Markus 1:21-22

Jesus’ Authority

1:21 Then ¹  they went to Capernaum. ²  When the Sabbath came, ³  Jesus ⁴  went into the synagogue ⁵  and began to teach. 1:22 The people there ⁶  were amazed by his teaching, because he taught them like one who had authority, ⁷  not like the experts in the law. ⁸ 

Markus 2:10

2:10 But so that you may know ⁹  that the Son of Man ¹⁰  has authority on earth to forgive sins,” – he said to the paralytic ¹¹  –

Markus 12:1-12

The Parable of the Tenants

12:1 Then ¹²  he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. ¹³  He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then ¹⁴  he leased it to tenant farmers ¹⁵  and went on a journey. 12:2 At harvest time he sent a slave ¹⁶  to the tenants to collect from them ¹⁷  his portion of the crop. ¹⁸  12:3 But ¹⁹  those tenants ²⁰  seized his slave, ²¹  beat him, ²²  and sent him away empty-handed. ²³  12:4 So ²⁴  he sent another slave to them again. This one they struck on the head and treated outrageously. 12:5 He sent another, and that one they killed. This happened to many others, some of whom were beaten, others killed. 12:6 He had one left, his one dear son. ²⁵  Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 12:7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and the inheritance will be ours!’ 12:8 So ²⁶  they seized him, ²⁷  killed him, and threw his body ²⁸  out of the vineyard. ²⁹  12:9 What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy ³⁰  those tenants and give the vineyard to others. ³¹  12:10 Have you not read this scripture:

‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. ³² 

12:11 This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” ³³ 

12:12 Now ³⁴  they wanted to arrest him (but they feared the crowd), because they realized that he told this parable against them. So ³⁵  they left him and went away. ³⁶ 

[1:21]  ¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[1:21]  ² sn Capernaum was a town located on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region, and it became the hub of operations for Jesus’ Galilean ministry.

[1:21]  map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[1:21]  ³ tn The Greek word εὐθύς (euqus, often translated “immediately” or “right away”) has not been translated here. It sometimes occurs with a weakened, inferential use (BDAG 406 s.v. 2), not contributing significantly to the flow of the narrative. For further discussion, see R. J. Decker, Temporal Deixis of the Greek Verb in the Gospel of Mark with Reference to Verbal Aspect (SBG 10), 73-77.

[1:21]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:21]  ⁵ sn The synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though its origin is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present. (See the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2.) First came the law, then the prophets, then someone was asked to speak on the texts. Jesus undoubtedly took the opportunity on this occasion to speak about his person and mission, and its relationship to Old Testament fulfillment.

[1:22]  ⁶ tn Grk “They.”

[1:22]  ⁷ 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.

[1:22]  ⁸ 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.

[2:10]  ⁹ sn Now Jesus put the two actions together. The walking of the man would be proof (so that you may know) that his sins were forgiven and that God had worked through Jesus (i.e., the Son of Man).

[2:10]  ¹⁰ sn The term Son of Man, which is a title in Greek, comes from a pictorial description in Dan 7:13 of one “like a son of man” (i.e., a human being). It is Jesus’ favorite way to refer to himself. Jesus did not reveal the background of the term here, which mixes human and divine imagery as the man in Daniel rides a cloud, something only God does. He just used it. It also could be an idiom in Aramaic meaning either “some person” or “me.” So there is a little ambiguity in its use here, since its origin is not clear at this point. However, the action makes it clear that Jesus used it to refer to himself here.

[2:10]  ¹¹ sn Jesus did not finish his sentence with words but with action, that is, healing the paralytic with an accompanying pronouncement to him directly.

[12:1]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ¹³ sn The vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT (Isa 5:1-7). The nation and its leaders are the tenants, so the vineyard here may well refer to the promise that resides within the nation. The imagery is like that in Rom 11:11-24.

[12:1]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ¹⁵ sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.

[12:2]  ¹⁶ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.

[12:2]  sn This slave (along with the others) represent the prophets God sent to the nation, who were mistreated and rejected.

[12:2]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “from the tenants,” but this is redundant in English, so the pronoun (“them”) was used in the translation.

[12:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “from the fruits of the vineyard.”

[12:3]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[12:3]  ²⁰ tn Grk “But they”; the referent (the tenants, v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:3]  ²¹ tn Grk “seizing him, they beat and sent away empty-handed.” The referent of the direct object of “seizing” (the slave sent by the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The objects of the verbs “beat” and “sent away” have been supplied in the translation to conform to English style. Greek often omits direct objects when they are clear from the context.

[12:3]  ²² sn The image of the tenants beating up the owner’s slave pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

[12:3]  ²³ sn The slaves being sent empty-handed suggests that the vineyard was not producing any fruit – and thus neither was the nation of Israel.

[12:4]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first slave.

[12:6]  ²⁵ tn Grk “one beloved son.” See comment at Mark 1:11.

[12:6]  sn The owner’s decision to send his one dear son represents God sending Jesus.

[12:8]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[12:8]  ²⁷ tn Grk “seizing him.” The participle λαβόντες (labontes) has been translated as attendant circumstance.

[12:8]  ²⁸ tn Grk “him.”

[12:8]  ²⁹ sn Throwing the heir’s body out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.

[12:9]  ³⁰ sn The statement that the owner will come and destroy those tenants is a promise of judgment; see Luke 13:34-35; 19:41-44.

[12:9]  ³¹ sn The warning that the owner would give the vineyard to others suggests that the care of the promise and the nation’s hope would be passed to others. This eventually looks to Gentile inclusion; see Eph 2:11-22.

[12:10]  ³² tn Or “capstone,” “keystone.” Although these meanings are lexically possible, the imagery in Eph 2:20-22 and 1 Cor 3:11 indicates that the term κεφαλὴ γωνίας (kefalh gwnia") refers to a cornerstone, not a capstone.

[12:10]  sn The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The use of Ps 118:22-23 and the “stone imagery” as a reference to Christ and his suffering and exaltation is common in the NT (see also Matt 21:42; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet 2:6-8; cf. also Eph 2:20). The irony in the use of Ps 118:22-23 in Mark 12:10-11 is that in the OT, Israel was the one rejected (or perhaps her king) by the Gentiles, but in the NT it is Jesus who is rejected by Israel.

[12:11]  ³³ sn A quotation from Ps 118:22-23.

[12:12]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to introduce a somewhat parenthetical remark by the author.

[12:12]  ³⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[12:12]  ³⁶ 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).