14:15 When 1 one of those at the meal with Jesus 2 heard this, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone 3 who will feast 4 in the kingdom of God!” 5
1:5 During the reign 20 of Herod 21 king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to 22 the priestly division of Abijah, 23 and he had a wife named Elizabeth, 24 who was a descendant of Aaron. 25
1 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
2 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Grk “whoever” (the indefinite relative pronoun). This has been translated as “everyone who” to conform to contemporary English style.
4 tn Or “will dine”; Grk “eat bread.” This refers to those who enjoy the endless fellowship of God’s coming rule.
5 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.
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
7 sn Jesus, remember me is a statement of faith from the cross, as Jesus saves another even while he himself is dying. This man’s faith had shown itself when he rebuked the other thief. He hoped to be with Jesus sometime in the future in the kingdom.
8 tc ‡ The alternate readings of some
9 tn Grk “he.”
10 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
11 sn Jesus gives more than the criminal asked for, because the blessing will come today, not in the future. He will be among the righteous. See the note on today in 2:11.
12 sn In the NT, paradise is mentioned three times. Here it refers to the abode of the righteous dead. In Rev 2:7 it refers to the restoration of Edenic paradise predicted in Isa 51:3 and Ezek 36:35. In 2 Cor 12:4 it probably refers to the “third heaven” (2 Cor 12:2) as the place where God dwells.
13 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
14 sn They began to accuse him. There were three charges: (1) disturbing Jewish peace; (2) fomenting rebellion through advocating not paying taxes (a lie – 20:20-26); and (3) claiming to be a political threat to Rome, by claiming to be a king, an allusion to Jesus’ messianic claims. The second and third charges were a direct challenge to Roman authority. Pilate would be forced to do something about them.
15 tn On the use of the term διαστρέφω (diastrefw) here, see L&N 31.71 and 88.264.
16 tn Grk “and forbidding.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated to suggest to the English reader that this and the following charge are specifics, while the previous charge was a summary one. See the note on the word “misleading” earlier in this verse.
17 tn This was a “poll tax.” L&N 57.182 states this was “a payment made by the people of one nation to another, with the implication that this is a symbol of submission and dependence – ‘tribute tax.’”
18 tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
19 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
20 tn Grk “It happened that in the days.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
21 sn Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37
22 tn Grk “of”; but the meaning of the preposition ἐκ (ek) is more accurately expressed in contemporary English by the relative clause “who belonged to.”
23 sn There were twenty-four divisions of priesthood and the priestly division of Abijah was eighth on the list according to 1 Chr 24:10.
24 tn Grk “and her name was Elizabeth.”
25 tn Grk “a wife of the daughters of Aaron.”
26 tn Grk “even as”; this compares the recorded tradition of 1:1 with the original eyewitness tradition of 1:2.
27 tn Or “delivered.”
28 sn The phrase eyewitnesses and servants of the word refers to a single group of people who faithfully passed on the accounts about Jesus. The language about delivery (passed on) points to accounts faithfully passed on to the early church.
29 tn Grk “like the accounts those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word passed on to us.” The location of “in the beginning” in the Greek shows that the tradition is rooted in those who were with Jesus from the start.
30 tn Grk “And an angel.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here.
31 tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” Linguistically, “angel of the Lord” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of the Lord” or “the angel of the Lord” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.
32 sn This term is often used to describe a supernatural appearance (24:34; Acts 2:3; 7:2, 30, 35; 9:17; 13:31; 16:9; 26:16).