Discovery BoxMark 11:1-25
Context11:1 Now 1 as they approached Jerusalem, 2 near Bethphage 3 and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, 4 Jesus 5 sent two of his disciples 11:2 and said to them, “Go to the village ahead of you. 6 As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there that has never been ridden. 7 Untie it and bring it here. 11:3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it 8 and will send it back here soon.’” 11:4 So 9 they went and found a colt tied at a door, outside in the street, and untied it. 11:5 Some people standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 11:6 They replied as Jesus had told them, and the bystanders 10 let them go. 11:7 Then 11 they brought the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks 12 on it, and he sat on it. 13 11:8 Many spread their cloaks on the road and others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 11:9 Both those who went ahead and those who followed kept shouting, “Hosanna! 14 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! 15 11:10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” 11:11 Then 16 Jesus 17 entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. And after looking around at everything, he went out to Bethany with the twelve since it was already late.
11:12 Now 18 the next day, as they went out from Bethany, he was hungry. 11:13 After noticing in the distance a fig tree with leaves, he went to see if he could find any fruit 19 on it. When he came to it he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 11:14 He said to it, 20 “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. 21
11:15 Then 22 they came to Jerusalem. 23 Jesus 24 entered the temple area 25 and began to drive out those who were selling and buying in the temple courts. 26 He turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 11:16 and he would not permit anyone to carry merchandise 27 through the temple courts. 28 11:17 Then he began to teach 29 them and said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? 30 But you have turned it into a den 31 of robbers!” 32 11:18 The chief priests and the experts in the law 33 heard it and they considered how they could assassinate 34 him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed by his teaching. 11:19 When evening came, Jesus and his disciples 35 went out of the city.
11:20 In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 11:21 Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered.” 11:22 Jesus said to them, “Have faith in God. 11:23 I tell you the truth, 36 if someone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 11:24 For this reason I tell you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 11:25 Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will 37 also forgive you your sins.”
[11:1] 1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
[11:1] 2 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[11:1] 3 sn The exact location of the village of Bethphage is not known. Most put it on the southeast side of the Mount of Olives and northwest of Bethany, about 1.5 miles (3 km) east of Jerusalem.
[11:1] 4 sn “Mountain” in English generally denotes a higher elevation than it often does in reference to places in Palestine. The Mount of Olives is really a ridge running north to south about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) long, east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. Its central elevation is about 30 meters (100 ft) higher than Jerusalem. It was named for the large number of olive trees which grew on it.
[11:1] 5 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:2] 6 tn Grk “the village lying before you” (BDAG 530 s.v. κατέναντι 2.b).
[11:2] 7 tn Grk “a colt tied there on which no one of men has ever sat.”
[11:3] 8 sn The custom called angaria allowed the impressment of animals for service to a significant figure.
[11:4] 9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
[11:6] 10 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the people mentioned in v. 5) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:7] 11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[11:7] 12 tn Grk “garments”; but this refers in context to their outer cloaks. The action is like 2 Kgs 9:13.
[11:7] 13 sn See Zech 9:9, a prophecy fulfilled here (cf. Matt 21:5; John 12:15.
[11:9] 14 tn The expression ῾Ωσαννά (Jwsanna, literally in Hebrew, “O Lord, save”) in the quotation from Ps 118:25-26 was probably by this time a familiar liturgical expression of praise, on the order of “Hail to the king,” although both the underlying Aramaic and Hebrew expressions meant “O Lord, save us.” The introductory ὡσαννά is followed by the words of Ps 118:25, εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου (euloghmeno" Jo ercomeno" en onomati kuriou), although in the Fourth Gospel the author adds for good measure καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ (kai Jo basileu" tou Israhl). In words familiar to every Jew, the author is indicating that at this point every messianic expectation is now at the point of realization. It is clear from the words of the psalm shouted by the crowd that Jesus is being proclaimed as messianic king. See E. Lohse, TDNT 9:682-84.
[11:9] 15 sn A quotation from Ps 118:25-26.
[11:11] 16 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to indicate the transition from the previous narrative.
[11:11] 17 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:12] 18 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
[11:14] 20 tn Grk “And answering, he said to it.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.
[11:14] 21 sn Mark 11:12-14. The incident of the cursing of the fig tree occurs before he enters the temple for a third time (11:27ff) and is questioned at length by the religious leaders (11:27-12:40). It appears that Mark records the incident as a portent of what is going to happen to the leadership in Jerusalem who were supposed to have borne spiritual fruit but have been found by Messiah at his coming to be barren. The fact that the nation as a whole is indicted is made explicit in chapter 13:1-37 where Jesus speaks of Jerusalem’s destruction and his second coming.
[11:15] 22 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[11:15] 23 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[11:15] 24 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:15] 25 tn Grk “the temple.”
[11:15] 26 tn Grk “the temple.”
[11:16] 27 tn Or “things.” The Greek word σκεῦος (skeuos) can refer to merchandise, property, goods, a vessel, or even generally “things” (but in the sense of some implement or tool). The idea here is almost certainly restricted to merchandise, rather than the more general “things,” although some suggest from the parallel with m. Berakhot 9.5 that Jesus was not even allowing sandals, staffs, or coin-purses to be carried through the court. The difficulty with this interpretation, however, is that it is fundamentally an appeal to Jewish oral tradition (something Jesus rarely sided with) as well as being indiscriminate toward all the worshipers.
[11:16] 28 tn Grk “the temple.”
[11:17] 29 tn The imperfect ἐδίδασκεν (edidasken) is here taken ingressively.
[11:17] 30 sn A quotation from Isa 56:7.
[11:17] 31 tn Or “a hideout” (see L&N 1.57).
[11:17] 32 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.
[11:18] 33 tn Or “The chief priests and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
[11:18] 34 tn Grk “how they could destroy him.”
[11:19] 35 tn Grk “they”; the referents (Jesus and his disciples) have been specified in the translation for clarity. Without such clarification there is room for considerable confusion here, since there are two prior sets of plural referents in the context, “the chief priests and experts in the law” and “the whole crowd” (both in v. 18).
[11:23] 36 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
[11:25] 37 tn Although the Greek subjunctive mood, formally required in a subordinate clause introduced by ἵνα ({ina), is traditionally translated by an English subjunctive (e.g., “may,” so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV), changes in the use of the subjunctive in English now result in most readers understanding such a statement as indicating permission (“may” = “has permission to”) or as indicating uncertainty (“may” = “might” or “may or may not”). Thus a number of more recent translations render such instances by an English future tense (“will,” so TEV, CEV, NLT, NASB 1995 update). That approach has been followed here.
