Discovery BoxLuke 6:17 
Context6:17 Then 1 he came down with them and stood on a level place. 2 And a large number 3 of his disciples had gathered 4 along with 5 a vast multitude from all over Judea, from 6 Jerusalem, 7 and from the seacoast of Tyre 8 and Sidon. 9 They came to hear him and to be healed 10 of their diseases,
Luke 14:18
Context14:18 But one after another they all 11 began to make excuses. 12 The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, 13 and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.’ 14
Luke 21:12
Context21:12 But before all this, 15 they will seize 16 you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues 17 and prisons. You 18 will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
2 tn Or “on a plateau.” This could refer to a message given in a flat locale or in a flat locale in the midst of a more mountainous region (Jer 21:13; Isa 13:2). It is quite possible that this sermon is a summary version of the better known Sermon on the Mount from Matt 5-7.
3 tn Grk “large crowd.”
4 tn There is no verb in Greek at this point, but since “a large crowd” (see preceding tn) is in the nominative case, one needs to be supplied.
5 tn Grk “and.”
6 tn Grk “and from,” 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.
7 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
8 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
9 sn These last two locations, Tyre and Sidon, represented an expansion outside of traditional Jewish territory. Jesus’ reputation continued to expand into new regions.
map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
10 sn To hear him and to be healed. Jesus had a two-level ministry: The word and then wondrous acts of service that showed his message of God’s care were real.
11 tn Or “all unanimously” (BDAG 107 s.v. ἀπό 6). "One after another" is suggested by L&N 61.2.
12 sn To make excuses and cancel at this point was an insult in the culture of the time. Regardless of customs concerning responses to invitations, refusal at this point was rude.
13 sn I have bought a field. An examination of newly bought land was a common practice. It was this person’s priority.
14 sn The expression Please excuse me is probably a polite way of refusing, given the dynamics of the situation, although it is important to note that an initial acceptance had probably been indicated and it was now a bit late for a refusal. The semantic equivalent of the phrase may well be “please accept my apologies.”
15 sn But before all this. Another note of timing is present, this one especially important in understanding the sequence in the discourse. Before the things noted in vv. 8-11 are the events of vv. 12-19.
16 tn Grk “will lay their hands on you.”
17 sn Some of the persecution is of Jewish origin (the synagogues). Some fulfillment of this can be seen in Acts. See the note on synagogues in 4:15.
18 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
