Mark 1:22

1:22 The people there ¹  were amazed by his teaching, because he taught them like one who had authority, ²  not like the experts in the law. ³ 

Mark 12:35

The Messiah: David’s Son and Lord

12:35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he said, “How is it that the experts in the law ⁴  say that the Christ ⁵  is David’s son? ⁶ 

Mark 14:49

14:49 Day after day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, yet ⁷  you did not arrest me. But this has happened so that ⁸  the scriptures would be fulfilled.”

[1:22]  ¹ tn Grk “They.”

[1:22]  ² sn Jesus’ teaching impressed the hearers with the directness of its claim; he taught with authority. A study of Jewish rabbinic interpretation shows that it was typical to cite a list of authorities to make one’s point. Apparently Jesus addressed the issues in terms of his own understanding.

[1:22]  ³ tn Or “the scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[12:35]  ⁴ tn Or “that the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[12:35]  ⁵ tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[12:35]  ⁶ sn It was a common belief in Judaism that Messiah would be David’s son in that he would come from the lineage of David. On this point the Pharisees agreed and were correct. But their understanding was nonetheless incomplete, for Messiah is also David’s Lord. With this statement Jesus was affirming that, as the Messiah, he is both God and man.

[14:49]  ⁷ tn Grk “and”; καί (kai) is elastic enough to be used contrastively on occasion, as here.

[14:49]  ⁸ tn Grk “But so that”; the verb “has happened” is implied.