Mark

6:1-6

The journey to God's mountain, 6:1-10:52

1. Growing discontent, 6:1-7:37

i] Jesus' own countrymen are astonished and take offence at his teaching

"Jesus now leaves Capernaum to preach in the villages of Galilee and begins twenty-five miles away in his native country of Nazareth. At first his teaching in the synagogue astounds them but they cannot forget that the Rabbi, whose fame is throughout all Galilee, had once been their village joiner. `There is always a shadow under the lamp', says the Indian proverb. The Nazarenes were too near to appreciate the splendor of his words and works, and their unbelief left Jesus marveling", Hunter.

This episode heralds a thematic shift as Jesus' ministry begins to bite with the inevitable response of either belief, or unbelief. Luke uses the incident to begin Jesus' public ministry, although an initial ministry, which has brought Jesus considerable fame, is assumed. Mark's account is probably sourced independently from Luke's. This episode, serving to commence Jesus' Galilean mission, prefigures the rejection of messiah's person and his kingdom message. For Mark, the focus is not on unbelief itself, "but the invalidation of unbelief by Jesus' astonishing words and deeds", Gundry.

exhlqen ekeiqen "Jesus left there" - and he came out from there. Serving as a link to the previous episode.

patrida (iV idoV) "[his] hometown" - homeland. That is, where he was raised, not where he was born, so Nazareth.

akolouqousin (akolouqew) pres. "accompanied" - follow. Mark, unlike Luke and Matthew, underlines the presence of the disciples and thus their witness to their master's rejection.

genomenou (ginomai) gen. aor. part. "when [the Sabbath] came" - having become. Genitive absolute participle usually treated as temporal, so NIV.

didaskein (didaskw) pres. inf. "[he began] to teach" - The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of "began". In the early part of Jesus' ministry he was able to attend the local synagogue and, as a visiting rabbi, was invited to speak.

(oiJ) polloi adj. "many" - "All who were present", Jeremias, although better, "the majority", Cranfield.

akouonteV (akouw) pres. part. "who heard" - hearing, listening. The participle is adjectival, limiting "many", as NIV.

exeplhssonto (ekplhssw) imperf. pas. "were amazed" - were overwhelmed, astonished. The imperfect is durative, expressing ongoing amazement, being overwhelmed, surprised, usually in a positive sense; "knocked out / bowled over", Boring. "Amazement" is a key response for Mark. The initial response to Jesus' words and signs is amazement/surprise and this then moves to acceptance/faith or rejection/unbelief. Here we see a very quick movement toward unbelief where the congregation is both incredulous and scandalized.

toutw/ dat. pro. "[where did] this man [get these things]?" - [saying/asking, from where] this one [these things]. Dative of advantage. The term is quite possibly contemptuous - used three times. This is the first of five questions asked by the congregation concerning Jesus, v2-3.

legonteV (legw) "they asked" - saying [from where ....]. Attendant circumstance participle.

kai "-" - and [what] wisdom has been given to him.

tiV "what's [this wisdom]" - who, what, why. Interrogative pronoun. Mark's only use of the word "wisdom" = depth of knowledge regarding spiritual matters. Obviously the "wisdom" the congregation is referring to is the gospel, here both expressed in words ("wisdom") and signs ("powers" = "miracles").

hJ doqeisa (didwmi) aor. pas. part. "that has been given [to him]" - having been given. The participle is adjectival, limiting "wisdom", "the wisdom which has been given to him." As is often the case, a passive in such a setting can be classed as a divine/theological passive, ie. the wisdom originates from God. Yet, this is always an assumption and given the context, it is more likely that the congregation views Jesus' wisdom as derived from other than divine sources. So, "where did his wisdom come from, from heaven, or earth, or even Satan?"

kai "-" - and [what] these powers by means of his hand becoming. The more difficult reading is followed among the variants for this clause, see Metzger. As above, the congregation is questioning the origin of Jesus' mighty works / miracles / mighty deeds (signs - "events that proclaim God's acts on behalf of God's people", Guelich).

toiautai pro. "-" - of such a kind. The position in the Gk. is emphatic = "and [what] mighty works of such a kind.

dia + gen. "that" - by means of, through [his hand becoming]. Instrumental.

ginomenai (ginomai) pres. part. "he even does" - becoming. The participle is adjectival, modifying "hand", "which his hands perform". The mention of hands "reflects Semitic idiom", Cranfield. "How can he perform such miracles?", Barclay.

ai dunameiV (iV ewV) "miracles" - powers. Acts of power = "miracles", as NIV.

The issue of Mary's perpetual virginity is raised here. The reference to brothers and sisters is most likely to natural siblings, but some do argue that they are half-brothers and sisters.

ouc This negation is used in a question expecting the answer "yes".

oJ tektwn (own onoV) "the carpenter" - Possibly "carpenter-builder" and this because Jesus is inclined to building construction allusions, rather than carpentry allusions, eg. plum-bob. The variant, "the son of the carpenter, the son of Mary", probably conflates Mark's quote with Matthew.

oJ uiJoV thV MariaV "Mary's son" - son of Mary. This is a very unusual statement as Jesus would be properly identified with his father, not with his mother, even if his father were dead. If Mary had a more important pedigree she may replace Joseph, but Joseph is the one with the Davidic pedigree, and so Jesus would be identified by his neighbors as "Joseph's son". Marcus suggests that the identification of Jesus as Mary's son is hostile in nature, alluding to Jesus' illegitimacy.

proV + acc. "[here] with [us]" - toward, to. Here expressing association, so "with us / in company with us."

eskandalizonto (skandalizw) imperf. pas. "they took offense" - The word expresses being enmeshed in, or falling into a trap, often in relation to sin. So, reacting to Jesus in a negative way, being scandalized by him, offended, repelled and therefore turning away from him. "And they refused to believe in him", Guelich.

en "at [him]" - in, on. The use of this preposition in the phrase "they took offence at him" follows Hebrew usage of skandalizw in Sir.9:5, 23:8, 35:15. Treated as causal, "because of him", cf. Zerwick, or reference, referencing the one toward whom the feeling is directed, "at him", cf. BAGD III3b, even instrumental, "so they were repelled by him", Moffatt.

Jesus uses a common proverbial saying to explain the rejection of his neighbors. The saying possible included "a physician is unable to heal those who know him", exegeted in v5, but such is speculative. It is unlikely that Jesus is suggesting that he is a prophet since he is "more than a prophet", Guelich.

oJti "-" - Introducing a dependent statement, direct speech.

ei mh "only" - except. Expressing an exception; "a prophet is not without honor except where he grew up and among his own family."

en th/ patridi autou "in his hometown" - in the homeland / native place of him.

en toiV suggeneusin autou "among his relatives" - in the relatives / kin of him. The preposition expresses association here, "with / among". This phrase is missing in Matthew's account, but is virtually taken up in the phrase "in his own house", since there is little difference in meaning. Some have suggested that the duplication is Mark's way of underlining Jesus' rejection by his family members, cf. Gundry p299.

en th/ oikia autou "in his own house" - in the house of him. "Their own family", CEV.

profhthV (hV ou) "a prophet" - Probably "prophet" in the full sense - a forth-teller of divine revelation.

ouk ...... atimoV adj. "without honor" - [is] not dishonored. The word takes the sense, "is not to receive ones due honor and respect", TH.

Obviously Jesus was not "powerless apart from men's faith", Cranfield, although it is often argued that faith is a necessary prerequisite for the performance of a miracle. Yet, Jesus performs many miracles without the evidence of faith, as against Guelich, "miracles do not take place in the absence of faith". So, what is going on here? Surely the problem is not that Jesus' neighbors were short on faith, but that they had moved from amazement to unbelief; they had rejected Jesus' messianic credentials. When revelation is rejected it is removed, and so the gospel in word and sign (miracles) was no longer generally available to the people of Nazareth. Note how Matthew recasts this statement; "and he did not do many miracles there on account of their lack of faith", Matt.13:58. As Taylor says, "this passage is one of the boldest statements in the gospels since it mentions something that Jesus could not do".

poihsai (poiew) pres. inf. "could not do" - [he was not able] to do. Complementary infinitive completing the sense of "was not able".

oudemian adj. "any" - no thing. "He was not able to do there even one work of power", Wuest, literally expressing the stark nature of this statement. Mark's words here may indicate a distinction between "work of power", ie. a messianic sign, and the general healing of some sick people, ie. an act of mercy, yet, does such a distinction exist?

dunamin (iV ewV) "miracles" - power, mighty work = miracle.

ei mh "except" - Expressing an exception, not a contradiction. The exception clause "seems to be a correction of a too radical statement of Jesus' inability", Boring.

epiqeiV (epitiqhmi) aor. part. + dat. "lay [his hands] on" - having laid on/upon [a few sick (dat.)]. The participle is possibly modal, expressing manner, or instrumental, expressing means, "through, by means of", cf. Rogers. Heal, "attend / treat / cure", Zerwick. "Except that he healed a few of those beset by ill health through laying his hands on them", Cassirer.

oligoiV arrwstoiV dat. adj. "a few sick people" - a few sick, ill. In a state of powerlessness due to illness.

The division of this literary unit is in dispute. The division is taken either at the end of the verse, or in the middle, as NIV.

eqaumazen (qaumazw) imperf. "he was amazed" - he marveled, was amazed. Again Mark chooses the imperfect tense, as he did with the neighbors' amazement and offence and Jesus' "not able to do" signs, so meshing the actions of Jesus and the neighbors, cf. Gundry. Often used of a proper initial response to the gospel which inevitably moves to "belief", or "unbelief". Interestingly, this is the one of the two times we are told that Jesus was "amazed", cf. Matt.8:10. Probably best taken to mean "he was surprised / taken aback", even "puzzled", cf. Guelich.

dia + acc. "at [their lack of faith]" - because of, on account of. Probably causal, but usually translated "as the object of the surprise of Jesus", TH, as NIV. "He marvelled because of their unbelief", Wuest.

perihgen (periagw) imperf. "he went around" - he was going around. Imperfect is durative, expressing ongoing action.

didaskwn (didaskw) pres. part. "teaching" - The participle is probably modal, identifying the manner in which the main verb "went around" is accomplished. Why "teaching" rather than "preaching [the gospel]"? Mark does often describe Jesus word ministry in terms of "teaching", since he is a rabbi and this is what you do in a synagogue, although when the gospel is in mind he tends to use khrussw, "preach [the gospel]".

taV kwmaV kuklw/ "from village to village" - the villages in a circle/circuit. If "circuit" is intended then "he went around among the adjacent villages teaching", TH.

Mark Introduction

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