Lukas 8:19

Jesus’ True Family

8:19 Now Jesus’ ¹  mother and his brothers ²  came to him, but ³  they could not get near him because of the crowd.

Lukas 19:3

19:3 He ⁴  was trying to get a look at Jesus, ⁵  but being a short man he could not see over the crowd. ⁶ 

[8:19]  ¹ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:19]  ² sn The issue of whether Jesus had brothers (siblings) has had a long history in the church. Epiphanius, in the 4th century, argued that Mary was a perpetual virgin and had no offspring other than Jesus. Others argued that these brothers were really cousins. Nothing in the text suggests any of this. See also John 7:3.

[8:19]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[19:3]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:3]  ⁵ tn Grk “He was trying to see who Jesus was.”

[19:3]  ⁶ tn Grk “and he was not able to because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.”