2:18 Now 5 John’s 6 disciples and the Pharisees 7 were fasting. 8 So 9 they came to Jesus 10 and said, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?”
7:24 After Jesus 31 left there, he went to the region of Tyre. 32 When he went into a house, he did not want anyone to know, but 33 he was not able to escape notice.
1 tn Grk “And after warning him, he immediately sent him away and told him.”
2 sn The silence ordered by Jesus was probably meant to last only until the cleansing took place with the priests and sought to prevent Jesus’ healings from becoming the central focus of the people’s reaction to him. See also 1:34; 3:12; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26, 30; and 9:9 for other cases where Jesus asks for silence concerning him and his ministry.
3 sn On the phrase bring the offering that Moses commanded see Lev 14:1-32.
4 tn Or “as an indictment against them”; or “as proof to the people.” This phrase could be taken as referring to a positive witness to the priests, a negative testimony against them, or as a testimony to the community that the man had indeed been cured. In any case, the testimony shows that Jesus is healing and ministering to those in need.
5 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
6 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
7 sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.
8 sn John’s disciples and the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29-34; 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.
9 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate that in the narrative this question happened as a result of the fasting of John’s disciples and the Pharisees.
10 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn A decision about the proper translation of this Greek phrase (ἐπὶ ᾿Αβιαθὰρ ἀρχιερέως, ejpi Abiaqar ajrcierew") is very difficult for a number of reasons. The most natural translation of the phrase is “when Abiathar was high priest,” but this is problematic because Abiathar was not the high priest when David entered the temple and ate the sacred bread; Ahimelech is the priest mentioned in 1 Sam 21:1-7. Three main solutions have been suggested to resolve this difficulty. (1) There are alternate readings in various manuscripts, but these are not likely to be original: D W {271} it sys and a few others omit ἐπὶ ᾿Αβιαθὰρ ἀρχιερέως, no doubt in conformity to the parallels in Matt 12:4 and Luke 6:4; {A C Θ Π Σ Φ 074 Ë13 and many others} add τοῦ before ἀρχιερέως, giving the meaning “in the days of Abiathar the high priest,” suggesting a more general time frame. Neither reading has significant external support and both most likely are motivated by the difficulty of the original reading. (2) Many scholars have hypothesized that one of the three individuals who would have been involved in the transmission of the statement (Jesus who uttered it originally, Mark who wrote it down in the Gospel, or Peter who served as Mark’s source) was either wrong about Abiathar or intentionally loose with the biblical data in order to make a point. (3) It is possible that what is currently understood to be the most natural reading of the text is in fact not correct. (a) There are very few biblical parallels to this grammatical construction (ἐπί + genitive proper noun, followed by an anarthrous common noun), so it is possible that an extensive search for this construction in nonbiblical literature would prove that the meaning does involve a wide time frame. If this is so, “in the days of Abiathar the high priest” would be a viable option. (b) It is also possible that this phrasing serves as a loose way to cite a scripture passage. There is a parallel to this construction in Mark 12:26: “Have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush?” Here the final phrase is simply ἐπὶ τοῦ βάτου (ejpi tou batou), but the obvious function of the phrase is to point to a specific passage within the larger section of scripture. Deciding upon a translation here is difficult. The translation above has followed the current consensus on the most natural and probable meaning of the phrase ἐπὶ ᾿Αβιαθὰρ ἀρχιερέως: “when Abiathar was high priest.” It should be recognized, however, that this translation is tentative because the current state of knowledge about the meaning of this grammatical construction is incomplete, and any decision about the meaning of this text is open to future revision.
12 tn Grk “the bread of presentation.”
sn The sacred bread refers to the “bread of presentation,” “showbread,” or “bread of the Presence,” twelve loaves prepared weekly for the tabernacle and later, the temple. See Exod 25:30; 35:13; 39:36; Lev 24:5-9. Each loaf was made from 3 quarts (3.5 liters; Heb “two tenths of an ephah”) of fine flour. The loaves were placed on a table in the holy place of the tabernacle, on the north side opposite the lampstand (Exod 26:35). It was the duty of the priest each Sabbath to place fresh bread on the table; the loaves from the previous week were then given to Aaron and his descendants, who ate them in the holy place, because they were considered sacred (Lev 24:9). See also Matt 12:1-8, Luke 6:1-5.
13 sn Jesus’ response to the charge that what his disciples were doing was against the law is one of analogy: “If David did it for his troops in a time of need, then so can I with my disciples.” Jesus is clear that on the surface there was a violation here. What is not as clear is whether he is arguing a “greater need” makes this permissible or that this was within the intention of the law all along.
14 sn See 1 Sam 21:1-6.
15 sn The strong man here pictures Satan.
16 sn Some see the imagery here as similar to Eph 4:7-10, although no opponents are explicitly named in that passage. Jesus has the victory over Satan. Jesus’ acts of healing mean that the war is being won and the kingdom is coming.
17 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
18 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
19 tn Grk “he had often been bound with chains and shackles.” “Shackles” could also be translated “fetters”; they were chains for the feet.
20 tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
21 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
22 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 sn Jesus instructs the man to declare what the Lord has done for him, in contrast to the usual instructions (e.g., 1:44; 5:43) to remain silent. Here in Gentile territory Jesus allowed more open discussion of his ministry. D. L. Bock (Luke [BECNT], 1:781) suggests that with few Jewish religious representatives present, there would be less danger of misunderstanding Jesus’ ministry as political.
24 tn Grk “They were laughing at him.” The imperfect verb has been taken ingressively.
25 tn Or “threw them all outside.” The verb used, ἐκβάλλω (ekballw), almost always has the connotation of force in Mark.
26 tn Grk “those with him.”
27 tn Grk “into where the child was.”
28 tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of the sentence has been changed for clarity.
29 tn Here the pronoun ὑμεῖς (Jumeis) is used, making “you” in the translation emphatic.
30 sn The silver coin referred to here is the denarius. A denarius, inscribed with a picture of Tiberius Caesar, was worth approximately one day’s wage for a laborer. Two hundred denarii was thus approximately equal to eight months’ wages. The disciples did not have the resources in their possession to feed the large crowd, so Jesus’ request is his way of causing them to trust him as part of their growth in discipleship.
31 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
32 tc Most
map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
33 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
34 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
35 tn The words “to do so” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity and stylistic reasons.
36 sn The kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Children are a picture of those whose simple trust illustrates what faith is all about. The remark illustrates how everyone is important to God, even those whom others regard as insignificant.
37 tn Grk “baptism I am baptized with.” This same change has been made in v. 39.
38 tn Grk “anything.”
39 tn The imperfect ἐδίδασκεν (edidasken) is here taken ingressively.
40 sn A quotation from Isa 56:7.
41 tn Or “a hideout” (see L&N 1.57).
42 sn A quotation from Jer 7:11. The meaning of Jesus’ statement about making the temple courts a den of robbers probably operates here at two levels. Not only were the religious leaders robbing the people financially, but because of this they had also robbed them spiritually by stealing from them the opportunity to come to know God genuinely. It is possible that these merchants had recently been moved to this location for convenience.
43 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
44 tn Grk “his brother”; but this would be redundant in English with the same phrase “his brother” at the end of the verse, so most modern translations render this phrase “the man” (so NIV, NRSV).
45 tn The use of ἵνα (Jina) with imperatival force is unusual (BDF §470.1).
46 tn Grk “raise up seed” (an idiom for fathering children).
47 sn A quotation from Deut 25:5. This practice is called levirate marriage (see also Ruth 4:1-12; Mishnah, m. Yevamot; Josephus, Ant. 4.8.23 [4.254-256]). The levirate law is described in Deut 25:5-10. The brother of a man who died without a son had an obligation to marry his brother’s widow. This served several purposes: It provided for the widow in a society where a widow with no children to care for her would be reduced to begging, and it preserved the name of the deceased, who would be regarded as the legal father of the first son produced from that marriage.
48 tn For the translation “rise up in arms” see L&N 55.2.
49 sn See Isa 5:13-14; 13:6-16; Hag 2:6-7; Zech 14:4.
50 tn Grk “and”; καί (kai) is elastic enough to be used contrastively on occasion, as here.
51 tn Grk “But so that”; the verb “has happened” is implied.
52 sn See the note on Crucify in 15:13.
53 tn The verb here is passive (ἠγέρθη, hgerqh). This “divine passive” (see ExSyn 437-38) points to the fact that Jesus was raised by God.