The Fallible Study Bible

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Mark11:27–33

Jesus’ Authority Challenged

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Mark 11:27–33 — Jesus’ Authority Challenged. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

27

After their return to Jerusalem, Jesus was walking in the temple courts, and the chief priests, scribes, and elders came up to Him.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai erchontai palin eis Hierosolyma kai autou peripatountos en tō hierō hoi archiereis kai hoi grammateis kai hoi presbyteroi erchontai pros auton

Word by word22 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἔρχονταιerchontaiAfter their returnG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Plural
érchomai: to come, to go Historic present. Mark does not say they had come; he says they come, putting the reader in the court. The same verb returns at i 19 to bring the delegation on stage, so the sentence is built as a double arrival.
πάλινpalin. . .G3825
√ πάλιν — (adverbially) anew, iAdverb
εἰςeistoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
ἹεροσόλυμαHierosolymaJerusalemG2414
√ Ἱεροσόλυμα — Hierosolyma (iNounAccusative Neuter Plural
Hierosolyma: Jerusalem Accusative neuter plural, the Greek form of the city name. Gill dates the day: "it was the day after the cursing of the fig tree, and two days after his public entrance into Jerusalem."
καὶkai. . .G2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
αὐτοῦautou[Jesus]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
περιπατοῦντοςperipatountoswas walkingG4043
√ περιπατέω — to tread all around, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveGenitive Masculine Singular
peripatéō: to walk about, tread all around A genitive absolute setting the scene. Poole holds that walking and teaching went together here: "possibly he at the same time both walked and taught." The posture matters to the challenge that follows: he is not enthroned in the temple, he is moving freely through it, as one at home.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τῷtōtheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Neuter Singular
ἱερῷhierōtemple [courts]G2411
√ ἱερόν — a sacred place, iNounDative Neuter Singular
hierón: sacred place, temple precinct The courts, not the holy house. This is the ground whose commerce he had just overturned, which is precisely why the men who administer it arrive with a legal question.
οἱhoi[and] theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
ἀρχιερεῖςarchiereischief priestsG749
√ ἀρχιερεύς — the high-priest (literally, of the Jews, typically, Christ)NounNominative Masculine Plural
archiereús: chief priest The temple's own authority, coming to ask about authority. Benson reports the political calculation behind the visit: the rulers "feared that the people, on his account, would endeavour to shake off the Roman yoke," and resolved to move against him "under pretext of law."
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
οἱhoiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
γραμματεῖςgrammateisscribesG1122
√ γραμματεύς — scribe, town-clerkNounNominative Masculine Plural
grammateús: scribe, town clerk The professional interpreters of Torah. Cambridge notes that his teaching "as a Rabbi, without any license from the Schools" was itself the irregularity they meant to prosecute.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
οἱhoiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
πρεσβύτεροιpresbyteroieldersG4245
√ πρεσβύτερος — olderAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
presbýteros: elder, older Cambridge traces the office from the Exodus (Exodus 19:7) through the Judges, the Kings, the Captivity and the Return, to "the time of our Lord, when they denoted a distinct body in the Sanhedrim." The oldest surviving lay authority in Israel is here in person.
ἔρχονταιerchontaicame upG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Plural
érchomai: to come The repetition is not clumsiness. Verse 27 stages a collision: he comes into the city and walks in the temple, and they come to him.
πρὸςprostoG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
αὐτὸνautonHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
28

“By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You the authority to do them?”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

En poia exousia poieis tauta kai elegon autō ē tis edōken soi tautēn tēn exousian hina poiēs tauta

Word by word18 · parsed
ἘνEnByG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ποίᾳpoiawhatG4169
√ ποῖος — individualizing interrogative (of character) what sort of, or (of number) which oneInterrogative / Indefinite PronounDative Feminine Singular
poîos: what sort of, of what character A comparatively uncommon interrogative (32 verses) that asks after quality, not identity. Jesus will pick the same word up and hand it back in v. 29 and again in v. 33, so the whole exchange is built on it.
ἐξουσίᾳexousiaauthorityG1849
√ ἐξουσία — privilege, iNounDative Feminine Singular
exousía: authority, right, privilege The pivot of the unit. Every use in vv. 28, 29 and 33 is the same noun, and the two cases do different work: dative (the sphere he acts in) at i 2, accusative (a commodity someone hands over) at i 14. Pulpit reads the two questions as one dilemma: "was his authority inherent? or, was it derived?"
ποιεῖςpoieisare You doingG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbPresent Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
poiéō: to make, to do Present indicative, ongoing action. "These things" is left unnamed on purpose; Pulpit lists them as "casting out the profaners of the temple, teaching and instructing the people, accepting their Hosannas."
ταῦταtautathese thingsG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounAccusative Neuter Plural
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἔλεγονelegonthey askedG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
épō / légō: to say, speak Imperfect: sustained questioning rather than a single query.
αὐτῷautōG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ἢē[And]G2228
√ ἤ — disjunctive, orConjunction
ḗ: or (disjunctive) The reading behind the second question, giving the deputation two mutually exclusive alternatives instead of a single compound demand.
τίςtiswhoG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounNominative Masculine Singular
ἔδωκενedōkengaveG1325
√ δίδωμι — to give (used in a very wide application, properly, or by implication, literally or figurativelyVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
dídōmi: to give Aorist: one decisive act of conferral in the past, which is what they assume must have happened and want named. The verb concedes their whole theory of authority: on their account it is always something granted by someone above, so the only live question is who signed.
σοιsoiYouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Singular
ταύτηνtautēnG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounAccusative Feminine Singular
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
ἐξουσίανexousianauthorityG1849
√ ἐξουσία — privilege, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
ἵναhinatoG2443
√ ἵνα — compare G3588 (ὁ))Conjunction
ποιῇςpoiēsdoG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbPresent Subjunctive Active2nd Person Singular
poiéō: to do (present subjunctive) Under hina, purpose plus continuing aspect. Gill lists what they mean: he had entered the temple "as if he was Lord of it," corrected abuses "in such a magisterial way," healed, and taught.
ταῦταtauta[them]G3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounAccusative Neuter Plural
29

“I will ask you one question,” Jesus replied, “and if you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Eperōtēsō hymas hena logon de Ho Iēsous eipen autois kai apokrithēte moi kai erō hymin en poia exousia poiō tauta

Word by word20 · parsed
ἘπερωτήσωEperōtēsōI will askG1905
√ ἐπερωτάω — to ask for, iVerbFuture Indicative Active1st Person Singular
eperōtáō: to question closely, to interrogate The compound is stronger than simple asking, and the future indicative is a declaration of what will now happen. Placed first in the clause, the verb reverses the roles established in v. 28: the tribunal is now the witness.
ὑμᾶςhymasyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 2nd Person Plural
ἕναhenaoneG1520
√ εἷς — oneAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Singular
heîs: one One word against their two questions, and it will prove sufficient.
λόγονlogonquestionG3056
√ λόγος — something said (including the thought)NounAccusative Masculine Singular
lógos: word, something said (with the thought) The Semitic breadth of dabar (word and matter alike) stands behind the usage, as Gill observes. Rendering it "question" is right for sense but loses the plainness of what Jesus offers: one word, and the whole dispute turns on it.
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ὉHoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἸησοῦςIēsousJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
εἶπενeipenrepliedG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
épō: to say Aorist: the single decisive reply, set against their imperfect "they kept saying" in v. 28.
αὐτοῖςautois. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
καὶkaiand [if]G2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀποκρίθητέapokrithēteyou answerG611
√ ἀποκρίνομαι — to conclude for oneself, iVerbAorist Imperative Passive2nd Person Plural
apokrínomai: to answer, to conclude for oneself Aorist imperative. The lexicon's sense "to conclude for oneself" is apt: he is not asking for information but demanding a verdict from men whose office is to render verdicts.
μοιmoiMeG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounDative 1st Person Singular
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐρῶerōI will tellG2046
√ ἐρέω — an alternate for G2036 (ἔπω) in certain tensesVerbFuture Indicative Active1st Person Singular
eréō: I will tell Future indicative, a genuine promise. The promise is never voided in v. 33; the condition attached to it simply goes unmet.
ὑμῖνhyminyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Plural
ἐνenbyG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ποίᾳpoiawhatG4169
√ ποῖος — individualizing interrogative (of character) what sort of, or (of number) which oneInterrogative / Indefinite PronounDative Feminine Singular
ἐξουσίᾳexousiaauthorityG1849
√ ἐξουσία — privilege, iNounDative Feminine Singular
ποιῶpoiōI am doingG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
ταῦταtautathese thingsG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounAccusative Neuter Plural
30

John’s baptism—was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me!”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Iōannou to baptisma to ēn ex ouranou ē ex anthrōpōn apokrithēte moi

Word by word12 · parsed
ἸωάννουIōannouJohn’sG2491
√ Ἰωάννης — Joannes (iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
τὸtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Singular
βάπτισμαbaptismabaptismG908
√ βάπτισμα — baptism (technically or figuratively)NounNominative Neuter Singular
báptisma: baptism A relatively uncommon noun (19 verses), and here it stands for John's entire mission. Pulpit calls this "a synecdoche, the part put for the whole," covering "his testimony concerning himself, his doctrine," and his preaching. Cambridge adds why John is the decisive test case: he was "the most recent upholder of the validity of the prophetic order in Israel."
τὸtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Singular
ἦνēnwas itG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
eimí: to be Imperfect: the question is about what John's baptism was throughout, not about a single moment.
ἐξexfromG1537
√ ἐκ — literal or figurativePreposition
ek: out of, from (source) Source, not direction. Used twice, identically, so the alternatives are exactly matched.
οὐρανοῦouranouheavenG3772
√ οὐρανός — the skyNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ouranós: sky, heaven Standing here for God himself. The counter question is therefore the same question they asked him in v. 28, put about a man whose standing they had already refused to rule on publicly. Whatever answer establishes John's authority will establish his, since John's testimony pointed to him.
ἢēorG2228
√ ἤ — disjunctive, orConjunction
ἐξexfromG1537
√ ἐκ — literal or figurativePreposition
ἀνθρώπωνanthrōpōnmenG444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounGenitive Masculine Plural
ánthrōpos: man, human being The only alternative to heaven. There is no third category on offer, and that is what makes the question a trap for men who wish to hold neither position aloud.
ἀποκρίθητέapokrithēteAnswerG611
√ ἀποκρίνομαι — to conclude for oneself, iVerbAorist Imperative Passive2nd Person Plural
apokrínomai: to answer The second bare imperative in two verses. He has promised an answer; he demands one first.
μοιmoiMeG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounDative 1st Person Singular
31

They deliberated among themselves what they should answer: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai dielogizonto pros heautous Ti eipōmen legontes Ean eipōmen Ex ouranou erei Dia ti oun ouk episteusate autō

Word by word18 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
διελογίζοντοdielogizontoThey deliberatedG1260
√ διαλογίζομαι — to reckon thoroughly, iVerbImperfect Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Plural
dialogízomai: to reckon thoroughly, to reason through Imperfect middle: a sustained internal calculation, and in Mark's usage the verb tends to mark reasoning that is defensive rather than truth seeking. What they weigh is never whether John was sent by God; only what admitting or denying it will cost them.
πρὸςprosamongG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
ἑαυτοὺςheautousthemselvesG1438
√ ἑαυτοῦ — him- (her-, it-, them-, also (in conjunction with the personal pronoun of the other persons) my-, thy-, our-, your-) self (selves), etcReflexive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
heautoû: themselves Reflexive. The deliberation is a closed circle, with the man who asked the question standing outside it.
ΤίTiwhatG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
εἴπωμενeipōmenthey should answerG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active1st Person Plural
épō: to say (aorist subjunctive) Deliberative: "what should we say." Henry's charge is exactly here: "it was plain that they contended not for truth, but victory."
λέγοντεςlegontesG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἘὰνEanIfG1437
√ ἐάν — a conditional particleConjunction
εἴπωμενeipōmenwe sayG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active1st Person Plural
ἘξExFromG1537
√ ἐκ — literal or figurativePreposition
οὐρανοῦouranouheavenG3772
√ οὐρανός — the skyNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ἐρεῖereiHe will askG2046
√ ἐρέω — an alternate for G2036 (ἔπω) in certain tensesVerbFuture Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
eréō: he will say Future. They script his reply for him, and their script is correct, which is the quiet devastation of the scene.
ΔιὰDiaWhyG1223
√ διά — through (in very wide applications, local, causal, or occasional)Preposition
τίti. . .G5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
οὖνounthenG3767
√ οὖν — (adverbially) certainly, or (conjunctionally) accordinglyConjunction
οὐκoukvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
ἐπιστεύσατεepisteusatedid you not believeG4100
√ πιστεύω — to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), iVerbAorist Indicative Active2nd Person Plural
pisteúō: to have faith, to believe Aorist indicative of a past refusal. Poole makes the consequence plain: "If they had said, From heaven, they had accused themselves for not believing him." The verb turns a question about John's credentials into a question about their own obedience, which is why no safe answer exists.
αὐτῷautōhimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
32

But if we say, ‘From men’...” they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John truly was a prophet.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

alla eipōmen Ex anthrōpōn ephobounto ton ochlon gar hapantes eichon ton Iōannēn ontōs hoti ēn prophētēs

Word by word16 · parsed
ἀλλὰallaButG235
√ ἀλλά — properly, other things, iConjunction
allá: but (strong adversative) Opens the second horn of the dilemma, and the sentence collapses before it closes.
εἴπωμενeipōmenif we sayG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active1st Person Plural
ἘξExFromG1537
√ ἐκ — literal or figurativePreposition
ἀνθρώπωνanthrōpōnmenG444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounGenitive Masculine Plural
ἐφοβοῦντοephobountothey were afraid ofG5399
√ φοβέω — to frighten, iVerbImperfect Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Plural
phobéō: to frighten, to be afraid Imperfect middle. Geneva turns the irony over: "The reward of their evil conscience is to be afraid of those who should have been afraid of them." Pulpit adds that they would not say aloud what stopped them: "They did not like to confess that they feared the people."
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ὄχλονochlonpeopleG3793
√ ὄχλος — a throng (as borne along)NounAccusative Masculine Singular
óchlos: a throng, crowd The same crowd that had cried Hosanna two days before. Their opinion is the only force in the passage that the Sanhedrin actually respects.
γὰρgarforG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
ἅπαντεςhapantesthey allG537
√ ἅπας — absolutely all or (singular) every oneAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
hápas: absolutely all, every one The strengthened form of pas, admitting no exception. Mark could have written that many held the view; he writes that the whole crowd did. Gill calls it "the general sentiment of the people," and the force of the word is that the council is not weighing a popular faction but standing alone against a unanimous verdict it privately shares.
εἶχονeichonheldG2192
√ ἔχω — to hold (used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remoteVerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
échō: to hold Of holding a settled opinion rather than possessing a thing, and in the imperfect, a conviction kept and still being kept. The grammar quietly indicts: the people held a judgment about John, while the men whose office was to render judgments held only a calculation.
τὸνtonthatG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ἸωάννηνIōannēnJohnG2491
√ Ἰωάννης — Joannes (iNounAccusative Masculine Singular
ὄντωςontōstrulyG3689
√ ὄντως — reallyAdverb
óntōs: really, actually A rare adverb (10 verses), built from the participle of "to be," so it asserts what a thing is in fact rather than in reputation. Mark puts the word in the mouth of an unqualified crowd about an executed preacher, and it is the only true theological judgment anyone in the scene makes.
ὅτιhotiG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
ἦνēnwasG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
προφήτηςprophētēsa prophetG4396
√ προφήτης — a foreteller ("prophet")NounNominative Masculine Singular
prophḗtēs: a foreteller, prophet Poole defines the title as it is meant here: "one extraordinarily inspired and sent of God to reveal his will, so as his baptism must needs be from heaven." To grant the noun is to grant the whole answer, which is why the sentence never gets finished.
33

So they answered, “We do not know.” And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai apokrithentes tō Iēsou legousin Ouk oidamen Kai ho Iēsous legei autois Oude egō legō hymin en poia exousia poiō tauta

Word by word21 · parsed
καὶkaiSoG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀποκριθέντεςapokrithentesthey answeredG611
√ ἀποκρίνομαι — to conclude for oneself, iVerbAorist Participle PassiveNominative Masculine Plural
apokrínomai: to answer Aorist participle. They do answer; the answer is an evasion, and the participle is the last thing the Sanhedrin does in this scene.
τῷtōG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
ἸησοῦIēsouG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounDative Masculine Singular
λέγουσινlegousinG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
ΟὐκOukvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
οἴδαμενoidamenWe do not knowG1492
√ εἴδω — used only in certain past tenses, the others being borrowed from the equivalent G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι) and G3708 (ὁράω)VerbPerfect Indicative Active1st Person Plural
eídō: to know, to have seen Perfect with present force, from a root meaning to have seen and therefore to know. Their evasion is a lie told in the vocabulary of eyewitness: they had seen John, heard him and watched him die, as Pulpit insists, and the one verb they choose is the verb of having seen.
ΚαὶKaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἸησοῦςIēsousJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
λέγειlegeirepliedG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
légō: to say, to lay forth Historic present for the final word of the unit.
αὐτοῖςautois. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ΟὐδὲOudeNeitherG3761
√ οὐδέ — not however, iAdverb
oudé: neither, not however, not even A compound negative (ou plus de) that does not simply deny but answers a prior denial, so his refusal is grammatically fastened to theirs. Pulpit reads the reciprocity out of it: "Our Lord did thus but mete out to them the measure which they meted to him," and reports Jerome's judgment that they knew and would not answer, and he knew and did not speak because they were silent. ⚙ The particle therefore makes v. 33 an argument rather than a sulk: they have already conceded, by declining to rule on John, that they will not use the one criterion God gave them, and a court that will not apply its own standard has disqualified itself from hearing the case.
ἐγὼegō{will} IG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 1st Person Singular
egṓ: I Emphatic and unnecessary, therefore deliberate. Ellicott locates the whole stress of the sentence here. The pronoun that carries the weight belongs to the one person present whose authority was never in question.
λέγωlegōtellG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
légō: to tell Present, not future. He does not say he never will; he says that, as matters stand, he does not.
ὑμῖνhyminyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Plural
ἐνenbyG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ποίᾳpoiawhatG4169
√ ποῖος — individualizing interrogative (of character) what sort of, or (of number) which oneInterrogative / Indefinite PronounDative Feminine Singular
ἐξουσίᾳexousiaauthorityG1849
√ ἐξουσία — privilege, iNounDative Feminine Singular
exousía: authority The noun closes the unit exactly as it opened it in v. 28, unanswered and undiminished. Nothing has been conceded and nothing has been explained; the question has simply been returned to the people who could not afford to answer their own.
ποιῶpoiōI am doingG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
ταῦταtautathese thingsG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounAccusative Neuter Plural

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The deputation in the courts — Mark 11:27

Mark builds the verse as two arrivals in one verb. ἔρχονται (erchontai, G2064) stands at i 1 and again at i 19, a historic present both times: they come to the city, and they come to him. Between the two stands a genitive absolute, περιπατοῦντος, which Ellicott singles out as Mark's own: "Peculiar to St. Mark is the fact that our Lord was walking as well as teaching in the Temple." Poole thinks the two went together, "possibly he at the same time both walked and taught." The men who approach are not a mob. Cambridge, listing the three articles that head chief priests, scribes and elders, calls them "a formal deputation from the Sanhedrim," and traces the elders back through the Kings and the Captivity to the Exodus. Benson supplies the political reading: the rulers "feared that the people, on his account, would endeavour to shake off the Roman yoke," and so resolved to move "under pretext of law." ⚙ That is an inference from a nineteenth century commentator, not from Mark, and should be weighed as such; what the Greek itself gives is simply this, that the temple's own authorities had to come to a man who was already walking in the temple as though it were his house.

ii. Two questions, and one word back — Mark 11:28-11:30

The demand turns on ποίᾳ (poia, G4169), the interrogative of kind, and on ἐξουσίᾳ (exousia, G1849), which the verse uses twice in two different cases: the sphere he acts in (i 2) and a thing that can be handed over (i 14). Pulpit, following the reading ē for kai, sees the fork exactly: "the questions are directed to two things, was his authority inherent? or, was it derived?" Benson unpacks the first: "whether it was as a prophet, a priest, or a king." Cambridge names the actual grievance, that he taught "as a Rabbi, without any license from the Schools, which was contrary to the established rule," and notes that the same men had asked him the same thing three years earlier (John 2:18). The reply is one verb and one noun: Ἐπερωτήσω ... ἕνα λόγον, one word against their two questions. Gill hears Hebrew under logos, the word that "signifies both word and thing"; Pulpit allows the translation "one question." Then comes the word itself, βάπτισμα, fronted and doubly articulated, which Pulpit reads as "a synecdoche, the part put for the whole" of John's testimony. Cambridge explains why John and no one else: he was "the most recent upholder of the validity of the prophetic order in Israel." Twice, with no softening particle, comes the bare aorist imperative ἀποκρίθητέ μοι, which Pulpit calls "characteristic of St. Mark's style, and of our Lord's dignified earnestness."

iii. The reckoning, and the sentence that does not finish — Mark 11:31-11:32

διελογίζοντο (dielogizonto, G1260) is the accountant's verb, dia plus logizomai, to reckon thoroughly, in the imperfect: they kept calculating. Gill imagines the scene: "perhaps, they withdrew at a little distance for a short time." Pulpit describes them "like men anxious and perplexed." What they weigh is never whether John was sent from God, only what each answer will cost. Poole states the first cost plainly: "If they had said, From heaven, they had accused themselves for not believing him." The second cost is never even spoken. The sentence at v. 32 breaks off after ἀλλὰ εἴπωμεν Ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, and Cambridge marks the technique: "Observe the impressive abruptness here, which is more significant than the full expression of St Matthew and St Luke. They dared not face the alternative, and were driven to a feeble evasion." In place of the missing clause Mark writes ἐφοβοῦντο, imperfect, a standing fear, and then the crowd's verdict with the rare adverb ὄντως (G3689, 10 verses), which Ellicott calls "one of St. Mark's graphic touches of emphasis." Geneva turns the whole thing over in a line: "The reward of their evil conscience is to be afraid of those who should have been afraid of them."

iv. Two silences, not one — Mark 11:33

They answer with a perfect tense, οἴδαμεν, which Ellicott insists means "We do not know" and not "We cannot tell." Gill will not let it stand as ignorance: "they could, if they would, but they did not care to tell." Pulpit presses harder, since the verb they chose is the verb of having seen: "They had seen the life of John. They had heard his holy and Divine teaching. They were witnesses to his death for the truth; and yet they lie." The reply is built on Οὐδὲ and the emphatic ἐγὼ. Ellicott: "The real stress lies on the pronoun I." Pulpit reads the reciprocity: "Our Lord did thus but mete out to them the measure which they meted to him," and quotes Jerome to the effect that both sides knew and both withheld. Cambridge records an older maxim to the same end: "Him that inquires, we are bound to instruct; but him that tempts, we may defeat with a stroke of reasoning." ⚙ One grammatical detail deserves more weight than the commentators give it. In v. 29 the promise was future, ἐρῶ, "I will tell you." In v. 33 the refusal is present, λέγω, "neither do I tell you." Read strictly, the two silences are not the same silence. Theirs closes a door; his leaves a condition standing open.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ This is the tool's own fallible reading, offered to be tested against the text. The scene is usually read as a trap sprung and a mouth shut, and Henry's verdict ("they contended not for truth, but victory") is a fair summary of it. But the Greek keeps one door on its hinges. In v. 29 Jesus binds himself with a future indicative, ἐρῶ, "I will tell you," attached to an imperative: answer me. In v. 33 he does not cancel that promise with a future; he states a present fact with λέγω, "neither do I tell you." The condition failed, so the telling has not happened. Nothing in the tense says it never could. And notice what the counter question actually does. It does not demand that the Sanhedrin evaluate Jesus, a judgment they had no honest categories for. It hands them a simpler, older test, the one Israel had always had: was this man sent, or not? Deuteronomy 18 gave them the standard, the whole crowd had already applied it, and ὄντως (G3689) records the answer they reached. The tragedy of v. 32 is not that the question was too hard. It is that the men charged with answering it had made their office depend on not answering it. They had one verb for knowledge in their vocabulary, οἴδαμεν, the verb of having seen, and they used it to deny what they had seen. ⚙ If that reading holds, the refusal in v. 33 is not petulance and not merely tactical victory. It is an exact and merciful economy: he withholds the answer that would have convicted them, and leaves standing the question that could still have saved them. It should be tested, though, against the hard fact that Mark records no later moment in which they ask again.

Not a verse, a fallible synthesis line: they asked who had given him authority, and he asked only whether they could still tell when God had sent someone.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The same challenge in three Gospels verbal / quotation: confirmed

The whole unit stands in close verbal parallel with Matthew 21:23-27 and Luke 20:1-8. The Verifier finds the shared vocabulary running right through: ἱερόν, ἀρχιερεύς and πρεσβύτερος in the opening scene (Matthew 21:23); ποῖος, ἐξουσία and λόγος in the counter question (Matthew 21:24); βάπτισμα in the question about John (Matthew 21:25); ποῖος with ἐξουσία again at the close (Matthew 21:27, Luke 20:8). Ellicott, Barnes and JFB all handle Mark's account by referring the reader straight to Matthew 21:23-27. Cambridge, Poole and Gill note where Mark differs: the walking (v. 27), the bare "Answer me" (v. 30), the broken sentence (v. 32), the intensive ὄντως. ⚙ These are the marks of an independent telling of one remembered exchange, not of one text copied from another.

Matthew 21:23 · Matthew 21:24 · Matthew 21:25 · Matthew 21:27 · Luke 20:2 · Luke 20:8

basis: Verifier, Greek to Greek: shared lexemes G908 βάπτισμα (rare, in 19 vv) and G4169 ποῖος (in 32 vv) across Matthew 21:24-25 and Luke 20:2, with G1849 ἐξουσία (93 vv), G2411 ἱερόν (67 vv), G749 ἀρχιερεύς (119 vv), G4245 πρεσβύτερος (66 vv) and G3056 λόγος (318 vv) supporting. The rare lexemes carry the verbal tier; this is a synoptic parallel of the same pericope, not one book quoting another.

The test Israel already had: was he sent? structural / thematic: confirmed

⚙ The counter question in v. 30 does not invent a new standard. Deuteronomy 18:20-22 gives Israel one question to put to any man who speaks in God's name: was he sent, or did he presume? Jesus asks precisely that about John, using ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἢ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων (G1537 with G3772 and G444), heaven or men, source or self-appointment. Poole defines the title at issue in the same terms Deuteronomy uses: a prophet is "one extraordinarily inspired and sent of God to reveal his will." Cambridge calls John "the most recent upholder of the validity of the prophetic order in Israel." The men who could not answer were the men whose office existed to adjudicate exactly this. The link is a shared legal pattern read across the Testaments, so no lexical basis can be computed for it.

Deuteronomy 18:20 · Deuteronomy 18:21 · Deuteronomy 18:22

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek to Hebrew), so shared Strong's numbers are impossible and no verbal tier is available. The recorded basis is a shared legal structure, the two-source test for a prophet (sent by God, or speaking presumptuously), stated in Deuteronomy 18:20-22 and used as the form of the question in Mark 11:30. Poole's definition of prophet in the brief supplies the bridge; no quotation is claimed.

The messenger before the face: John and Malachi typological

⚙ The reason John's baptism can settle the question of Jesus' authority is that John was not a freelance preacher but the expected forerunner. Malachi 3:1 promises a messenger sent ahead to prepare the way before the Lord who then comes suddenly to his temple, and Malachi 4:5-6 names an Elijah before the great day. Mark 11:27 sets the confrontation in that very temple. Pulpit draws the argument out in full: "If he had it from God, as all will confess, then I too have the same from God; for John testified of me." Cambridge, in the same direction, says John "had distinctly testified to the Messianic authority of our Lord." The identification of John with Malachi's messenger is ancient and widely held rather than novel, but it is a figural reading of the prophets onto the Gospel scene, so it is tiered typological and not verbal.

Malachi 3:1 · Malachi 4:5 · Malachi 4:6

basis: Cross-Testament figural link (Greek to Hebrew), so no shared Strong's lexeme is computable and no verbal tier is possible. The basis is the forerunner pattern: a messenger sent to prepare the way, followed by the Lord's coming to his temple. Attestation is ancient and widely held; the brief's own support is indirect (Pulpit and Cambridge on John's testimony), so the typology is marked rather than asserted as proved.

The prophet in the temple gate whom they feared to touch structural / thematic: confirmed

⚙ Jeremiah 7:2 stations the prophet in the gate of the Lord's house to speak against the men who trust in the temple, and Jeremiah 26:1-11 has the priests and prophets seize him for it in those same courts, where the fear of the people is what decides the outcome. Mark 11:27-32 stages the identical configuration: the temple precinct (ἱερῷ, G2411), a deputation from the ruling body, and an imperfect of fear, ἐφοβοῦντο (G5399), which stops them doing what they intend. Cambridge's note that this was "a formal deputation from the Sanhedrim" and Pulpit's remark that "they did not like to confess that they feared the people" describe a scene Jeremiah's readers would have recognized. This is a shared pattern, not a quotation.

Jeremiah 7:2 · Jeremiah 26:8 · Jeremiah 26:11

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek to Hebrew): no shared Strong's numbers are possible, so no verbal tier. The recorded basis is a repeated scene shape, prophet speaking in the temple court, official body moving against him, popular opinion restraining them. No quotation or citation is claimed in either direction.

Fear as the ruling principle: Micaiah and Zechariah structural / thematic: confirmed

⚙ Two older scenes show the same mechanism at work from opposite sides. In 1 Kings 22:8 Ahab admits he hates Micaiah because the man tells him the truth, and the court manages the prophet rather than hearing him. In 2 Chronicles 24:20-22 Zechariah stands in the court of the house of the Lord, is stoned at the king's command, and dies asking the Lord to see it. Between the two stands Mark 11:32, where the council believes what the crowd believes about John but cannot say so, and where the imperfect ἐφοβοῦντο records fear of men as the settled state of the men who administer the house of God. Geneva puts the irony exactly: "The reward of their evil conscience is to be afraid of those who should have been afraid of them."

1 Kings 22:8 · 2 Chronicles 24:20 · 2 Chronicles 24:21

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek to Hebrew), so no computed lexical basis is available and no verbal tier. The basis is a shared motif recorded in the brief's own voices (Geneva on fear of the people, Pulpit on their refusal to confess it) set against two Old Testament scenes of authority silencing or fearing a prophet. Thematic only; no quotation claimed.

ὄντως: the word for what a thing really is structural / thematic: confirmed

The adverb ὄντως (ontōs, G3689) is rare, appearing in only ten verses, and it is built from the participle of the verb "to be," so it asserts actuality rather than reputation. In Mark 11:32 it is the crowd's judgment on John: he really was a prophet. Elsewhere it does the same work at the highest stakes. John 8:36 uses it of freedom that is real freedom; 1 Timothy 6:19 of laying hold on life that is really life; Galatians 3:21 of a law that could really give life, and could not. ⚙ In each case the word separates the genuine article from the plausible imitation. That is exactly the distinction the Sanhedrin refuses to make in this unit.

John 8:36 · 1 Timothy 6:19 · Galatians 3:21

basis: Verifier, Greek to Greek: shared lexeme G3689 ὄντως, rare at only 10 verses in the canon. The rarity would permit a verbal tier, but there is no quotation, allusion or citation between these passages, only a distinctive word used in comparable ways, so the tier is deliberately downgraded to thematic.

The same demand, three years earlier flagged: verify source

Cambridge, on v. 28, records that this was not the first time: "The same question had been put to Him three years before and by the same persons (John 2:18)." There the setting was also the temple and the provocation was also a cleansing of it, and the sign asked for was answered with a saying about the temple of his body. ⚙ If Cambridge is right, Mark 11:27-33 closes a bracket opened at the start of the ministry, and the authorities' position has not moved in three years while the crowd's has.

John 2:18 · John 2:19

basis: Flagged deliberately. No Verifier candidate was computed for this pair, so there is no lexical basis whatever to record, and the claim that the questioners of John 2:18 are "the same persons" as the Sanhedrin deputation of Mark 11:27 is Cambridge's identification (1880s), not something either text states. It also presupposes a harmonization of John's temple cleansing with the Synoptic one, which is long contested. Verify against the sources before relying on this link.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

Authority that is not granted ancient/widely-held

The deputation's two questions assume one thing between them: that ἐξουσία (G1849) is always a thing handed over, so the only real question is who signed. Pulpit sees the fork they built: "was his authority inherent? or, was it derived?" ⚙ The dative at v. 28 i 2 asks in what sphere he acts; the accusative at i 14 asks who gave the thing away. He answers neither, and the refusal itself is the claim. Henry's reading is the ancient one and it is grounded in the works, not in a title: "the works he did, told them plainly he had authority from God; since no man could do the miracles which he did, unless God were with him." Gill lists what they had watched him do, entering the temple "as if he was Lord of it" and correcting its abuses "in such a magisterial way." A man acting on a delegated commission produces the commission. This one walks in the courts (Mark 11:27) as a son walks through his father's house, and Mark has already told his readers whose house it is by putting the cleansing two days behind this scene.

Mark 11:27 · Mark 11:28 · Mark 11:33

The forerunner's witness is the answer ancient/widely-held

Jesus does not change the subject in v. 30; he answers by proxy. Pulpit lays the logic out in full: "You ask from whence I derive my authority, from God or from men? I in my turn ask you from whom did John the Baptist derive his authority to baptize and to teach? ... If he had it from God, as all will confess, then I too have the same from God; for John testified of me." Cambridge agrees that John "had distinctly testified to the Messianic authority of our Lord." Henry sees the two ministries as one movement: "how near akin his doctrine and baptism were to those of John; they had the same design and tendency, to bring in the gospel kingdom." ⚙ So the question that looks like an evasion is in fact the most direct answer available. Settle the standing of the forerunner and the standing of the one he announced is settled with it. The crowd had already done the arithmetic and reached the right answer with the rare adverb ὄντως; the council could not afford to.

Mark 11:30 · Mark 11:32 · John 1:29

The silence in the court, and the answer given under oath novel

⚙ This is offered as a novel structural observation, not as a received reading, and should be weighed accordingly. Mark stages two confrontations between Jesus and this same body over the same issue. Here in the temple courts they demand to know by what authority, and he declines with a present tense, λέγω, "neither do I tell you." Ellicott locates the whole weight of that sentence on the emphatic pronoun ἐγὼ, one man set over against a council. In Mark 14:61-62, before the same council, the question is finally put in a form he will answer, and the answer costs him his life. ⚙ What is withheld in Mark 11:33 is not withheld forever, and the difference is not a change of mind but a change of venue: in the court of the temple the question was a trap laid by men who would not say what they knew; at the trial it was an oath, and he answered it. Pulpit notes the reciprocity of this scene, "Our Lord did thus but mete out to them the measure which they meted to him," and reports Jerome's judgment that they knew and would not answer, and he knew and did not speak because they were silent. The present tense of v. 33 leaves the door on its hinges; Mark 14 shows who walks through it and at what price.

Mark 11:33 · Mark 14:61 · Mark 14:62

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Text. Scripture is the Berean Standard Bible (CC0); the Greek, transliterations, glosses, Strong's numbers and parsings are the Berean interlinear as supplied in the brief. One textual variant is recorded by a source rather than by the apparatus: at Mark 11:28 the Pulpit Commentary states that "according to the best reading" the second question begins with ἤ (or) rather than καὶ (and). The interlinear here carries ἢ at i 8, so the two agree, but readers using the King James text will find "and who gave thee."

Sources. Ten public-domain commentators are present for this unit, but two of them contribute nothing substantive: Barnes refers the reader to his notes on Matthew (and the reference as printed reads "Matthew 20:23-27," evidently an error for 21:23-27), and JFB likewise refers to Matthew 21:23-27. Poole, at vv. 28, 30, 31, 32 and 33, refers back to his own earlier notes. No voice has been drawn from Barnes or JFB for that reason, and Poole is cited only where his text is substantive, at v. 29 and v. 31. Henry's entry is the same block of Concise Commentary repeated at every verse in the unit, so it is quoted once. One Pulpit sentence at v. 30 contains "nil his preaching," plainly a typographical corruption of "all his preaching"; it is reproduced as the source has it and flagged in the editorial note rather than silently repaired.

What is uncertain. Benson's account of the Sanhedrin's motive (fear of a revolt against Rome, a prior resolution to destroy him under colour of law) is historical reconstruction; Mark 11:18 supports the intent to destroy him, but the political rationale is Benson's inference. Cambridge's cross-reference to John 2:18 is a commentator's judgment with no computed lexical basis behind it, and it presupposes a harmonization of the Johannine and Synoptic temple cleansings that has long been contested, so that thread is badged flagged rather than confirmed. The identification of John with Malachi's messenger is ancient and widely held but is a figural reading, badged typological, not verbal. The third Christ entry (the silence here set against the answer at Mark 14:61-62) is marked novel: it is the tool's own structural observation from the tense of λέγω in v. 33, and no commentator in the brief draws it. Every cross-Testament thread in this unit is tiered structural or typological, since shared Strong's numbers cannot exist between Greek and Hebrew texts and no formal Old Testament quotation occurs anywhere in Mark 11:27-33.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)