65:1 “I made myself available to those who did not ask for me; 1
I appeared to those who did not look for me. 2
I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’
to a nation that did not invoke 3 my name.
4:18 As 4 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). 5 4:19 He said to them, “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people.” 6 4:20 They 7 left their nets immediately and followed him. 8 4:21 Going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat 9 with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. Then 10 he called them.
9:9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. 11 “Follow me,” he said to him. And he got up and followed him.
3:12 Not that I have already attained this – that is, I have not already been perfected – but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. 13
3:1 Finally, my brothers and sisters, 14 rejoice in the Lord! To write this again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.
4:19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see 15 that you are a prophet.
1 tn Heb “I allowed myself to be sought by those who did not ask.”
2 tn Heb “I allowed myself to be found by those who did not seek.”
3 tn Heb “call out in”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “call on.”
4 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
5 tn The two phrases in this verse placed in parentheses are explanatory comments by the author, parenthetical in nature.
6 tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) 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 (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.
7 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
8 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.
9 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.
10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
11 tn While “tax office” is sometimes given as a translation for τελώνιον (telwnion, so L&N 57.183), this could give the modern reader a false impression of an indoor office with all its associated furnishings.
sn The tax booth was a booth located on the edge of a city or town to collect taxes for trade. There was a tax booth in Capernaum, which was on the trade route from Damascus to Galilee and the Mediterranean. The “taxes” were collected on produce and goods brought into the area for sale, and were a sort of “sales tax” paid by the seller but obviously passed on to the purchaser in the form of increased prices (L&N 57.183). It was here that Jesus met Matthew (also named Levi [see Mark 2:14, Luke 5:27]) who was ultimately employed by the Romans, though perhaps more directly responsible to Herod Antipas. It was his job to collect taxes for Rome and he was thus despised by Jews who undoubtedly regarded him as a traitor.
12 sn The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost is Jesus’ mission succinctly defined. See Luke 15:1-32.
13 tn Grk “that for which I also was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” The passive has been translated as active in keeping with contemporary English style.
14 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.
15 tn Grk “behold” or “perceive,” but these are not as common in contemporary English usage.