16:16 “The law and the prophets were in force 11 until John; 12 since then, 13 the good news of the kingdom of God 14 has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it. 15
19:11 While the people were listening to these things, Jesus 23 proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, 24 and because they thought 25 that the kingdom of God 26 was going to 27 appear immediately.
1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Here δεῖ (dei, “it is necessary”) indicates divine commission (cf. Luke 2:49).
3 sn The good news of the kingdom, the kingdom of the rule of God through the Messiah, is the topic of Jesus’ preaching.
4 tn Or “cities.”
5 sn Jesus was sent by God for this purpose. This is the language of divine commission.
6 tn Grk “because for this purpose I was sent.”
7 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.
8 tc The earliest and best
9 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.
10 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.
11 tn There is no verb in the Greek text; one must be supplied. Some translations (NASB, NIV) supply “proclaimed” based on the parallelism with the proclamation of the kingdom. The transitional nature of this verse, however, seems to call for something more like “in effect” (NRSV) or, as used here, “in force.” Further, Greek generally can omit one of two kinds of verbs – either the equative verb or one that is already mentioned in the preceding context (ExSyn 39).
12 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
13 sn Until John; since then. This verse indicates a shift in era, from law to kingdom.
14 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. 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.
15 tn Many translations have “entereth violently into it” (ASV) or “is forcing his way into it” (NASB, NIV). This is not true of everyone. It is better to read the verb here as passive rather than middle, and in a softened sense of “be urged.” See Gen 33:11; Judg 13:15-16; 19:7; 2 Sam 3:25, 27 in the LXX. This fits the context well because it agrees with Jesus’ attempt to persuade his opponents to respond morally. For further discussion and details, see D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1352-53.
16 tn Grk “summoned them”; the referent (the children) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. 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.
18 sn The kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Children are a picture of those whose simple trust illustrates what faith is all about. The remark illustrates how everyone is important to God, even those whom others regard as insignificant.
19 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
20 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
22 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.
23 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
25 tn The present active infinitive δοκεῖν (dokein) has been translated as causal.
26 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.
27 tn Or perhaps, “the kingdom of God must appear immediately (see L&N 71.36).
28 tn Grk “And it happened that when.” 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.
29 tn Grk “he said for these slaves to be called to him.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one and simplified to “he summoned.”
30 tn Grk “in order that he might know” (a continuation of the preceding sentence). Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he” as subject and the verb “wanted” to convey the idea of purpose.
31 sn The Greek verb earned refers to profit from engaging in commerce and trade (L&N 57.195). This is an examination of stewardship.