Luke 18:22-23

18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have ¹  and give the money ²  to the poor, ³  and you will have treasure ⁴  in heaven. Then ⁵  come, follow me.” 18:23 But when the man ⁶  heard this he became very sad, ⁷  for he was extremely wealthy.

Luke 18:28-30

18:28 And Peter said, “Look, we have left everything we own ⁸  to follow you!” ⁹  18:29 Then ¹⁰  Jesus ¹¹  said to them, “I tell you the truth, ¹²  there is no one who has left home or wife or brothers ¹³  or parents or children for the sake of God’s kingdom 18:30 who will not receive many times more ¹⁴  in this age ¹⁵  – and in the age to come, eternal life.” ¹⁶ 

---

¹ sn See Luke 14:33.

² tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

³ sn See Luke 1:50-53; 6:20-23; 14:12-14.

⁴ sn The call for sacrifice comes with a promise of eternal reward: …you will have treasure in heaven. Jesus’ call is a test to see how responsive the man is to God’s direction through him. Will he walk the path God’s agent calls him to walk? For a rich person who got it right, see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the conversation.

⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn Or “very distressed” (L&N 25.277).

⁸ tn Or “left our homes,” “left our possessions”; Grk “left our own things.” The word ἴδιος (idios) can refer to one’s home (including the people and possessions in it) or to one’s property or possessions. Both options are mentioned in BDAG 467 s.v. 4.b. See also I. H. Marshall, Luke (NIGTC), 688; D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1488.

⁹ tn Grk “We have left everything we own and followed you.” Koine Greek often used paratactic structure when hypotactic was implied.

¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

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

¹² tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

¹³ tn The term “brothers” could be understood as generic here, referring to either male or female siblings. However, it is noteworthy that in the parallel passages in both Matt 19:29 and Mark 10:29, “sisters” are explicitly mentioned in the Greek text.

¹⁴ sn Jesus reassures his disciples with a promise that (1) much benefit in this life (many times more) and (2) eternal life in the age to come will be given.

¹⁵ tn Grk “this time” (καιρός, kairos), but for stylistic reasons this has been translated “this age” here.

¹⁶ sn Note that Luke (see also Matt 19:29; Mark 10:30; Luke 10:25) portrays eternal life as something one receives in the age to come, unlike John, who emphasizes the possibility of receiving eternal life in the present (John 5:24).