Mark 9:16 (WEB)

Passage

He asked the scribes, “What are you asking them?”

Nearby Context

Mark 9:14 Coming to the disciples, he saw a great multitude around them, and scribes questioning them.

Mark 9:15 Immediately all the multitude, when they saw him, were greatly amazed, and running to him, greeted him.

Mark 9:16 He asked the scribes, “What are you asking them?”

Mark 9:17 One of the multitude answered, “Teacher, I brought to you my son, who has a mute spirit;

Mark 9:18 and wherever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and wastes away. I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they weren’t able.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "asked", "scribes", and "asking". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "asked" and "scribes", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Immediately all the multitude when they saw..." into verse 17's "One of the multitude answered Teacher I...", so "asked" and "scribes" belong inside that flow. In Mark context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "asked" and "scribes" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.