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 4:11

4:11 He said to them, “The secret ⁴  of the kingdom of God has been given ⁵  to you. But to those outside, everything is in parables,

Markus 8:17

8:17 When he learned of this, ⁶  Jesus said to them, “Why are you arguing ⁷  about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Have your hearts been hardened?

[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.

[4:11]  ⁴ tn Grk “the mystery.”

[4:11]  sn The key term secret (μυστήριον, musthrion) can mean either (1) a new revelation or (2) a revealing interpretation of existing revelation as in Dan 2:17-23, 27-30. Jesus seems to be explaining how current events develop old promises, since the NT consistently links the events of Jesus’ ministry and message with old promises (Rom 1:1-4; Heb 1:1-2). The traditional translation of this word, “mystery,” is misleading to the modern English reader because it suggests a secret which people have tried to uncover but which they have failed to understand (L&N 28.77).

[4:11]  ⁵ tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

[8:17]  ⁶ tn Or “becoming aware of it.”

[8:17]  ⁷ tn Or “discussing.”