Mark

1:21-28

The journey begins, 1:1-5:43

2. Jesus the Son of God, Messiah, 1:14-45

ii] A day in the journey - New teaching

Chapter 1:21-34, represents a single day in the life of Jesus, or more properly, a Sabbath day and the evening of the next day, given that the new day begins at sunset. The events of the day include a visit to the Synagogue and to the home of Simon and Andrew at Capernaum. We see Jesus teaching, exorcising and healing. Jesus, the "Holy one of God", the messiah, speaks with authority/power, such that even the demons are subject to his word. In response, the people are both excited and alarmed. It is significant that Mark's first recorded miracle is an exorcism, for as Jesus later points out, "if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has burst in upon you", Lk.11:20.

Mark seems to have crafted this normal day in the life of Jesus to illustrate his saving work, 1:21-34. We are introduced to messiah's redemptive work as Jesus casts out demons, heals and teaches. It may well be that this day in the life of Jesus was already established in the oral tradition, although Boring, referring to Schenke, notes that Mark has probably added, from elsewhere in the tradition, the introductory exorcism, 1:21b-28.

The passage before us demonstrates the authority of Jesus. First, "Mark shows that Jesus teaches with unique authority, unlike and indeed surpassing that of the scribes", Edwards, v21-22. Second, Mark demonstrates the authority of Jesus over the powers of darkness, "showing us what happens when a man with an unclean spirit meets the One anointed with God's Spirit", Edwards, v23-26. Mark then records the amazement of the people and the spread of Jesus' fame, v27-28.

Jesus teaches with authority, v21-22.

eisporeuontai (eisporeuomai) pres. "they went" - they enter, go. Historical present. The "they", meaning Jesus and his disciples, functioning as an understood subject.

toiV sabbasin (on ou) dat. "when the Sabbath came" - on the Sabbaths. The dative is temporal, expressing time, while the plural form is a reflection of the Aramaic and does not mean Jesus is attending the synagogue on successive Sabbaths. "On the next Sabbath", CEV.

eiselqwn (eisercomai) aor. part. "went into" - entering. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "teach"; "he entered .... and taught."

thn sunagwghn (h) "the synagogue" - Given that Capernaum was a substantial town with a population around 10,000, the synagogue would have been a major place of worship.

edidasken (didaskw) imperf. "he began to teach" - he was teaching. The imperfect is probably inceptive, where the emphasis is placed on the beginning of the action; "began teaching", Phillips. Given synagogue protocol, Jesus would have been invited to preach, which means that he was at least known to the elders as a rabbi. Mark is clearly underlining the prime function of Jesus' messianic mission, namely, divine communication.

exeplhssonto (ekplhssw) imperf. "the people were amazed" - they were amazed, astonished, overwhelmed, filled with fear and wonder. The tense links to Jesus' act of teaching in v21, indicating that from the moment he began teaching, the people were astonished. It is worth noting that the gospel ends with the women overcome with trembling, amazement and fear, 16:8. This response to Jesus and his gospel is well short of faith and it seems clear that Mark wants to underline the need to move from wonder to faith. "The people were astonished at his teaching", NAB.

epi + dat. "at" - upon, at. Causal; in the sense of "on the ground of" = "because of."

autou gen. pro. "his" - The genitive is possessive.

th/ didach/ (h) dat. "teaching" - Are the people amazed at how he taught, his bold presentation, or are they amazed at the content of his teaching, his radical ideas? Commentators are divided. How about both?

gar "because" - for. Expressing cause/reason, explaining why the people were amazed.

hn ... didaskwn (didaskw) verb to-be + pres. part. "he taught" - he was teaching. Periphrastic imperfect. Here a true periphrastic construction and therefore, probably best treated as a simple imperfect, ie. it is used only for stylistic flair. It is possible that Mark is using the periphrastic to underline aspect, ongoing action (durative), or for emphasis, "there he was, teaching them", France.

wJV "as" - as, like. Comparative.

ecwn (ecw) pres. part. "one who had [authority]" - having. Although the participle does not take an article here it does seem that it is functioning as a substantive, "as [one] having authority."

exousian (a) "authority" - authority / power / ability. These three possible meanings indicate the difficultly in identifying what it was about Jesus' teaching/presentation that prompted amazement. Was it his use of "I say unto you", rather than "thus says the Lord" (ie. he possessed an aura of the divine), or was it his knowledge and debating skills? The first option seems best. "He taught like a teacher who needed no authority other than his own", Barclay.

ouc wJV "not as" - not as, like. Comparative.

oiJ grammateiV (uV ewV) "the teachers of the law" - scribes. Recognized theological authorities.

Jesus exercises his authority over the powers of darkness, v23-26.

euquV "just then" - immediately. Maintaining dramatic movement; "immediately after Jesus had finished teaching", Marcus.

en + dat. "in" - in. Expressing space/sphere. Probably here meaning, "came into / appeared in". "When Jesus had finished teaching, a person, possessed by an evil spirit, entered the synagogue and began screaming."

autwn gen. pro. "their [synagogue]" - The genitive is possessive. Is Mark telling us that this was the synagogue usually attended by Jesus and his disciples?

anqrwpoV (oV) "a man" - man. Anarthrous noun, so "someone."

en + dat. "who was possessed by" - in. Here reflecting the Aramaic, expressing association, "with"; "under the influence of", BAGD.

pneumati akaqartw/ "an evil spirit" - with an unclean / defiled / evil spirit.

anekraxen (anakrazw) aor. "cried out" - he/it cried out. Who cried out, the man or the unclean spirit? In demon possession, the personality of the demon is distinct from, and in control of, the host. So, it is probably the demon who is enraged at the presence of Jesus, rather than the man crying out for help.

legwn (legw) pres. part. "-" - saying. Attendant circumstance participle.

ti hJmin kai soi "what do you want with us?" - what to/with us and to/with you. This idiomatic saying has a number of possible meanings: "What have we and you in common", Classical Greek; "why do you interfere with us", cf. Taylor; "mind your own business", Cranfield; "go away and leave us alone", France. Note the plural "us"; meaning spirit and host, or numerous possessing spirits, or one spirit speaking for all his friends.....

hlqeV (ercomai) aor. "have you come" - Possibly a question, but the clause may also be a statement; "you have come into the world ....."

apolesai (apolumi) aor. inf. "to destroy" - The infinitive is expressing purpose; "in order to destroy."

oida ..... oidamen "I know" - I / we know. Variant "we".

se tiV ei "who you are" - [I know] you who are you. The interrogative "who are you" is what they know. It was believed that by knowing a person, power is gained over them. The demons knew Jesus: his name, Jesus of Nazareth; his business, judgment; and his spiritual nature, messiah. "We know who you are and so you have no power over us."

oJ aJgioV tou qeou "the Holy One of God" - the holy of God. The genitive "of God" may be ablative, expressing source, "from God", or genitive, possessive, "who belongs to God." "The "holy of God", may mean "the holy man of God", but Mark probably intends the phrase as a messianic title.

fimwqhti (fimow) aor. pas. imp. "be quiet" - be muzzled. "Silence!", Barclay; "hold your tongue", Phillips.

epetimhsen (epitimaw) aor "said [Jesus] sternly" - [Jesus] rebuked, censured, warned, spoke sternly]. Probably here the sense is of an authoritative silencing: "Jesus commanded him/it to stop speaking / told him to shut up." Jesus is possibly just cutting short the unclean spirit's self defense, but he may also be wanting to maintain the messianic secret which requires a subtle revelation of the Christ ("Son of Man") for those with eyes to see, rather than an overt display of a popular messiah with inevitable political complications.

autw/ dat. pro. "-" - [spoke sternly] to him. Dative of direct object.

legwn (legw) pres. part. "-" - saying. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "rebuked".

exelqe (exercomai) aor. imp. "come out" - Jesus teaches with authority and this authority is demonstrated in his command over demons.

ex + gen. "from [him]" - Expressing source.

sparaxan (sparassw) aor. part. "shook [the man] violently" - having convulsed, torn apart, pushed and pulled toe and fro. The participle is adverbial, possibly forming a temporal clause along with the participle "having cried out": "after throwing the man into convulsions", Weymouth. Possibly just an attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the main verb "came out"; "the evil spirit shook him, shouted out with a loud voice and came out of him."

ex + gen. "[came out] of [him]" - [it came out] from [him]. Expressing source.

fwnh/ melalh/ dat. "with" - with a loud voice. The dative is probably adverbial, expressing manner; "uttering a loud cry."

fwnhsan (fwnew) aor. part. "a shriek" - having cried out, shouted out. The aorist tense of both participles, "having convulsed and having shouted out", links them together. The shaking and shouting probably illustrates resistance, although it is ineffectual. "The evil spirit convulsed the man, let out a loud scream and left him", Phillips.

The crowds respond to Jesus' ministry with amazement, v27-28.

eqambhqhsan (qambew) aor. pas. "were all so amazed" - was astonished, amazed, astounded. Taylor suggests that they were astonished because Jesus cast out the demon without the usual incantations and actions, ie. it's a style issue. Yet, Jesus does it with a word of command. Of course, it is also quite possible that exorcisms were not commonplace, or at least successful ones weren't commonplace. "They were dumbfounded", Williams.

wJste + inf. "that" - so that, so as. This construction is used to form a consecutive clause expressing result; "with the result that they questioned / discussed."

suzhtein (suzhtew) pres. inf. "they asked [each other]" - to discuss, question, dispute with. "They discussed it with one another", Goodspeed.

legontaV (legw) pres. part. "-" - saying. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the infinitive "discussed."

kainh adj. "a new [teaching]" - "'New' in respect of quality, as distinct from 'new' as regards time", Taylor.

kat (kata) + acc. "with [authority]" - according to. Here adverbial, expressing manner, "with"; "it's new teaching with authority behind it", Moffatt.

kai "even" - and. Ascensive, "even", emphasizing that the authoritative word exercised over the demons is more amazing than Jesus' authoritative word in teaching, which in itself is amazing. "Why, he even gives orders .....", Phillips.

toiV pneumasi toiV akaqartoiV dat. "[gives order to] evil spirits" - [he even commands] the unclean spirits. Dative of direct object.

autw/ dat. pro. "[they obey] him" - Dative of direct object.

autou gen. pro. "[news] about him" - [the report] of him. The genitive is usually treated as verbal, objective, "the report about / concerning him", although it can be classified as an adjectival genitive, attributive, limiting "report", "the story of what Jesus had done", Barclay.

thV GalilaiaV gen. "of Galilee" - [immediately everywhere into all the surrounding countryside] of Galilee. The genitive is epexegetic; "into the whole surrounding region consisting of Galilee", so "around Galilee." The news gets out "immediately" and "everywhere"; "into every spot of the surrounding region", Gundry.

Mark Introduction

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