John 6:63

Context
6:63 The Spirit is the one who gives life; human nature is of no help!¹ The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.²

John 7:46

Context
7:46 The officers replied, “No one ever spoke like this man!”

Matthew 7:28-29

Context

7:28 When³ 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

Luke 4:32

Context
4:32 They⁶ were amazed⁷ at his teaching, because he spoke⁸ with authority.⁹

Luke 4:1

Context

The Temptation of Jesus

4:1 Then¹⁰ Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River¹¹ and was led by the Spirit¹² in¹³ the wilderness,¹⁴

Colossians 2:4-5

Context
2:4 I say this so that no one will deceive you through arguments¹⁵ that sound reasonable.¹⁶ 2:5 For though¹⁷ I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see¹⁸ your morale¹⁹ and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Hebrews 4:13

Context
4:13 And no creature is hidden from God,²⁰ but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

[6:63] ¹tn Grk “the flesh counts for nothing.”

[6:63] ²tn Or “are spirit-giving and life-producing.”

[7:28] ³tn 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.

[7:29] ⁴sn 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.

[7:29] ⁵tn Or “their scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[4:32] ⁶tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[4:32] ⁷sn They were amazed. The astonishment shown here is like that in Luke 2:48.

[4:32] ⁸tn Grk “because his word was.”

[4:32] ⁹sn 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.

[4:1] ¹⁰tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate continuity with the previous topic.

[4:1] ¹¹tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[4:1] ¹²sn The double mention of the Spirit in this verse makes it clear that the temptation was neither the fault of Jesus nor an accident.

[4:1] ¹³tc Most mss (A Θ Ξ Ψ 0102 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) read εἰς τὴν ἔρημον (ei" thn erhmon, “into the wilderness”), apparently motivated by the parallel in Matt 4:1. However, the reading behind the translation (ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, en th ejrhmw) is found in overall better witnesses (Ì^4vid,7,75vid א B D L W 579 892 1241 pc it).

[4:1] ¹⁴tn Or “desert.”

[2:4] ¹⁵tn 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).”

[2:4] ¹⁶sn 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.

[2:5] ¹⁷tn 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).

[2:5] ¹⁸tn Grk “rejoicing and seeing.”

[2:5] ¹⁹tn The Greek word τάξις can mean “order,” “discipline,” or even “unbroken ranks” (REB).

[4:13] ²⁰tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.