13:18 Thus Jesus 1 asked, 2 “What is the kingdom of God 3 like? 4 To 5 what should I compare it? 13:19 It is like a mustard seed 6 that a man took and sowed 7 in his garden. It 8 grew and became a tree, 9 and the wild birds 10 nested in its branches.” 11
13:20 Again 12 he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? 13 13:21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with 14 three measures 15 of flour until all the dough had risen.” 16
13:22 Then 17 Jesus 18 traveled throughout 19 towns 20 and villages, teaching and making his way toward 21 Jerusalem. 22 13:23 Someone 23 asked 24 him, “Lord, will only a few 25 be saved?” So 26 he said to them, 13:24 “Exert every effort 27 to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 13:25 Once 28 the head of the house 29 gets up 30 and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and start to knock on the door and beg him, ‘Lord, 31 let us in!’ 32 But he will answer you, 33 ‘I don’t know where you come from.’ 34 13:26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 35 13:27 But 36 he will reply, 37 ‘I don’t know where you come from! 38 Go away from me, all you evildoers!’ 39 13:28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth 40 when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, 41 and all the prophets in the kingdom of God 42 but you yourselves thrown out. 43 13:29 Then 44 people 45 will come from east and west, and from north and south, and take their places at the banquet table 46 in the kingdom of God. 47 13:30 But 48 indeed, 49 some are last 50 who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Grk “said,” but what follows is a question.
3 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
4 sn What is the kingdom of God like? Unlike Mark 4 or Matt 13, where the kingdom parables tend to be all in one location in the narrative, Luke scatters his examples throughout the Gospel.
5 tn Grk “And to.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
6 sn The mustard seed was noted for its tiny size.
7 tn Grk “threw.”
8 tn Grk “garden, and it.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
9 sn Calling the mustard plant a tree is rhetorical hyperbole, since technically it is not one. This plant could be one of two types of mustard popular in Palestine and would be either 10 or 25 ft (3 or 7.5 m) tall.
10 tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).
11 sn The point of the parable seems to be that while the kingdom of God may appear to have insignificant and unnoticeable beginnings (i.e., in the ministry of Jesus), it will someday (i.e., at the second advent) be great and quite expansive. The kingdom, however, is not to be equated with the church, but rather the church is an expression of the kingdom. Also, there is important OT background in the image of the mustard seed that grew and became a tree: Ezek 17:22-24 pictures the reemergence of the Davidic house where people can find calm and shelter. Like the mustard seed, it would start out small but grow to significant size.
11 tn Grk “And again.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
12 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
16 tn Grk “hid in.”
17 sn This measure was a saton, the Greek name for the Hebrew term “seah.” Three of these was a very large quantity of flour, since a saton is a little over 16 lbs (7 kg) of dry measure (or 13.13 liters). So this was over 47 lbs (21 kg) of flour total, enough to feed over a hundred people.
18 tn Grk “it was all leavened.”
21 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
22 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 tn This is a distributive use of κατά (kata); see L&N 83:12.
24 tn Or “cities.”
25 tn Grk “making his journey toward.” This is the first of several travel notes in Luke’s Jerusalem journey section of Luke 9-19; other notes appear at 17:11; 18:31; 19:28, 41.
26 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
26 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
27 tn Grk “said to.”
28 sn The warnings earlier in Jesus’ teaching have led to the question whether only a few will be saved.
29 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ reply was triggered by the preceding question.
31 tn Or “Make every effort” (L&N 68.74; cf. NIV); “Do your best” (TEV); “Work hard” (NLT); Grk “Struggle.” The idea is to exert one’s maximum effort (cf. BDAG 17 s.v. ἀγωνίζομαι 2.b, “strain every nerve to enter”) because of the supreme importance of attaining entry into the kingdom of God.
36 tn The syntactical relationship between vv. 24-25 is disputed. The question turns on whether v. 25 is connected to v. 24 or not. A lack of a clear connective makes an independent idea more likely. However, one must then determine what the beginning of the sentence connects to. Though it makes for slightly awkward English, the translation has opted to connect it to “he will answer” so that this functions, in effect, as an apodosis. One could end the sentence after “us” and begin a new sentence with “He will answer” to make simpler sentences, although the connection between the two sentences is thereby less clear. The point of the passage, however, is clear. Once the door is shut, because one failed to come in through the narrow way, it is closed permanently. The moral: Do not be too late in deciding to respond.
37 tn Or “the master of the household.”
38 tn Or “rises,” or “stands up.”
39 tn Or “Sir.”
40 tn Grk “Open to us.”
41 tn Grk “and answering, he will say to you.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “he will answer you.”
42 sn For the imagery behind the statement “I do not know where you come from,” see Ps 138:6; Isa 63:16; Jer 1:5; Hos 5:3.
41 sn This term refers to wide streets, and thus suggests the major streets of a city.
46 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
47 tc Most
48 sn The issue is not familiarity (with Jesus’ teaching) or even shared activity (eating and drinking with him), but knowing Jesus. Those who do not know him, he will not know where they come from (i.e., will not acknowledge) at the judgment.
49 tn Grk “all you workers of iniquity.” The phrase resembles Ps 6:8.
51 sn Weeping and gnashing of teeth is a figure for remorse and trauma, which occurs here because of exclusion from God’s promise.
52 tn Grk “and Isaac and Jacob,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
53 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
54 tn Or “being thrown out.” The present accusative participle, ἐκβαλλομένους (ekballomenous), related to the object ὑμᾶς (Jumas), seems to suggest that these evildoers will witness their own expulsion from the kingdom.
56 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the discourse.
57 tn Grk “they”; the referent (people who will come to participate in the kingdom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
58 tn Grk “and recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away. The word “banquet” has been supplied to clarify for the modern reader the festive nature of the imagery The banquet imagery is a way to describe the fellowship and celebration of accompanying those who are included as the people of God at the end.
59 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
61 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
62 tn Grk “behold.”
63 sn Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. Jesus’ answer is that some who are expected to be there (many from Israel) will not be there, while others not expected to be present (from other nations) will be present. The question is not, “Will the saved be few?” (see v. 23), but “Will it be you?”