Discovery BoxLuke 6:9 
Context6:9 Then 1 Jesus said to them, “I ask you, 2 is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?”
Luke 6:35
Context6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. 3 Then 4 your reward will be great, and you will be sons 5 of the Most High, 6 because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people. 7
Luke 11:13
Context11:13 If you then, although you are 8 evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit 9 to those who ask him!”
Luke 11:26
Context11:26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so 10 the last state of that person 11 is worse than the first.” 12
1 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
2 sn With the use of the plural pronoun (“you”), Jesus addressed not just the leaders but the crowd with his question to challenge what the leadership was doing. There is irony as well. As Jesus sought to restore on the Sabbath (but improperly according to the leaders’ complaints) the leaders were seeking to destroy, which surely is wrong. The implied critique recalls the OT: Isa 1:1-17; 58:6-14.
3 tn Or “in return.”
4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the outcome or result. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started in the translation at this point.
5 sn The character of these actions reflects the grace and kindness of God, bearing witness to a “line of descent” or relationship of the individual to God (sons of the Most High). There is to be a unique kind of ethic at work with disciples. Jesus refers specifically to sons here because in the ancient world sons had special privileges which were rarely accorded to daughters. However, Jesus is most likely addressing both men and women in this context, so women too would receive these same privileges.
6 sn That is, “sons of God.”
7 tn Or “to the ungrateful and immoral.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
8 tn The participle ὑπάρχοντες (Juparconte") has been translated as a concessive participle.
9 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.
10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding point of the story.
11 tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.
12 sn The point of the story is that to fail to respond is to risk a worse fate than when one started.
