4:1 Again he began to teach by the lake. Such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there while 9 the whole crowd was on the shore by the lake.
12:28 Now 23 one of the experts in the law 24 came and heard them debating. When he saw that Jesus 25 answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
1 tn Or “the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
2 sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.
3 sn The issue here is inappropriate associations. Jews were very careful about personal associations and contact as a matter of ritual cleanliness. Their question borders on an accusation that Jesus is ritually unclean.
4 tn The aorist participle περιβλεψάμενος (peribleyameno") has been translated as antecedent (prior) to the action of the main verb. It could also be translated as contemporaneous (“Looking around…he said”).
5 tn This term is a collective singular in the Greek text.
6 sn The passive was restored points to healing by God. Now the question became: Would God exercise his power through Jesus, if what Jesus was doing were wrong? Note also Jesus’ “labor.” He simply spoke and it was so.
7 sn The strong man here pictures Satan.
8 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.
9 tn Grk “and all the crowd.” The clause in this phrase, although coordinate in terms of grammar, is logically subordinate to the previous clause.
10 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
11 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 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.
13 tn Grk “They were laughing at him.” The imperfect verb has been taken ingressively.
14 tn Or “threw them all outside.” The verb used, ἐκβάλλω (ekballw), almost always has the connotation of force in Mark.
15 tn Grk “those with him.”
16 tn Grk “into where the child was.”
17 tn Grk “village, and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
18 tn Grk “on him,” but the word πάλιν in v. 25 implies that Jesus touched the man’s eyes at this point.
19 tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is considered by some to be used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NRSV, “into human hands”; CEV, “to people”). However, because this can be taken as a specific reference to the group responsible for Jesus’ arrest, where it is unlikely women were present (cf. Matt 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:2-12), the word “men” has been retained in the translation. There may also be a slight wordplay with “the Son of Man” earlier in the verse.
20 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
21 tn Grk “They will kill him, and being killed, after…” The redundancy in the statement has been removed in the translation.
22 sn They will kill him and after three days he will rise. See the note at the end of Mark 8:30 regarding the passion predictions.
23 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
24 tn Or “One of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
25 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Joseph of Arimathea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
27 tn The term σινδών (sindwn) can refer to a linen cloth used either for clothing or for burial.
28 tn That is, cut or carved into an outcropping of natural rock, resulting in a cave-like structure (see L&N 19.25).
29 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
30 tn Or “to the door,” “against the door.”