief priests; and the scribes, the teachers of the law, the professional theologians; and the elders, leading citizens among the people – these three groups of people were the people who comprised what is called the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was the highest council in Jerusalem. The thought is that there were 71 members of this elite group and they were the high authority in all matters pertaining to religion, law and politics within Jerusalem and within Judea. Now of course their authority wasn't ultimate because they had to deal with their Roman overlords, as Palestine was occupied by Rome during this time. But nevertheless, within Judaism, the Sanhedrin was at the top. They were the power brokers. They are the bigwigs. And some of them came to Jesus with a question.

Now Jesus knew that these men would reject him. Jesus told us – in Mark 8:31, in Mark 9:31, and in Mark 10:33-34 – that these religious leaders would reject him and condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles in order to be killed. So they are not coming to him as humble seekers of truth. They are questioning him as antagonists who are seeking to ruin him. The motivation behind their question is to oppose him, challenge him, bait him, find something to use against him, and ultimately to destroy him. And Jesus knows this. He knows that they are not his friends.

As already indicated, the Sanhedrin is the authorized body of religious leaders. In their mind, Jesus does not have any legitimate authority. He has no apparent authorization: he is not authorized to go into the temple and disrupt the commerce, he is not authorized to go in and turn over the tables, and he is not authorized to teach in such a way that would undermine the people's confidence in the temple system. Such is their mindset. As a general rule, the authorized bigwigs never like it when an unauthorized person makes a big splash on the scene and takes away some of their market share. That is a threat that they must deal with. And so, they come to Jesus in the temple precincts and they asking him: On what basis do you exercise authority? What governing body or person has given you authority to do these things? They certainly hadn't given authority to Jesus, and they were threatened by his exercise of authority.

Jesus Asks a Counter-Question (v. 29-30)

Jesus responds to their question by asking a counter-question. Jesus will not answer their question, unless they answer the question that he is going to ask them. Jesus knows that these religious leaders do not have goodwill toward him, and yet he is going to lay down a challenge. It's as if he is saying to them, Demonstrate goodwill to me by truthfully answering my question, and then I'll shed light on your question. Take a step out of the darkness, you elites of Israel, and take a step into the light, and then we can have a constructive conversation. So he asks them a question: “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” (v. 30)

Now we know that John the Baptist’s ministry was from heaven. The Gospel of John tells us: “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light” (John 1:6-7). When John the Baptist was born, his father Zechariah prophesied over him: “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways” (Luke 1:76). John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He baptized people in the Jordan River, symbolizing a cleansing and a fresh start. His goal was to make people ready to receive their King, the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, John announced the coming of Jesus to the people of Israel, and he actually baptized Jesus. And at his baptism, Jesus was empowered for his ministry as the Holy Spirit came upon him.

Ordinary People regarded John as a prophet. Many of them had been baptized by John and had believed his message, but generally speaking the religious class rejected John's ministry, did not submit to his baptism, and disregarded his message. Religious professionals rarely get excited about wilderness preachers who eat locusts and wild honey. They would much rather have a boring cleric who knows his place and doesn't rock the boat. The religious industrial complex does not like the prophets who don't play by the rules. Therefore they attempt to silence or eliminate such prophets.

How the Religious Leaders Answer Jesus (v. 31-33)

But the question that Jesus asks puts pressure on the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders – and it exposes their hearts. Look at their reasoning process in verses 31-32. They think like astute politicians. They don't need to hire a public relations firm, because they are quite competent to think through those matters for themselves! Verse 31: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’” In other words, if they answered that John was a true prophet who exercised God-given authority – when it was public knowledge that they themselves did not receive his ministry and didn't heed his message – then they would look like idiots. If you say John's ministry is the real deal, but you have actually ignored John’s ministry, then you open yourself up to the charge of hypocrisy. Over in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus said to these religious leaders: “John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him” (Matthew 21:32). As they now consider how to answer Jesus in Mark 11, they know that they don't want to look like idiots. So answering ‘From heaven’ isn’t a viable way forward.

In verse 32 they consider the other possible answer: “But shall we say, ‘From man’?” Now at this point Mark breaks off from telling us the direct thoughts of these religious leaders, and he just summarizes it in his own words. Mark writes: “they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet.” (v. 32) Remember that this conversation took place in the temple precincts. This is not a private conversation, it is a public conversation and there were a lot of people around who regarded John as a prophet, had believed John's message, and had probably been baptized by him. And many of these were the same people who were “astonished at [Jesus'] teaching” (Mark 11:18). These people had believed John, and they were standing in awe of Jesus. The religious leaders knew that their own mindset was at odds with the mindset of most of the people around them. And so they felt that in this circumstance, with all these ordinary people around, they could not risk offending the people. They were afraid of the people getting stirred up against them. So they didn’t feel free to answer ‘From man’.

Now, Jesus had given them a multiple choice question. There were only two bubbles: “from heaven or from man” (v. 30). Those were the only two options, and the instructions was: don't leave the question blank. But the religious leaders found it impossible to answer Jesus’ question, so they took the easy way out: “So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” (v. 33) They hid behind pretended ignorance.

It is remarkable how early in life this impulse of pretended ignorance develops in sinful hearts. Have you ever had the experience where you're trying to impress a point of moral truth upon your children and you ask them to name that truth, and you know that they know it, and yet they say, ‘I don't know’. Truth hurts. Or you ask someone, ‘What are you doing?’ And they answer, ‘Nothing’ – and that is almost never the case! Or going back to Genesis 4, God asked Cain: “Where is Abel your brother?” He answered, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” (Genesis 4:9) How often we hide behind, ‘We do not know’.

Jesus Refuses to Reveal Additional Truth to the Untruthful (v. 33)

In fact, the religious leaders did know what they thought – though what they thought was in error – but they knew what they thought. However, they were unwilling to say what they thought. They did not have the courage of their convictions, so they threw up a political smokescreen. They wouldn't deal truthfully with Jesus, and therefore Jesus would not reveal additional truth to them. “And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”” (v. 33)

Before digging into some of the particular lessons here, just consider a few passages of Scripture that shed light on Jesus’ refusal to deal with untruthful people. Let these passages sink in:

“With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.” (Psalm 18:25-26)

“The friendship [or ‘secret counsel’, see ESV footnote] of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” (Psalm 25:14)

“[With] the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Mark 4:24-25)

Those who live in the realm of obedience and truthfulness and diligence and honesty have their heart attuned to God's Word. But those who prefer to choose their own private agendas and who don't deal in the currency of truth – they should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. The rich man came to Jesus full of his stuff, and he walked away without the blessing of the Lord (Mark 10:17-22). These religious leaders came to Jesus full of their own private agenda, and they left without an answer. Learn the lesson. This is how spiritual life works: if you don't deal honestly and truthfully with the Lord, you leave empty-handed!

LEARNING FROM THE PASSAGE

Now I want to walk through some really practical and challenging lessons for us from this passage.

The Religious Leaders Didn’t Love Truth

The first thing I want us to do is to reflect on the spiritual bankruptcy of the religious leaders. The religious leaders reasoning process reveals the rottenness at the core of their being. This is not just some kind of innocent political maneuver. Based on their discussion and calculation in verses 31-32, what did they love? And what did they not love?

Notice that they were not concerned about truth. Their priority was not to discern and speak what is true. They didn't love truth. If they had loved truth, they would have celebrated John's ministry of bearing witness to the light. If they had loved truth, then they would have rejoiced in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is truth, and he came to bear witness to the truth (John 14:6, 18:37). But they did not rejoice in him.

Further, they were not even concerned about honesty. Their priority was not to speak transparently about what they believed to be true. Instead they were concerned about what was convenient and useful to their self-serving agenda.

Truth doesn't matter. Truthfulness doesn't matter. Honesty doesn't matter. Do you know what matters? Utility, that's what matters. They loved themselves. They loved looking smart. They couldn't bear the thought of looking like idiots. They couldn't risk vulnerability. They loved their reputation. They loved being liked. They couldn't bear the thought of losing their respectability with the people. They loved having strong favorability ratings. They loved being safe. They were self-promoting disingenuous truth-suppressors. The New Testament tells us that those who are perishing are judged “because they refused to love the truth and so be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10) 

Notice what thrives in the darkness of men's hearts. These men were politicians in religious garb. And beware of what thrives in such places – plots and schemes, evasions and distortions, word games and doublespeak, corrupt motivations and crooked answers, insincerity and pretended ignorance. It happens in politics. It happens in religion. It happens in the hearts of sinful human beings. These religious leaders did not love truth, did not love truthfulness, and did not love transparent honesty – all this was at the heart of their corruption.

The Religious Leaders Didn’t Fear God

But there was something even deeper than all that, something else that is the foundation of their corruption. It is this: they did not fear God. Who did they fear? They were afraid of what? “[They] were afraid of the people” (v. 32). They were afraid of disapproval, of backlash, of bad press, of opposition. Jesus taught us that when you look to people as the way to get glory for yourself, you cannot be a believer. Jesus said in the Gospel eeof John: “I do not receive glory from people.” (John 5:41) Do you know how freeing that is? Jesus said, “I do not receive glory from people.” And then a few verses he said: “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44) Do you see? Fearing God means that you live for an audience of one, you live for the approval of one, you live for the agenda of one.

Fearing God means that you care supremely about what God thinks. And you only care about what other people think as it relates to what God thinks.

Fearing God means that God is your refuge and you need no other refuge: “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him…. [The] steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting to those who fear him” (Psalm 103:13, 17).

Fearing God means that you don't have to jockey for position. You don't have to manage appearances anymore. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). You can suffer the loss of everything, and so what? What does it matter? “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:25-26)

Fearing God means that you can endure the shame that comes from public disapproval. It says in the Gospel of John that “many even of the authorities believed in him [Jesus], but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.” (John 12:42-43)

What are you looking for? Are you looking for the glory that comes from God? The glory that comes from God is always enough. Or are you looking for glory from one another and always angling for it? The religious leaders did not fear God. They feared the people, and so they calculated their actions accordingly.

The religious leaders’ failure to fear God explains the rot in the temple. This is not a place that is reflecting the beauty and the glory and the excellence and the character and the love of the Lord. This is a place that is corrupt. It is actually keeping people from engaging with God. These religious leaders – they had the Old Testament, they had the promises, they had the commandments, they had the sacrifices – the truth was within their reach, but they turned away from it. 

Jesus is Building a New Temple

But Jesus is building a new temple. Do you remember? He is building a new temple. He is the Cornerstone of that new temple (Mark 12:12), and we are like living stones who are being built up as a new spiritual temple in the Lord (1 Peter 2:4-5). And so I think it is profitable for us to reflect on this question: if the religious leaders had that kind of character, which was an abomination to the Lord, then what would the opposite look like? What would good and holy and beautiful character look like, the kind of character that Jesus would want to see grow in his new temple, the church? I want you to think about three things. All of these things grow out of fearing God.

We Must Have a Culture of Truth

First, we must have a culture of truth. Learn to love the truth more than you love your own life and status. What will you do when you are pushed to the brink, and you have a choice to make? Will you attempt to save your own skin at the cost of sacrificing the truth? Or are you willing to hold the truth in high regard and to hold it fast and to remain loyal to it and to the God behind it – so much so that you're willing to sacrifice your own life for it? From this pulpit, I owe you the truth. Consequences are neither here nor there in one sense. If we proclaim the truth and it summons the sheep from the Oxford Hills to come and hear the word of the Lord, and we grow, then praise God. If we proclaim the truth and it thins our ranks and it drives away the goats and the wolves, and we're dwindling in size but there's a few strong sheep who remain, then praise God. Because it's not about numbers and appearances. It's about honoring the Lord and his word and his truth.

Do you remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Imagine if they had been like these corrupt religious leaders. Those three were told – you need to bow down and worship this golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar has set up, and if you don't bow down before this state-sanctioned god – this state-sanctioned idol – if you don't bow down before it, then you're going to be thrown into the fiery furnace. They could have said: Come on guys, why don't we just bow down? It's just a physical act. We can think in our hearts that that action really doesn't mean anything. We're just kind of playing along here, but in our hearts we’re remaining bowed down to the Lord. But God says ‘No!’ to such vain imaginings. God will be bowed down to publicly – privately and publicly. We believe and confess, know and make known in the world. And these three saints were willing to give up their lives for the sake of remaining faithful to the one true and living God. In Revelation 12 we are told  that the martyrs who pay the ultimate price conquered the devil, the accuser, “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” (Revelation 12:11)

Do you see the character quality of these religious leaders in Mark 11? They were not men of courage. They were cowards. Cowardice and convenience and calculating and angling for position and respect – all this is a package deal. But the fruit of courage – true and godly courage – grows on the tree of conviction in the soil of truth. And this also is a package. We need to be a culture of truth, a culture of courageous believers and defenders of that which is true.

We Must Have a Culture of Transparency

Second, we must have a culture of transparency about our weaknesses. We must learn to deal honestly with the Lord. It is a great mistake in attempting to relate to the Lord to think that he wants you to be impressive. The Pharisee prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” (Luke 18:11-12) He basically prayed: Look at me – I'm good! Which is not a good way to pray!

And other people, because they have that same mindset, don't even bother to come. They know that they’re a mess, but they don’t feel free to come as they are. And if they do come, they have to hide.

These religious leaders in Mark 11 couldn't bear the thought of being caught in a vulnerable position before Jesus, or before the people. But think about the people who did come to Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, and think about what it looked like. The people who came to the Lord in the Gospel of Mark – they looked desperate and weak, and not neat and tidy. But the chief priests and the scribes and the elders couldn't imagine looking that way before each other or before the people. They couldn't imagine relating to God that way. The demoniacs came, the leper came, the desperate parents seeking relief and rescue for their children came. Think about blind Bartimaeus. I mean, what does that look like?  Jesus and these other pilgrims are on their way from Jericho to Jerusalem, and there is this guy by the side of the road. He is broke. He is a beggar. He is blind. And he cries out: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47) Do you think he was concerned about what other people thought? No! He wanted Jesus. That is what mattered. The disciples were honest too. Of course, they often had stupid and selfish thoughts, but at least they usually shared their thoughts with Jesus. And that gave them an opportunity to learn and be corrected and to grow. But when you have to keep up appearances, then you give up the possibility of receiving truth. 

Listen: God does not despise your weakness. “[He] knows our frame; he remembers  that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:14) He takes that into account and treats us with a tender heart. It says in James 1: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (James 1:5) Jesus welcomes you to come in all of your brokenness and weakness in order to receive grace from him. But if you're always hiding and playing it safe and trying to keep up the right image, you forfeit the grace that could have been yours.

We Must Have a Culture of Truth-Loving Honesty

Finally, we must have a culture of truth-loving honesty toward each other. We must learn to speak truthfully and clearly and honestly to one another. Now this might seem like an odd application of this passage, but bear with me for just a minute. The way that we relate to each other is of the same cloth with how we relate to the Lord. You see this over and over again in Scripture. Love God with all your being and love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31). They are two distinct things, but they belong together. How can you claim to love the God whom you have not seen when you don't love his redeemed sons and daughters who are in front of you, whom you do see (1 John 4:20)? How can you bless God with your mouth and with the same mouth curse people who are made in God's image (James 3:9-10)? Ananias and Sapphira came to the apostles and lied to them. They lied to the church. And the Apostle Peter said, “You have not lied to man but to God.” (Acts 5:4) If you claim to be dealing honestly with the Lord, but you're not dealing honestly with each other, then you're not dealing honestly with the Lord.

There is a beautiful passage in 1 Peter 2. The Apostle Peter was part of this conversation in Mark 11 – and perhaps the conversation of Mark 11 was on his mind as he picked up his pen and wrote 1 Peter 2:1-5. He begins,

“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.” (1 Peter 2:1)

These are the very character qualities by which the religious leaders related to and sought to destroy Jesus. Peter continues,

“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation– if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:2-5)

This is what we are called to be: a house of worship, a house of praise, a house of prayer, a house without hypocrisy or deceit. People who are learning to love each other sincerely from the heart. People who are learning to deal honestly and frankly with one another. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” (Colossians 3:9-10) And then in another passage he wrote, “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” (Ephesians 4:25)

Do we want to grow as a church family? Do we want to be a refreshing counter-culture to the toxic religious temple culture that Jesus was condemning in Mark 11? Think about it: if the religious leaders had been honest they would have had to say, ‘Come and be part of our culture of malice and misrepresentation and dishonesty and self-preservation.’ Not too inviting, huh? Well, take this to heart: a significant factor in genuine spiritual growth is learning to be honest with each other in an atmosphere of cherishing God's truth and grace.

I’m amazed in one sense – in another sense I'm not amazed because I know what Scripture teaches me to expect this – but I'm amazed that some of the most significant growth moments in South Paris Baptist Church since I've been around have come out of brokenness, out of weakness, out of conflict, out of difficult conversations. Conversations where honesty and frankness and humility were required. And guess what? If we had to get approval and glory from one another, it would not work at all. Because we would all be preoccupied with being liked, and that would make it difficult to be truthful. Instead, as we trust the Lord for his grace, and as we find in him and in his redemption and in his Spirit and in his Word all that we need, then the church community becomes a safe and beautiful place to learn to repent better, to learn to reconcile better, to learn to be frank better, to learn to love better. We don't need to keep up appearances. We get to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us pray.

Father, there is no example of bad character in these religious leaders that does not tempt our own hearts. Father, I pray that you would graciously come and spare us from going down a path like that. Father, we pray that you would overwhelm us with your grace and your mercy and your kindness, and with the precious truth that you do not turn away from us when we are deeply broken, when we are weak, when we are sinful, when we are a mess. You welcome us to come. You bestow grace upon us. And Father, I pray that all of us – my brothers and sisters – I pray that we would reflect your grace and your mercy and your kindness toward one another so that we would grow as a courageous and loving and truthful people, and so that we would be the light of the world inviting people to come and see that you are good. Have mercy on us, Lord God. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark (The Pillar New Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.

France, R. T. The Gospel of Mark (The New International Greek Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.

William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark (The New International Commentary on the New Testament). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974.

Eckhard J. Schnabel, Mark (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries Vol. 2). Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2017.

G. H. Twelftree, “Sanhedrin.” In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Editors: Joel B. Green and Scot McKnight. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1992: p. 728-732.

James W. Voelz, Mark 8:27–16:20 (Concordia Commentary). St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2019.

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