Mark 1:21

Context

Jesus’ Authority

1:21 Then¹ they went to Capernaum.² When the Sabbath came,³ Jesus⁴ went into the synagogue⁵ and began to teach.

Matthew 12:9-14

Context

12:9 Then⁶ Jesus⁷ left that place and entered their synagogue.⁸ 12:10 A⁹ man was there who had a withered¹⁰ hand. And they asked Jesus,¹¹ “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”¹² so that they could accuse him. 12:11 He said to them, “Would not any one of you, if he had one sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, take hold of it and lift it out? 12:12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 12:13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and it was restored,¹³ as healthy as the other. 12:14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, as to how they could assassinate¹⁴ him.

Luke 6:6-11

Context

Healing a Withered Hand

6:6 On¹⁵ another Sabbath, Jesus¹⁶ entered the synagogue¹⁷ and was teaching. Now¹⁸ a man was there whose right hand was withered.¹⁹ 6:7 The experts in the law²⁰ and the Pharisees²¹ watched²² Jesus²³ closely to see if²⁴ he would heal on the Sabbath,²⁵ so that they could find a reason to accuse him. 6:8 But²⁶ he knew²⁷ their thoughts,²⁸ and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Get up and stand here.”²⁹ So³⁰ he rose and stood there. 6:9 Then³¹ Jesus said to them, “I ask you,³² is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?” 6:10 After³³ looking around³⁴ at them all, he said to the man,³⁵ “Stretch out your hand.” The man³⁶ did so, and his hand was restored.³⁷ 6:11 But they were filled with mindless rage³⁸ and began debating with one another what they would do³⁹ to Jesus.

[1:21] ¹tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[1:21] ²sn Capernaum was a town located on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region, and it became the hub of operations for Jesus’ Galilean ministry.

[1:21] ³tn The Greek word εὐθύς (euqus, often translated “immediately” or “right away”) has not been translated here. It sometimes occurs with a weakened, inferential use (BDAG 406 s.v. 2), not contributing significantly to the flow of the narrative. For further discussion, see R. J. Decker, Temporal Deixis of the Greek Verb in the Gospel of Mark with Reference to Verbal Aspect (SBG 10), 73-77.

[1:21] ⁴tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:21] ⁵sn The synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though its origin is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present. (See the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2.) First came the law, then the prophets, then someone was asked to speak on the texts. Jesus undoubtedly took the opportunity on this occasion to speak about his person and mission, and its relationship to Old Testament fulfillment.

[12:9] ⁶tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:9] ⁷tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:9] ⁸sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[12:10] ⁹tn Grk “And behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[12:10] ¹⁰sn Withered means the man’s hand was shrunken and paralyzed.

[12:10] ¹¹tn Grk “and they asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated. The referent of the pronoun (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:10] ¹²sn The background for this is the view that only if life was endangered should one attempt to heal on the Sabbath (see the Mishnah, m. Shabbat 6.3; 12.1; 18.3; 19.2; m. Yoma 8.6).

[12:13] ¹³sn The passive was restored points to healing by God. Now the question became: Would God exercise his power through Jesus, if what Jesus was doing were wrong? Note also Jesus’ “labor.” He simply spoke and it was so.

[12:14] ¹⁴tn Grk “destroy.”

[6:6] ¹⁵tn Grk “Now it happened that on.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[6:6] ¹⁶tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:6] ¹⁷sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.

[6:6] ¹⁸tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic. In addition, because the Greek sentence is rather long and complex, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[6:6] ¹⁹tn Grk “a man was there and his right hand was withered.”

[6:7] ²⁰tn Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[6:7] ²¹sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[6:7] ²²sn The term translated watched…closely is emotive, since it carries negative connotations. It means they were watching him out of the corner of their eye or spying on him.

[6:7] ²³tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:7] ²⁴tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text; Jesus’ opponents anticipated he would do this.

[6:7] ²⁵sn The background for this is the view that only if life was endangered should one attempt to heal on the Sabbath (see the Mishnah, m. Shabbat 6.3; 12.1; 18.3; 19.2; m. Yoma 8.6).

[6:8] ²⁶tn Here the conjunction δέ (de) has been translated as contrastive.

[6:8] ²⁷sn The statement that Jesus knew their thoughts adds a prophetic note to his response; see Luke 5:22.

[6:8] ²⁸tn Grk “their reasonings.” The implication is that Jesus knew his opponents’ plans and motives, so the translation “thoughts” was used here.

[6:8] ²⁹sn Most likely synagogues were arranged with benches along the walls and open space in the center for seating on the floor.

[6:8] ³⁰tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the man’s action was a result of Jesus’ order.

[6:9] ³¹tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[6:9] ³²sn With the use of the plural pronoun (“you”), Jesus addressed not just the leaders but the crowd with his question to challenge what the leadership was doing. There is irony as well. As Jesus sought to restore on the Sabbath (but improperly according to the leaders’ complaints) the leaders were seeking to destroy, which surely is wrong. The implied critique recalls the OT: Isa 1:1-17; 58:6-14.

[6:10] ³³tn Grk “And after.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:10] ³⁴tn The aorist participle περιβλεψάμενος (peribleyameno") has been translated as antecedent (prior) to the action of the main verb. It could also be translated as contemporaneous (“Looking around… he said”).

[6:10] ³⁵tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man with the withered hand) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:10] ³⁶tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[6:10] ³⁷sn The passive was restored points to healing by God. Now the question became: Would God exercise his power through Jesus, if what Jesus was doing were wrong? Note also Jesus’ “labor.” He simply spoke and it was so.

[6:11] ³⁸tn The term ἄνοια (anoia) denotes a kind of insane or mindless fury; the opponents were beside themselves with rage. They could not rejoice in the healing, but could only react against Jesus.

[6:11] ³⁹tn The use of the optative (ποιήσαιεν, poihsaien, “might do”) in an indirect question indicates that the formal opposition and planning of Jesus’ enemies started here (BDF §§385.1; 386.1).