Mark 8:11

The Demand for a Sign

8:11 Then the Pharisees ¹  came and began to argue with Jesus, asking for ²  a sign from heaven ³  to test him.

Mark 12:28

The Greatest Commandment

12:28 Now ⁴  one of the experts in the law ⁵  came and heard them debating. When he saw that Jesus ⁶  answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

[8:11]  ¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.

[8:11]  ² tn Grk “seeking from him.” The participle ζητοῦντες (zhtountes) shows the means by which the Pharisees argued with Jesus.

[8:11]  ³ sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.

[12:28]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[12:28]  ⁵ tn Or “One of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[12:28]  ⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.