Markus 3:22
Konteks3:22 The experts in the law 1 who came down from Jerusalem 2 said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” 3 and, “By the ruler 4 of demons he casts out demons.”
Markus 4:32
Konteks4:32 when it is sown, it grows up, 5 becomes the greatest of all garden plants, and grows large branches so that the wild birds 6 can nest in its shade.” 7
[3:22] 1 tn Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
[3:22] 2 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[3:22] 3 tn Grk “He has Beelzebul.”
[3:22] sn Beelzebul is another name for Satan. So some people recognized Jesus’ work as supernatural, but called it diabolical.
[4:32] 5 tn Mark 4:31-32 is fairly awkward in Greek. Literally the sentence reads as follows: “As a mustard seed, which when sown in the earth, being the smallest of all the seeds in the earth, and when it is sown, it grows up…” The structure has been rendered in more idiomatic English, although some of the awkward structure has been retained for rhetorical effect.
[4:32] 6 tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).
[4:32] 7 sn The point of the parable seems to be that while the kingdom of God may appear to have insignificant and unnoticeable beginnings (i.e., in the ministry of Jesus), it will someday (i.e., at the second advent) be great and quite expansive. The kingdom, however, is not to be equated with the church, but rather the church is an expression of the kingdom. Also, there is important OT background in the image of the mustard seed that grew and became a tree: Ezek 17:22-24 pictures the reemergence of the Davidic house where people can find calm and shelter. Like the mustard seed, it would start out small but grow to significant size.
