18:18 Now 6 a certain ruler 7 asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 8
1 tn Grk “in that very hour” (an idiom).
2 tn Grk “what it is necessary to say.”
3 tn Grk “says.” This is one of the few times Luke uses the historical present.
4 tn Or “obey”; Grk “hear.” This recalls the many OT texts calling for a righteous heart to respond to people in need (Deut 14:28-29; Isa 3:14-15; Amos 2:6-8; Mic 2:1-2; Zech 7:9-10).
5 sn The Son of Man’s suffering and rejection by this generation is another “it is necessary” type of event in God’s plan (Luke 4:43; 24:7, 26, 44) and the fifth passion prediction in Luke’s account (9:22, 44; 12:50; 13:32-33; for the last, see 18:32-33).
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
7 sn Only Luke states this man is a ruler (cf. the parallels in Matt 19:16-22 and Mark 10:17-22, where the questioner is described only as “someone”). He is probably a civic leader of some kind, a leader in the society.
8 sn The rich man wanted to know what he must do to inherit eternal life, but Jesus had just finished teaching that eternal life was not earned but simply received (18:17). See the similar question about inheriting eternal life in Luke 10:25.