11:5 Then 29 he said to them, “Suppose one of you 30 has a friend, and you go to him 31 at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 32
20:20 Then 40 they watched him carefully and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. 41 They wanted to take advantage of what he might say 42 so that they could deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction 43 of the governor.
23:26 As 47 they led him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene, 48 who was coming in from the country. 49 They placed the cross on his back and made him carry it behind Jesus. 50
1 tn The passive means that the prayer was heard by God.
sn Your prayer has been heard. Zechariah’s prayer while offering the sacrifice would have been for the nation, but the answer to the prayer also gave them a long hoped-for child, a hope they had abandoned because of their old age.
2 tn Grk “a son, and you”; καί (kai) has not been translated. Instead a semicolon is used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Grk “you will call his name John.” The future tense here functions like a command (see ExSyn 569-70). This same construction occurs in v. 31.
sn “Do not be afraid…you must call his name John.” This is a standard birth announcement (see Gen 16:11; Isa 7:14; Matt 1:21; Luke 1:31).
4 sn The strips of cloth (traditionally, “swaddling cloths”) were strips of linen that would be wrapped around the arms and legs of an infant to keep the limbs protected.
5 tn Or “a feeding trough.”
6 tn The Greek word κατάλυμα is flexible, and usage in the LXX and NT refers to a variety of places for lodging (see BDAG 521 s.v.). Most likely Joseph and Mary sought lodging in the public accommodations in the city of Bethlehem (see J. Nolland, Luke [WBC], 1:105), which would have been crude shelters for people and animals. However, it has been suggested by various scholars that Joseph and Mary were staying with relatives in Bethlehem (e.g., C. S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 194; B. Witherington, “Birth of Jesus,” DJG, 69-70); if that were so the term would refer to the guest room in the relatives’ house, which would have been filled beyond capacity with all the other relatives who had to journey to Bethlehem for the census.
sn There was no place for them in the inn. There is no drama in how this is told. There is no search for a variety of places to stay or a heartless innkeeper. (Such items are later, nonbiblical embellishments.) Bethlehem was not large and there was simply no other place to stay. The humble surroundings of the birth are ironic in view of the birth’s significance.
7 tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
8 tn Grk “when they”; the referent (his parents) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Grk “And his.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
10 tn The Greek word here is τέκνον (teknon) rather than υἱός (Juios, “son”).
11 tn Or “Child, why did you do this to us?”
12 tn Or “your father and I have been terribly worried looking for you.”
13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast implied in the context: They wanted to bring the man to Jesus, but found no way.
14 tn Grk “But finding.” The participle εὑρόντες (Jeuronte") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.
15 sn A house in 1st century Palestine would have had a flat roof with stairs or a ladder going up. This access was often from the outside of the house.
16 tn This word, κλινίδιον (klinidion), is a different Greek word than the one used in the previous verse (κλίνη, klinh). In this context both may be translated “stretcher” (see L&N 6.106 and 6.107).
17 tn There is a translational problem at this point in the text. The term Luke uses is κέραμος (keramo"). It can in certain contexts mean “clay,” but usually this is in reference to pottery (see BDAG 540 s.v. 1). The most natural definition in this instance is “roof tile” (used in the translation above). However, tiles were generally not found in Galilee. Recent archaeological research has suggested that this house, which would have probably been typical for the area, could not have supported “a second story, nor could the original roof have been masonry; no doubt it was made from beams and branches of trees covered with a mixture of earth and straw” (J. F. Strange and H. Shanks, “Has the House Where Jesus Stayed in Capernaum Been Found?” BAR 8, no. 6 [Nov/Dec 1982]: 34). Luke may simply have spoken of building materials that would be familiar to his readers.
18 tn Grk “in the midst.”
19 sn The phrase right in front of Jesus trailing as it does at the end of the verse is slightly emphatic, adding a little note of drama: What would Jesus do?
20 tn Or “pleased with him and amazed.” The expanded translation brings out both Jesus’ sense of wonder at the deep insight of the soldier and the pleasure he had that he could present the man as an example of faith.
21 sn There are two elements to the faith that Jesus commended: The man’s humility and his sense of Jesus’ authority which recognized that only Jesus’ word, not his physical presence, were required.
22 tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
23 tn This is a good example of a second class (contrary to fact) Greek conditional sentence. The Pharisee said, in effect, “If this man were a prophet (but he is not)…”
24 sn The Pharisees believed in a form of separationism that would have prevented them from any kind of association with such a sinful woman.
25 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
26 tn Or “could not remain unnoticed” (see L&N 28.83).
27 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. The order of the clauses in the remainder of the verse has been rearranged to reflect contemporary English style.
28 tn Grk “told for what reason.”
29 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
30 tn Grk “Who among you will have a friend and go to him.”
31 tn Grk “he will go to him.”
32 tn The words “of bread” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by ἄρτους (artou", “loaves”).
33 tn This term refers to the heavy upper stone of a grinding mill (L&N 7.70; BDAG 660 s.v. μυλικός).
sn The punishment of drowning with a heavy weight attached is extremely gruesome and reflects Jesus’ views concerning those who cause others who believe in him to sin.
34 tn Grk “if a millstone were tied…and he were thrown.” The conditional construction in Greek has been translated by English infinitives: “to have… and be thrown.”
35 tn Or “to stumble.” This verb, σκανδαλίσῃ (skandalish), has the same root as the noun σκάνδαλον (skandalon) in 17:1, translated “stumbling blocks”; this wordplay is difficult to reproduce in English. It is possible that the primary cause of offense here would be leading disciples (“little ones”) astray in a similar fashion.
36 sn This slave (along with the next two) represent the prophets God sent to the nation, who were mistreated and rejected.
37 tc Instead of the future indicative δώσουσιν (dwsousin, “they will give”), most witnesses (C D W Θ Ψ Ë1 Ï) have the aorist subjunctive δῶσιν (dwsin, “they might give”). The aorist subjunctive is expected following ἵνα ({ina, “so that”), so it is almost surely a motivated reading. Further, early and excellent witnesses, as well as a few others (א A B Ë13 33 579 1241 2542 al), have δώσουσιν. It is thus more likely that the future indicative is authentic. For a discussion of this construction, see BDF §369.2.
38 tn Grk “from the fruit of the vineyard.”
39 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the slave sent by the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
sn The image of the tenants beating up the owner’s slave pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.
40 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
41 tn Grk “righteous,” but in this context the point is their false sincerity.
42 tn Grk “so that they might catch him in some word.”
43 tn This word is often translated “authority” in other contexts, but here, in combination with ἀρχή (arch), it refers to the domain or sphere of the governor’s rule (L&N 37.36).
44 tn This term also appears in v. 2.
45 tn Grk “behold, I” A transitional use of ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here.
46 tn Grk “nothing did I find in this man by way of cause.” The reference to “nothing” is emphatic.
47 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
48 sn Jesus was beaten severely with a whip before this (the prelude to crucifixion, known to the Romans as verberatio, mentioned in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1), so he would have been weak from trauma and loss of blood. Apparently he was unable to bear the cross himself, so Simon was conscripted to help. Cyrene was located in North Africa where Tripoli is today. Nothing more is known about this Simon. Mark 15:21 names him as father of two people apparently known to Mark’s audience.
49 tn Or perhaps, “was coming in from his field” outside the city (BDAG 15-16 s.v. ἀγρός 1).
50 tn Grk “they placed the cross on him to carry behind Jesus.”
51 tn A figurative extension of the literal meaning “to turn one’s nose up at someone”; here “ridicule, sneer at, show contempt for” (L&N 33.409).
52 sn The irony in the statement Let him save himself is that salvation did come, but later, not while on the cross.
53 tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.
54 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
sn See the note on Christ in 2:11.