Acts 1:8

1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts ¹  of the earth.”

Acts 4:19-20

4:19 But Peter and John replied, ²  “Whether it is right before God to obey ³  you rather than God, you decide, 4:20 for it is impossible ⁴  for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.”

Acts 5:20

5:20 “Go and stand in the temple courts ⁵  and proclaim ⁶  to the people all the words of this life.”

Acts 5:29-32

5:29 But Peter and the apostles replied, ⁷  “We must obey ⁸  God rather than people. ⁹  5:30 The God of our forefathers ¹⁰  raised up Jesus, whom you seized and killed by hanging him on a tree. ¹¹  5:31 God exalted him ¹²  to his right hand as Leader ¹³  and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ¹⁴  5:32 And we are witnesses of these events, ¹⁵  and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey ¹⁶  him.”

Matthew 28:19-20

28:19 Therefore go ¹⁷  and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ¹⁸  28:20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, ¹⁹  I am with you ²⁰  always, to the end of the age.” ²¹ 

Mark 16:15-16

16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16:16 The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned.

Luke 24:47-48

24:47 and repentance ²²  for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed ²³  in his name to all nations, ²⁴  beginning from Jerusalem. ²⁵  24:48 You are witnesses ²⁶  of these things.

John 21:21-22

21:21 So when Peter saw him, ²⁷  he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” 21:22 Jesus replied, ²⁸  “If I want him to live ²⁹  until I come back, ³⁰  what concern is that of yours? You follow me!”

[1:8]  ¹ tn Or “to the ends.”

[4:19]  ² tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[4:19]  ³ tn Grk “hear,” but the idea of “hear and obey” or simply “obey” is frequently contained in the Greek verb ἀκούω (akouw; see L&N 36.14).

[4:20]  ⁴ tn Grk “for we are not able not to speak about what we have seen and heard,” but the double negative, which cancels out in English, is emphatic in Greek. The force is captured somewhat by the English translation “it is impossible for us not to speak…” although this is slightly awkward.

[5:20]  ⁵ tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

[5:20]  ⁶ tn Or “speak.”

[5:29]  ⁷ tn Grk “apostles answered and said.”

[5:29]  ⁸ sn Obey. See 4:19. This response has Jewish roots (Dan 3:16-18; 2 Macc 7:2; Josephus, Ant. 17.6.3 [17.159].

[5:29]  ⁹ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[5:30]  ¹⁰ tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”

[5:30]  ¹¹ tn Or “by crucifying him” (“hang on a tree” is by the time of the first century an idiom for crucifixion). The allusion is to the judgment against Jesus as a rebellious figure, appealing to the language of Deut 21:23. The Jewish leadership has badly “misjudged” Jesus.

[5:31]  ¹² tn Grk “This one God exalted” (emphatic).

[5:31]  ¹³ tn Or “Founder” (of a movement).

[5:31]  ¹⁴ tn Or “to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.”

[5:32]  ¹⁵ tn Or “things.” They are preaching these things even to the hostile leadership.

[5:32]  ¹⁶ sn Those who obey. The implication, of course, is that the leadership is disobeying God.

[28:19]  ¹⁷ tn “Go…baptize…teach” are participles modifying the imperative verb “make disciples.” According to ExSyn 645 the first participle (πορευθέντες, poreuqentes, “Go”) fits the typical structural pattern for the attendant circumstance participle (aorist participle preceding aorist main verb, with the mood of the main verb usually imperative or indicative) and thus picks up the mood (imperative in this case) from the main verb (μαθητεύσατε, maqhteusate, “make disciples”). This means that semantically the action of “going” is commanded, just as “making disciples” is. As for the two participles that follow the main verb (βαπτίζοντες, baptizontes, “baptizing”; and διδάσκοντες, didaskontes, “teaching”), these do not fit the normal pattern for attendant circumstance participles, since they are present participles and follow the aorist main verb. However, some interpreters do see them as carrying additional imperative force in context. Others regard them as means, manner, or even result.

[28:19]  ¹⁸ tc Although some scholars have denied that the trinitarian baptismal formula in the Great Commission was a part of the original text of Matthew, there is no ms support for their contention. F. C. Conybeare, “The Eusebian Form of the Text of Mt. 28:19,” ZNW 2 (1901): 275-88, based his view on a faulty reading of Eusebius’ quotations of this text. The shorter reading has also been accepted, on other grounds, by a few other scholars. For discussion (and refutation of the conjecture that removes this baptismal formula), see B. J. Hubbard, The Matthean Redaction of a Primitive Apostolic Commissioning (SBLDS 19), 163-64, 167-75; and Jane Schaberg, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (SBLDS 61), 27-29.

[28:20]  ¹⁹ tn The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has been translated here as “remember” (BDAG 468 s.v. 1.c).

[28:20]  ²⁰ sn I am with you. Matthew’s Gospel begins with the prophecy that the Savior’s name would be “Emmanuel, that is, ‘God with us,’” (1:23, in which the author has linked Isa 7:14 and 8:8, 10 together) and it ends with Jesus’ promise to be with his disciples forever. The Gospel of Matthew thus forms an inclusio about Jesus in his relationship to his people that suggests his deity.

[28:20]  ²¹ tc Most mss (A^c Θ Ë¹³ Ï it sy) have ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of v. 20. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, no good reason exists for the omission of the particle in significant and early witnesses such as א A* B D W ˹ 33 al lat sa.

[24:47]  ²² sn This repentance has its roots in declarations of the Old Testament. It is the Hebrew concept of a turning of direction.

[24:47]  ²³ tn Or “preached,” “announced.”

[24:47]  ²⁴ sn To all nations. The same Greek term (τὰ ἔθνη, ta eqnh) may be translated “the Gentiles” or “the nations.” The hope of God in Christ was for all the nations from the beginning.

[24:47]  ²⁵ sn Beginning from Jerusalem. See Acts 2, which is where it all starts.

[24:48]  ²⁶ sn You are witnesses. This becomes a key concept of testimony in Acts. See Acts 1:8.

[21:21]  ²⁷ tn Grk “saw this one.”

[21:22]  ²⁸ tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

[21:22]  ²⁹ tn Grk “to stay” or “to remain”; but since longevity is the issue in the context, “to live” conveys the idea more clearly.

[21:22]  ³⁰ tn The word “back” is supplied to clarify the meaning.