2map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

3sn The exact location of the village of Bethphage is not known. Most put it on the southeast side of the Mount of Olives and northwest of Bethany, about 1.5 miles (3 km) east of Jerusalem.

4sn “Mountain” in English generally denotes a higher elevation than it often does in reference to places in Palestine. The Mount of Olives is really a ridge running north to south about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) long, east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. Its central elevation is about 30 meters (100 ft) higher than Jerusalem. It was named for the large number of olive trees which grew on it.

5tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

6tn Grk “the village lying before you” (BDAG 530 s.v. κατέναντι 2.b).

7tn Grk “a colt tied there on which no one of men has ever sat.”

8sn The custom called angaria allowed the impressment of animals for service to a significant figure.

9tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

10tn Grk “they”; the referent (the people mentioned in v. 5) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

11tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

12tn Grk “garments”; but this refers in context to their outer cloaks. The action is like 2 Kgs 9:13.

13sn See Zech 9:9, a prophecy fulfilled here (cf. Matt 21:5; John 12:15.

14tn The expression ῾Ωσαννά (Jwsanna, literally in Hebrew, “O Lord, save”) in the quotation from Ps 118:25-26 was probably by this time a familiar liturgical expression of praise, on the order of “Hail to the king,” although both the underlying Aramaic and Hebrew expressions meant “O Lord, save us.” The introductory ὡσαννά is followed by the words of Ps 118:25, εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου (euloghmeno" Jo ercomeno" en onomati kuriou), although in the Fourth Gospel the author adds for good measure καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ (kai Jo basileu" tou Israhl). In words familiar to every Jew, the author is indicating that at this point every messianic expectation is now at the point of realization. It is clear from the words of the psalm shouted by the crowd that Jesus is being proclaimed as messianic king. See E. Lohse, TDNT 9:682-84.

sn Hosanna is an Aramaic expression that literally means, “help, I pray,” or “save, I pray.” By Jesus’ time it had become a strictly liturgical formula of praise, however, and was used as an exclamation of praise to God.

15sn A quotation from Ps 118:25-26.

16tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to indicate the transition from the previous narrative.

17tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

18tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

19tn Grk “anything.”

20tn Grk “And answering, he said to it.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

21sn Mark 11:12-14. The incident of the cursing of the fig tree occurs before he enters the temple for a third time (11:27ff) and is questioned at length by the religious leaders (11:27-12:40). It appears that Mark records the incident as a portent of what is going to happen to the leadership in Jerusalem who were supposed to have borne spiritual fruit but have been found by Messiah at his coming to be barren. The fact that the nation as a whole is indicted is made explicit in chapter 13:1-37 where Jesus speaks of Jerusalem’s destruction and his second coming.

22tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

23map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

24tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

25tn Grk “the temple.”

sn The merchants (those who were selling) would have been located in the Court of the Gentiles.

26tn Grk “the temple.”

sn Matthew (21:12-27), Mark (here, 11:15-19), and Luke (19:45-46) record this incident of the temple cleansing at the end of Jesus’ ministry. John (2:13-16) records a cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. See the note on the word temple courts in John 2:14 for a discussion of the relationship of these accounts to one another.

27tn Or “things.” The Greek word σκεῦος (skeuos) can refer to merchandise, property, goods, a vessel, or even generally “things” (but in the sense of some implement or tool). The idea here is almost certainly restricted to merchandise, rather than the more general “things,” although some suggest from the parallel with m. Berakhot 9.5 that Jesus was not even allowing sandals, staffs, or coin-purses to be carried through the court. The difficulty with this interpretation, however, is that it is fundamentally an appeal to Jewish oral tradition (something Jesus rarely sided with) as well as being indiscriminate toward all the worshipers.

28tn Grk “the temple.”

29tn The imperfect ἐδίδασκεν (edidasken) is here taken ingressively.

30sn A quotation from Isa 56:7.

31tn Or “a hideout” (see L&N 1.57).

32sn A quotation from Jer 7:11. The meaning of Jesus’ statement about making the temple courts a den of robbers probably operates here at two levels. Not only were the religious leaders robbing the people financially, but because of this they had also robbed them spiritually by stealing from them the opportunity to come to know God genuinely. It is possible that these merchants had recently been moved to this location for convenience.

33tn Or “The chief priests and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

34tn Grk “how they could destroy him.”

35tn Grk “they”; the referents (Jesus and his disciples) have been specified in the translation for clarity. Without such clarification there is room for considerable confusion here, since there are two prior sets of plural referents in the context, “the chief priests and experts in the law” and “the whole crowd” (both in v. 18).

36tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

37tn Although the Greek subjunctive mood, formally required in a subordinate clause introduced by ἵνα ({ina), is traditionally translated by an English subjunctive (e.g., “may,” so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV), changes in the use of the subjunctive in English now result in most readers understanding such a statement as indicating permission (“may” = “has permission to”) or as indicating uncertainty (“may” = “might” or “may or may not”). Thus a number of more recent translations render such instances by an English future tense (“will,” so TEV, CEV, NLT, NASB 1995 update). That approach has been followed here.

38tc A number of significant mss of various texttypes (א B L W Δ Ψ 565 700 892 pc sa) do not include 11:26 “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your sins.” The verse is included in most later mss (A [C D] Θ [Ë^1,13 33] Ï lat) and is not likely to be original. It is probably an assimilation to Matt 6:15. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

39map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

40tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

41tn Grk “the temple.”

42tn Or “the chief priests, the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

43tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ.

44tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is probably used here (and in v. 32) in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NAB, NRSV, “of human origin”; TEV, “from human beings”; NLT, “merely human”).

sn The question is whether John’s ministry was of divine or human origin.

45tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

46tn Grk “answering, they said to Jesus.” The participle ἀποκριθέντες (apokriqentes) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been modified to conform to English style.

47sn Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were – hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them (“We do not know”). The point of Mark 11:27-33 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.

48sn Neither will I tell you. Though Jesus gave no answer, the analogy he used to their own question makes his view clear. His authority came from heaven.

49tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 28.