John 7:3-5

7:3 So Jesus’ brothers ¹  advised him, “Leave here and go to Judea so your disciples may see your miracles that you are performing. ²  7:4 For no one who seeks to make a reputation for himself ³  does anything in secret. ⁴  If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 7:5 (For not even his own brothers believed in him.) ⁵ 

Matthew 12:46

Jesus’ True Family

12:46 While Jesus ⁶  was still speaking to the crowds, ⁷  his mother and brothers ⁸  came and ⁹  stood outside, asking ¹⁰  to speak to him.

Matthew 13:55-56

13:55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother named Mary? ¹¹  And aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 13:56 And aren’t all his sisters here with us? Where did he get all this?” ¹² 

Mark 6:3

6:3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son ¹³  of Mary ¹⁴  and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” And so they took offense at him.

Acts 1:13-14

1:13 When ¹⁵  they had entered Jerusalem, ¹⁶  they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. Peter ¹⁷  and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James were there. ¹⁸  1:14 All these continued together in prayer with one mind, together with the women, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. ¹⁹ 

Acts 1:1

Jesus Ascends to Heaven

1:1 I wrote ²⁰  the former ²¹  account, ²²  Theophilus, ²³  about all that Jesus began to do and teach

Colossians 1:5

1:5 Your faith and love have arisen ²⁴  from the hope laid up ²⁵  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ²⁶ 

Galatians 1:19

1:19 But I saw none of the other apostles ²⁷  except James the Lord’s brother.

[7:3]  ¹ tn Grk “his brothers.”

[7:3]  ² tn Grk “your deeds that you are doing.”

[7:4]  ³ tn Or “seeks to be well known.”

[7:4]  ⁴ sn No one who seeks to make a reputation for himself does anything in secret means, in effect: “if you’re going to perform signs to authenticate yourself as Messiah, you should do them at Jerusalem.” (Jerusalem is where mainstream Jewish apocalyptic tradition held that Messiah would appear.)

[7:5]  ⁵ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[12:46]  ⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:46]  ⁷ tn Grk “crowds, behold, his mother.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[12:46]  ⁸ 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.

[12:46]  ⁹ tn “His mother and brothers came and” is a translation of “behold, his mother and brothers came.”

[12:46]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “seeking.”

[13:55]  ¹¹ sn The reference to Jesus as the carpenter’s son is probably derogatory, indicating that they knew Jesus only as a common laborer like themselves. The reference to his mother…Mary (even though Jesus’ father was probably dead by this point) appears to be somewhat derogatory, for a man was not regarded as his mother’s son in Jewish usage unless an insult was intended (cf. Judg 11:1-2; John 4:41; 8:41; 9:29).

[13:56]  ¹² tn Grk “Where did he get these things?”

[6:3]  ¹³ tc Evidently because of the possible offensiveness of designating Jesus a carpenter, several mss ([Ì^45vid] ˹³ 33^vid [565 579] 700 [2542] pc it vg^mss) harmonize the words “carpenter, the son” to the parallel passage in Matt 13:55, “the son of the carpenter.” Almost all the rest of the mss read “the carpenter, the son.” Since the explicit designation of Jesus as a carpenter is the more difficult reading, and is much better attested, it is most likely correct.

[6:3]  ¹⁴ sn The reference to Jesus as the carpenter is probably derogatory, indicating that they knew Jesus only as a common laborer like themselves. The reference to him as the son of Mary (even though Jesus’ father was probably dead by this point) appears to be somewhat derogatory, for a man was not regarded as his mother’s son in Jewish usage unless an insult was intended (cf. Judg 11:1-2; John 6:42; 8:41; 9:29).

[1:13]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[1:13]  ¹⁶ tn The word “Jerusalem” is not in the Greek text but is implied (direct objects were often omitted when clear from the context).

[1:13]  ¹⁷ sn In the various lists of the twelve, Peter (also called Simon) is always mentioned first (see also Matt 10:1-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:13-16) and the first four are always the same, though not in the same order after Peter.

[1:13]  ¹⁸ tn The words “were there” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[1:14]  ¹⁹ sn Jesus’ brothers are mentioned in Matt 13:55 and John 7:3.

[1:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “produced,” Grk “made.”

[1:1]  ²¹ tn Or “first.” The translation “former” is preferred because “first” could imply to the modern English reader that the author means that his previous account was the first one to be written down. The Greek term πρῶτος (prwtos) does not necessarily mean “first” in an absolute sense, but can refer to the first in a set or series. That is what is intended here – the first account (known as the Gospel of Luke) as compared to the second one (known as Acts).

[1:1]  ²² tn The Greek word λόγος (logos) is sometimes translated “book” (NRSV, NIV) or “treatise” (KJV). A formal, systematic treatment of a subject is implied, but the word “book” may be too specific and slightly misleading to the modern reader, so “account” has been used.

[1:1]  ²³ tn Grk “O Theophilus,” but the usage of the vocative in Acts with ὦ (w) is unemphatic, following more the classical idiom (see ExSyn 69).

[1:5]  ²⁴ tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.

[1:5]  ²⁵ tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ²⁶ tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.

[1:19]  ²⁷ tn Grk “But another of the apostles I did not see, except…” with “another” in emphatic position in the Greek text. Paul is determined to make the point that his contacts with the original twelve apostles and other leaders of the Jerusalem church were limited, thus asserting his independence from them.