Lukas 8:45

8:45 Then ¹  Jesus asked, ²  “Who was it who touched me?” When they all denied it, Peter ³  said, “Master, the crowds are surrounding you and pressing ⁴  against you!”

Lukas 12:1

Fear God, Not People

12:1 Meanwhile, ⁵  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ⁶  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ⁷  the yeast of the Pharisees, ⁸  which is hypocrisy. ⁹ 

Matius 4:18-22

The Call of the Disciples

4:18 As ¹⁰  he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen). ¹¹  4:19 He said to them, “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people.” ¹²  4:20 They ¹³  left their nets immediately and followed him. ¹⁴  4:21 Going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat ¹⁵  with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. Then ¹⁶  he called them. 4:22 They ¹⁷  immediately left the boat and their father and followed him.

Matius 11:12

11:12 From ¹⁸  the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and forceful people lay hold of it. ¹⁹ 

Markus 1:16-20

1:16 As he went along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen). ²⁰  1:17 Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people.” ²¹  1:18 They left their nets immediately and followed him. ²²  1:19 Going on a little farther, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother in their ²³  boat mending nets. 1:20 Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Markus 3:9

3:9 Because of the crowd, he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him so the crowd ²⁴  would not press toward him.

Markus 5:24

5:24 Jesus ²⁵  went with him, and a large crowd followed and pressed around him.

[8:45]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:45]  ² tn Grk “said.”

[8:45]  ³ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (א A C*^,3 D L W Θ Ξ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt), also have “and those together with him” (with two different Greek constructions for the phrase “with him”), while several important witnesses omit this phrase (Ì⁷⁵ B Π 700* al sa). The singular verb εἶπεν (eipen, “he said”) could possibly suggest that only Peter was originally mentioned, but, if the longer reading is authentic, then εἶπεν would focus on Peter as the spokesman for the group, highlighting his prominence (cf. ExSyn 401-2). Nevertheless, the longer reading looks like a clarifying note, harmonizing this account with Mark 5:31.

[8:45]  ⁴ sn Pressing is a graphic term used in everyday Greek of pressing grapes. Peter says in effect, “How could you ask this? Everyone is touching you!”

[12:1]  ⁵ tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en Jois) can be translated “meanwhile.”

[12:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:1]  ⁷ tn According to L&N 27.59, “to pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be alert for, to be on your guard against.” This is another Lukan present imperative calling for constant vigilance.

[12:1]  ⁸ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[12:1]  ⁹ sn The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.

[4:18]  ¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[4:18]  ¹¹ tn The two phrases in this verse placed in parentheses are explanatory comments by the author, parenthetical in nature.

[4:19]  ¹² tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”

[4:19]  sn The kind of fishing envisioned was net – not line – fishing (cf. v. 18; cf. also BDAG 55 s.v. ἀμφιβάλλω, ἀμφίβληστρον) 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). 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.

[4:20]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[4:20]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[4:22]  ¹⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[11:12]  ¹⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[11:12]  ¹⁹ tn Or “the kingdom of heaven is forcibly entered and violent people take hold of it.” For a somewhat different interpretation of this passage, see the note on the phrase “urged to enter in” in Luke 16:16.

[1:16]  ²⁰ sn This is a parenthetical comment by the author.

[1:17]  ²¹ tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”

[1:17]  sn The kind of fishing envisioned was net – not line – fishing (cf. v. 16; cf. also BDAG 55 s.v. ἀμφιβάλλω, ἀμφίβληστρον) 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). 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.

[1:18]  ²² 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.

[1:19]  ²³ tn Or “a boat.” The phrase ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ (en tw ploiw) can either refer to a generic boat, some boat (as it seems to do in Matt 4:21); 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).

[3:9]  ²⁴ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:24]  ²⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.