Zechariah 4:9

4:9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this temple, ¹  and his hands will complete it.” Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to you.

Zechariah 6:12-13

6:12 Then say to him, ‘The Lord who rules over all says, “Look – here is the man whose name is Branch, ²  who will sprout up from his place and build the temple of the Lord. 6:13 Indeed, he will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed in splendor, sitting as king on his throne. Moreover, there will be a priest ³  with him on his throne and they will see eye to eye on everything.

Matthew 16:18

16:18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades ⁴  will not overpower it.

Matthew 16:1

The Demand for a Sign

16:1 Now when the Pharisees ⁵  and Sadducees ⁶  came to test Jesus, ⁷  they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ⁸ 

Colossians 3:9

3:9 Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with its practices

Colossians 3:1

Exhortations to Seek the Things Above

3:1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Colossians 2:5-7

2:5 For though ⁹  I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see ¹⁰  your morale ¹¹  and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Warnings Against the Adoption of False Philosophies

2:6 Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, ¹²  continue to live your lives ¹³  in him, 2:7 rooted ¹⁴  and built up in him and firm ¹⁵  in your ¹⁶  faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

[4:9]  ¹ tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NRSV).

[6:12]  ² tn The epithet “Branch” (צֶמַח, tsemakh) derives from the verb used here (יִצְמָח, yitsmakh, “will sprout up”) to describe the rise of the Messiah, already referred to in this manner in Zech 3:8 (cf. Isa 11:1; 53:2; Jer 33:15). In the immediate context this refers to Zerubbabel, but the ultimate referent is Jesus (cf. John 19:5).

[6:13]  ³ sn The priest here in the immediate context is Joshua but the fuller and more distant allusion is to the Messiah, a ruling priest. The notion of the ruler as a priest-king was already apparent in David and his successors (Pss 2:2, 6-8; 110:2, 4), and it finds mature expression in David’s greater Son, Jesus Christ, who will combine both offices in his kingship (Heb 5:1-10; 7:1-25).

[16:18]  ⁴ tn Or “and the power of death” (taking the reference to the gates of Hades as a metonymy).

[16:1]  ⁵ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[16:1]  ⁶ sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.

[16:1]  ⁷ tn The object of the participle πειράζοντες (peirazontes) is not given in the Greek text but has been supplied here for clarity.

[16:1]  ⁸ sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.

[2:5]  ⁹ tn The conditional particle εἰ (ei) together with καί (kai) here indicates a first class condition in Greek and carries a concessive force, especially when seen in contrast to the following phrase which begins with ἀλλά (alla).

[2:5]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “rejoicing and seeing.”

[2:5]  ¹¹ tn The Greek word τάξις can mean “order,” “discipline,” or even “unbroken ranks” (REB).

[2:6]  ¹² tn Though the verb παρελάβετε (parelabete) does not often take a double accusative, here it seems to do so. Both τὸν Χριστὸν ᾿Ιησοῦν (ton Criston Ihsoun) and τὸν κύριον (ton kurion) are equally definite insofar as they both have an article, but both the word order and the use of “Christ Jesus” as a proper name suggest that it is the object (cf. Rom 10:9, 10). Thus Paul is affirming that the tradition that was delivered to the Colossians by Epaphras was Christ-centered and focused on him as Lord.

[2:6]  ¹³ tn The present imperative περιπατεῖτε (peripateite) implies, in this context, a continuation of something already begun. This is evidenced by the fact that Paul has already referred to their faith as “orderly” and “firm” (2:5), despite the struggles of some of them with this deceptive heresy (cf. 2:16-23). The verb is used literally to refer to a person “walking” and is thus used metaphorically (i.e., ethically) to refer to the way a person lives his or her life.

[2:7]  ¹⁴ tn Or “having been rooted.”

[2:7]  ¹⁵ sn The three participles rooted, built up, and firm belong together and reflect three different metaphors. The first participle “rooted” (perfect tense) indicates a settled condition on the part of the Colossian believers and refers to horticulture. The second participle “built up” (present passive) comes from the world of architecture. The third participle “firm [established]” (present passive) comes from the law courts. With these three metaphors (as well as the following comment on thankfulness) Paul explains what he means when he commands them to continue to live their lives in Christ. The use of the passive probably reflects God’s activity among them. It was he who had rooted them, had been building them up, and had established them in the faith (cf. 1 Cor 3:5-15 for the use of mixed metaphors).

[2:7]  ¹⁶ tn The Greek text has the article τῇ (th), not the possessive pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn), but the article often functions as a possessive pronoun and was translated as such here (ExSyn 215).