Preparing to Read Mark · Unit 16 of 16
Meet the people, groups, institutions, and key terms you will encounter
Bible readings: Mark 1–3, 5, 7, 11–12, 14–15 (selected passages)
The previous fifteen stages have brought the history to Jesus’ time. Before beginning Mark itself, we need a simple “reading toolkit,” because the Gospel introduces many groups and institutions familiar to first-century Jews but not necessarily to modern readers.
Remember one principle first: do not treat all religious leaders as one group, and do not reduce “Pharisee” to “bad person.” Different groups had different backgrounds, positions, and concerns.
1. Pharisees: A Religious Group Emphasizing Law and Tradition
The Pharisees were one of the important Jewish religious groups of the time. They valued the law of Moses and their ancestors’ interpretations and practices, paying particular attention to how daily matters such as Sabbath, food, and purity could meet God’s requirements.
The Pharisees were not the priestly class, nor can they simply be equated with “hypocrites.” In Mark, Jesus debates with them repeatedly, often over the central question of how God’s law should truly be understood and practiced.
“The Pharisees and the Jews all hold to the traditions of the elders and do not eat without carefully washing their hands. After returning from the marketplace, they do not eat without washing. There are also many other inherited rules they observe, including washing cups, jars, and bronze vessels.”
— Mark 7:3–4
When you read about Pharisees, do not begin with “bad people.” Think first of people who took law and religious tradition very seriously.
2. Scribes: Specialists in Studying and Interpreting the Law
“Scribe” is more a professional identity than a separate sect. Scribes knew Scripture and the law, with responsibilities in copying, studying, teaching, and interpreting them.
Some scribes may have been close to Pharisaic traditions, so “scribes and Pharisees” often appear together in the Gospels. The terms are not synonyms, however.
“The people were astonished at his teaching, because he taught them as someone with authority, unlike the scribes.”
— Mark 1:22
3. Sadducees: Close to the Temple and Elite Power
The Sadducees were another Jewish group, more closely associated with Jerusalem’s temple, the priestly class, and upper society. They differed from the Pharisees on several important beliefs.
Mark explicitly notes that they did not accept the resurrection of the dead. This explains why they challenge Jesus with a question about marriage and resurrection.
“The Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came and questioned Jesus…”
— Mark 12:18
Pharisees and Sadducees were not the same party; important disagreements already existed between them.
4. Priests, Chief Priests, and the High Priest
Priests mainly carried out temple sacrifices and ceremonies. Chief priests were priestly leaders with greater status and power, while the high priest held the highest office in the priestly system.
In the latter half of Mark, when Jesus enters Jerusalem and takes forceful action concerning the temple, the chief priests therefore become major figures in the story.
“When the chief priests and scribes heard this, they looked for a way to destroy Jesus. Yet they feared him, because all the people were astonished at his teaching.”
— Mark 11:18
5. Temple, Synagogue, and Sanhedrin Are Not the Same
These three terms are easily confused when reading the Gospels. A simple distinction helps:
- Temple: located in Jerusalem, the center of sacrifice and worship at major festivals.
- Synagogue: found in many localities, a place where Jews gathered to read Scripture, pray, and receive teaching.
- Sanhedrin: an important Jewish council operating in Jerusalem and handling religious and judicial affairs.
“They came to Capernaum, and on the Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught the people.”
— Mark 1:21
“The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin sought testimony against Jesus so they could put him to death, but they could find none.”
— Mark 14:55
The temple was the center of worship and sacrifice; synagogues were local gathering and Scripture-reading places; the Sanhedrin was a council.
6. Why Does the Sabbath Matter So Much?
The Sabbath comes from the law of Moses and is a key marker of Israel’s covenant life with God. By Jesus’ time, detailed discussions and rules had developed about what could and could not be done on the Sabbath.
When Jesus heals on the Sabbath or his disciples pluck heads of grain on that day, these are not merely small everyday matters. They directly touch the major question of how to understand God’s law.
“He also said to them, ‘The Sabbath was established for people, not people for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is also lord of the Sabbath.’”
— Mark 2:27–28
7. “Clean/Unclean” Does Not Simply Mean “Hygienic/Dirty”
“Clean” and “unclean” in the law of Moses are first of all ritual states. They should not be read simply as judgments about hygiene, nor do they necessarily indicate moral wrongdoing. Food, disease, bodily conditions, and contact with certain things could all involve purity regulations.
For example, the woman with the flow of blood in Mark 5 was not only someone who had been ill for years. Against the background of the law, her prolonged bleeding also placed her in an unclean state, giving the story religious and social weight as well.
“There was a woman who had suffered a flow of blood for twelve years. She had endured much under many doctors and spent everything she owned, yet she grew no better; instead, her condition worsened.”
— Mark 5:25–26
“Unclean” does not mean “this person is more wicked.” It is first a ritual classification within the law.
8. An “Unclean Spirit” Is Not the Same as Ritual Impurity
“Unclean spirits” appear repeatedly from Mark’s opening chapters. These are evil spirits opposed to God, not descriptions of someone who is merely ritually unclean because of food, illness, or a bodily condition. Do not confuse the two concepts.
“In the synagogue was a man possessed by an unclean spirit. He shouted, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, what have we to do with you? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: God’s Holy One.’”
— Mark 1:23–24
9. Why Are Tax Collectors So Often Grouped with “Sinners”?
Tax collectors collected revenue for the ruling authorities and were therefore often despised in Jewish society. They could readily be viewed as collaborators with foreign power and commonly bore a negative reputation for corruption and injustice.
In the Gospels, “sinners” sometimes means not only people guilty of grave wrongdoing, but also those whom the religious society of the day regarded as failing to observe the law or live up to religious standards.
“When scribes belonging to the Pharisees saw Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Does he eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ Jesus heard them and replied, ‘Healthy people do not need a doctor; sick people do. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.’”
— Mark 2:16–17
10. Who Are the Gentiles?
“Gentiles” most simply means people who are not Jewish. Israel was the covenant people, so clear boundaries separated Jews and Gentiles in religious identity, food, and social relations.
Yet Mark depicts Jesus’ ministry crossing those boundaries. When you encounter Gentile regions or people, notice how the story broadens its focus from Israel to the wider world.
“The woman was Greek, of Syrophoenician ancestry. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.”
— Mark 7:26
11. Herodians, the Herodian Family, and Roman Rule
The Herodians were not a theological sect, but a political group associated with Herodian rule. In Mark, they sometimes appear alongside the Pharisees, although the two were not the same kind of group.
“The Pharisees went out and consulted with the Herodians about how they could destroy Jesus.”
— Mark 3:6
Galilee, one of the main regions of Jesus’ public ministry, was then governed by Herod Antipas. The whole region ultimately remained within Rome’s imperial power structure. At the story’s end, Jesus is handed over to the Roman governor Pilate and executed by crucifixion, a Roman punishment.
As you read Mark, keep two forms of power in view: Jewish religious institutions and the Roman political rule behind them.
12. Three Oversimplifications to Avoid When Reading Mark
- Do not treat Pharisees, scribes, chief priests, and Sadducees as one undifferentiated group of “religious leaders.”
- Do not directly equate “unclean” with sin, evil, or unhygienic conditions.
- Do not interpret Jesus’ conflicts with religious leaders as “opposition to all law.” Many debates actually concern the law’s true purpose and authority.
13. Quick Reference Guide
- Pharisees: a Jewish religious group emphasizing the law and ancestral traditions.
- Scribes: specialists in studying, teaching, and interpreting the law.
- Sadducees: closely connected with temple, priestly, and elite power; they denied the resurrection of the dead.
- Priests/chief priests/high priest: responsible for temple ceremonies, with differing levels of religious authority.
- Synagogue: a local gathering place for Scripture reading, prayer, and teaching.
- Sanhedrin: an important Jewish council in Jerusalem.
- Sabbath: a key marker of Israel’s covenant life.
- Clean/unclean: ritual states in the law, not simply moral goodness or badness.
- Tax collectors: widely disliked collectors of taxes for the ruling authorities.
- Gentiles: people who are not Jewish.
- Herodians: a political group associated with Herodian rule.
- Unclean spirits: evil spirits opposed to God, not the same as ritual “impurity.”
14. Now You Can Open Mark Itself
You now know how the story moves from creation, Abraham, the exodus, the law, David’s kingdom, the prophets, exile, and return to the Jewish world under Roman rule. You also know that people at the time were discussing the Messiah, the kingdom of God, resurrection, law, and purity.
Mark will not begin with a lengthy genealogy or historical explanation. Instead, it directly announces good news and quickly brings Jesus onto the scene.
“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
— Mark 1:1
15. Three Questions to Keep Asking as You Read
- What does this passage show me about who Jesus is and the authority he has?
- How do people in the story respond to Jesus—with faith, confusion, discipleship, or opposition?
- How is this passage connected with the “kingdom of God”?