Right after Jesus gives the third and last prediction about the fate he was going to undergo in Jerusalem, Mark tells us that John and James, probably anticipating a Messianic coup d'etat in Judaism's capital, wanted to be assured of special places beside Jesus "in his glory" (cf. Mark 10:37). There is a pattern in the section that goes from Mark 9:31-10:45 in which each time Jesus predicts his passion, the issue of "glory" comes out.

After Jesus dies on the cross and before he was brought down from it for burial, John narrates to us a detail that is not mentioned in the Synoptic gospels: the piercing of Jesus' side. The reason for this is given in v. 31. Crucifixions did not immediately kill the crucified. Since the Jews didn't want the bodies of the executed to stay hanging on the cross till the following day, a Sabbath, they asked Pilate that the death of the hanging criminals be hastened. Thus the breaking of the legs. Once the legs of the crucified was broken, he can no longer raise himself up to breathe and he eventually dies suffocated by the blood filling up his lungs. Jesus was already dead by then, but the soldiers had to be sure that he was so. So instead of breaking up his legs, a soldier pierced his side with a spear. Here is how a doctor describes the process.

The story of the calming of the storm continues from 4:1-2 where Jesus sits on a boat and teaches a crowd in parables. After the seaside speaking engagement, he invites the disciples to cross over to the other side of the Sea (of Galilee). On the way, a storm arose that caused even fishermen to be concerned. Jesus was at the place where the boat steersman should be; and he was asleep. The disciples wake him up, he rebukes the wind and a great calm descended upon them. The miracle astounded the disciples so much that they began asking themselves who this is whom the winds and waves obey. That is how the main lines of the story go. Let us go into detail...

Mark 13 contains the eschatological discourse of Jesus. An eschatological discourse, simply put, is a speech about the last day. Much of Chapter 13 can be compared with other "Last Day pronouncements" from other sources contemporary to it (e.g. those coming from Qumran) and be found similar to them. But whether or not the language or the world-view behind the texts are similar, what matters is that in Mark 13, we find materials that Christian memory attributes to the Lord. It is to be noted that the Lord's eschatological discourse is placed in the context of his ministry in Jerusalem, right before he is handed over to "the powers of this world". In Mark (differently from Matthew and Luke), it is occassioned by a question posed by the disciples to Jesus regarding an earlier remark he made about the Temple of Jerusalem.

     The whole of Marks chapter 2 and 3:1-6 can be taken together as one section because of one overriding theme,  (Jesus' and his disciples' behavior are here questioned by different groups) and one locality (Capharnaum).  It is cut off from the preceding by a change of place (Jesus returns to Capharnaum, v.1) and from 3:7 by a change of verb for motion (anachorew).   There is also a common pattern that runs through all the narratives in this section: Jesus (or his disciples) does something; a group reacts to what he does (or what his disciples do); and Jesus responds.  What is important in this section is the response of Jesus to his interlocutors: the scribes, the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees.  The questions that are raised regard forgiveness of sins, the attitude to sinners, fasting, and the the Sabbath Law.  The section begins with an implicit accussation that Jesus is blasphemous, and ends with the Pharisees convening with the Herodians to plot the death of Jesus (3:6).

The the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican is a lesson for those who "pride themselves for being virtuous and despised everyone else (9)". It is also a commentary on a favorite Lucan passage: "those who exalt themselves shall be humbled; those who humble themselves shall be exalted." (14b). But this passage combined in Sunday worship with Ecclus. can also be read as a lesson in prayer. From within the context in which Luke has placed it, one can understand it as a lesson in the attitude that should accompany prayer. The Catechism calls this attitude "humility of heart in prayer." (CCC, 2613)

The parable of the Widow and The Judge is actually a catechism on prayer: the story part (2-5) is completed by a teaching (6-7) and a challenge (. A similar teaching about persistence in prayer has been reported early in the gospel of Luke (11:5-8). This time, however, the stress is on the necessity of praying without ceasing.

This section of the gospel of Luke is better understood within the context that begins with the interrogation of the Pharisees in Luke 17:20. To the question "When will the kingdom of God come" Jesus gives a reply in two parts: (a) the kingdom of God is not a matter of when or where; (b) the kingdom of God has begun in your midst. Jesus then turns to his disciples to elaborate on the matter. In Luke 17:22-25, he practically says that it is only after his suffering and death, that is, when he Has been glorified that the question about the Day of the Son of Man will make sense. But even then, it won't be a calendar event. Next follows the present section which is an explanation of the suddenness of that day and the krisi" (krisis, Greek for "judgment") it will bring about.

The passage is not formally a parable, though it has been mistakenly referred to as a parable because of the context in which it is found. The passage is a discourse on the last day and answers the question: "What will happen to all men come Judgment Day?" There was a need for an answer to this question because of the different answers given to another related question: "How are we to be saved?" This latter question is indirectly answered in the two preceding parables, that of the Ten Virgins and that of the Talents.

The parable of the talents can be found in Matthew alone. It is so popular that even the word for "talent" derives from this parable. It is a symbolic story of what would happen in the last day to those who refuse to heed the Lord's call to be prepared. The story can be easily divided into three parts: the introduction (vv. 14-15) which shows the Master of the house entrusting talents to his servants before he leaves, (vv. 16-18) which shows the attitudes of the the three servants towards the talents given to them. In this part, the third servant stands out because his actions are markedly different from the other two. Finally in the third part, (vv.19-30) the Master returns after a long delay and asks for an accounting of the talents he has given. The focus of the whole story is on the third part (the lengthiest part) and on the third slave (his actions and even his lot are markedly different from the other two; he is the only one who speaks in the story apart from the Master).