7:28 When 3 Jesus finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed by his teaching, 7:29 because he taught them like one who had authority, 4 not like their experts in the law. 5
4:1 Then 10 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River 11 and was led by the Spirit 12 in 13 the wilderness, 14
1 tn Grk “the flesh counts for nothing.”
2 tn Or “are spirit-giving and life-producing.”
3 tn Grk “And it happened when.” The introductory phrase καὶ ἐγένετο (kai egeneto, “it happened that”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
4 sn Jesus’ teaching impressed the hearers with the directness of its claim; he taught with authority. A study of Jewish rabbinic interpretation shows that it was typical to cite a list of authorities to make one’s point. Apparently Jesus addressed the issues in terms of his own understanding.
5 tn Or “their scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
6 tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
7 sn They were amazed. The astonishment shown here is like that in Luke 2:48.
8 tn Grk “because his word was.”
9 sn Jesus’ teaching impressed the hearers with the directness of its claim (with authority). A study of Jewish rabbinic interpretation shows that it was typical to cite a list of authorities to make one’s point. Apparently Jesus addressed the issues in terms of his own understanding.
10 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate continuity with the previous topic.
11 tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.
12 sn The double mention of the Spirit in this verse makes it clear that the temptation was neither the fault of Jesus nor an accident.
13 tc Most
14 tn Or “desert.”
15 tn BDAG 812 s.v. πιθανολογία states, “persuasive speech, art of persuasion (so Pla., Theaet. 162e) in an unfavorable sense in its only occurrence in our lit. ἐν πιθανολογίᾳ by specious arguments Col 2:4 (cp. PLips 40 III, 7 διὰ πιθανολογίας).”
16 sn Paul’s point is that even though the arguments seem to make sense (sound reasonable), they are in the end false. Paul is not here arguing against the study of philosophy or serious thinking per se, but is arguing against the uncritical adoption of a philosophy that is at odds with a proper view of Christ and the ethics of the Christian life.
17 tn The conditional particle εἰ (ei) together with καί (kai) here indicates a first class condition in Greek and carries a concessive force, especially when seen in contrast to the following phrase which begins with ἀλλά (alla).
18 tn Grk “rejoicing and seeing.”
19 tn The Greek word τάξις can mean “order,” “discipline,” or even “unbroken ranks” (REB).
20 tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.