Glossary
Festival of Thin Bread Jewish meeting place Turn back to God John the Baptist Transfiguration Jewish council Raised to life Temple-curtain Second coming Lord’s Supper Son of David crucifixion Evil spirit Son of Man Son of God Bridegroom Herodians Sadducees Pharisees Salvation Scripture Beelzebul Agreement Blasphemy Passover Disciple Shepherd Curtain Teacher Sabbath Prophet Priests Unclean Trinity Abraham Apostle Leprosy Baptism Kingdom Believe Gentile Elijah Father Christ Spirit Hooray Moses Story Yeast Cross Satan Jacob Angel David Demon Isaac Lord Hell Sins Sign Cup Law Sin
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
A father, son and grandson. God promised them numerous descendants and that they would bring God's blessings to the nations (e.g. Genesis 12).
Agreement
lit. covenant, a solemn agreement initiated by God between himself and his people, ratified by shedding the innocent blood of a substitute.
Angel
A supernatural creature that serves God in the heavenly places, typically acting as a messenger from God to human beings, often appearing as a man.
Apostle
A messenger, one of Jesus' twelve disciples, who were chosen to go out and tell people about Jesus and the freedom he brings.
Baptism
- to wash someone with water as a sign of being made clean from sin
- being plunged into a life-transforming work of the Spirit, inaugurated by Jesus (Mark 1:8).
- an image of suffering (Mark 10:38-39), when applied to Jesus it refers to is drowning in a sea of judgement.
Beelzebul
A corrupted form of the name of a Philistine god, mocking him as 'Lord of the flies'. Used of Satan.
Believe
Not simply intellectual agreement, but trust, reliance or dependence on Jesus
Blasphemy
Usurping the rights and claims of God; the disrespectful use of the name of God.
Bridegroom
The image of God taking a people as his wife is found in the Old Testament. Jesus clearly presents himself in the role of God!
Christ
Not Jesus' surname, but an important title. It is the Greek form of the Hebrew Messiah, meaning 'the anointed one', which was used especially of kings. The Christ was chosen by God to free his people.
Cross/crucifixion
An ancient method of execution, whereby the condemned person is nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead. The typical cause of death was asphyxiation.
Cup
An image of suffering (Mark 10:38-39), used of Jesus it refers to his suffering the punishment for sins, bearing the anger of God (Mark 14:35-36).
David
The greatest king of Israel to whom was given the promise of a lasting dynasty (2 Samuel 7).
Demon
A malevolent angel.
Disciple
A follower. Both John the Baptist and Jesus attracted a number of followers.
Elijah
One of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament, who was persecuted by king Ahab and queen Jezebel in the ninth century BC. There was a prophecy that a new Elijah would come before God entered into human history. Jesus identified this new Elijah with John the Baptist.
Evil spirit
A malevolent angel.
Father
Jesus prays to God as 'father' (Mark 14:36). God the Father is the first person of the Trinity and is a separate person from Jesus and the Spirit. Jesus literally prays 'Abba, father' an Aramaic word meaning 'father,' which probably indicates that Jesus prayed in Aramaic. The name Barabbas is the Greek form of the Aramaic Bar Abba, meaning 'son of the father', which is so ironic when you consider that he was released and the Son of the Father was handed over to be executed!
Festival of Thin Bread
Sometimes called the Feast of Unleavened Bread; people would eat bread made without yeast to remember the people's hasty flight from Egypt.
Gentile
Refers to a non-Israelite person, tribe or nation.
Hell
Jesus uses the Hebrew Gehenna, which was the burning rubbish dump near Jerusalem, to describe a place of eternal punishment.
Herodians
A political party that supported king Herod the Great and his dynasty, probably believing that the establishment of a Herodian dynasty would be favourable to the realization of God’s kingdom.
Hooray
lit. Hosanna, taken from the Hebrew word meaning 'save now!' it is a cry of praise shouted in recognition of the Messiahship of Jesus at his triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Mark 11:9).
Jewish council
lit. Sanhedrin, the supreme court of ancient Israel. As they were under Roman occupation, the court had no powers to sentence a criminal to capital punishment.
Jewish meeting place
lit. a synagogue, which means an 'assembly.'
John the Baptist
The forerunner of God, who got God's people ready for God. He dressed like Elijah (Mark 1:6), and Jesus taught that John was the new Elijah promised long ago (Mark 9:12-13)
Kingdom
The recognised kingly rule and reign of God over his people (in salvation) and his enemies (in judgement).
Law
The Torah (instruction), the legislation contained within the first five books of the Old Testament.
Leprosy
The word actually refers to any kind of grievous skin disease.
Lord
- A polite way of referring to a respected person
- a ruler
- the Jewish way of representing the personal name of God (Yahweh) as LORD in the Old Testament. The New Testament does not follow that convention.
Lord’s Supper
The Passover meal Jesus shared with the Twelve and his other disciples, which was the last meal before his death. It is commemorated by Christians by sharing bread (representing his broken body) and wine (representing his shed blood).
Moses
The greatest prophet of the Old Testament, who led God's people out of slavery in Egypt to the borders of the promised land. He acted as a mediator between God and the people and received from God his instructions for the people.
Passover
An annual feast to celebrate how once, many years earlier, God had freed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. When God came in anger upon Egypt, the Israelites were spared only because they killed an animal as a substitute and applied its blood to their houses.
Pharisees
Probably comes from a Hebrew word meaning 'separated'. The Pharisees wanted to apply God's law to the whole of life, believing that God would only establish his kingdom on earth if his people were pure. They invented rules and regulations to try to stop people breaking God's law, but ended up emphasising their rules over and above God’s rules (see Mark ch7).
Priests
Servants of the temple in Jerusalem who were responsible for overseeing the sacrificial system.
Prophet
A human messenger of God who proclaims God's word, often foretelling the future. True prophets are loyal to God's word and their messages come true. False prophets deceive the people and lead them astray.
Raised to life
- The dead being raised refers to dead people coming back to life, taking on new bodies, and receiving either salvation or damnation at the end of time (Dan 12:2; Job 19:26; Isaiah 26:19; Ezekiel 37:12).
- Jesus being raised refers to Jesus coming back to life, never to die again, as the exalted Lord.
- resurrection miracles refers to Jesus' authority to raise the dead back to life; these resuscitations foreshadow Jesus’ resurrection power.
Sabbath
Derived from the Hebrew Shabbat 'to cease', the Sabbath was a weekly day of rest and worship on the seventh day of the week (Saturday).
Sadducees
A priestly group, associated with the leadership of the temple in Jerusalem.
Salvation
To be saved from the wrath of God.
Satan
From the Hebrew word for 'accuser', he is the chief malevolent angel who opposes God and his people.
Scripture
As used by Jesus it refers to the Old Testament. It was subsequently applied to incorporate the New Testament.
Second coming
The return of Jesus when he will gather his people to himself and bring judgement on his enemies.
Shepherd
Often used in the Old Testament to describe a leader or king.
Sign
Jesus' miracles were understood as signs backing up his identity claims. Jesus often refused to perform miracles on demand.
Sin/sins
Rebellion against God in thought, word, attitude or deed by commission or omission, evidenced by our failure to love God completely and to submit to Jesus.
Son of David
Used of a royal descendant of king David who would initiate an eternal kingship, fulfilling the promise of 2 Samuel 7.
Son of God
Not a biological description but a theological title referring to the anointed king. The Old Testament envisages a God-Man ruling over God’s people (e.g. Psalm 45:1-7). God the Son is the second person of the Trinity
Son of Man
An ambiguous phrase in 1st century Palestine
- it could be used idiomatically to refer to yourself, a little bit like the 'royal we'.
- it could refer to humanity generally
- images of a ruling (Mark 2:28) and glorious figure (Mark 13:26; 14:62) clearly refer to the God-Man of Daniel chapter 7.
Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. As God, the Spirit can be blasphemed against (Mark 3:29). The Spirit inspires speech (Mark 12:36), and gives Jesus' followers words to say in court (Mark 13:11)
Story
lit. parable, Greek for any fictional illustration in the form of a brief narrative; Jesus’ main teaching device with the crowds.
Teacher
Mark 9:5; 11:21 and 14:45 literally use the word ‘Rabbi’, which comes from the Hebrew word meaning ‘My Master.’ Mark 10:51 comes from the Aramaic form.
Temple
The first temple was built by king Solomon in seven years around 957BC. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587BC. The second temple was dedicated in 515BC and was renovated by king Herod the Great in about 20BC. It was destroyed by the Romans in AD70, in fulfilment of Jesus’ prophecy (Mark 13). God promised to be especially close to his people in the temple. The layout of the temple symbolised God’s perfect purity.
Temple, destruction of:
- Jesus prophesied the destruction of the Jerusalem temple (Mark 13:2), which came about in AD70.
- Jesus’ opponents cite teaching that Jesus would destroy the temple and build it in three days (Mark 14:58; 15:29). Jesus was referring to his body, and thereby claiming to be the place where people could meet God.
Temple-curtain
A huge curtain separating the Holy Place, where only priests could go, and the Most Holy Place, where only the high priest could go once a year, and only with a blood-sacrifice. The tearing of the curtain symbolises the fact that those who trust Jesus have full access to the Holy God.
Transfiguration
The temporary metamorphosis of Jesus whereby his divinity shone out as a dazzling brightness (Mark 9:2-10).
Trinity
Although the word itself is not found in the Bible, the term is used to describe the fact that the one God is presented as three persons - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; together they are the community that is God.
Turn back to God
lit. repent - to return, to turn around (Mark 1:4, 15)
Unclean
Unacceptable to have a relationship with God (Mark 7:20).
Yeast
Used to describe the spread of a corrupting influence (Mark 8:15).