References (35)
As he went on from there, he saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. [They were also fishermen.] They were sitting in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them [in the same way he had called Simon Peter and Andrew].
These are the names of the twelve apostles:
first Simon, who is called Peter,
and Andrew, his brother,
[then] James, the son of Zebedee,
and John, his brother,
Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother
John up a high mountain where they could be alone
(in seclusion).
[According to tradition, it is Mount Tabor, but it is more likely that it is Mount Hermon near Caesarea Philippi, which is the last place Jesus visited, see . It is likely that Matthew is referring to how Moses went up Mount Sinai and after six days saw God, see . Jesus is the second Moses spoken of in and the one who fulfills Moses' calling.]A little further on, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, who were mending their nets in their boat.
[In Capernaum lived Peter, his wife, his mother-in-law, and his brother Andrew, see . Jesus also lived here during his active time in Galilee. Peter's wife accompanied him on his later journeys, see .] Jesus immediately left the synagogue and went to Simon and Andrew's house, together with
[the brothers] James and
John.
[According to Jewish custom, the main meal on the Sabbath was eaten at midday, immediately after the service.] James, the son of Zebedee,
John, the brother of James – Jesus gave them [James and John, the Hebrew] the name Boanerges, which means sons of thunder (tumult) [perhaps because of their hot temper, see ] –
Jesus did not allow anyone to accompany him except Peter, James, and his brother John.
Six days after this, Jesus took Peter, James, and
John with him and led them up a high mountain, alone in seclusion.
[The Bible does not specify which mountain this took place on. They had recently been in Caesarea Philippi in the north, see , and afterwards it is mentioned that they are in Galilee, see . The two most common alternatives suggested by Bible scholars are the high mountain Hermon in the north, not far from Caesarea Philippi, or Mount Tabor in southern Galilee, which can be reached in four days from Caesarea Philippi.]His appearance was transformed before them,
[John, the youngest disciple, remembers a time when they tried to stop a man who did not do things exactly the same way they did. Now he asks Jesus if they had been too critical in condemning him.]
John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not with us (one of your disciples)."
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee [together with their mother Salome, see ], came to him and said, "Teacher, we want you to give us whatever we ask of you."
When the other ten heard this, they were very upset with James and John (they felt deep pain and anger because something wrong had happened).
[Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives, located one and a half kilometers east of Jerusalem. From there, they could see all of Jerusalem and the temple they had just left.] When Jesus sat down on
the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James,
John, and Andrew asked him privately:
He took Peter, James, and John with him, and began to tremble (a sudden wave of fear came over him) and a tremendous weight came upon him (the strongest Greek word for mental pressure).
so also [equally speechless were] James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were companions of Simon.
Jesus said to Simon: "Do not be afraid, from now on you will catch (spare, free) people." [The word "catch" literally means to catch alive, save and spare lives. Whoever is 'caught' by Jesus receives new life. The word is only used here and in , where it is used of people held captive in the devil's snare. Both Peter and the devil capture people, but Jesus' servants "capture" to free and the devil to bind to do his will.]
Simon, whom he also named Peter,
and his brother Andrew,
and James,
and John,
and Philip,
and Bartholomew [also called Nathanael],
When he arrived at the house, he did not allow anyone to accompany him except Peter, John, James, and the girl's father [Jairus] and mother.
About eight days after Jesus said this
[that he would come in glory and that some of them would see the kingdom of God with their eyes, see ], he took Peter,
John, and James with him and went up the mountain to pray.
[The Bible does not specify which mountain this took place on. They had recently been in Caesarea Philippi in the north (), and afterwards it is mentioned that they were in Galilee (). The two most common alternatives suggested by Bible scholars are the high mountain Hermon in the north, not far from Caesarea Philippi, or Mount Tabor in southern Galilee, which can be reached in four days from Caesarea Philippi.][John, the youngest disciple, remembers a time when they tried to stop a man who did not do things exactly the same way they did. Had they been too critical in condemning him?]
John said to him, "Master, we saw a man who does not follow us casting out demons in your name, and we forbade (prevented) him again and again because he was not with us (one of your disciples)."
When his disciples James and John [the brothers whom Jesus called "sons of thunder," see ] found out about this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them [just as Elijah did]?" []
Jesus sent Peter and John away, saying, "Go and prepare so that we may eat the Passover meal."
When they arrived, they went up to the upper room where they used to be (had a habit of gathering):
Peter
and James
and John
and Andrew;
Philip
and Thomas,
Bartholomew [also called Nathanael]
and Matthew;
James, the son of Alphaeus,
and Simon the Zealot
[Zealot literally means "the devoted, zealous, fanatical," and may imply that he was a member of the Jewish resistance movement against the Roman Empire.]
and Judas, the son of James.
[Three groups emerge when the apostles are listed. Peter, Philip, and James are always mentioned as the first names in each group, see ; ; . In the original text, all names except Peter, Philip, Bartholomew, and James are preceded by the Greek kai, the word "and". A linguistic detail for grouping.]
Peter and
John were on their way up to the temple for prayer at the ninth hour
(three o'clock in the afternoon).
[It was probably still a feast day, and many people were moving about in Jerusalem. It was customary to pray three times during the day, see ; ; . Two of these prayer times coincided with the morning and afternoon sacrifices in the temple: prayer at the third and ninth hours, see . The Jewish historian Josephus also mentions these two prayer times (morning and ninth hour) in his work Antiquities of the Jews (book 14, 4:3).]When he saw Peter and John about to enter the temple, he asked them for a gift.
They looked intently at him, and Peter said, "Look at us!"
Now, while the man stayed close to Peter and John, people came running and gathered around them in the passageway called Solomon's Colonnade [which was along the eastern side of the temple area]. They were completely beside themselves with amazement.
They were completely amazed when they saw Peter and John's boldness (their clarity and confidence in speech). At the same time, the fact that they were uneducated men began to sink into their consciousness. [Peter and John had not studied under any rabbi and had not received a formal theological education.] But then it became clear to them that they had been with Jesus.
But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge (decide),
When the apostles in
Jerusalem heard that
[the region of] Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and
John there.
Herod [Agrippa I] executed James, the brother of John [son of Zebedee, one of the twelve disciples], with the sword.
[James belonged to the inner circle of Jesus' disciples. He had been with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration together with his brother John and Peter, see . This chapter describes how James is killed while Peter receives a visit from angels and is freed, see . Why is Peter saved but not James? The Bible does not answer this question, but says that we must always be ready to depart. The persecution also intensified prayer in the church. Jesus' words to James came true, see . Jesus' words to Peter that he would grow old must also come true, see .]
When James, Cephas
(Peter), and
John, who were known as
(had a reputation for being) pillars
[in the Jerusalem church], felt
(understood, had a personal experience of) the grace of God that I had received, they extended their hands to me and Barnabas in cooperation. We agreed that we
[Barnabas and I] would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised
(Jews).
[The Book of Revelation begins with a preface describing how the book came into being. Verses 1-2 form a chiastic pattern framed by the phrases "the revelation of the Anointed One" and "the testimony of the Anointed One." The second level mentions God and God's word. The third level mentions John, who calls himself a servant. Centrally mentioned is the messenger, the angel, who is sent to convey the message of what is to happen soon/quickly.]
This is the revelation (unveiling, making visible – Gk. apokalypsis) [can be translated as the revelation "about" or "from" Jesus],
which God gave him [Jesus]
to show his servants [including John] what must soon (quickly) take place.
[The word for "soon," Gk. tachei, probably means that once these events begin to happen, they will happen quickly. This is consistent with Jesus' words in that time will be "shortened."]
He sent out his messenger (angel)
and made it known to his servant John,
[From:] John,
to the seven churches
(the called out ones – Gk. ekklesia) in
[the Roman province] Asia.
[Present-day western Turkey, where Ephesus was the largest city. The number seven also stands for perfection. There were more than seven churches in this area, so the seven churches represent God's worldwide church throughout all ages.] Grace
(power, God's favor) be with you
and peace
from him
[God the Father] who is
and who was
and who is to come
[a periphrasis of the name of God Yahweh – eternal, ever-present],
and from the seven spirits
[the Holy Spirit, who is perfect] before his throne
I,
John, your brother – who shares with you in the suffering, the kingdom, and the endurance – in Jesus.
[Both the suffering, because of faith, and the sharing in the kingdom were a reality, balanced by steadfastness.] I was on the island of
Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
[In the middle of the Aegean Sea lies Patmos, which was used as a Roman penal colony. John had been exiled there from Ephesus. The phrase "because of the word of God" indicates that the reason was that he had testified about Jesus and refused to worship the emperor. During the reign of Emperor Domitian, 81-96 AD, there was a strong imperial cult in the city.]And I saw the holy city – the new
(a new) Jerusalem – coming down from
[out of] heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
[ describes the next step in the wedding – the bride has become the Lamb's wife.]I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me.
