4:9 Then 1 the devil 2 brought him to Jerusalem, 3 had him stand 4 on the highest point of the temple, 5 and said to him, “If 6 you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,
10:13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! 20 Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if 21 the miracles 22 done in you had been done in Tyre 23 and Sidon, 24 they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
15:8 “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins 54 and loses 55 one of them, 56 does not light a lamp, sweep 57 the house, and search thoroughly until she finds it?
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
2 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the devil) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
4 tn Grk “and stood him.”
5 sn The reference to the highest point of the temple probably refers to the one point on the temple’s southeast corner where the site looms directly over a cliff some 450 feet (135 m) high. However, some have suggested the reference could be to the temple’s high gate.
6 tn This is another first class condition, as in v. 3.
7 sn Wineskins were bags made of skin or leather, used for storing wine in NT times. As the new wine fermented and expanded, it would stretch the new wineskins. Putting new (unfermented) wine in old wineskins, which had already been stretched, would result in the bursting of the wineskins.
8 tn Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
9 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
10 sn The term translated watched…closely is emotive, since it carries negative connotations. It means they were watching him out of the corner of their eye or spying on him.
11 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text; Jesus’ opponents anticipated he would do this.
13 sn The background for this is the view that only if life was endangered should one attempt to heal on the Sabbath (see the Mishnah, m. Shabbat 6.3; 12.1; 18.3; 19.2; m. Yoma 8.6).
14 tn Grk “to receive”; but in context the repayment of the amount lent is implied. Jesus was noting that utilitarian motives are the way of the world.
15 sn See the note on the word sinners in v. 32.
16 tn Grk “to receive as much again.”
17 tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
18 tn This is a good example of a second class (contrary to fact) Greek conditional sentence. The Pharisee said, in effect, “If this man were a prophet (but he is not)…”
19 sn The Pharisees believed in a form of separationism that would have prevented them from any kind of association with such a sinful woman.
20 sn Chorazin was a town of Galilee that was probably fairly small in contrast to Bethsaida and is otherwise unattested. Bethsaida was declared a polis by the tetrarch Herod Philip, sometime after
21 tn This introduces a second class (contrary to fact) condition in the Greek text.
22 tn Or “powerful deeds.”
23 map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
24 sn Tyre and Sidon are two other notorious OT cities (Isa 23; Jer 25:22; 47:4). The remark is a severe rebuke, in effect: “Even the sinners of the old era would have responded to the proclamation of the kingdom, unlike you!”
map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
25 tn The participle ὑπάρχοντες (Juparconte") has been translated as a concessive participle.
26 sn The provision of the Holy Spirit is probably a reference to the wisdom and guidance supplied in response to repeated requests. Some apply it to the general provision of the Spirit, but this would seem to look only at one request in a context that speaks of repeated asking. The teaching as a whole stresses not that God gives everything his children want, but that God gives the good that they need. The parallel account in Matthew (7:11) refers to good things where Luke mentions the Holy Spirit.
27 tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text, so the example ends on a hopeful, positive note.
28 tn Grk “Therefore”; the same conjunction as at the beginning of v. 35, but since it indicates a further inference or conclusion, it has been translated “then” here.
29 tn Grk “not having any part dark.”
30 tn Grk “it will be completely illumined as when a lamp illumines you with its rays.”
31 tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.
32 tn Grk “grass in the field.”
33 tn Grk “which is in the field today.”
34 tn Grk “into the oven.” The expanded translation “into the fire to heat the oven” has been used to avoid misunderstanding; most items put into modern ovens are put there to be baked, not burned.
sn The oven was most likely a rounded clay oven used for baking bread, which was heated by burning wood and dried grass.
35 sn The phrase how much more is a typical form of rabbinic argumentation, from the lesser to the greater. If God cares for the little things, surely he will care for the more important things.
36 tn In the Greek text this is a third class condition that for all practical purposes is a hypothetical condition (note the translation of the following verb “should say”).
37 tn The term “that” (ἐκεῖνος, ekeino") is used as a catchword to list out, in the form of a number of hypothetical circumstances, what the possible responses of “that” servant could be. He could be faithful (vv. 43-44) or totally unfaithful (vv. 45-46). He does not complete his master’s will with knowledge (v. 47) or from ignorance (v 48). These differences are indicated by the different levels of punishment in vv. 46-48.
38 tn Grk “should say in his heart.”
39 tn Or “is taking a long time.”
40 sn The slave’s action in beginning to beat the other slaves was not only a failure to carry out what was commanded but involved doing the exact reverse.
41 tn The word “other” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
42 tn Grk “the menservants and the maidservants.” The term here, used in both masculine and feminine grammatical forms, is παῖς (pais), which can refer to a slave, but also to a slave who is a personal servant, and thus regarded kindly (L&N 87.77).
43 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
44 tc Here “son,” found in Ì45,75 (A) B W Ï, is the preferred reading. The other reading, “donkey” (found in א K L Ψ Ë1,13 33 579 892 1241 2542 al lat bo), looks like an assimilation to Luke 13:15 and Deut 22:4; Isa 32:20, and was perhaps motivated by an attempt to soften the unusual collocation of “son” and “ox.” The Western ms D differs from all others and reads “sheep.”
45 tn This figurative use operates on a relative scale. God is to be loved more than family or self.
46 tn Grk “his own soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.
47 tn The participle καθίσας (kaqisas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
48 tn The first illustration involves checking to see if enough funds exist to build a watchtower. Both ψηφίζω (yhfizw, “compute”) and δαπάνη (dapanh, “cost”) are economic terms.
49 tn Grk “What man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a somewhat generic sense.
50 sn This individual with a hundred sheep is a shepherd of modest means, as flocks often had up to two hundred head of sheep.
51 tn Or “desert,” but here such a translation might suggest neglect of the 99 sheep left behind.
52 tn Grk “go after,” but in contemporary English the idiom “to look for” is used to express this.
53 sn Until he finds it. The parable pictures God’s pursuit of the sinner. On the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, see John 10:1-18.
54 sn This silver coin is a drachma, equal to a denarius, that is, a day’s pay for the average laborer.
55 tn Grk “What woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses.” The initial participle ἔχουσα (ecousa) has been translated as a finite verb parallel to ἀπολέσῃ (apolesh) in the conditional clause to improve the English style.
56 tn Grk “one coin.”
57 tn Grk “and sweep,” 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.
58 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
59 tn Grk “said.”
60 tn This is a mixed condition, with ἄν (an) in the apodosis.
61 tn Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”
62 sn A black mulberry tree is a deciduous fruit tree that grows about 20 ft (6 m) tall and has black juicy berries. This tree has an extensive root system, so to pull it up would be a major operation.
63 tn The passives here (ἐκριζώθητι and φυτεύθητι, ekrizwqhti and futeuqhti) are probably a circumlocution for God performing the action (the so-called divine passive, see ExSyn 437-38). The issue is not the amount of faith (which in the example is only very tiny), but its presence, which can accomplish impossible things. To cause a tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea is impossible. The expression is a rhetorical idiom. It is like saying a camel can go through the eye of a needle (Luke 18:25).
64 tn The verb is aorist, though it looks at a future event, another rhetorical touch to communicate certainty of the effect of faith.
65 sn Zacchaeus was a penitent man who resolved on the spot to act differently in the face of Jesus’ acceptance of him. In resolving to give half his possessions to the poor, Zacchaeus was not defending himself against the crowd’s charges and claiming to be righteous. Rather as a result of this meeting with Jesus, he was a changed individual. So Jesus could speak of salvation coming that day (v. 9) and of the lost being saved (v. 10).
66 tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text. It virtually confesses fraud.
67 tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
68 tn Grk “his brother”; but this would be redundant in English with the same phrase “his brother” at the end of the verse, so most modern translations render this phrase “the man” (so NIV, NRSV).
69 tn The use of ἵνα (Jina) with imperatival force is unusual (BDF §470.1).
70 tn Grk “and raise up seed,” an idiom for procreating children (L&N 23.59).
71 sn A quotation from Deut 25:5. Because the OT quotation does not include “a wife” as the object of the verb, it has been left as normal type. This practice is called levirate marriage (see also Ruth 4:1-12; Mishnah, m. Yevamot; Josephus, Ant. 4.8.23 [4.254-256]). The levirate law is described in Deut 25:5-10. The brother of a man who died without a son had an obligation to marry his brother’s widow. This served several purposes: It provided for the widow in a society where a widow with no children to care for her would be reduced to begging, and it preserved the name of the deceased, who would be regarded as the legal father of the first son produced from that marriage.
72 tn A figurative extension of the literal meaning “to turn one’s nose up at someone”; here “ridicule, sneer at, show contempt for” (L&N 33.409).
73 sn The irony in the statement Let him save himself is that salvation did come, but later, not while on the cross.
74 tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.
75 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
sn See the note on Christ in 2:11.