¹ tn Grk “said.”

² sn This is another reference to hearing and doing the word of God, which here describes Jesus’ teaching; see Luke 8:21.

³ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (the ruler mentioned in v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁴ tn Grk “kept.” The implication of this verb is that the man has obeyed the commandments without fail throughout his life, so the adverb “wholeheartedly” has been added to the translation to bring out this nuance.

⁵ tn Grk “these things.” The referent of the pronoun (the laws mentioned by Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

sn While the rich man was probably being sincere when he insisted I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws, he had confined his righteousness to external obedience. The rich man’s response to Jesus’ command to give away all he had revealed that internally he loved money more than God.

⁶ sn Since my youth. Judaism regarded the age of thirteen as the age when a man would have become responsible to live by God’s commands.

⁷ sn The term impossible is in the emphatic position in the Greek text. God makes the impossible possible.

⁸ tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποις (anqrwpois) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NASB 1995 update, “people”). Because of the contrast here between mere mortals and God (“impossible for men…possible for God”) the phrase “mere humans” has been used in the translation.

⁹ tn Grk “said.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “Lord, that I may see [again].” The phrase can be rendered as an imperative of request, “Please, give me sight.” Since the man is not noted as having been blind from birth (as the man in John 9 was) it is likely the request is to receive back the sight he once had.

¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the dilemma Jesus’ opponents faced.

¹² sn Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were – hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them. The point of Luke 20:1-8 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.

¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the charges brought in the previous verse.

¹⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵ sn “Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate was interested only in the third charge, because of its political implications of sedition against Rome.

¹⁶ sn The reply “You say so” is somewhat enigmatic, like Jesus’ earlier reply to the Jewish leadership in 22:70.