Matthew 4:20-22

4:20 They ¹  left their nets immediately and followed him. ²  4:21 Going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat ³  with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. Then ⁴  he called them. 4:22 They ⁵  immediately left the boat and their father and followed him.

Acts 20:24

20:24 But I do not consider my life ⁶  worth anything ⁷  to myself, so that ⁸  I may finish my task ⁹  and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news ¹⁰  of God’s grace.

Ephesians 3:8

3:8 To me – less than the least of all the saints ¹¹  – this grace was given, ¹²  to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ

[4:20]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[4:20]  ² 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.

[4:21]  ³ tn Or “their boat.” The phrase ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ (en tw ploiw) can either refer to a generic boat, some boat (as it seems to do here); 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), while Matthew does not.

[4:21]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[4:22]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[20:24]  ⁶ tn Grk “soul.”

[20:24]  ⁷ tn Or “I do not consider my life worth a single word.” According to BDAG 599 s.v. λόγος 1.a.α, “In the textually uncertain pass. Ac 20:24 the text as it stands in N., οὐδενὸς λόγου (v.l. λόγον) ποιοῦμαι τὴν ψυχὴν τιμίαν, may well mean: I do not consider my life worth a single word (cp. λόγου ἄξιον [ἄξιος 1a] and our ‘worth mention’).”

[20:24]  ⁸ tn BDAG 1106 s.v. ὡς 9 describes this use as “a final particle, expressing intention/purpose, with a view to, in order to.”

[20:24]  ⁹ tn Grk “course.” See L&N 42.26, “(a figurative extension of meaning of δρόμος ‘race’) a task or function involving continuity, serious, effort, and possibly obligation – ‘task, mission’…Ac 20:24.” On this Pauline theme see also Phil 1:19-26; Col 1:24; 2 Tim 4:6-7.

[20:24]  ¹⁰ tn Or “to the gospel.”

[3:8]  ¹¹ sn In Pauline writings saints means any true believer. Thus for Paul to view himself as less than the least of all the saints is to view himself as the most unworthy object of Christ’s redemption.

[3:8]  ¹² sn The parallel phrases to proclaim and to enlighten which follow indicate why God’s grace was manifested to Paul. Grace was not something just to be received, but to be shared with others (cf. Acts 13:47).