Galatians 1:11-12

Paul’s Vindication of His Apostleship

1:11 Now ¹  I want you to know, brothers and sisters, ²  that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. ³  1:12 For I did not receive it or learn it from any human source; ⁴  instead I received it ⁵  by a revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁶ 

Galatians 2:1

Confirmation from the Jerusalem Apostles

2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem ⁷  again with Barnabas, taking Titus along too.

Galatians 2:6

2:6 But from those who were influential ⁸  (whatever they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism between people ⁹ ) – those influential leaders ¹⁰  added ¹¹  nothing to my message. ¹² 

Deuteronomy 33:9

33:9 He said to his father and mother, “I have not seen him,” ¹³ 

and he did not acknowledge his own brothers

or know his own children,

for they kept your word,

and guarded your covenant.

Luke 9:23-25

A Call to Discipleship

9:23 Then ¹⁴  he said to them all, ¹⁵  “If anyone wants to become my follower, ¹⁶  he must deny ¹⁷  himself, take up his cross daily, ¹⁸  and follow me. 9:24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, ¹⁹  but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 9:25 For what does it benefit a person ²⁰  if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself?

Luke 9:59-62

9:59 Jesus ²¹  said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, ²²  “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 9:60 But Jesus ²³  said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, ²⁴  but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ²⁵  9:61 Yet ²⁶  another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.” ²⁷  9:62 Jesus ²⁸  said to him, “No one who puts his ²⁹  hand to the plow and looks back ³⁰  is fit for the kingdom of God.” ³¹ 

Acts 26:19-20

26:19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, ³²  I was not disobedient ³³  to the heavenly ³⁴  vision, 26:20 but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, ³⁵  and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, ³⁶  performing deeds consistent with ³⁷  repentance.

Acts 26:2

26:2 “Regarding all the things I have been accused of by the Jews, King Agrippa, ³⁸  I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today,

Colossians 1:16

1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, ³⁹  whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.

[1:11]  ¹ tc ‡ The conjunction δέ (de) is found in Ì⁴⁶ א*^,2 A D¹ Ψ 1739 1881 Ï sy bo, while γάρ (gar) is the conjunction of choice in א¹ B D*^,c F G 33 pc lat sa. There are thus good representatives on each side. Scribes generally tended to prefer γάρ in such instances, most likely because it was more forceful and explicit. γάρ is thus seen as a motivated reading. For this reason, δέ is preferred.

[1:11]  ² tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:11]  ³ tn Grk “is not according to man.”

[1:12]  ⁴ tn Or “I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it.”

[1:12]  ⁵ tn The words “I received it” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[1:12]  ⁶ tn It is difficult to determine what kind of genitive ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Ihsou Cristou) is. If it is a subjective genitive, the meaning is “a revelation from Jesus Christ” but if objective genitive, it is “a revelation about Jesus Christ.” Most likely this is objective since the explanation in vv. 15-16 mentions God revealing the Son to Paul so that he might preach, although the idea of a direct revelation to Paul at some point cannot be ruled out.

[2:1]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:6]  ⁸ tn Or “influential leaders.” BDAG 255 s.v. δοκέω 2.a.β has “the influential men Gal 2:2, 6b. A fuller expr. w. the same mng., w. inf. added…vss. 6a, 9.” This refers to the leadership of the Jerusalem church.

[2:6]  ⁹ tn Grk “God does not receive the face of man,” an idiom for showing favoritism or partiality (BDAG 887-88 s.v. πρόσωπον 1.b.α; L&N 88.238).

[2:6]  ¹⁰ tn Or “influential people”; here “leaders” was used rather than “people” for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy with the word “people” in the previous parenthetical remark. See also the note on the word “influential” at the beginning of this verse.

[2:6]  ¹¹ tn Or “contributed.” This is the same word translated “go to ask advice from” in 1:16, but it has a different meaning here; see L&N 59.72.

[2:6]  ¹² tn Or “added nothing to my authority.” Grk “added nothing to me,” with what was added (“message,” etc.) implied.

[33:9]  ¹³ sn This statement no doubt alludes to the Levites’ destruction of their own fellow tribesmen following the golden calf incident (Exod 32:25-29).

[9:23]  ¹⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:23]  ¹⁵ sn Here them all could be limited to the disciples, since Jesus was alone with them in v. 18. It could also be that by this time the crowd had followed and found him, and he addressed them, or this could be construed as a separate occasion from the discussion with the disciples in 9:18-22. The cost of discipleship is something Jesus was willing to tell both insiders and outsiders about. The rejection he felt would also fall on his followers.

[9:23]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “to come after me.”

[9:23]  ¹⁷ tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.

[9:23]  ¹⁸ sn Only Luke mentions taking up one’s cross daily. To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.

[9:24]  ¹⁹ sn The point of the saying whoever wants to save his life will lose it is that if one comes to Jesus then rejection by many will certainly follow. If self-protection is a key motivation, then one will not respond to Jesus and will not be saved. One who is willing to risk rejection will respond and find true life.

[9:25]  ²⁰ tn Grk “a man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here to refer to both men and women.

[9:59]  ²¹ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:59]  ²² tn Grk “said.”

[9:60]  ²³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:60]  ²⁴ sn There are several options for the meaning of Jesus’ reply Leave the dead to bury their own dead: (1) Recent research suggests that burial customs in the vicinity of Jerusalem from about 20 b.c. to a.d. 70 involved a reinterment of the bones a year after the initial burial, once the flesh had rotted away. At that point the son would have placed his father’s bones in a special box known as an ossuary to be set into the wall of the tomb. Thus Jesus could well be rebuking the man for wanting to wait around for as much as a year before making a commitment to follow him. In 1st century Jewish culture, to have followed Jesus rather than burying one’s father would have seriously dishonored one’s father (cf. Tobit 4:3-4). (2) The remark is an idiom (possibly a proverbial saying) that means, “The matter in question is not the real issue,” in which case Jesus was making a wordplay on the wording of the man’s (literal) request (see L&N 33.137). (3) This remark could be a figurative reference to various kinds of people, meaning, “Let the spiritually dead bury the dead.” (4) It could also be literal and designed to shock the hearer by the surprise of the contrast. Whichever option is preferred, it is clear that the most important priority is to preach the gospel (proclaim the kingdom of God).

[9:60]  ²⁵ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[9:61]  ²⁶ tn Grk “And another also said.”

[9:61]  ²⁷ tn Grk “to those in my house.”

[9:62]  ²⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:62]  ²⁹ tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[9:62]  ³⁰ sn Jesus warns that excessive concern for family ties (looks back) will make the kingdom a lesser priority, which is not appropriate for discipleship. The image is graphic, for who can plow straight ahead toward a goal while looking back? Discipleship cannot be double-minded.

[9:62]  ³¹ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[26:19]  ³² sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[26:19]  ³³ sn I was not disobedient. Paul’s defense is that he merely obeyed the risen Jesus. He was arrested for obeying heavenly direction and preaching the opportunity to turn to God.

[26:19]  ³⁴ tn According to L&N 1.5, “In Ac 26:19 the adjective οὐράνιος could be interpreted as being related simply to the meaning of οὐρανός^a ‘sky,’ but it seems preferable to regard οὐράνιος in this context as meaning simply ‘from heaven’ or ‘heavenly.’”

[26:20]  ³⁵ tn BDAG 1093-94 s.v. χώρα 2.b states, “of the provincial name (1 Macc 8:3) ἡ χώρα τῆς ᾿Ιουδαίας Ac 26:20.”

[26:20]  ³⁶ sn That they should repent and turn to God. This is the shortest summary of Paul’s message that he preached.

[26:20]  ³⁷ tn BDAG 93 s.v. ἄξιος 1.b, “καρποὶ ἄ. τῆς μετανοίας fruits in keeping with your repentance…Lk 3:8; Mt 3:8. For this ἄ. τῆς μετανοίας ἔργα Ac 26:20.” Note how Paul preached the gospel offer and the issue of response together, side by side.

[26:2]  ³⁸ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[1:16]  ³⁹ tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.