Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• Eliphaz's counsel to Job 5:1-16
  Job's friend did not deny that the wicked fool (cf. Ps. 14:1) prospers temporarily (v. 3), but he believed that before a person dies God will punish him for his sins. Jesus disagreed (Luke 13:4). The well-known comparison in ...
• The fruitless nation 8:13-17
  8:13 The Lord also declared that He would snatch the Judahites from their land. He had gone forth among His people to gather a harvest of righteousness, but all He found on His vines and fig trees was withered leaves, no grap...
• The transition from Galilee to Judea 10:1 (cf. Matt. 19:1-2)
  Though Mark did not record it, Jesus gave His disciples much additional instruction as they travelled from Capernaum in Galilee toward Jerusalem (cf. Matt. 8:19-22; 18:15-35; Luke 9:51-18:14; John 7:2-11:54). Evidently Jesus ...
• Jesus' second appearance before Pilate 15:6-15 (cf. Matt. 27:15-26; Luke 23:13-25; John 18:39-19:16)
  Mark's brief account of Jesus' arraignment and sentencing concentrates on Pilate's offer to release Jesus or Barabbas.15:6 Evidently this custom served to improve relations between the Roman ruler and his subjects. Dictatoria...
• Outline
  I. Introduction 1:1-4II. The birth and childhood of Jesus 1:5-2:52A. The announcement of John the Baptist's birth 1:5-251. The introduction of John's parents 1:5-72. The angel's announcement to Zechariah 1:8-233. The pregnanc...
• 2. John's preaching 3:7-18 (cf. Matt. 3:7-12; Mark 1:7-8)
  Essentially John called his hearers to change their minds about their relationship to God and to demonstrate the genuineness of their repentance with righteous conduct (vv. 7-14). He also promoted Jesus (vv. 15-17). Only Luke...
• B. The baptism of Jesus 3:21-22 (cf. Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; John 1:29-34)
  Luke's account of this significant event is shorter than the parallel passages. At His baptism, Jesus received the anointing of the Holy Spirit for His ministry. It was also the occasion for the Father to authenticate Jesus a...
• G. Jesus' preparation of the Twelve 9:1-50
  In this last major section describing Jesus' ministry in and around Galilee (4:14-9:50), Luke stressed Jesus' preparation of His disciples for the opposition that lay before them. This was the climax of Jesus' ministry in Gal...
• D. The instruction of the disciples in view of Jesus' rejection 12:1-13:17
  Teaching of the disciples continues as primary in this part of the third Gospel (9:51-19:10). Jesus' words to them at the beginning of the present section (12:1-13:17) broadened to include the crowds toward the end....
• 5. The coming distress 12:49-59
  Jesus' teaching on the same occasion continued. He clarified next that His disciples could anticipate a period of intense persecution. This is the reason He charged them to be faithful (vv. 41-48)."In Luke 12:49-14:24, Jesus ...
• The need for repentance 13:1-5
  13:1 Luke linked this incident chronologically with the preceding one. Apparently messengers from Jerusalem had just arrived with news about Pilate's act. This is the usual force of the Greek verb apaggello, translated "repor...
• The parable of the fruitless fig tree 13:6-9
  This parable illustrated the need for repentance, but it also drew attention to God's grace in allowing time for repentance.13:6-7 The parable as a whole is very similar to Isaiah 5:1-7, though there the plant in view was a g...
• 7. A sign of Jesus' ability to affect change 13:10-17
  There are several thematic connections that tie this pericope with what has preceded and show its role in the development of Luke's argument. Jesus had just called the nation to repentance (vv. 3, 5). Now He showed that chang...
• The parable of the mustard seed 13:18-19 (cf. Matt. 13:31-32; Mark 4:30-32)
  The kingdom of God is the messianic kingdom that the Old Testament predicted. It would be an earthly kingdom over which Messiah would rule for 1, 000 years (Rev. 20:4-6). It is similar to a mustard seed in that it had a small...
• The healing of a man with dropsy 14:1-6
  14:1 The setting for what follows is secondary to the attitude of the Pharisees who were present. They had already decided to do away with Jesus (11:53-54). Now the Pharisees and lawyers were watching Him like vultures waitin...
• J. The recipients of salvation 18:9-19:27
  Luke next developed the idea of faith on the earth that Jesus introduced in verse 8. This whole section clarifies how people become believers. This subject is a fitting conclusion to the part of Luke's Gospel that deals with ...
• 4. Jesus' passion announcement and the disciples' lack of perception 18:31-34 (cf. Matt. 20:17-19; Mark 10:32-34)
  Jesus' passion announcements to His disciples constitute important structural markers in Mark's Gospel. Luke and Matthew did not use them this way. The incident before us was the third passion announcement that Jesus gave bes...
• 6. Zaccheus' ideal response to Jesus 19:1-10
  This section in Luke's long narrative of Jesus' ministry as He travelled to Jerusalem (9:51-19:27) is climactic. It is a choice example of Jesus offering salvation to a needy person. Zaccheus accepted Jesus' offer and respond...
• 7. The parable of the minas 19:11-27
  This parable serves in Luke's narrative as a conclusion to the section on salvation's recipients (18:9-19:27). It provides something of a denouement(i.e., a final unravelling of the plot) following the excellent example of Za...
• The fate of the guilty predicted 23:27-31
  Luke is the only evangelist who recorded this incident. He apparently did so because the fate of Jerusalem was one of his special interests. He had already recorded several warnings that Jesus had given to the people of Jerus...
• Bibliography
  Alford, Henry. The Greek Testament. New ed. 4 vols. London: Rivingtons, 1880.Bailey, Kenneth E. Poet and Peasant: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977.Bishop...
• 2. The antagonism of the Jewish authorities 5:10-18
  More than once Jesus used His Sabbath activities to make the Jews consider who He was (cf. Matt. 12:1-14; Mark 2:23-3:6; Luke 13:10-17; 14:1-6). Here He wanted them to realize that He had the right to work on the Sabbath as H...
• The vine and the branches metaphor 15:1-8
  Jesus often used a grapevine to describe the nation of Israel (cf. Matt. 20:1-16; 21:23-41; Mark 12:1-9; Luke 13:6-9; 20:9-16). The vine as a symbol of Israel appears on coins of the Maccabees.474Here Jesus used the vine meta...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• True Sabbath Observance
  And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. 12. And when Jesus ...