Revelation 3:4

3:4 But you have a few individuals ¹  in Sardis who have not stained ²  their clothes, and they will walk with me dressed ³  in white, because they are worthy.

Revelation 7:15-17

7:15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve ⁴  him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them. ⁵  7:16 They will never go hungry or be thirsty again, and the sun will not beat down on them, nor any burning heat, ⁶  7:17 because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” ⁷ 

Revelation 17:14

17:14 They will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those accompanying ⁸  the Lamb are the called, chosen, and faithful.”

Matthew 8:19

8:19 Then ⁹  an expert in the law ¹⁰  came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” ¹¹ 

Luke 9:57-62

Challenging Professed Followers

9:57 As ¹²  they were walking ¹³  along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ¹⁴  9:58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky ¹⁵  have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” ¹⁶  9:59 Jesus ¹⁷  said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, ¹⁸  “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 9:60 But Jesus ¹⁹  said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, ²⁰  but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ²¹  9:61 Yet ²²  another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.” ²³  9:62 Jesus ²⁴  said to him, “No one who puts his ²⁵  hand to the plow and looks back ²⁶  is fit for the kingdom of God.” ²⁷ 

John 8:12

Jesus as the Light of the World

8:12 Then Jesus spoke out again, ²⁸  “I am the light of the world. ²⁹  The one who follows me will never ³⁰  walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 10:27

10:27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

John 12:26

12:26 If anyone wants to serve me, he must follow ³¹  me, and where I am, my servant will be too. ³²  If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

John 13:37

13:37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you!” ³³ 

[3:4]  ¹ tn Grk “a few names”; here ὄνομα (onoma) is used by figurative extension to mean “person” or “people”; according to L&N 9.19 there is “the possible implication of existence or relevance as individuals.”

[3:4]  ² tn Or “soiled” (so NAB, NRSV, NIV); NCV “have kept their clothes unstained”; CEV “have not dirtied your clothes with sin.”

[3:4]  ³ tn The word “dressed” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[7:15]  ⁴ tn Or “worship.” The word here is λατρεύω (latreuw).

[7:15]  ⁵ tn Grk “will spread his tent over them,” normally an idiom for taking up residence with someone, but when combined with the preposition ἐπί (epi, “over”) the idea is one of extending protection or shelter (BDAG 929 s.v. σκηνόω).

[7:16]  ⁶ tn An allusion to Isa 49:10. The phrase “burning heat” is one word in Greek (καῦμα, kauma) that refers to a burning, intensely-felt heat. See BDAG 536 s.v.

[7:17]  ⁷ sn An allusion to Isa 25:8.

[17:14]  ⁸ tn See BDAG 636 s.v. μετά A.2.a.α.

[8:19]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then.”

[8:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or “a scribe.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[8:19]  ¹¹ sn The statement I will follow you wherever you go is an offer to follow Jesus as a disciple, no matter what the cost.

[9:57]  ¹² tn Grk “And as.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:57]  ¹³ tn Grk “going,” but “walking” is an accurate description of how they traveled about.

[9:57]  ¹⁴ tc Most mss (A C W Θ Ψ Ë¹³ 33 Ï) add κύριε (kurie, “Lord”) here, but scribes were prone to add to the text, especially appellations for the Lord. The shorter reading also enjoys significant ms support (Ì^45,75 א B D L Ξ Ë¹ lat co).

[9:58]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[9:58]  ¹⁶ sn Jesus’ reply is simply this: Does the man understand the rejection he will be facing? Jesus has no home in the world (the Son of Man has no place to lay his head).

[9:59]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:59]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “said.”

[9:60]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:60]  ²⁰ sn There are several options for the meaning of Jesus’ reply Leave the dead to bury their own dead: (1) Recent research suggests that burial customs in the vicinity of Jerusalem from about 20 b.c. to a.d. 70 involved a reinterment of the bones a year after the initial burial, once the flesh had rotted away. At that point the son would have placed his father’s bones in a special box known as an ossuary to be set into the wall of the tomb. Thus Jesus could well be rebuking the man for wanting to wait around for as much as a year before making a commitment to follow him. In 1st century Jewish culture, to have followed Jesus rather than burying one’s father would have seriously dishonored one’s father (cf. Tobit 4:3-4). (2) The remark is an idiom (possibly a proverbial saying) that means, “The matter in question is not the real issue,” in which case Jesus was making a wordplay on the wording of the man’s (literal) request (see L&N 33.137). (3) This remark could be a figurative reference to various kinds of people, meaning, “Let the spiritually dead bury the dead.” (4) It could also be literal and designed to shock the hearer by the surprise of the contrast. Whichever option is preferred, it is clear that the most important priority is to preach the gospel (proclaim the kingdom of God).

[9:60]  ²¹ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[9:61]  ²² tn Grk “And another also said.”

[9:61]  ²³ tn Grk “to those in my house.”

[9:62]  ²⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:62]  ²⁵ tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[9:62]  ²⁶ sn Jesus warns that excessive concern for family ties (looks back) will make the kingdom a lesser priority, which is not appropriate for discipleship. The image is graphic, for who can plow straight ahead toward a goal while looking back? Discipleship cannot be double-minded.

[9:62]  ²⁷ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[8:12]  ²⁸ tn Grk “Then again Jesus spoke to them saying.”

[8:12]  ²⁹ sn The theory proposed by F. J. A. Hort (The New Testament in the Original Greek, vol. 2, Introduction; Appendix, 87-88), that the backdrop of 8:12 is the lighting of the candelabra in the court of women, may offer a plausible setting to the proclamation by Jesus that he is the light of the world. The last time that Jesus spoke in the narrative (assuming 7:53-8:11 is not part of the original text, as the textual evidence suggests) is in 7:38, where he was speaking to a crowd of pilgrims in the temple area. This is where he is found in the present verse, and he may be addressing the crowd again. Jesus’ remark has to be seen in view of both the prologue (John 1:4, 5) and the end of the discourse with Nicodemus (John 3:19-21). The coming of Jesus into the world provokes judgment: A choosing up of sides becomes necessary. The one who comes to the light, that is, who follows Jesus, will not walk in the darkness. The one who refuses to come, will walk in the darkness. In this contrast, there are only two alternatives. So it is with a person’s decision about Jesus. Furthermore, this serves as in implicit indictment of Jesus’ opponents, who still walk in the darkness, because they refuse to come to him. This sets up the contrast in chap. 9 between the man born blind, who receives both physical and spiritual sight, and the Pharisees (John 9:13, 15, 16) who have physical sight but remain in spiritual darkness.

[8:12]  ³⁰ tn The double negative οὐ μή (ou mh) is emphatic in 1st century Hellenistic Greek.

[12:26]  ³¹ tn As a third person imperative in Greek, ἀκολουθείτω (akolouqeitw) is usually translated “let him follow me.” This could be understood by the modern English reader as merely permissive, however (“he may follow me if he wishes”). In this context there is no permissive sense, but rather a command, so the translation “he must follow me” is preferred.

[12:26]  ³² tn Grk “where I am, there my servant will be too.”

[13:37]  ³³ tn Or “I will die willingly for you.”