Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Mark 12:15

εἰδὼς αὐτῶν τὴν ὑπόκρισιν. All three point out that Christ saw their insidious acting, but each uses a different verb and substantive. Mt. γνοὺς πονηρίαν, while Lk. has his favourite κατανοήσας with πανουργίαν. One might have expected Mt. to prefer εἰδώς (intuitive knowledge) to γνούς (knowledge gained by experience).

Τί με πειράζετε; Christ knew why, but His question shows them that He is aware that their question is a trap.

φέρετέ μοι δηνάριον. Bring Me a denarius; φέρετε has far more point than δείξατε (Lk.) or ἐπιδείξατε (Mt.). Christ knew that no one would have heathen money about him; and, as He had banished the money-changers from the Temple, it would have to be fetched from outside. This involved a pause, during which the by-standers would speculate as to why Christ had sent for τὸ νόμισμα τοῦ κήνσου (Mt.), the coin in which the poll-tax was paid. See on Mark 6:37.

ἵνα ἴδω. Mk only, but implied in δείξατε. This is part of the acted lesson. It is unlikely that Christ had never seen a denarius. He knows that it will be stamped as Caesar’s. The copper coins of the Procurators had no “image” or other figure likely to offend the Jews. [2859][2860][2861][2862] have ἵνα εἰδῶ (Mark 2:10); “that I may know the answer to your question.”

[2859] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[2860] Codex Alexandrinus. 5th cent. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to King Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. The whole Gospel. Photographic facsimile, 1879.
[2861] Codex Ephraemi. 5th cent. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out, and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it; but a great deal of the original writing has been recovered; of Mark we have Mark 1:17 to Mark 6:31; Mark 8:5 to Mark 12:29; Mark 13:19 to Mark 16:20. In the National Library at Paris.

[2862] Codex Bezae. 6th cent. Has a Latin translation (d) side by side with the Greek text, and the two do not quite always agree. Presented by Beza to the University Library of Cambridge in 1581. Remarkable for its frequent divergences from other texts. Contains Mark, except Mark 16:15-20, which has been added by a later hand. Photographic facsimile, 1899.

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Mark 12:15

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