Luke 6:12

Choosing the Twelve Apostles

6:12 Now ¹  it was during this time that Jesus ²  went out to the mountain ³  to pray, and he spent all night ⁴  in prayer to God. ⁵ 

Matthew 14:23

14:23 And after he sent the crowds away, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.

Mark 1:35-36

Praying and Preaching

1:35 Then ⁶  Jesus ⁷  got up early in the morning when it was still very dark, departed, and went out to a deserted place, and there he spent time in prayer. ⁸  1:36 Simon and his companions searched for him.

Mark 6:46

6:46 After saying good-bye to them, he went to the mountain to pray.

John 6:15

6:15 Then Jesus, because he knew they were going to come and seize him by force to make him king, withdrew again up the mountainside alone. ⁹ 

[6:12]  ¹ tn Grk “Now it happened that in.” 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.

[6:12]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:12]  ³ tn Or “to a mountain” (εἰς τὸ ὅρος, eis to Joro").

[6:12]  ⁴ sn This is the only time all night prayer is mentioned in the NT.

[6:12]  ⁵ tn This is an objective genitive, so prayer “to God.”

[1:35]  ⁶ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[1:35]  ⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:35]  ⁸ tn The imperfect προσηύχετο (proshuceto) implies some duration to the prayer.

[6:15]  ⁹ sn Jesus, knowing that his “hour” had not yet come (and would not, in this fashion) withdrew again up the mountainside alone. The ministry of miracles in Galilee, ending with this, the multiplication of the bread (the last public miracle in Galilee recorded by John) aroused such a popular response that there was danger of an uprising. This would have given the authorities a legal excuse to arrest Jesus. The nature of Jesus’ kingship will become an issue again in the passion narrative of the Fourth Gospel (John 18:33ff.). Furthermore, the volatile reaction of the Galileans to the signs prepares for and foreshadows the misunderstanding of the miracle itself, and even the misunderstanding of Jesus’ explanation of it (John 6:22-71).