Mark 1:21

Jesus’ Authority

1:21 Then ¹  they went to Capernaum. ²  When the Sabbath came, ³  Jesus ⁴  went into the synagogue ⁵  and began to teach.

Mark 4:2

4:2 He taught them many things in parables, ⁶  and in his teaching said to them:

Mark 2:13

The Call of Levi; Eating with Sinners

2:13 Jesus ⁷  went out again by the sea. The whole crowd came to him, and he taught them.

Mark 9:31

9:31 for he was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men. ⁸  They ⁹  will kill him, ¹⁰  and after three days he will rise.” ¹¹ 

Mark 10:1

Divorce

10:1 Then ¹²  Jesus ¹³  left that place and went to the region of Judea and ¹⁴  beyond the Jordan River. ¹⁵  Again crowds gathered to him, and again, as was his custom, he taught them.

Mark 11:17

11:17 Then he began to teach ¹⁶  them and said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? ¹⁷  But you have turned it into a den ¹⁸  of robbers!” ¹⁹ 

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

[1:21]  ² sn 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]  ³ tn 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]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:21]  ⁵ sn 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.

[4:2]  ⁶ sn Though parables can contain a variety of figures of speech (cf. 2:19-22; 3:23-25; 4:3-9, 26-32; 7:15-17; 13:28), many times they are simply stories that attempt to teach spiritual truth (which is unknown to the hearers) by using a comparison with something known to the hearers. In general, parables usually advance a single idea, though there may be many parts and characters in a single parable and subordinate ideas may expand the main idea further. The beauty of using the parable as a teaching device is that it draws the listener into the story, elicits an evaluation, and demands a response.

[2:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:31]  ¹⁶ tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is considered by some to be used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NRSV, “into human hands”; CEV, “to people”). However, because this can be taken as a specific reference to the group responsible for Jesus’ arrest, where it is unlikely women were present (cf. Matt 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:2-12), the word “men” has been retained in the translation. There may also be a slight wordplay with “the Son of Man” earlier in the verse.

[9:31]  ¹⁷ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[9:31]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “They will kill him, and being killed, after…” The redundancy in the statement has been removed in the translation.

[9:31]  ¹⁹ sn They will kill him and after three days he will rise. See the note at the end of Mark 8:30 regarding the passion predictions.

[10:1]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[10:1]  ²² tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:1]  ²³ tc Alexandrian and other witnesses (א B C* L Ψ 0274 892 2427 pc co) read καὶ πέραν (kai peran, “and beyond”), while Western and Caesarean witnesses (C² D W Δ Θ Ë^1,13 28 565 579 1241 al) read πέραν (simply “beyond”). It is difficult to decide between the Alexandrian and Western readings here, but since the parallel in Matt 19:1 omits καί the weight is slightly in favor of including it here; scribes may have omitted the word here to harmonize this passage to the Matthean passage. Because of the perceived geographical difficulties found in the earlier readings (omission of the word “and” would make it seem as though Judea is beyond the Jordan), the majority of the witnesses (A Ï) read διὰ τοῦ πέραν (dia tou peran, “through the other side”), perhaps trying to indicate the direction of Jesus’ travel.

[10:1]  ²⁴ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity. The region referred to here is sometimes known as Transjordan (i.e., “across the Jordan”).

[11:17]  ²⁶ tn The imperfect ἐδίδασκεν (edidasken) is here taken ingressively.

[11:17]  ²⁷ sn A quotation from Isa 56:7.

[11:17]  ²⁸ tn Or “a hideout” (see L&N 1.57).

[11:17]  ²⁹ sn A quotation from Jer 7:11. The meaning of Jesus’ statement about making the temple courts a den of robbers probably operates here at two levels. Not only were the religious leaders robbing the people financially, but because of this they had also robbed them spiritually by stealing from them the opportunity to come to know God genuinely. It is possible that these merchants had recently been moved to this location for convenience.