Luke 9:18

Peter’s Confession

9:18 Once when Jesus was praying by himself, and his disciples were nearby, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

Luke 12:54

Reading the Signs

12:54 Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A rainstorm is coming,’ and it does.

Luke 21:9

21:9 And when you hear of wars and rebellions, do not be afraid. 10  For these things must happen first, but the end will not come at once.” 11 


tn Grk “And it happened that.” 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. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

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

sn Prayer is a favorite theme of Luke and he is the only one of the gospel authors to mention it in the following texts (with the exception of 22:41): Luke 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:28-29; 11:1; 22:41; 23:34, 46.

tn Grk “the disciples were with him, and he asked them, saying.”

snWho do the crowds say that I am?” The question of who Jesus is occurs frequently in this section of Luke: 7:49; 8:25; 9:9. The answer resolves a major theme of Luke’s Gospel.

tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “also” and δέ (de) has not been translated.

sn A cloud rising in the west refers to moisture coming from the Mediterranean Sea.

tn The term ὄμβρος (ombro") refers to heavy rain, such as in a thunderstorm (L&N 14.12).

tn Social and political chaos also precedes the end. This term refers to revolutions (L&N 39.34).

10 tn This is not the usual term for fear, but refers to a deep sense of terror and emotional distress (Luke 24:37; BDAG 895 s.v. πτοέω).

11 sn The end will not come at once. This remark about timing not only indicates that there will be events before the end, but that some time will also pass before it comes.