Mark 3:27

3:27 But no one is able to enter a strong man’s 1  house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house. 2 

Mark 11:17

11:17 Then he began to teach 3  them and said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? 4  But you have turned it into a den 5  of robbers!” 6 

1 sn The strong man here pictures Satan.

2 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.

3 tn The imperfect ἐδίδασκεν (edidasken) is here taken ingressively.

4 sn A quotation from Isa 56:7.

5 tn Or “a hideout” (see L&N 1.57).

6 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.