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 ¹  say that the Christ ²  is David’s son? ³ 

Luke 21:37-38

21:37 So ⁴  every day Jesus ⁵  was teaching in the temple courts, ⁶  but at night he went and stayed ⁷  on the Mount of Olives. ⁸  21:38 And all the people ⁹  came to him early in the morning to listen to him in the temple courts. ¹⁰ 

John 8:2

8:2 Early in the morning he came to the temple courts again. All the people came to him, and he sat down and began to teach ¹¹  them.

John 18:20-21

18:20 Jesus replied, ¹²  “I have spoken publicly to the world. I always taught in the synagogues ¹³  and in the temple courts, ¹⁴  where all the Jewish people ¹⁵  assemble together. I ¹⁶  have said nothing in secret. 18:21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said. ¹⁷  They ¹⁸  know what I said.”

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

[12:35]  ² tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[12:35]  ³ 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.

[21:37]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” since vv. 37-38 serve as something of a summary or transition from the discourse preceding to the passion narrative that follows.

[21:37]  ⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:37]  ⁶ tn Grk “in the temple.”

[21:37]  ⁷ tn Grk “and spent the night,” but this is redundant because of the previous use of the word “night.”

[21:37]  ⁸ tn Grk “at the mountain called ‘of Olives.’”

[21:38]  ⁹ sn Jesus’ teaching was still quite popular with all the people at this point despite the leaders’ opposition.

[21:38]  ¹⁰ tc Some mss (those of ˹³) place John 7:53-8:11 here after v. 38, no doubt because it was felt that this was a better setting for the pericope.

[8:2]  ¹¹ tn An ingressive sense for the imperfect fits well here following the aorist participle.

[18:20]  ¹² tn Grk “Jesus answered him.”

[18:20]  ¹³ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:59.

[18:20]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “in the temple.”

[18:20]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people generally, for whom the synagogues and the temple courts in Jerusalem were important public gathering places. See also the note on the phrase “Jewish religious leaders” in v. 12.

[18:20]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And I.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[18:21]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Ask those who heard what I said to them.” The words “to them” are not translated since they are redundant in English.

[18:21]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Look, these know what I said.”