Discovery BoxLuke 3:12 
Context3:12 Tax collectors 1 also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?”
Luke 3:21
Context3:21 Now when 2 all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. And while he was praying, 3 the heavens 4 opened,
Luke 6:13
Context6:13 When 5 morning came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: 6
Luke 12:8
Context12:8 “I 7 tell you, whoever acknowledges 8 me before men, 9 the Son of Man will also acknowledge 10 before God’s angels.
Luke 18:9
Context18:9 Jesus 11 also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down 12 on everyone else.
Luke 21:31
Context21:31 So also you, when you see these things happening, know 13 that the kingdom of God 14 is near.
Luke 22:24
Context22:24 A dispute also started 15 among them over which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 16
1 sn The tax collectors would bid to collect taxes for the Roman government and then add a surcharge, which they kept. Since tax collectors worked for Rome, they were viewed as traitors to their own people and were not well liked. Yet even they were moved by John’s call.
2 tn Grk “Now 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.
3 tn Grk “and while Jesus was being baptized and praying.” The first of these participles has been translated as a finite verb to be more consistent with English style.
4 tn Or “the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. In this context, although the word is singular, the English plural “heavens” connotes the Greek better than the singular “heaven” would, for the singular does not normally refer to the sky.
5 tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
6 sn The term apostles is rare in the gospels, found only in Matt 10:2, possibly in Mark 3:14, and six more times in Luke (here plus 9:10; 11:49; 17:5; 22:14; 24:10).
7 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
8 tn Or “confesses.”
9 tn Although this is a generic reference and includes both males and females, in this context “men” has been retained because of the wordplay with the Son of Man and the contrast with the angels. The same is true of the occurrence of “men” in v. 9.
10 sn This acknowledgment will take place at the judgment. Of course, the Son of Man is a reference to Jesus as it has been throughout the Gospel. On Jesus and judgment, see 22:69; Acts 10:42-43; 17:31.
11 tn Grk “He”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Grk “and despised.” This is a second parable with an explanatory introduction.
13 tn The verb γινώσκετε (ginwskete, “know”) can be parsed as either present indicative or present imperative. In this context the imperative fits better, since the movement is from analogy (trees and seasons) to the future (the signs of the coming of the kingdom) and since the emphasis is on preparation for this event.
14 sn The kingdom of God refers here to the kingdom in all its power. See Luke 17:20-37.
15 tn Or “happened.”
16 tn Though the term μείζων (meizwn) here is comparative in form, it is superlative in sense (BDF §244).
