Luke 1:38

1:38 So Mary said, “Yes, I am a servant of the Lord; let this happen to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:41

1:41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 10 

Luke 2:51

2:51 Then 11  he went down with them and came to Nazareth, 12  and was obedient 13  to them. But 14  his mother kept all these things 15  in her heart. 16 

Luke 7:47

7:47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much; 17  but the one who is forgiven little loves little.”

Luke 8:52

8:52 Now they were all 18  wailing and mourning 19  for her, but he said, “Stop your weeping; she is not dead but asleep.”

Luke 15:9

15:9 Then 20  when she has found it, she calls together her 21  friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice 22  with me, for I have found the coin 23  that I had lost.’

Luke 16:18

16:18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries 24  someone else commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

Luke 21:4

21:4 For they all offered their gifts out of their wealth. 25  But she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had to live on.” 26 


tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

tn Grk “behold.”

tn Traditionally, “handmaid”; Grk “slave woman.” Though δούλη (doulh) is normally translated “woman servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free woman serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times… in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v. δοῦλος). The most accurate translation is “bondservant,” sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος (doulos), in that it often indicates one who sells himself or herself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

tn Grk “let this be to me.”

sn The remark according to your word is a sign of Mary’s total submission to God’s will, a response that makes her exemplary.

tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

tn Grk “And it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here either.

sn When the baby leaped John gave his first testimony about Jesus, a fulfillment of 1:15.

tn The antecedent of “her” is Elizabeth.

10 sn The passage makes clear that Elizabeth spoke her commentary with prophetic enablement, filled with the Holy Spirit.

11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

12 map For location see Map1-D3; Map2-C2; Map3-D5; Map4-C1; Map5-G3.

13 tn Or “was submitting.”

14 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast.

15 tn Or “all these words.”

16 sn On the phrase his mother kept all these things in her heart compare Luke 2:19.

17 tn Grk “for she loved much.” The connection between this statement and the preceding probably involves an ellipsis, to the effect that the ὅτι clause gives the evidence of forgiveness, not the ground. For similar examples of an “evidentiary” ὅτι, cf. Luke 1:22; 6:21; 13:2. See discussion in D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:703-5. Further evidence that this is the case here is the final statement: “the one who is forgiven little loves little” means that the one who is forgiven little is thus not able to love much. The REB renders this verse: “her great love proves that her many sins have been forgiven; where little has been forgiven, little love is shown.”

sn She loved much. Jesus’ point is that the person who realizes how great a gift forgiveness is (because they have a deep sense of sin) has a great love for the one who forgives, that is, God. The woman’s acts of reverence to Jesus honored him as the one who brought God’s message of grace.

18 sn This group probably includes outside or even professional mourners, not just family, because a large group seems to be present.

19 tn Grk “beating the breasts” (in mourning); see L&N 52.1.

20 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

21 tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

22 sn Rejoice. Besides the theme of pursuing the lost, the other theme of the parable is the joy of finding them.

23 tn Grk “drachma.”

24 sn The examples of marriage and divorce show that the ethical standards of the new era are still faithful to promises made in the presence of God. To contribute to the breakup of a marriage, which involved a vow before God, is to commit adultery. This works whether one gets a divorce or marries a person who is divorced, thus finalizing the breakup of the marriage. Jesus’ point concerns the need for fidelity and ethical integrity in the new era.

25 tn Grk “out of what abounded to them.”

26 tn Or “put in her entire livelihood.”