Mark 2:16-18 New English Translation
16 When the experts in the law[a] and the Pharisees[b] saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”[c] 17 When Jesus heard this he said to them, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do.[d] I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The Superiority of the New
18 Now[e] John’s[f] disciples and the Pharisees[g] were fasting.[h] So[i] they came to Jesus[j] and said, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?”
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- Mark 2:16 tn Or “the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
- Mark 2:16 sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.
- Mark 2:16 sn The issue here is inappropriate associations. Jews were very careful about personal associations and contact as a matter of ritual cleanliness. Their question borders on an accusation that Jesus is ritually unclean.
- Mark 2:17 sn Jesus’ point is that he associates with those who are sick because they have the need and will respond to the offer of help. A person who is healthy (or who thinks mistakenly that he is) will not seek treatment.
- Mark 2:18 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
- Mark 2:18 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
- Mark 2:18 sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.
- Mark 2:18 sn John’s disciples and the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29-34; 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.
- Mark 2:18 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate that in the narrative this question happened as a result of the fasting of John’s disciples and the Pharisees.
- Mark 2:18 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
New English Translation (NET)
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