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 1:27

1:27 They were all amazed so that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He even commands the unclean spirits and they obey him.”

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 12:38

Warnings About Experts in the Law

12:38 In his teaching Jesus ⁷  also said, “Watch out for the experts in the law. ⁸  They like walking ⁹  around in long robes and elaborate greetings ¹⁰  in the marketplaces,

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¹ tn Grk “They.”

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.

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.

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

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

sn See the note on Christ in 8:29.

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.

⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Or “for the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

⁹ tn In Greek this is the only infinitive in vv. 38-39. It would be awkward in English to join an infinitive to the following noun clauses, so this has been translated as a gerund.

¹⁰ sn There is later Jewish material in the Talmud that spells out such greetings in detail. See H. Windisch, TDNT 1:498.