9:38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not following us.” 9:39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, because no one who does a miracle in my name will be able soon afterward to say anything bad about me.
12:12 Now 19 they wanted to arrest him (but they feared the crowd), because they realized that he told this parable against them. So 20 they left him and went away. 21
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 Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
5 sn Note how the author distinguishes healing from exorcism here, implying that the two are not identical.
6 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
7 sn Why Jesus would not permit the demons to speak is much discussed. Two possibilities are (1) the mere source of the testimony (demonic) and (2) that the title, with its political implications, may have had elements that Jesus wished to avoid until the full nature of his mission was clarified.
8 tc The
9 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 sn The rocky ground in Palestine would be a limestone base lying right under the soil.
11 tn Grk “it did not have enough depth of earth.”
12 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
13 tn Grk “are temporary.”
14 tn Grk “he”; here it is necessary to specify the referent as “Herod,” since the nearest previous antecedent in the translation is Philip.
15 tn Grk “and being deeply grieved, the king did not want.”
16 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
17 tn Grk “in [the] name that of Christ you are.”
18 tn Or “bear the Messiah’s”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
sn See the note on Christ in 8:29.
19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to introduce a somewhat parenthetical remark by the author.
20 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
21 sn The point of the parable in Mark 12:1-12 is that the leaders of the nation have been rejected by God and the vineyard (v. 9, referring to the nation and its privileged status) will be taken from them and given to others (an allusion to the Gentiles).
22 tn Or “mistaken” (cf. BDAG 822 s.v. πλανάω 2.c.γ).
23 sn See 1 Cor 1:25-31.
24 sn But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Jesus was not claiming here that salvation is by works, because he had already taught that it is by grace (cf. 10:15). He was simply arguing that genuine faith evidences itself in persistence through even the worst of trials.
25 tn Grk “the days.”
26 tn Grk “Truly you are.”
27 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
28 tn The Greek term φραγελλόω (fragellow) refers to flogging. BDAG 1064 s.v. states, “flog, scourge, a punishment inflicted on slaves and provincials after a sentence of death had been pronounced on them. So in the case of Jesus before the crucifixion…Mt 27:26; Mk 15:15.”
sn A Roman flogging (traditionally, “scourging”) was an excruciating punishment. The victim was stripped of his clothes and bound to a post with his hands fastened above him (or sometimes he was thrown to the ground). Guards standing on either side of the victim would incessantly beat him with a whip (flagellum) made out of leather with pieces of lead and bone inserted into its ends. While the Jews only allowed 39 lashes, the Romans had no such limit; many people who received such a beating died as a result. See C. Schneider, TDNT, 4:515-19.
29 tn Or “delivered him up.”
30 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
31 tn Grk “they began to have trembling and bewilderment.”