Luke 1:17

1:17 And he will go as forerunner before the Lord ¹  in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ²  to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”

Luke 4:18

4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed ³  me to proclaim good news ⁴  to the poor. ⁵ 

He has sent me ⁶  to proclaim release ⁷  to the captives

and the regaining of sight ⁸  to the blind,

to set free ⁹  those who are oppressed, ¹⁰ 

Luke 8:29

8:29 For Jesus ¹¹  had started commanding ¹²  the evil ¹³  spirit to come out of the man. (For it had seized him many times, so ¹⁴  he would be bound with chains and shackles ¹⁵  and kept under guard. But ¹⁶  he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted ¹⁷  places.) ¹⁸ 

Luke 10:21

10:21 On that same occasion ¹⁹  Jesus ²⁰  rejoiced ²¹  in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise ²²  you, Father, Lord ²³  of heaven and earth, because ²⁴  you have hidden these things from the wise ²⁵  and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will. ²⁶ 

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¹ tn Grk “before him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² sn These two lines cover all relationships: Turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children points to horizontal relationships, while (turn) the disobedient to the wisdom of the just shows what God gives from above in a vertical manner.

³ sn The phrase he has anointed me is an allusion back to Jesus’ baptism in Luke 3:21-22.

⁴ tn Grk “to evangelize,” “to preach the gospel.”

⁵ sn The poor is a key term in Luke. It refers to the pious poor and indicates Jesus’ desire to reach out to those the world tends to forget or mistreat. It is like 1:52 in force and also will be echoed in 6:20 (also 1 Pet 2:11-25). Jesus is commissioned to do this.

⁶ tc The majority of mss, especially the later Byzantines, include the phrase “to heal the brokenhearted” at this point (A Θ Ψ 0102 ˹ Ï). The phrase is lacking in several weighty mss (א B D L W Ξ Ë¹³ 33 579 700 892* pc lat sy^s co), including representatives from both the Alexandrian and Western texttypes. From the standpoint of external evidence, the omission of the phrase is more likely original. When internal evidence is considered, the shorter reading becomes almost certain. Scribes would be much more prone to add the phrase here to align the text with Isa 61:1, the source of the quotation, than to remove it from the original.

⁷ sn The release in view here is comprehensive, both at a physical level and a spiritual one, as the entire ministry of Jesus makes clear (Luke 1:77-79; 7:47; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 5:31; 10:43).

⁸ sn Again, as with the previous phrase, regaining of sight may well mean more than simply miraculously restoring physical sight, which itself pictures a deeper reality (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).

⁹ sn The essence of Jesus’ messianic work is expressed in the phrase to set free. This line from Isa 58 says that Jesus will do what the nation had failed to do. It makes the proclamation messianic, not merely prophetic, because Jesus doesn’t just proclaim the message – he brings the deliverance. The word translated set free is the same Greek word (ἄφεσις, afesi") translated release earlier in the verse.

¹⁰ sn Again, as with the previous phrases, oppressed may well mean more than simply political or economic oppression, but a deeper reality of oppression by sin (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).

¹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² tc ‡ Although the external evidence favors the aorist παρήγγειλεν (parhngeilen, “he commanded”; Ì⁷⁵ B Θ Ξ Ψ Ë¹³ 579 700 1241 1424 2542 pm), the internal evidence favors the imperfect παρήγγελλεν (parhngellen, here translated “he had started commanding”; א A C K L W Γ Δ 1 33 565 892 pm). The aorist is suspect because it can more easily be taken as a single command, and thus an immediate exorcism. The imperfect would most likely be ingressive (BDF §§328; 329; 331), suggesting that Jesus started to command the evil spirit to depart, and continued the command.

¹³ tn Grk “unclean.”

¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so,” introducing a clause that gives the result of the man being seized by the demon.

¹⁵ tn Or “fetters”; these were chains for the feet.

¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

¹⁷ tn Grk “into the deserts.” The plural use here has been translated as “deserted places,” that is, uninhabited areas.

¹⁸ sn This is a parenthetical, explanatory comment by the author.

¹⁹ tn Grk “In that same hour” (L&N 67.1).

²⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²¹ sn Jesus rejoiced. The account of the mission in 10:1-24 ends with several remarks about joy.

²² tn Or “thank.”

²³ sn The title Lord is an important name for God, showing his sovereignty, but it is interesting that it comes next to a reference to the Father, a term indicative of God’s care. The two concepts are often related in the NT; see Eph 1:3-6.

²⁴ tn Or “that.”

²⁵ sn See 1 Cor 1:26-31.

²⁶ tn Grk “for (to do) thus was well pleasing before you,” BDAG 325 s.v. ἔμπροσθεν 1.δ; speaking of something taking place “before” God is a reverential way of avoiding direct connection of the action to him.