Luke 11:27-28

11:27 As ¹  he said these things, a woman in the crowd spoke out ²  to him, “Blessed is the womb ³  that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed!” ⁴  11:28 But he replied, ⁵  “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey ⁶  it!”

Matthew 25:40

25:40 And the king will answer them, ⁷  ‘I tell you the truth, ⁸  just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters ⁹  of mine, you did it for me.’

Matthew 25:45

25:45 Then he will answer them, ¹⁰  ‘I tell you the truth, ¹¹  just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’

Matthew 28:10

28:10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”

John 15:14-15

15:14 You are my friends ¹²  if you do what I command you. 15:15 I no longer call you slaves, ¹³  because the slave does not understand ¹⁴  what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have revealed to you everything ¹⁵  I heard ¹⁶  from my Father.

John 20:17

20:17 Jesus replied, ¹⁷  “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

John 20:2

20:2 So she went running ¹⁸  to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

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, ¹⁹  whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.

Colossians 1:18

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ²⁰  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ²¹ 

Hebrews 2:11-13

2:11 For indeed he who makes holy and those being made holy all have the same origin, ²²  and so ²³  he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, ²⁴  2:12 saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers; ²⁵  in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.” ²⁶  2:13 Again he says, ²⁷  “I will be confident in him,” and again, “Here I am, ²⁸  with ²⁹  the children God has given me.” ³⁰ 

[11:27]  ¹ tn Grk “And it happened that as.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[11:27]  ² tn Grk “lifted up her voice and said.” This idiom is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “spoke out.”

[11:27]  ³ tn For this term see L&N 8.69.

[11:27]  ⁴ sn Both the reference to the womb and the breasts form a figure of speech called metonymy. In this case the parts are mentioned instead of the whole; the meaning is “Blessed is your mother!” The warnings seem to have sparked a little nervousness that brought forth this response. In the culture a mother was valued for the accomplishments of her son. So this amounts to a compliment to Jesus.

[11:28]  ⁵ tn Grk “said.”

[11:28]  ⁶ sn This is another reference to hearing and doing the word of God, which here describes Jesus’ teaching; see Luke 8:21.

[25:40]  ⁷ tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[25:40]  ⁸ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[25:40]  ⁹ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). In this context Jesus is ultimately speaking of his “followers” (whether men or women, adults or children), but the familial connotation of “brothers and sisters” is also important to retain here.

[25:45]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “answer them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[25:45]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[15:14]  ¹² sn This verse really explains John 15:10 in another way. Those who keep Jesus’ commandments are called his friends, those friends for whom he lays down his life (v. 13). It is possible to understand this verse as referring to a smaller group within Christianity as a whole, perhaps only the apostles who were present when Jesus spoke these words. Some have supported this by comparing it to the small group of associates and advisers to the Roman Emperor who were called “Friends of the Emperor.” Others would see these words as addressed only to those Christians who as disciples were obedient to Jesus. In either case the result would be to create a sort of “inner circle” of Christians who are more privileged than mere “believers” or average Christians. In context, it seems clear that Jesus’ words must be addressed to all true Christians, not just some narrower category of believers, because Jesus’ sacrificial death, which is his act of love toward his friends (v. 13) applies to all Christians equally (cf. John 13:1).

[15:15]  ¹³ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[15:15]  ¹⁴ tn Or “does not know.”

[15:15]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “all things.”

[15:15]  ¹⁶ tn Or “learned.”

[20:17]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Jesus said to her.”

[20:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “So she ran and came.”

[1:16]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.

[1:18]  ²⁰ tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

[1:18]  ²¹ tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”

[2:11]  ²² tn Grk “are all from one.”

[2:11]  ²³ tn Grk “for which reason.”

[2:11]  ²⁴ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). The context here also indicates both men and women are in view; note especially the collective τὰ παιδία (ta paidia) in v. 14.

[2:12]  ²⁵ tn Here, because of its occurrence in an OT quotation, τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς (tois adelfois) has been translated simply as “brothers” rather than “brothers and sisters” (see the note on the latter phrase in the previous verse).

[2:12]  ²⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 22:22.

[2:13]  ²⁷ tn Grk “and again,” as a continuation of the preceding.

[2:13]  ²⁸ tn Grk “behold, I,” but this construction often means “here is/there is” (cf. BDAG 468 s.v. ἰδού 2).

[2:13]  ²⁹ tn Grk “and.”

[2:13]  ³⁰ sn A quotation from Isa 8:17-18.