Matthew 27:50-54

27:50 Then Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit. 27:51 Just then ¹  the temple curtain ²  was torn in two, from top to bottom. The ³  earth shook and the rocks were split apart. 27:52 And tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had died ⁴  were raised. 27:53 (They ⁵  came out of the tombs after his resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.) 27:54 Now when the centurion ⁶  and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and what took place, they were extremely terrified and said, “Truly this one was God’s Son!”

Acts 2:41

2:41 So those who accepted ⁷  his message ⁸  were baptized, and that day about three thousand people ⁹  were added. ¹⁰ 

Acts 4:4

4:4 But many of those who had listened to ¹¹  the message ¹²  believed, and the number of the men ¹³  came to about five thousand.

Romans 1:4

1:4 who was appointed the Son-of-God-in-power ¹⁴  according to the Holy Spirit ¹⁵  by the resurrection ¹⁶  from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁷  a slave ¹⁸  of Christ Jesus, ¹⁹  called to be an apostle, ²⁰  set apart for the gospel of God. ²¹ 

Romans 2:15-16

2:15 They ²²  show that the work of the law is written ²³  in their hearts, as their conscience bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or else defend ²⁴  them, ²⁵  2:16 on the day when God will judge ²⁶  the secrets of human hearts, ²⁷  according to my gospel ²⁸  through Christ Jesus.

¹ tn Grk “And behold.”

² tn The referent of this term, καταπέτασμα (katapetasma), is not entirely clear. It could refer to the curtain separating the holy of holies from the holy place (Josephus, J. W. 5.5.5 [5.219]), or it could refer to one at the entrance of the temple court (Josephus, J. W. 5.5.4 [5.212]). Many argue that the inner curtain is meant because another term, κάλυμμα (kalumma), is also used for the outer curtain. Others see a reference to the outer curtain as more likely because of the public nature of this sign. Either way, the symbolism means that access to God has been opened up. It also pictures a judgment that includes the sacrifices.

³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

⁴ tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for the death of a believer.

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

⁶ sn See the note on the word centurion in Matt 8:5.

⁷ tn Or “who acknowledged the truth of.”

⁸ tn Grk “word.”

⁹ tn Grk “souls” (here an idiom for the whole person).

¹⁰ tn Or “were won over.”

¹¹ tn Or “had heard.”

¹² tn Or “word.”

¹³ tn In the historical setting it is likely that only men are referred to here. The Greek term ἀνήρ (anhr) usually refers to males or husbands rather than people in general. Thus to translate “of the people” would give a false impression of the number, since any women and children were apparently not included in the count.

¹⁴ sn Appointed the Son-of-God-in-power. Most translations render the Greek participle ὁρισθέντος (Jorisqentos, from ὁρίζω, Jorizw) “declared” or “designated” in order to avoid the possible interpretation that Jesus was appointed the Son of God by the resurrection. However, the Greek term ὁρίζω is used eight times in the NT, and it always has the meaning “to determine, appoint.” Paul is not saying that Jesus was appointed the “Son of God by the resurrection” but “Son-of-God-in-power by the resurrection,” as indicated by the hyphenation. He was born in weakness in human flesh (with respect to the flesh, v. 3) and he was raised with power. This is similar to Matt 28:18 where Jesus told his disciples after the resurrection, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “spirit of holiness.” Some interpreters take the phrase to refer to Christ’s own inner spirit, which was characterized by holiness.

¹⁶ tn Or “by his resurrection.” Most interpreters see this as a reference to Jesus’ own resurrection, although some take it to refer to the general resurrection at the end of the age, of which Jesus’ resurrection is the first installment (cf. 1 Cor 15:23).

¹⁷ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

¹⁸ tn Traditionally, “servant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

¹⁹ tc Many important mss, as well as several others (̲⁶ א A G Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï), have a reversed order of these words and read “Jesus Christ” rather than “Christ Jesus” (̹⁰ B 81 pc). The meaning is not affected in either case, but the reading “Christ Jesus” is preferred as slightly more difficult and thus more likely the original (a scribe who found it would be prone to change it to the more common expression). At the same time, Paul is fond of the order “Christ Jesus,” especially in certain letters such as Romans, Galatians, and Philippians. As well, the later Pauline letters almost uniformly use this order in the salutations. A decision is difficult, but “Christ Jesus” is slightly preferred.

²⁰ tn Grk “a called apostle.”

²¹ tn The genitive in the phrase εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ (euangelion qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as (1) a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or (2) an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself. However, in view of God’s action in v. 2 concerning this gospel, a subjective genitive notion (“the gospel which God brings”) is slightly preferred.

²² tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

²³ tn Grk “show the work of the law [to be] written,” with the words in brackets implied by the Greek construction.

²⁴ tn Or “excuse.”

²⁵ tn Grk “their conscience bearing witness and between the thoughts accusing or also defending one another.”

²⁶ tn The form of the Greek word is either present or future, but it is best to translate in future because of the context of future judgment.

²⁷ tn Grk “of people.”

²⁸ sn On my gospel cf. Rom 16:25; 2 Tim 2:8.