Mark 2:15

2:15 As Jesus ¹  was having a meal ²  in Levi’s ³  home, many tax collectors ⁴  and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.

Mark 5:7

5:7 Then ⁵  he cried out with a loud voice, “Leave me alone, ⁶  Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I implore you by God ⁷  – do not torment me!”

Mark 9:5

9:5 So ⁸  Peter said to Jesus, ⁹  “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters ¹⁰  – one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

Mark 11:33

11:33 So ¹¹  they answered Jesus, ¹²  “We don’t know.” ¹³  Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you ¹⁴  by what authority ¹⁵  I am doing these things.”

Mark 15:43

15:43 Joseph of Arimathea, a highly regarded member of the council, ¹⁶  who was himself looking forward to ¹⁷  the kingdom of God, ¹⁸  went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ¹⁹ 

[2:15]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:15]  ² tn Grk “As he reclined at table.”

[2:15]  ³ tn Grk “his.”

[2:15]  ⁴ sn The tax collectors would bid to collect taxes for the Roman government and then add a surcharge, which they kept. Since tax collectors worked for Rome, they were viewed as traitors to their own people and were not well liked.

[5:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[5:7]  ⁶ tn Grk “What to me and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί (ti emoi kai soi) is Semitic in origin, though it made its way into colloquial Greek (BDAG 275 s.v. ἐγώ). The equivalent Hebrew expression in the OT had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12, 2 Chr 35:21, 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his own, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13, Hos 14:8). These nuances were apparently expanded in Greek, but the basic notions of defensive hostility (option 1) and indifference or disengagement (option 2) are still present. BDAG suggests the following as glosses for this expression: What have I to do with you? What have we in common? Leave me alone! Never mind! Hostility between Jesus and the demons is certainly to be understood in this context, hence the translation: “Leave me alone….”

[5:7]  ⁷ sn Though it seems unusual for a demon to invoke God’s name (“I implore you by God”) in his demands of Jesus, the parallel in Matt 8:29 suggests the reason: “Why have you come to torment us before the time?” There was an appointed time in which demons would face their judgment, and they seem to have viewed Jesus’ arrival on the scene as an illegitimate change in God’s plan regarding the time when their sentence would be executed.

[9:5]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:5]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And answering, Peter said to Jesus.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

[9:5]  ¹¹ tn Or “dwellings,” “booths” (referring to the temporary booths constructed in the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles).

[11:33]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[11:33]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “answering, they said to Jesus.” The participle ἀποκριθέντες (apokriqentes) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been modified to conform to English style.

[11:33]  ¹⁵ sn Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were – hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them (“We do not know”). The point of Mark 11:27-33 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.

[11:33]  ¹⁶ sn Neither will I tell you. Though Jesus gave no answer, the analogy he used to their own question makes his view clear. His authority came from heaven.

[11:33]  ¹⁷ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 28.

[15:43]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “a councillor” (as a member of the Sanhedrin, see L&N 11.85). This indicates that some individuals among the leaders did respond to Jesus.

[15:43]  ¹⁸ tn Or “waiting for.”

[15:43]  ¹⁹ sn Though some dispute that Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Jesus, this remark that he was looking forward to the kingdom of God and his actions regarding Jesus’ burial suggest otherwise.

[15:43]  ²⁰ sn Asking for the body of Jesus was indeed a bold move on the part of Joseph of Arimathea, for it clearly and openly identified him with a man who had just been condemned and executed, namely, Jesus. His faith is exemplary, especially for someone who was a member of the council that handed Jesus over for crucifixion (cf. Luke 23:51). He did this because he sought to give Jesus an honorable burial.