Markus 1:22

1:22 The people there ¹  were amazed by his teaching, because he taught them like one who had authority, ²  not like the experts in the law. ³ 

Markus 11:29

11:29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question. Answer me and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:

Markus 11:33

11:33 So ⁴  they answered Jesus, ⁵  “We don’t know.” ⁶  Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you ⁷  by what authority ⁸  I am doing these things.”

[1:22]  ¹ tn Grk “They.”

[1:22]  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.

[1:22]  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.

[11:33]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[11:33]  ⁵ tn Grk “answering, they said to Jesus.” The participle ἀποκριθέντες (apokriqentes) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been modified to conform to English style.

[11:33]  ⁶ sn Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were – hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them (“We do not know”). The point of Mark 11:27-33 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.

[11:33]  ⁷ sn Neither will I tell you. Though Jesus gave no answer, the analogy he used to their own question makes his view clear. His authority came from heaven.

[11:33]  ⁸ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 28.