3:31 Then 1 Jesus’ 2 mother and his brothers 3 came. Standing 4 outside, they sent word to him, to summon him.
1 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
2 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 sn The issue of whether Jesus had brothers (siblings) has had a long history in the church. Epiphanius, in the 4th century, argued that Mary was a perpetual virgin and had no offspring other than Jesus. Others argued that these brothers were really cousins. Nothing in the text suggests any of this. See also John 7:3.
4 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
1 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.
1 tn The imperfect ἐδίδασκεν (edidasken) is here taken ingressively.
2 sn A quotation from Isa 56:7.
3 tn Or “a hideout” (see L&N 1.57).
4 sn A quotation from Jer 7:11. The meaning of Jesus’ statement about making the temple courts a den of robbers probably operates here at two levels. Not only were the religious leaders robbing the people financially, but because of this they had also robbed them spiritually by stealing from them the opportunity to come to know God genuinely. It is possible that these merchants had recently been moved to this location for convenience.