19:11 While the people were listening to these things, Jesus 67 proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, 68 and because they thought 69 that the kingdom of God 70 was going to 71 appear immediately.
1 tn The verb here is ποιέω (poiew; see v. 4).
2 tn Grk “fruits.” The plural Greek term καρπούς has been translated with the collective singular “fruit” (so NIV; cf. Matt 3:8 where the singular καρπός is found). Some other translations render the plural καρπούς as “fruits” (e.g., NRSV, NASB, NAB, NKJV).
3 tn In other words, “do not even begin to think this.”
4 sn We have Abraham as our father. John’s warning to the crowds really assumes two things: (1) A number of John’s listeners apparently believed that simply by their physical descent from Abraham, they were certain heirs of the promises made to the patriarch, and (2) God would never judge his covenant people lest he inadvertently place the fulfillment of his promises in jeopardy. In light of this, John tells these people two things: (1) they need to repent and produce fruit in keeping with repentance, for only that saves from the coming wrath, and (2) God will raise up “children for Abraham from these stones” if he wants to. Their disobedience will not threaten the realization of God’s sovereign purposes.
5 sn The point of the statement God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham is that ancestry or association with a tradition tied to the great founder of the Jewish nation is not an automatic source of salvation.
6 sn Elijah’s days. Jesus, by discussing Elijah and Elisha, pictures one of the lowest periods in Israel’s history. These examples, along with v. 24, also show that Jesus is making prophetic claims as well as messianic ones. See 1 Kgs 17-18.
7 tn Or “the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. Since the context here refers to a drought (which produced the famine), “sky” is preferable.
8 tn Grk “as.” The particle ὡς can also function temporally (see BDAG 1105-6 s.v. 8).
9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
10 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 sn The silence ordered by Jesus was probably meant to last only until the cleansing took place with the priests and sought to prevent Jesus’ healings from becoming the central focus of the people’s reaction to him. See also 4:35, 41; 8:56 for other cases where Jesus asks for silence with reference to miracles.
12 tn The words “commanded him” are not in the Greek text but have been supplied for clarity. This verse moves from indirect to direct discourse. This abrupt change is very awkward, so the words have been supplied to smooth out the transition.
13 tn Grk “Going, show.” The participle ἀπελθών (apelqwn) has been translated as an attendant circumstance participle. Here the syntax also changes somewhat abruptly from indirect discourse to direct discourse.
14 tn The words “the offering” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
15 sn On the phrase as Moses commanded see Lev 14:1-32.
16 tn Or “as an indictment against them”; or “as proof to the people.” This phrase could be taken as referring to a positive witness to the priests, a negative testimony against them, or as a testimony to the community that the man had indeed been cured. In any case, the testimony shows that Jesus is healing and ministering to those in need.
17 sn Now Jesus put the two actions together. The walking of the man would be proof (so that you may know) that his sins were forgiven and that God had worked through Jesus (i.e., the Son of Man).
18 sn The term Son of Man, which is a title in Greek, comes from a pictorial description in Dan 7:13 of one “like a son of man” (i.e., a human being). It is Jesus’ favorite way to refer to himself. Jesus did not reveal the background of the term here, which mixes human and divine imagery as the man in Daniel rides a cloud, something only God does. He just used it. It also could be an idiom in Aramaic meaning either “some person” or “me.” So there is a little ambiguity in its use here, since its origin is not clear at this point. However, the action makes it clear that Jesus used it to refer to himself here.
19 tn Grk “to the one who was paralyzed”; the Greek participle is substantival and has been simplified to a simple adjective and noun in the translation.
sn Jesus did not finish his sentence with words but with action, that is, healing the paralytic with an accompanying pronouncement to him directly.
20 tn This word, κλινίδιον (klinidion), is the same as the one used in v. 19. In this context it may be translated “stretcher” (see L&N 6.107).
21 tn Grk “to your house.”
22 tn Or “pleased with him and amazed.” The expanded translation brings out both Jesus’ sense of wonder at the deep insight of the soldier and the pleasure he had that he could present the man as an example of faith.
23 sn There are two elements to the faith that Jesus commended: The man’s humility and his sense of Jesus’ authority which recognized that only Jesus’ word, not his physical presence, were required.
24 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the relationship to Jesus’ miraculous cures in the preceding sentence.
25 tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation to “he answered them.”
26 sn The same verb has been translated “inform” in 7:18.
27 sn What you have seen and heard. The following activities all paraphrase various OT descriptions of the time of promised salvation: Isa 35:5-6; 26:19; 29:18-19; 61:1. Jesus is answering not by acknowledging a title, but by pointing to the nature of his works, thus indicating the nature of the time.
28 tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
29 sn In the Greek text greater is at the beginning of the clause in the emphatic position. John the Baptist was the greatest man of the old era.
30 tc The earliest and best
31 sn After John comes a shift of eras. The new era is so great that the lowest member of it (the one who is least in the kingdom of God) is greater than the greatest one of the previous era.
32 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ proclamation. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21. It is not strictly future, though its full manifestation is yet to come. That is why membership in it starts right after John the Baptist.
33 sn This is what past prophets and kings had wanted very much to see, yet the fulfillment had come to the disciples. This remark is like 1 Pet 1:10-12 or Heb 1:1-2.
34 sn Gen 4:10 indicates that Abel’s blood cried out for justice.
35 sn It is not clear which Zechariah is meant here. It is probably the person mentioned in 2 Chr 24:20-25.
36 tn Or “who perished.”
37 tn Or “and the temple”; Grk “and the house,” but in this context a reference to the house of God as a place of sanctuary.
38 tn Or “required from.”
39 tn Grk “will show,” but in this reflective context such a demonstration is a warning or exhortation.
40 sn The actual performer of the killing is not here specified. It could be understood to be God (so NASB, NRSV) but it could simply emphasize that, after a killing has taken place, it is God who casts the person into hell.
41 tn The direct object (“you”) is understood.
42 sn The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 1 En. 27:2, 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36).
43 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.
44 tn Or “watching”; Grk “awake,” but in context this is not just being awake but alert and looking out.
45 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
46 tn See v. 35 (same verb).
47 tn Grk “have them recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.
48 tn The participle παρελθών (parelqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
49 sn He…will come and wait on them is a reversal of expectation, but shows that what Jesus asks for he is willing to do as well; see John 13:5 and 15:18-27, although those instances merely foreshadow what is in view here.
50 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
51 tn The participle πορευθέντες (poreuqente") has been taken as indicating attendant circumstance.
52 sn That fox. This is not fundamentally a figure for cleverness as in modern western culture, but could indicate (1) an insignificant person (Neh 4:3; 2 Esd 13:35 LXX); (2) a deceiver (Song Rabbah 2.15.1 on 2:15); or someone destructive, a destroyer (Ezek 13:4; Lam 5:18; 1 En. 89:10, 42-49, 55). Luke’s emphasis seems to be on destructiveness, since Herod killed John the Baptist, whom Luke calls “the greatest born of women” (Luke 7:28) and later stands opposed to Jesus (Acts 4:26-28). In addition, “a person who is designated a fox is an insignificant or base person. He lacks real power and dignity, using cunning deceit to achieve his aims” (H. W. Hoehner, Herod Antipas [SNTSMS], 347).
53 sn The third day is a figurative reference to being further on in time, not a reference to three days from now. Jesus is not even in Jerusalem yet, and the events of the last days in Jerusalem take a good week.
54 tn Or “I reach my goal.” The verb τελειόω (teleiow) is a key NT term for the completion of God’s plan: See Luke 12:50; 22:37; John 19:30; and (where it has the additional component of meaning “to perfect”) Heb 2:10; 5:8-9; 7:28.
55 sn Your house is forsaken. The language here is from Jer 12:7 and 22:5. It recalls exilic judgment.
56 sn A quotation from Ps 118:26. The judgment to come will not be lifted until the Lord returns. See Luke 19:41-44.
57 sn There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. The pursuit of the sinner is a priority in spite of the presence of others who are doing well (see also Luke 5:32; 19:10). The theme of repentance, a major Lukan theme, is again emphasized.
58 tn Here δικαίοις (dikaioi") is an adjective functioning substantivally and has been translated “righteous people.”
59 tn Or “who do not need to repent”; Grk “who do not have need of repentance.”
60 sn The prayer that was heard and honored was the one given with humility; in a surprising reversal it was the tax collector who went down to his home justified.
61 tn Grk “the other”; the referent (the Pharisee, v. 10) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
62 sn Everyone who exalts himself. See Luke 14:11. Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor.
63 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
64 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
65 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
66 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.
67 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
68 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
69 tn The present active infinitive δοκεῖν (dokein) has been translated as causal.
70 sn Luke means here the appearance of the full kingdom of God in power with the Son of Man as judge as Luke 17:22-37 describes.
71 tn Or perhaps, “the kingdom of God must appear immediately (see L&N 71.36).