Luke 18:28-30

18:28 And Peter said, “Look, we have left everything we own ¹  to follow you!” ²  18:29 Then ³  Jesus ⁴  said to them, “I tell you the truth, ⁵  there is no one who has left home or wife or brothers ⁶  or parents or children for the sake of God’s kingdom 18:30 who will not receive many times more ⁷  in this age ⁸  – and in the age to come, eternal life.” ⁹ 

Matthew 4:20

4:20 They ¹⁰  left their nets immediately and followed him. ¹¹ 

Matthew 10:37

10:37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Matthew 19:27

19:27 Then Peter said ¹²  to him, “Look, ¹³  we have left everything to follow you! ¹⁴  What then will there be for us?”

Mark 1:18-25

1:18 They left their nets immediately and followed him. ¹⁵  1:19 Going on a little farther, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother in their ¹⁶  boat mending nets. 1:20 Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Jesus’ Authority

1:21 Then ¹⁷  they went to Capernaum. ¹⁸  When the Sabbath came, ¹⁹  Jesus ²⁰  went into the synagogue ²¹  and began to teach. 1:22 The people there ²²  were amazed by his teaching, because he taught them like one who had authority, ²³  not like the experts in the law. ²⁴  1:23 Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit, ²⁵  and he cried out, ²⁶  1:24 “Leave us alone, ²⁷  Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One ²⁸  of God!” 1:25 But ²⁹  Jesus rebuked him: ³⁰  “Silence! Come out of him!” ³¹ 

Mark 10:21

10:21 As Jesus looked at him, he felt love for him and said, “You lack one thing. Go, sell whatever you have and give the money ³²  to the poor, and you will have treasure ³³  in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Mark 10:29-30

10:29 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, ³⁴  there is no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel 10:30 who will not receive in this age ³⁵  a hundred times as much – homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, fields, all with persecutions ³⁶  – and in the age to come, eternal life. ³⁷ 

Philippians 3:7-8

3:7 But these assets I have come to regard as liabilities because of Christ. 3:8 More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things – indeed, I regard them as dung! ³⁸  – that I may gain Christ,

[18:28]  ¹ tn Or “left our homes,” “left our possessions”; Grk “left our own things.” The word ἴδιος (idios) can refer to one’s home (including the people and possessions in it) or to one’s property or possessions. Both options are mentioned in BDAG 467 s.v. 4.b. See also I. H. Marshall, Luke (NIGTC), 688; D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1488.

[18:28]  ² tn Grk “We have left everything we own and followed you.” Koine Greek often used paratactic structure when hypotactic was implied.

[18:29]  ³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[18:29]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:29]  ⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[18:29]  ⁶ tn The term “brothers” could be understood as generic here, referring to either male or female siblings. However, it is noteworthy that in the parallel passages in both Matt 19:29 and Mark 10:29, “sisters” are explicitly mentioned in the Greek text.

[18:30]  ⁷ sn Jesus reassures his disciples with a promise that (1) much benefit in this life (many times more) and (2) eternal life in the age to come will be given.

[18:30]  ⁸ tn Grk “this time” (καιρός, kairos), but for stylistic reasons this has been translated “this age” here.

[18:30]  ⁹ sn Note that Luke (see also Matt 19:29; Mark 10:30; Luke 10:25) portrays eternal life as something one receives in the age to come, unlike John, who emphasizes the possibility of receiving eternal life in the present (John 5:24).

[4:20]  ¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[4:20]  ¹¹ sn The expression followed him pictures discipleship, which means that to learn from Jesus is to follow him as the guiding priority of one’s life.

[19:27]  ¹² tn Grk “Then answering, Peter said.” This construction is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.

[19:27]  ¹³ sn Peter wants reassurance that the disciples’ response and sacrifice have been noticed.

[19:27]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “We have left everything and followed you.” Koine Greek often used paratactic structure when hypotactic was implied.

[1:18]  ¹⁵ sn The expression followed him pictures discipleship, which means that to learn from Jesus is to follow him as the guiding priority of one’s life.

[1:19]  ¹⁶ tn Or “a boat.” The phrase ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ (en tw ploiw) can either refer to a generic boat, some boat (as it seems to do in Matt 4:21); or it can refer to “their” boat, implying possession. Mark assumes a certain preunderstanding on the part of his readers about the first four disciples and hence the translation “their boat” is justified (cf. also v. 20 in which the “hired men” indicates that Zebedee’s family owned the boats).

[1:21]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[1:21]  ¹⁸ sn Capernaum was a town located on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region, and it became the hub of operations for Jesus’ Galilean ministry.

[1:21]  ¹⁹ tn The Greek word εὐθύς (euqus, often translated “immediately” or “right away”) has not been translated here. It sometimes occurs with a weakened, inferential use (BDAG 406 s.v. 2), not contributing significantly to the flow of the narrative. For further discussion, see R. J. Decker, Temporal Deixis of the Greek Verb in the Gospel of Mark with Reference to Verbal Aspect (SBG 10), 73-77.

[1:21]  ²⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:21]  ²¹ sn The synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though its origin is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present. (See the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2.) First came the law, then the prophets, then someone was asked to speak on the texts. Jesus undoubtedly took the opportunity on this occasion to speak about his person and mission, and its relationship to Old Testament fulfillment.

[1:22]  ²² tn Grk “They.”

[1:22]  ²³ sn 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.

[1:22]  ²⁴ tn Or “the scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[1:23]  ²⁵ sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.

[1:23]  ²⁶ tn Grk “he cried out, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[1:24]  ²⁷ tn Grk “What to us and to you?” This is an idiom meaning, “We have nothing to do with one another,” or “Why bother us!” The phrase τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί (ti Jhmin kai soi) is Semitic in origin, though it made its way into colloquial Greek (BDAG 275 s.v. ἐγώ). The equivalent Hebrew expression in the OT had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12, 2 Chr 35:21, 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his own, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13, Hos 14:8). Option (1) implies hostility, while option (2) merely implies disengagement. BDAG suggests the following as glosses for this expression: What have I to do with you? What have we in common? Leave me alone! Never mind! Hostility between Jesus and the demons is certainly to be understood in this context, hence the translation: “Leave me alone….” For a very similar expression see Lk 8:28 and (in a different context) John 2:4.

[1:24]  ²⁸ sn The confession of Jesus as the Holy One here is significant, coming from an unclean spirit. Jesus, as the Holy One of God, who bears God’s Spirit and is the expression of holiness, comes to deal with uncleanness and unholiness.

[1:25]  ²⁹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[1:25]  ³⁰ tn Grk “rebuked him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[1:25]  ³¹ sn The command Come out of him! is an example of Jesus’ authority (see v. 32). Unlike other exorcists, Jesus did not use magical incantations nor did he invoke anyone else’s name.

[10:21]  ³² tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[10:21]  ³³ sn The call for sacrifice comes with a promise of eternal reward: You will have treasure in heaven. Jesus’ call is a test to see how responsive the man is to God’s direction through him. Will he walk the path God’s agent calls him to walk? For a rich person who got it right, see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.

[10:29]  ³⁴ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[10:30]  ³⁵ tn Grk “this time” (καιρός, kairos), but for stylistic reasons this has been translated “this age” here.

[10:30]  ³⁶ tn Grk “with persecutions.” The “all” has been supplied to clarify that the prepositional phrase belongs not just to the “fields.”

[10:30]  ³⁷ sn Note that Mark (see also Matt 19:29; Luke 10:25, 18:30) portrays eternal life as something one receives in the age to come, unlike John, who emphasizes the possibility of receiving eternal life in the present (John 5:24).

[3:8]  ³⁸ tn The word here translated “dung” was often used in Greek as a vulgar term for fecal matter. As such it would most likely have had a certain shock value for the readers. This may well be Paul’s meaning here, especially since the context is about what the flesh produces.