Luke 1:76

1:76 And you, child, ¹  will be called the prophet ²  of the Most High. ³ 

For you will go before ⁴  the Lord to prepare his ways, ⁵ 

Luke 4:17

4:17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He ⁶  unrolled ⁷  the scroll and found the place where it was written,

Luke 4:27

4:27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, ⁸  yet ⁹  none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” ¹⁰ 

Luke 7:16

7:16 Fear ¹¹  seized them all, and they began to glorify ¹²  God, saying, “A great prophet ¹³  has appeared ¹⁴  among us!” and “God has come to help ¹⁵  his people!”

Luke 13:33

13:33 Nevertheless I must ¹⁶  go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, because it is impossible ¹⁷  that a prophet should be killed ¹⁸  outside Jerusalem.’ ¹⁹ 

Luke 20:6

20:6 But if we say, ‘From people,’ all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.”

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¹ sn Now Zechariah describes his son John (you, child) through v. 77.

² tn Or “a prophet”; but since Greek nouns can be definite without the article, and since in context this is a reference to the eschatological forerunner of the Messiah (cf. John 1:17), the concept is better conveyed to the English reader by the use of the definite article “the.”

³ sn In other words, John is a prophet of God; see 1:32 and 7:22-23, 28.

⁴ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (A C D L Θ Ψ 0130 Ë^1,13 33 Ï sy), have πρὸ προσώπου κυρίου (pro proswpou kuriou, “before the face of the Lord”), but the translation follows the reading ἐνώπιον κυρίου (enwpion kuriou, “before the Lord”), which has earlier and better ms support (Ì⁴ א B W 0177 pc) and is thus more likely to be authentic.

⁵ tn This term is often translated in the singular, looking specifically to the forerunner role, but the plural suggests the many elements in that salvation.

sn On the phrase prepare his ways see Isa 40:3-5 and Luke 3:1-6.

⁶ tn Grk “And unrolling the scroll he found.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Instead a new sentence has been started in the translation.

⁷ tn Grk “opening,” but a scroll of this period would have to be unrolled. The participle ἀναπτύξας (anaptuxa") has been translated as a finite verb due to the requirements of contemporary English style.

⁸ sn On Elisha see 2 Kgs 5:1-14.

⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast.

¹⁰ sn The reference to Naaman the Syrian (see 2 Kgs 5:1-24) is another example where an outsider and Gentile was blessed. The stress in the example is the missed opportunity of the people to experience God’s work, but it will still go on without them.

¹¹ tn Or “Awe.” Grk “fear,” but the context and the following remark show that it is mixed with wonder; see L&N 53.59. This is a reaction to God’s work; see Luke 5:9.

¹² tn This imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

¹³ sn That Jesus was a great prophet was a natural conclusion for the crowd to make, given the healing; but Jesus is more than this. See Luke 9:8, 19-20.

¹⁴ tn Grk “arisen.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “visited,” but this conveys a different impression to a modern reader. L&N 85.11 renders the verb, “to be present, with the implication of concern – ‘to be present to help, to be on hand to aid.’ … ‘God has come to help his people’ Lk 7:16.” The language recalls Luke 1:68, 78.

¹⁶ tn This is the frequent expression δεῖ (dei, “it is necessary”) that notes something that is a part of God’s plan.

¹⁷ tn Or “unthinkable.” See L&N 71.4 for both possible meanings.

¹⁸ tn Or “should perish away from.”

¹⁹ sn Death in Jerusalem is another key theme in Luke’s material: 7:16, 34; 24:19; Acts 3:22-23. Notice that Jesus sees himself in the role of a prophet here. Jesus’ statement, it is impossible that a prophet should be killed outside Jerusalem, is filled with irony; Jesus, traveling about in Galilee (most likely), has nothing to fear from Herod; it is his own people living in the very center of Jewish religion and worship who present the greatest danger to his life. The underlying idea is that Jerusalem, though she stands at the very heart of the worship of God, often kills the prophets God sends to her (v. 34). In the end, Herod will be much less a threat than Jerusalem.

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