49:6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,
to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the remnant 1 of Israel? 2
I will make you a light to the nations, 3
so you can bring 4 my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”
2:30 For my eyes have seen your salvation 5
2:31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples: 6
2:32 a light, 7
for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory 8 to your people Israel.”
3:6 and all humanity 9 will see the salvation of God.’” 10
3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, 11 when Pontius Pilate 12 was governor of Judea, and Herod 13 was tetrarch 14 of Galilee, and his brother Philip 15 was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias 16 was tetrarch of Abilene,
1 tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”
2 sn The question is purely rhetorical; it does not imply that the servant was dissatisfied with his commission or that he minimized the restoration of Israel.
3 tn See the note at 42:6.
4 tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”
5 sn To see Jesus, the Messiah, is to see God’s salvation.
6 sn Is the phrase all peoples a reference to Israel alone, or to both Israel and the Gentiles? The following verse makes it clear that all peoples includes Gentiles, another key Lukan emphasis (Luke 24:47; Acts 10:34-43).
7 tn The syntax of this verse is disputed. Most read “light” and “glory” in parallelism, so Jesus is a light for revelation to the Gentiles and is glory to the people for Israel. Others see “light” (1:78-79) as a summary, while “revelation” and “glory” are parallel, so Jesus is light for all, but is revelation for the Gentiles and glory for Israel. Both readings make good sense and either could be correct, but Luke 1:78-79 and Acts 26:22-23 slightly favor this second option.
8 sn In other words, Jesus is a special cause for praise and honor (“glory”) for the nation.
9 tn Grk “all flesh.”
10 sn A quotation from Isa 40:3-5. Though all the synoptic gospels use this citation from Isaiah, only Luke cites the material of vv. 5-6. His goal may well be to get to the declaration of v. 6, where all humanity (i.e., all nations) see God’s salvation (see also Luke 24:47).
11 tn Or “Emperor Tiberius” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
12 sn The rule of Pontius Pilate is also described by Josephus, J. W. 2.9.2-4 (2.169-177) and Ant. 18.3.1 (18.55-59).
13 sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. He ruled from 4
14 sn A tetrarch was a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king, who ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. Several times in the NT, Herod tetrarch of Galilee is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage.
15 sn Philip refers to Herod Philip, son of Herod the Great and brother of Herod Antipas. Philip ruled as tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis from 4
16 sn Nothing else is known about Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene.
17 tn Grk “before.”
18 tn Grk “and he”; because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun in the translation.
19 tn Grk “even from his mother’s womb.” While this idiom may be understood to refer to the point of birth (“even from his birth”), Luke 1:41 suggests that here it should be understood to refer to a time before birth.