3:1 In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness 1 of Judea proclaiming,
3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John to be baptized by him in the Jordan River. 2
8:1 After he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him.
8:5 When he entered Capernaum, 4 a centurion 5 came to him asking for help: 6
11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 8
13:10 Then 9 the disciples came to him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
14:34 After they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 12
15:1 Then Pharisees 13 and experts in the law 14 came from Jerusalem 15 to Jesus and said, 16
22:23 The same day Sadducees 19 (who say there is no resurrection) 20 came to him and asked him, 21
27:45 Now from noon until three, 29 darkness came over all the land. 30
1 tn Or “desert.”
2 tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.
3 tn Grk “and behold, angels.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
4 sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.
map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-C3; Map3-B2.
5 sn A centurion was a noncommissioned officer in the Roman army or one of the auxiliary territorial armies, commanding a centuria of (nominally) 100 men. The responsibilities of centurions were broadly similar to modern junior officers, but there was a wide gap in social status between them and officers, and relatively few were promoted beyond the rank of senior centurion. The Roman troops stationed in Judea were auxiliaries, who would normally be rewarded with Roman citizenship after 25 years of service. Some of the centurions may have served originally in the Roman legions (regular army) and thus gained their citizenship at enlistment. Others may have inherited it, like the apostle Paul did.
6 sn While in Matthew’s account the centurion came to him asking for help, Luke’s account (7:1-10) mentions that the centurion sent some Jewish elders as emissaries on his behalf.
7 tn The participle προσελθόντες (proselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
8 sn John the Baptist was too separatist and ascetic for some, and so he was accused of not being directed by God, but by a demon.
9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
10 tn Grk “In the fourth watch of the night,” that is, between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.
11 tn Or “on the lake.”
12 sn Gennesaret was a fertile plain south of Capernaum (see also Mark 6:53). The Sea of Galilee was also sometimes known as the Sea of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1).
13 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
14 tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
15 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
16 tn The participle λέγοντες (legontes) has been translated as a finite verb so that its telic (i.e., final or conclusive) force can be more easily detected: The Pharisees and legal experts came to Jesus in order to speak with him.
17 tn In this context the verb προσκυνέω (proskunew), which often describes worship, probably means simply bowing down to the ground in an act of reverence or supplication (see L&N 17.21).
18 tn Grk “she bowed down to him, saying.”
19 sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.
20 sn This remark is best regarded as a parenthetical note by the author.
21 tn Grk “and asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
22 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
23 tn Grk “Open to us.”
24 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
25 tn Grk “because their eyes were weighed down,” an idiom for becoming extremely or excessively sleepy (L&N 23.69).
26 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
27 tn This is an Aramaic name; see John 19:17.
28 sn A place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”). This location is north and just outside of Jerusalem. The hill on which it is located protruded much like a skull, giving the place its name. The Latin word for the Greek term κρανίον (kranion) is calvaria, from which the English word “Calvary” is derived (cf. Luke 23:33 in the KJV).
29 tn Grk “from the sixth hour to the ninth hour.”
30 sn This imagery has parallels to the Day of the Lord: Joel 2:10; Amos 8:9; Zeph 1:15.