1:36 “And look, 5 your relative 6 Elizabeth has also become pregnant with 7 a son in her old age – although she was called barren, she is now in her sixth month! 8
23:47 Now when the centurion 32 saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent!” 33
1 tn Grk “this one.”
2 sn Compare the description of Jesus as great here with 1:15, “great before the Lord.” Jesus is greater than John, since he is Messiah compared to a prophet. Great is stated absolutely without qualification to make the point.
3 sn The expression Most High is a way to refer to God without naming him. Such avoiding of direct reference to God was common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.
4 tn Or “ancestor.”
5 tn Grk “behold.”
6 tn Some translations render the word συγγενίς (sungeni") as “cousin” (so Phillips) but the term is not necessarily this specific.
7 tn Or “has conceived.”
8 tn Grk “and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren.” Yet another note on Elizabeth’s loss of reproach also becomes a sign of the truth of the angel’s declaration.
9 tn Grk “before your face” (an idiom).
10 sn The quotation is primarily from Mal 3:1 with pronouns from Exod 23:20. Here is the forerunner who points the way to the arrival of God’s salvation. His job is to prepare and guide the people, as the cloud did for Israel in the desert.
13 tn Grk “John I beheaded”; John’s name is in emphatic position in the Greek text. The verb is causative, since Herod would not have personally carried out the execution.
14 tn The expression ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν αὐτόν (ezhtei idein auton, “was seeking to see him”) probably indicates that Herod, for curiosity’s sake or more likely for evil purposes, wanted to get to know Jesus, i.e., who he was and what he was doing. See I. H. Marshall, Luke (NIGTC), 357. Herod finally got his wish in Luke 23:6-12, with inconclusive results from his point of view.
17 sn The point of the saying whoever wants to save his life will lose it is that if one comes to Jesus then rejection by many will certainly follow. If self-protection is a key motivation, then one will not respond to Jesus and will not be saved. One who is willing to risk rejection will respond and find true life.
21 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
22 tc Most
23 sn The expression listen to him comes from Deut 18:15 and makes two points: 1) Jesus is a prophet like Moses, a leader-prophet, and 2) they have much yet to learn from him.
25 sn This statement links the parable to the theme of 15:6, 9.
26 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the father’s remarks in the preceding verses.
29 sn Note the younger son is not “my brother” but this son of yours (an expression with a distinctly pejorative nuance).
30 sn This is another graphic description. The younger son’s consumption had been like a glutton. He had both figuratively and literally devoured the assets which were given to him.
31 sn The charge concerning the prostitutes is unproven, but essentially the older brother accuses the father of committing an injustice by rewarding his younger son’s unrighteous behavior.
32 sn See note on the phrase “fattened calf” in v. 23.
33 tn Or “necessary.”
34 sn By referring to him as your brother, the father reminded the older brother that the younger brother was part of the family.
35 sn The theme he was lost and is found is repeated from v. 24. The conclusion is open-ended. The reader is left to ponder with the older son (who pictures the scribes and Pharisees) what the response will be. The parable does not reveal the ultimate response of the older brother. Jesus argued that sinners should be pursued and received back warmly when they returned.
37 tn The Greek term here is παιδίσκη (paidiskh), referring to a slave girl or slave woman.
41 tn Grk “insisted, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated here.
42 sn According to Mark 14:70 it was Peter’s accent that gave him away as a Galilean.
45 tn Grk “no cause of death I found in him.”
46 sn The refrain of innocence comes once again. Pilate tried to bring some sense of justice, believing Jesus had committed no crime deserving death.
47 tn Or “scourge” (BDAG 749 s.v. παιδεύω 2.b.γ). See the note on “flogged” in v. 16.
49 sn See the note on the word centurion in 7:2.
50 tn Or “righteous.” It is hard to know whether “innocent” or “righteous” is intended, as the Greek term used can mean either, and both make good sense in this context. Luke has been emphasizing Jesus as innocent, so that is slightly more likely here. Of course, one idea entails the other.
53 tn Grk “This one.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started in the translation at this point.
54 tc Several
55 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started in the translation at this point.
56 tn Or “Judean city”; Grk “from Arimathea, a city of the Jews.” Here the expression “of the Jews” (᾿Iουδαίων, Ioudaiwn) is used in an adjectival sense to specify a location (cf. BDAG 478 s.v. ᾿Iουδαῖος 2.c) and so has been translated “Judean.”
57 tn Or “waiting for.”
58 sn Though some dispute that Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Jesus, this remark that he was looking forward to the kingdom of God, the affirmation of his character at the end of v. 50, and his actions regarding Jesus’ burial all suggest otherwise.