Mark 12:14

12:14 When they came they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and do not court anyone’s favor, because you show no partiality ¹  but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ²  Is it right ³  to pay taxes ⁴  to Caesar ⁵  or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

Isaiah 1:3

1:3 An ox recognizes its owner,

a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; ⁶ 

but Israel does not recognize me, ⁷ 

my people do not understand.”

Malachi 1:6

The Sacrilege of Priestly Service

1:6 “A son naturally honors his father and a slave respects ⁸  his master. If I am your ⁹  father, where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my respect? The Lord who rules over all asks you this, you priests who make light of my name! But you reply, ‘How have we made light of your name?’

Matthew 23:8-10

23:8 But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers. 23:9 And call no one your ‘father’ on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 23:10 Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one teacher, the Christ. ¹⁰ 

Luke 6:46

6:46 “Why ¹¹  do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ ¹²  and don’t do what I tell you? ¹³ 

John 13:13-14

13:13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and do so correctly, ¹⁴  for that is what I am. ¹⁵  13:14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one another’s feet.

John 20:16

20:16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She ¹⁶  turned and said to him in Aramaic, ¹⁷  “Rabboni” ¹⁸  (which means Teacher). ¹⁹ 

¹ tn Grk “and it is not a concern to you about anyone because you do not see the face of men.”

² sn Teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Very few comments are as deceitful as this one; they did not really believe this at all. The question of the Pharisees and Herodians was specifically designed to trap Jesus.

³ tn Or “lawful,” that is, in accordance with God’s divine law. On the syntax of ἔξεστιν (exestin) with an infinitive and accusative, see BDF §409.3.

⁴ tn According to L&N 57.180 the term κῆνσος (khnso") was borrowed from Latin and referred to a poll tax, a tax paid by each adult male to the Roman government.

⁵ tn Or “the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

⁶ tn Heb “and the donkey the feeding trough of its owner.” The verb in the first line does double duty in the parallelism.

⁷ tn Although both verbs have no object, the parallelism suggests that Israel fails to recognize the Lord as the one who provides for their needs. In both clauses, the placement of “Israel” and “my people” at the head of the clause focuses the reader’s attention on the rebellious nation (C. van der Merwe, J. Naudé, J. Kroeze, A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar, 346-47).

⁸ tn The verb “respects” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. It is understood by ellipsis (see “honors” in the preceding line).

⁹ tn The pronoun “your” is supplied in the translation for clarification (also a second time before “master” later in this verse).

¹⁰ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹² tn The double use of the vocative is normally used in situations of high emotion or emphasis. Even an emphatic confession without action means little.

¹³ sn Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do what I tell you? Respect is not a matter of mere words, but is reflected in obedient action. This short saying, which is much simpler than its more developed conceptual parallel in Matt 7:21-23, serves in this form to simply warn and issue a call to hear and obey, as the last parable also does in vv. 47-49.

¹⁴ tn Or “rightly.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “and I am these things.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “That one.”

¹⁷ tn Grk “in Hebrew.”

¹⁸ sn The Aramaic Rabboni means “my teacher” (a title of respect).

¹⁹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.