Luke 1:13

1:13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, ¹  and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you ²  will name him John. ³ 

Luke 5:10

5:10 and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners. ⁴  Then ⁵  Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on ⁶  you will be catching people.” ⁷ 

Luke 8:25

8:25 Then ⁸  he said to them, “Where is your faith?” ⁹  But they were afraid and amazed, ¹⁰  saying to one another, “Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the water, ¹¹  and they obey him!”

Luke 8:35

8:35 So ¹²  the people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus. They ¹³  found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.

Luke 9:45

9:45 But they did not understand this statement; its meaning ¹⁴  had been concealed ¹⁵  from them, so that they could not grasp it. Yet ¹⁶  they were afraid to ask him about this statement.

Luke 20:19

20:19 Then ¹⁷  the experts in the law ¹⁸  and the chief priests wanted to arrest ¹⁹  him that very hour, because they realized he had told this parable against them. But ²⁰  they were afraid of the people.

---

¹ tn The passive means that the prayer was heard by God.

sn Your prayer has been heard. Zechariah’s prayer while offering the sacrifice would have been for the nation, but the answer to the prayer also gave them a long hoped-for child, a hope they had abandoned because of their old age.

² tn Grk “a son, and you”; καί (kai) has not been translated. Instead a semicolon is used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³ tn Grk “you will call his name John.” The future tense here functions like a command (see ExSyn 569-70). This same construction occurs in v. 31.

sn “Do not be afraid…you must call his name John.” This is a standard birth announcement (see Gen 16:11; Isa 7:14; Matt 1:21; Luke 1:31).

⁴ tn Or “business associates.”

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁶ sn From now on is a common Lukan expression, see Luke 1:48.

⁷ tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”

sn The kind of fishing envisioned was net – not line – fishing, which involved a circular net that had heavy weights around its perimeter. The occupation of fisherman was labor-intensive. The imagery of using a lure and a line (and waiting for the fish to strike) is thus foreign to this text. Rather, the imagery of a fisherman involved much strain, long hours, and often little results. Jesus’ point may have been one or more of the following: the strenuousness of evangelism, the work ethic that it required, persistence and dedication to the task (often in spite of minimal results), the infinite value of the new “catch” (viz., people), and perhaps an eschatological theme of snatching people from judgment (cf. W. L. Lane, Mark [NICNT], 67; D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:461). If this last motif is in view, then catching people is the opposite of catching fish: The fish would be caught, killed, cooked, and eaten; people would be caught so as to remove them from eternal destruction and to give them new life. With the statement “You will be catching people” Jesus turns the miracle into a metaphor for mission.

⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁹ sn “Where is your faith?” The call is to trust God and realize that those who exercise faith can trust in his care.

¹⁰ sn The combination of fear and respect (afraid and amazed) shows that the disciples are becoming impressed with the great power at work in Jesus, a realization that fuels their question. For a similar reaction, see Luke 5:9.

¹¹ sn Jesus’ authority over creation raised a question for the disciples about who he was exactly (“Who then is this?”). This verse shows that the disciples followed Jesus even though they did not know all about him yet.

¹² tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the people’s response to the report.

¹³ tn Grk “Jesus, and they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹⁴ tn Grk “it”; the referent (the meaning of the statement) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵ sn The passive verb had been concealed probably indicates that some force was preventing them from responding. It is debated whether God or Satan is meant here. By 24:25 it is clear that their lack of response is their own responsibility. The only way to reverse this is to pay careful attention as v. 44a urges.

¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate that in spite of their lack of understanding, the disciples were afraid to ask about it. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹⁸ tn Or “The scribes” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

¹⁹ tn Grk “tried to lay hands on him.”

²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.