Mark

11:1-11

Entering the promised land, 11:1-16:20

1. Judgement in symbol and parable upon Israel, 11:1-12:12

i] Jesus' entry into Jerusalem

Mark now records the final days of Jesus' ministry before his arrest and crucifixion. The story begins with Jesus' entry into Jerusalem as the long awaited messiah. Some recognize the import of the moment, but for most, it is business as usual.

Jesus' entry into Jerusalem introduces the final days of his ministry prior to his arrest and crucifixion, 11:1-13:37. In Luke's gospel, the entry is tied to Jesus' journey to the cross, in fact it's not even an entry as such. The journey motif is certainly present in Mark, yet for Mark, the entry is a further unveiling of Jesus' messianic credentials. Jesus is the Davidic messiah, entering his capital to claim his crown, acclaimed by his people. The major teaching unit, 11:1-13:37, records Jesus' ministry in Jerusalem. Jesus teaches in Jerusalem during the day and retreats to Bethany in the evening. In tradition, certainly from the 4th century, Jesus spent a week in Jerusalem (Palm Sunday to Easter). The text does not demand this conclusion and so it is quite possible that Jesus spent weeks, even months, in Jerusalem. Some commentators have argued that Jesus came to Jerusalem for the feast of Tabernacles and was arrested and crucified at the feast of Passover.

Jesus prepares for his entry into Jerusalem, v1-6. "At the approach to Bethphage and Bethany, Jesus makes some preliminary arrangements, dispatching two unnamed followers to prepare for his advent", Marcus. Other than the cursed fig tree, Mark records no further messianic miracles. He does though record Jesus' prophetic role and it is often thought that these six verses serve this end, so Boring, ie. Mark relates the story "to demonstrate Jesus' precise knowledge and sovereignty over subsequent events", Edwards. On the other hand, the business of requisitioning a ride into Jerusalem appropriate for the coming king (Zech.9:9, Gen.49:11, 1King.1:38-40) may well be nothing more than the playing out of prior arrangements. Note the arrangements for the last supper, 14:12-16, where the reader is again left wondering whether Jesus is clairvoyant or just into micro-managing!!!! Of course, it is possible that "Mark perhaps takes to be supernatural knowledge what was in fact the result of a well-laid plan", France.

oJte "as" - when. Temporal conjunction, forming a temporal clause; "when they were nearing Jerusalem", Barclay.

eggizousin (eggizw) pres. "they approached" - approach, draw near. Present historical tense "they draw near."

eiV "and came to" - to, toward.

Bhqfagh "Bethphage" - A village east of Bethany, although it's exact site is not known for sure.

Bhqanian (a) "Bethany" - A village some two miles from Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives, a ridge to the east of Jerusalem, facing the city across the Kidron valley.

apostellei (apostellw) pres. "Jesus sent" - he sends ..... Sends with authority.

twn maqhtwn (hV ou) gen. "disciples" - of disciples. The genitive is adjectival, partitive; "two from among his disciples."

autou gen. pro. "his" - of his. The genitive is adjectival, possessive.

autoiV dat. pro. "[saying] to them" - Dative of indirect object.

katenanti + gen. "ahead of" - opposite, before, in the presence of, facing, over against. "Go to the village opposite you", Barclay.

eisporeuomenoi (eisporeuomai) pres. part. "[just as] you enter" - [immediately] entering, going, coming [into]. The participle with euquV, "immediately", is adverbial, temporal, as NIV. Given that Bethphage was on the Roman road to Jerusalem, it is most likely Jesus has told his disciples to leave the road and go to Bethany on the side road where they will find the colt. "As soon as you reach there", Berkeley.

pwlon (oV) "a colt" - the young of any animal, although often a horse's foal. Matthew and John say it is the foal of an ass. A Roman reader of the text would read it as a "young male horse", an appropriate animal for a king riding into his capital to claim a crown. Mark does not emphasize Jesus' humility. For Mark, Jesus is not the meek king of Zechariah 9:9.

dedemenon (dew) perf. pas. part. "tied there" - having been tied, bound. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "colt"; "a tethered colt", Barclay.

ef o}n "which" - upon which.

anqrwpwn (oV) "[no one]" - [no one] of men. The genitive is adjectival, partitive. "On which nobody has ever sat", Berkeley.

ekaqisen (kaqizw) aor. "has [ever] ridden" - [not yet] sat, placed. Here of sitting upon the back of an animal and therefore "ridden".

ean + subj. "if" - Conditional clause, 3rd class, where the condition has the possibility of coming true; "if, as the case may be, ..... then ....."

uJmin dat. pro. "[asks] you" - [may say] to you. Dative of indirect object.

ti "why" - As an interrogative adverb, "why are you doing this?", or as a pronoun, "what is this that you are doing?", France.

oJ kurioV (oV) "the Lord [needs it]" - The Lord [has need of it]. The "of it", autou (gen. pro. = possessive) goes with "has need" and not "Lord" otherwise we end up with "the master / owner has need." "The Lord", possibly in the sense of the divine Jesus, possibly "the Master", or even as a title for the "Lord God" (the article, as here, is often used for the divine title). If "Master", Jesus is the master of the animal, he is the Lord of it, which status he must have organized sometime before renting it, or whatever!! If "the Lord God" then the statement asserts that the donkey is needed for divine service. If attaining the animal was prearranged then obviously the words are a kind of password authorizing the disciples to take it.

apostellei (apostellw) pres. "will send" - Variant apostelei fut. is the better reading, as NIV. The subject of "will send" is unclear. Usually translated as if "the Lord" is the subject, but probably better taken as tiV, "anyone"; "he (the person who has asked "why are you doing this") will send it back here without delay", Berkeley. So, the words to the person tending the animal are only "The Lord [God] has need of it."

Mark goes into some detail when setting the scene; "they went off, and they found a colt tethered at a door, outside on the open street", Barclay.

aphlqon (apercomai) aor. "went out" - they left. Here probably "went away" is better.

exw epi "in" - outside (adv.) on (+ gen.).

tou amfodou (on) "the street" - usually of a village with a number of streets intersecting. The animal is tethered out in the street, "at the door", rather than in a stable or yard, ready to be picked up, as arranged.

dedemenon (dew) perf. pas. part. "tied" - having been tied. The participle is adjectival.

proV "at [a doorway]" - toward [door, gate / doorway, portal, entrance]. Probably spacial, but with the sense "beside / by / at."

luousin (luw) pres. "as they untied [it]" - they loosen, untie [it]. The tense in this narrative is typically present expressing the action as it happened.

twn ... eJsthkotwn (iJsthmi) gen. perf. part. "people standing" - the ones having been standing. The participle serves as a substantive, while the genitive is partitive. The "anyone" of v3 becomes "some people standing there." They question the disciples' actions. Presumably the owner is not at home, and given Jesus' instructions, Jesus probably knew that the owner would not be at home. This is why the owner has tethered the animal out the front. Presumably those standing out the front with the animal are privy to the arrangements. Note Luke has oiJ kurioi "the owners / masters" question the disciples' action.

autoiV dat. pro. "asked" - [were saying] to them. Dative of indirect object.

luonteV (luw) pres. act. part. "[what are you doing] untying" - [what are you doing] untying, releasing [the colt]. The participle may be classed as complementary, functioning as a complementary infinitive, completing the sense of the verb "doing", or as forming an object clause / dependent statement, expressing the content of the "doing", namely, "untying the colt." "What are you about, untying that colt", Cassirer.

eipan (legw) aor. "answered" - they said, spoke [to them]. They, the disciples (plural), respond to the question of the bystanders.

afhkan (afihmi) aor. "they let [them] go" - they allowed, let go, released, permitted. The answer of the disciples, "the lord/master has need of it", satisfies the bystanders. Presumably they are aware of the arrangements, although Mark is possibly making a point about Jesus' authority.

Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, v7-10. Mark draws out the messianic significance of this event in a number of pointed observations which reveal Jesus' royal status: i] the disciples' act of obeisance in placing their outer garments on the colt - "a kind of makeshift throne", Boring; ii] the crowd's obeisance in laying out the red carpet by setting their garments on the road, along with leafy branches, cf. 2King.9:13, 1Mac.13:49-50; iii] the crowd's shout of "Hosanna", meaning "save now", and their proclamation that Jesus is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, Psalm 118:16. These events together seem to depict a moment of triumphant messianism, the coming of the king in terms of Zechariah 14, although they may just be describing the coming of a peaceable and humble messiah in terms of Zechariah 9.

ekballousin (ekballw) pres. "threw [their cloaks] over it" - throw upon, cast upon. They obviously did this in place of a saddle; "they put some of their clothes on its back", CEV.

estrwsan (strwnnimi) aor. "spread" - they spread out, strew ...... as for cushions on a bench or a bed. This seems to be a spontaneous action out of respect for Jesus.

stibadaV (aV adoV) "branches" - bits of straw, rushes, leaves. The stuff of mattresses. Here probably foliage, but as it is from the "fields" it may well be just straw, or possibly olive branches. Palm fronds are very unlikely, although a nice thought (cf. John 12:13).

koyanteV (koptw) aor. part. "cut" - cut .... having cut. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "branches"; "branches which they had cut." "Others put down straw they had cut from the fields", Phillips.

oiJ proagonteV (proagw) pres. part. "those who went ahead" - the ones going before, leading the way. This participle serves as a substantive.

oiJ akolouqounteV (akolouqew) pres. part. "followed" - the ones following. The participle serves as a substantive. Some commentators suggest that there are two groups of people, those who came up with Jesus and those who came out from Jerusalem to meet him. Mark is probably saying that Jesus was surrounded by a large crowd. "The whole crowd, both those who were in front and those who were behind", Phillips.

wJsanna "Hosanna" - save us we pray, save us now. By this time the word is a common liturgical acclamation and so is not actually a prayer, although Mark is obviously well aware of its meaning as a prayer. By means of the acclamation and the pilgrims' blessing from Psalm 118:25-26, Jesus is acclaimed by the people. The quote is by no means messianic, so it is unclear in what sense Jesus is being acclaimed. "The entry was apparently regarded by the masses as a pilgrimage rather than a messianic triumph", Edwards. As a prayer, "God save the people", Barclay.

euloghmenoV (eulogew) perf. pas. part. "blessed" - having been blessed. The quotation from the Psalm is without a verb. The participle "having been blessed" is obviously substantival and serves as a nominative predicate of an assumed verb to-be, with the participle oJ ercomenoV, "the one coming", serving as the substantive subject; "the one coming is blessed", "a blessing rests on him who appears", Cassirer.

en + dat. "in [the name]" - Here adverbial, expressing the manner of the coming.

kuriou (oV) "of the Lord" - The genitive is adjectival, possessive.

Mark presents this verse as a continuation of the crowd's acclamation even though the words are not part of the pilgrim blessing, Ps.118:25-26. It seems more than likely that the verse is editorial since the phrase "the coming kingdom of our father David" is not something a first century Jew would say. A believer in the apostolic church happily spoke of "the coming kingdom" and of Jesus the messiah its Davidic king. Both Matthew and Luke take the messianic nature of the statement on board, but do not repeat it verbatim. So, for example, Luke adds oJ basileuV to the pilgrim blessing, not "kingdom", but "king", probably serving to stand in apposition to oJ ercomenoV; "blessed is the coming one, the king (who comes) in the name of the Lord", cf. Nolland. Variants abound, eg. anarthrous basileuV = "the coming king." Marcus argues that the statement reflects 2Samuel 7 which speaks of a son of David who will establish his father's dominion by building God a "house". Obviously for Mark, the statement gives messianic significance to the pilgrim blessing, which by itself is not messianic.

euloghmenh (eulogew) perf. pas. part. "blessed" - having been blessed. Predicate nominative substantive, as above.

hJ ercomenh (ercomai) pres. mid. part. "the coming" - the one coming. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "kingdom"; "the kingdom of our father David which is coming." The phrase "the coming kingdom" is an unusual expression for a Jew, although not for a believer in the apostolic church.

basileia (a) "kingdom" - The dynamic reign of God; "Blessed is the coming dominion of our father David!", Marcus.

tou patroV gen. "[our] father [David]" - [of David] of the father [of us]. The genitive phrase "of the father of us" stands in apposition to the possessive genitive "David". Possibly as a general term, "ancestor", but again a strange reference since "father" was normally used for the patriarchs.

wJsanna "Hosanna" - "Hosanna" is again best taken as a acclamation of praise. Possibly the acclamation is made by the heavenly host, or by us toward the one who dwells in heaven, in which case, "praise be to God"; "hooray for God in heaven above", CEV. Possibly, but unlikely, this second "hosanna" may be intended as a prayer; "O send your salvation from the heights of heaven", Barclay.

en + dat. "in [the highest]" - in [the most high]. Expressing space/sphere; "in high heaven."

Jesus enters Jerusalem and surveys the temple complex, v11. If it were not for the fact that the Christ must suffer, Jesus could, at this point, be crowned the messianic king. Yet, what eventuates is an anticlimax - the crowd dissipates and Jesus with the twelve depart for Bethany.

to iJeron "the temple" - Most likely the whole temple precinct.

peribleyamenoV (periblepw) aor. mid. part. "he looked around at" - having looked around. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the main verb "he went out", or possibly temporal, "and when he had looked around ....", AV. "He observed everything around and, as night was approaching, he went out to Bethany with the twelve", Berkeley.

oushV (eimi) gen. pres. part. "since it was [late]" - [the hour now] being [late]. The participle is adverbial, probably causal, "because", "as it was late", Moffatt, and takes the genitive in a temporal genitive absolute clause.

oyiaV adj. "late" - early evening. Obviously late afternoon, about sunset.

meta + gen. "with [the twelve]" - Expressing association.

Mark Introduction.

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