Text -- Luke 4:41-44 (NET)

4:41 Demons also came out of many, crying out, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them, and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. 4:42 The next morning Jesus departed and went to a deserted place. Yet the crowds were seeking him, and they came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them. 4:43 But Jesus said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, for that is what I was sent to do.” 4:44 So he continued to preach in the synagogues of Judea.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Luk 4:41

¹ sn Demons also came out. Note how Luke distinguishes healing from exorcism here, implying that the two are not identical.

² tn Grk “crying out and saying.” The participle λέγοντα (legonta) is redundant in English and has not been translated here.

³ tc Most mss (A Q Θ Ψ 0102 Ë^1,13 Ï) read “the Christ, the Son of God.” But the earliest and best mss, along with several other witnesses (א B C D L W Ξ 33 579 700 1241 2542 lat sa), lack “the Christ” here. It is likely that later scribes wished to bring the demons’ confession in line with what Luke says they knew later in the verse.

⁴ tn Or “commanded,” but “rebuke” implies strong disapproval, which seems to be more in keeping with the context here (L&N 33.419).

⁵ sn Jesus would not allow the demons to speak because the time for such disclosure was not yet at hand, and such a revelation would have certainly been misunderstood by the people. In all likelihood, if the people had understood him early on to be the Son of God, or Messiah, they would have reduced his mission to one of political deliverance from Roman oppression (cf. John 6:15). Jesus wanted to avoid, as much as possible, any premature misunderstanding about who he was and what he was doing. However, at the end of his ministry, he did not deny such a title when the high priest asked him (22:66-71).

⁶ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

sn Note how Luke associates Son of God with Messiah (Christ) in this context, a regal connection with OT roots (Ps 2:7). Also, see the note on Christ in 2:11.

NET Notes: Luk 4:42

¹ tn Grk “When it became day.”

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate that the crowds still sought Jesus in spite of his withdrawal.

NET Notes: Luk 4:43

¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Here δεῖ (dei, “it is necessary”) indicates divine commission (cf. Luke 2:49).

³ sn The good news of the kingdom, the kingdom of the rule of God through the Messiah, is the topic of Jesus’ preaching.

⁴ tn Or “cities.”

⁵ sn Jesus was sent by God for this purpose. This is the language of divine commission.

⁶ tn Grk “because for this purpose I was sent.”

NET Notes: Luk 4:44

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the summarization.

² tc Most mss (A D Θ Ψ Ë¹³ 33 Ï latt) have “of Galilee”; others, “of the Jews” (W). “Judea” (read by Ì⁷⁵ א B Q 579 892 pc sa, and [with minor variation] C L ˹ 1241) is probably the original reading since it is both the harder reading and supported by the best witnesses. “Galilee” is an assimilation to Mark 1:39 and Matt 4:23.