Matthew 5:10-12

5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

5:11 “Blessed are you when people ¹  insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely ²  on account of me. 5:12 Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

Matthew 10:22

10:22 And you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Mark 13:9-13

Persecution of Disciples

13:9 “You must watch out for yourselves. You will be handed over ³  to councils ⁴  and beaten in the synagogues. ⁵  You will stand before governors and kings ⁶  because of me, as a witness to them. 13:10 First the gospel must be preached to all nations. 13:11 When they arrest you and hand you over for trial, do not worry about what to speak. But say whatever is given you at that time, ⁷  for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. 13:12 Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against ⁸  parents and have them put to death. 13:13 You will be hated by everyone because of my name. ⁹  But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁰ 

John 7:7

7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I am testifying about it that its deeds are evil.

John 15:18-20

The World’s Hatred

15:18 “If the world hates you, be aware ¹¹  that it hated me first. ¹²  15:19 If you belonged to the world, ¹³  the world would love you as its own. ¹⁴  However, because you do not belong to the world, ¹⁵  but I chose you out of the world, for this reason ¹⁶  the world hates you. ¹⁷  15:20 Remember what ¹⁸  I told you, ‘A slave ¹⁹  is not greater than his master.’ ²⁰  If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they obeyed ²¹  my word, they will obey ²²  yours too.

John 17:14

17:14 I have given them your word, ²³  and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, ²⁴  just as I do not belong to the world. ²⁵ 

John 17:2

17:2 just as you have given him authority over all humanity, ²⁶  so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. ²⁷ 

Colossians 1:23-26

1:23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, ²⁸  without shifting ²⁹  from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body – for the sake of his body, the church – what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. 1:25 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship ³⁰  from God – given to me for you – in order to complete ³¹  the word of God, 1:26 that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints.

Philippians 1:28-30

1:28 and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is ³²  a sign of their ³³  destruction, but of your salvation – a sign which ³⁴  is from God. 1:29 For it has been granted to you ³⁵  not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him, 1:30 since you are encountering ³⁶  the same conflict that you saw me face and now hear that I am facing. ³⁷ 

Philippians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul ³⁸  and Timothy, slaves ³⁹  of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, ⁴⁰  with the overseers ⁴¹  and deacons.

Philippians 2:14-15

2:14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 2:15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world ⁴² 

Philippians 2:2

2:2 complete my joy and be of the same mind, ⁴³  by having the same love, being united in spirit, ⁴⁴  and having one purpose.

Philippians 3:11-12

3:11 and so, somehow, ⁴⁵  to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Keep Going Forward

3:12 Not that I have already attained this – that is, I have not already been perfected – but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. ⁴⁶ 

Philippians 3:1

True and False Righteousness

3:1 Finally, my brothers and sisters, ⁴⁷  rejoice in the Lord! To write this again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.

Philippians 2:19-20

Models for Ministry

2:19 Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be encouraged by hearing news about you. 2:20 For there is no one here like him who will readily demonstrate his deep concern for you. ⁴⁸ 

Philippians 2:1

Christian Unity and Christ’s Humility

2:1 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, ⁴⁹  any affection or mercy, ⁵⁰ 

Philippians 3:14

3:14 with this goal in mind, ⁵¹  I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God ⁵²  in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:12-16

4:12 I have experienced times of need and times of abundance. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of contentment, ⁵³  whether I go satisfied or hungry, have plenty or nothing. 4:13 I am able to do all things ⁵⁴  through the one ⁵⁵  who strengthens me. 4:14 Nevertheless, you did well to share with me in my trouble.

4:15 And as you Philippians know, at the beginning of my gospel ministry, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in this matter of giving and receiving except you alone. 4:16 For even in Thessalonica ⁵⁶  on more than one occasion ⁵⁷  you sent something for my need.

[5:11]  ¹ tn Grk “when they insult you.” The third person pronoun (here implied in the verb ὀνειδίσωσιν [ojneidiswsin]) has no specific referent, but refers to people in general.

[5:11]  ² tc Although ψευδόμενοι (yeudomenoi, “bearing witness falsely”) could be a motivated reading, clarifying that the disciples are unjustly persecuted, its lack in only D it sy^s Tert does not help its case. Since the Western text is known for numerous free alterations, without corroborative evidence the shorter reading must be judged as secondary.

[13:9]  ³ tn Grk “They will hand you over.” “They” is an indefinite plural, referring to people in general. The parallel in Matt 10:17 makes this explicit.

[13:9]  ⁴ sn Councils in this context refers to local judicial bodies attached to the Jewish synagogue. This group would be responsible for meting out justice and discipline within the Jewish community.

[13:9]  ⁵ sn See the note on synagogue in 1:21.

[13:9]  ⁶ sn These statements look at persecution both from a Jewish context as the mention of councils and synagogues suggests, and from a Gentile one as the reference to governors and kings suggests. Some fulfillment of Jewish persecution can be seen in Acts.

[13:11]  ⁷ tn Grk “in that hour.”

[13:12]  ⁸ tn Or “will rebel against.”

[13:13]  ⁹ sn See 1 Cor 1:25-31.

[13:13]  ¹⁰ sn But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Jesus was not claiming here that salvation is by works, because he had already taught that it is by grace (cf. 10:15). He was simply arguing that genuine faith evidences itself in persistence through even the worst of trials.

[15:18]  ¹¹ tn Grk “know.”

[15:18]  ¹² tn Grk “it hated me before you.”

[15:19]  ¹³ tn Grk “if you were of the world.”

[15:19]  ¹⁴ tn The words “you as” are not in the original but are supplied for clarity.

[15:19]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “because you are not of the world.”

[15:19]  ¹⁶ tn Or “world, therefore.”

[15:19]  ¹⁷ sn I chose you out of the world…the world hates you. Two themes are brought together here. In 8:23 Jesus had distinguished himself from the world in addressing his Jewish opponents: “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.” In 15:16 Jesus told the disciples “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you.” Now Jesus has united these two ideas as he informs the disciples that he has chosen them out of the world. While the disciples will still be “in” the world after Jesus has departed, they will not belong to it, and Jesus prays later in John 17:15-16 to the Father, “I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” The same theme also occurs in 1 John 4:5-6: “They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us.” Thus the basic reason why the world hates the disciples (as it hated Jesus before them) is because they are not of the world. They are born from above, and are not of the world. For this reason the world hates them.

[15:20]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Remember the word that I said to you.”

[15:20]  ¹⁹ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[15:20]  ²⁰ sn A slave is not greater than his master. Jesus now recalled a statement he had made to the disciples before, in John 13:16. As the master has been treated, so will the slaves be treated also. If the world had persecuted Jesus, then it would also persecute the disciples. If the world had kept Jesus’ word, it would likewise keep the word of the disciples. In this statement there is the implication that the disciples would carry on the ministry of Jesus after his departure; they would in their preaching and teaching continue to spread the message which Jesus himself had taught while he was with them. And they would meet with the same response, by and large, that he encountered.

[15:20]  ²¹ tn Or “if they kept.”

[15:20]  ²² tn Or “they will keep.”

[17:14]  ²³ tn Or “your message.”

[17:14]  ²⁴ tn Grk “because they are not of the world.”

[17:14]  ²⁵ tn Grk “just as I am not of the world.”

[17:2]  ²⁶ tn Or “all people”; Grk “all flesh.”

[17:2]  ²⁷ tn Grk “so that to everyone whom you have given to him, he may give to them eternal life.”

[1:23]  ²⁸ tn BDAG 276 s.v. ἑδραῖος suggests “firm, steadfast.”

[1:23]  ²⁹ tn BDAG 639 s.v. μετακινέω suggests “without shifting from the hope” here.

[1:25]  ³⁰ tn BDAG 697 s.v. οἰκονομία 1.b renders the term here as “divine office.”

[1:25]  ³¹ tn See BDAG 828 s.v. πληρόω 3. The idea here seems to be that the apostle wants to “complete the word of God” in that he wants to preach it to every person in the known world (cf. Rom 15:19). See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 82.

[1:28]  ³² tn Grk “which is,” continuing the sentence begun in v. 27.

[1:28]  ³³ tn Grk “to them.”

[1:28]  ³⁴ tn Grk “this.” The pronoun refers back to “a sign”; thus these words have been repeated for clarity.

[1:29]  ³⁵ tn Grk “For that which is on behalf of Christ has been granted to you – namely, not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him.” The infinitive phrases are epexegetical to the subject, τὸ ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ (to Juper Cristou), which has the force of “the on-behalf-of-Christ thing,” or “the thing on behalf of Christ.” To translate this in English requires a different idiom.

[1:30]  ³⁶ tn Grk “having,” most likely as an instrumental participle. Thus their present struggle is evidence that they have received the gift of suffering.

[1:30]  ³⁷ tn Grk “that you saw in me and now hear [to be] in me.”

[1:1]  ³⁸ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ³⁹ tn Traditionally, “servants” or “bondservants.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ⁴⁰ map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[1:1]  ⁴¹ sn The overseers (or “church leaders,” L&N 53.71) is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in Titus 1:6-7 and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between Titus 1:6-7 and 1 Tim 3:1-7.

[2:15]  ⁴² tn Or “as stars in the universe.”

[2:2]  ⁴³ tn Or “and feel the same way,” “and think the same thoughts.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated “and be of the same mind” to reflect its epexegetical force to the imperative “complete my joy.”

[2:2]  ⁴⁴ tn The Greek word here is σύμψυχοι (sumyucoi, literally “fellow souled”).

[3:11]  ⁴⁵ tn On εἰ πῶς (ei pws) as “so, somehow” see BDAG 279, s.v. εἰ 6.n.

[3:12]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “that for which I also was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” The passive has been translated as active in keeping with contemporary English style.

[3:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[2:20]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “For I have no one who is like-minded who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.”

[2:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “spiritual fellowship” if πνεύματος (pneumato") is an attributive genitive; or “fellowship brought about by the Spirit” if πνεύματος is a genitive of source or production.

[2:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “and any affection and mercy.” The Greek idea, however, is best expressed by “or” in English.

[3:14]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “according to the goal.”

[3:14]  ⁵² tn Grk “prize, namely, the heavenly calling of God.”

[4:12]  ⁵³ tn The words “of contentment” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by Paul’s remarks at the end of v. 11.

[4:13]  ⁵⁴ tn The Greek word translated “all things” is in emphatic position at the beginning of the Greek sentence.

[4:13]  ⁵⁵ tc Although some excellent witnesses lack explicit reference to the one strengthening Paul (so א* A B D* I 33 1739 lat co Cl), the majority of witnesses (א² D² [F G] Ψ 075 1881 Ï sy) add Χριστῷ (Cristw) here (thus, “through Christ who strengthens me”). But this kind of reading is patently secondary, and is a predictable variant. Further, the shorter reading is much harder, for it leaves the agent unspecified.

[4:16]  ⁵⁶ map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[4:16]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “several times”; Grk, “both once and twice.” The literal expression “once and twice” is frequently used as a Greek idiom referring to an indefinite low number, but more than once (“several times”); see L&N 60.70.